angry birds, king pig

I got a very fun cupcake project this week: turning the popular phone and internet game Angry Birds into delicious cupcake toppers! 

A request was made for Blue Bird, Yellow Bird, Black Bird and King Pig cupcakes. The characters, their platforms (green grass for the birds and wood for the pigs) and their accessories were sculpted from coloured fondant and placed atop chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.

Hopefully the only slingshot these little guys see is straight into hungry and happy mouths.


-Danielle

candi[e]d camera

For a very special 60th birthday, I created a camera cake! Modelled after the Canon Rebel T1i, this chocolate and caramel cake was carved to 1 : 0.5 scale. 

All of the details were sculpted or added with fondant and edible rice paper. 

Also included were edible photos, one representing each decade including major milestones.

An amazing project for an amazing person! Happy birthday, dad.


-Danielle 

SS2012 launch

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

This week sweet&splendid got to be part of the Dr. Martens launch of their spring and summer 2012 collection of footwear! Growing up, the classic black shoes with yellow stitching were a staple of my teenage wardrobe. These days, they've got an array of colours, styles and patterns to choose from but the classic fit and durability are still a hallmark. To commemorate their iconic brand I provided confections for the party guests.

Dozens and dozens of chocolate cupcakes were each covered with a big dollop of vanilla buttercream and topped with an edible logo. 

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

Also provided were decorated sugar cookes: classic rolled sugar cookies were iced with royal icing to emulate the iconic Dr. Martens shoes and boots. 

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

It's not everyday sweet&splendid gets to be a part of a high-profile event (guests included TV and media personalities, fashion writers and amateur cupcake connoisseurs)  and I can't wait to see what we get involved with next.

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

-Danielle

celebrations

I've fallen a bit behind on the baking updates, so here is a brief catch up of what I've been up to lately!

1) The Human Genome (Cookie) Project 
Several years ago scientists completed a once seemingly impossible task: mapping the entire human genome, down to the last nucleotide base pair. This year I accomplished a seemingly ridiculous task: applying it to cookies.

My friend works for a research hospital and extracts a whole lot of DNA for her job. So naturally, DNA themed cookies were the most appropriate present for her. And what better excuse to combine baking and science?!

Sugar cookies were baked and topped with fondant and icing to create DNA birthday cookies. Above are an example of what might be obtained from a southern blot assay. Or combining sugar, butter, eggs and flour. Same thing, really. Also included in the gift pack were puzzle-y base pair cookies that matched up (A-T, C-G). University biology classes have come in handy in ways I never expected.

2) A sweet&splendid 16
This cake was created for a young lady celebrating a birthday milestone. Vanilla and chocolate cake was filled with caramel buttercream, covered in pink fondant and piped royal icing. This girl is glamorous and wanted a cake to match; so I added a gumpaste flower with Swarovski crystals in the centre. It was the sparkliest accessory I've ever created!

3) Crani-yums, round 2
This next cake was for a young woman's celebration of something very significant: remission from brain cancer. Chocolate cake was carved down and covered in rolled fondant to create a delicious brain that she and her friends and family (and not cancer) would get to enjoy. 

To learn more or to volunteer or donate to a worthy cause, visit http://www.conquercancer.ca.


There's always something to celebrate, what's your occasion?


-Danielle