Mama Mia(m)!

Mothers Day weekend was busy busy busy!

First off, a request for a cake like the one I made for my mom last mother's day. Last year, for both my mom, and my boyfriend's mom, I made pots of flowers cakes. That was my first time making detailed flowers, first time carving a cake, and first time covering a cake properly in fondant. For a first attempt, it turned out nice, but definitely not perfect.

Most importantly, mommy thought this was the best gift ever, sagging fondant and all. She actually kept all the flowers in a little cup! <3

So when an old friend of mine asked for the same thing for her mom, of course I wanted to take another shot at this pot! With a little more experience under my belt, I knew exactly what not to do.. or so I thought. First step, the gumpaste flowers, which also happens to be the most fun part! I was sent a few pictures from the mom's garden, which included hibiscuses and daisies.

I had absolutely no idea how to make the centers for the hibiscuses, but with a bit of trial and error, I figured out what seemed to give me the closest comparison. I ended up using premade stamens, clumped a few together and added some teeny detail with royal icing.

I made two of those giant blooms, then made a bunch of the easier stuff - the daisies and some foliage. 

The fondant still took me a few tries, since the base is smaller than the top, the fondant tends to wrinkle at the bottom. After a attempt number three, I tore off the fondant in exasperation. I knew what had to be done, I just wanted to try the harder way first. So flip goes the cake, and I cover it without a problem upside down. I let the fondant set while upside down (super important to conquer that sagging fondant!), and then flipped it back later that evening. A bit of crumbled cake for the dirt, and voila!

I think attempt number two at these potted beauties was a success! :D

But that's not all folks! There are a few mothers in my own life that I wanted to make a special something for. I've been dying to get my neice to start decorating with me, and she's been just as eager. Everytime she comes over and sees my cake tools out, she's ready to play with the 'sugar' and obviously eat some too while she's at it. So her first cake? Well for her mommy of course! A few days before mothers day, she rolled out all her own gumpaste, made little cut outs of letters and flowers, and we let them dry. The mini baker then helped me bake the cake, and watched as I covered it in white fondant for her. In the end my talented little cake decorator came up with this beautiful piece of art. How precious is that!? Needless to say, my sister in law thought it was the best, and tastiest, mother's day present ever!

And now for my own mommy? Most people around me are sick of cake, fondant, buttercream... etc. So I had to come up with something different for my mom. And well, her gift just presented itself to me one day at school. My mom LOVES almond paste. So in our advanced deration module, we were shown how to make these super cute almond paste fruits. 

And then to present them, a sesame snap basket. These things were seriously so much fun to make, and got gobbled up within the first day once my mom opened it.

I'd say that was a super successful mothers day!