Designed Delights

Battle of the Children's cakes... Help me decide, please!

I thought for sure that this Stitch order would take the cake.. see what I did there... Over the weekend, however, it was Alice in Wonderland that got more love than Stitch. Maybe it was just my own critiques on sculpting. I love both of these cakes, but I really loved that stitch cake a lot. I'm curious... Out of these two sets from last weekend, which one did you gravitate more towards and why?

A very Merry unbirthday deserves a smash cake!!!

This Alice and ONE-derland Beauty Is a tall mini-tiered cake complete with a dark-haired "Alice" to look similar to our very special birthday girl! Also complete with a cute little smash cake that matches the mad hatter's tea party cake from the Disney movie. Let me know what you think! More videos and posts coming today!

Last Stitch post! A spotlight on the cupcakes! How adorable!

Let's take another look at this super awesome cake with matching cupcakes. This order was complete with 3 dozen cupcakes. Don't ever underestimate how long cupcake toppers take to make. Everything is handmade, and all graphic design work is always done by me as well!

How adorable is this Stitch Cake?!?! Every little detail was sculpted with love. I am so in love with this one. Cuteness overload!

This was paired with 36 cupcakes as well. I'll share them later today along with a close-up view video. Stay tuned!

Don't forget to tell me what you think!

Whose ready for the reveal of this cake and cupcake set?!?! Because let me tell you... Cuteness overload is about to happen ...

Reveal later this morning!!! Stay tuned!

The "Challenge Coin Cake"

Here's the top of the 10" cake and a side by side with the coin I was asked to create. The 8" topper is completely made of sugar paste, and has some hand-painted details on it. It is always an honor to create/design something cool for any of the amazing Austin Firefighters to celebrate their service!

Tip: Cutting out all of that lettering seems like it would be challenging, but for things like this I create all my desired shapes and fonts in Canva, then use my Cricut to create stencils in cardstock. From there, I then use those stencils to cut out my shapes from sugar paste or fondant. And although cutting out these types of letters can still be very tedious, creating the stencil makes it so much easier. I love my Cricut.

Let's start off with this week's cakes! I am so grateful for all the love I receive from the Austin Fire Department. This massive 10" cake was designed around a specific "challenge coin". These are coins that they collect for certain achievements. The top is completely modeled after the coin (check out my second post with a side by side, I'll post in just a bit). The side is simple with the AFD logo, house and coupler.

Side Note: As many of you may know, my wife works for AFD and they consider everyone and their families, "family". This cake is very special. It's for a Battalion Chiefs retirement. This gentleman was my wife's first lieutenant, many years ago, while she was on probation. When she found out I was making a cake for him, I know it also meant a lot to her. And that makes me happy.

Don't you worry! I got some good cakes coming up this week... But before we get there let's celebrate this oldie on way back Wednesday!

I love the dried pressed flour look. It's elegant and I hope that it lasts a very long time. This cake was one of the first of many for one of my regulars who has been extremely supportive. This was also the first time I did a mini tier, and now I make them all the time!

Share your dried pressed flower cakes if you got them!

Happy Tuesday! Happy customers! Share your mermaid/ocean cakes with me! ♥️🫶🏻

Coming to a cake near you!!!! WHAT EVER COULD IT BE?!?!? ♥️♣️♦️♠️🐰🐛👑⏱️🌹☕

Look at this cutie?!?? Who is it?

Right guesses get virtual high fives. Wing guesses that make me laugh, get two virtual high fives!

I had one cake when I returned from vacation. And this is the beauty that was created! This pr***en has a massive love for hello Kitty and Japanimation, but specifically a show called Jujutsu Kaisen. I was asked to combine the two favorites, And I will tell you I always worry a little bit about combining two different themes, trying to find a way to make it flow, but with these two themes I think it worked out, to my surprise. You'll have to let me know what you think! Complete with Rice paper sales to make the magic around the character Satoru Goju, and Isomalt diamonds since the birthday girl says it's her "Diamond year"!

Back from three weeks of vacation and I'm right back at it, starting with These cute cupcake toppers!!!

I chill AND freeze my cakes every week. It's a common misconception to think that all of us complete cakes in a day. I actually work on my cakes for the week in phases. I utilize my freezer often. I'm honest with customers about this, and they often ask if the cake stays fresh. Every single time! You just have to know how to take care of it!

So what's the difference between the two, and when should you use each?

Chilling a Cake:
This means placing your cake in the refrigerator for a short period to cool and firm it up.

Freezing a Cake:
This means storing your cake in the freezer at a much lower temperature for longer-term storage or to make decorating easier.

What's the Purpose?
Chilling:
Firms up buttercream or ganache.
Makes crumb coating easier.
Helps stabilize filled cakes before final decorating.
Freezing:
Preserves cakes for days or even weeks.
Locks in moisture when wrapped properly.
Makes cakes firmer and easier to carve, stack, and decorate.

Storage Time
Chilling: Usually from 20 minutes to a few hours
Freezing: Can be anywhere from a few hours to several weeks when the cake is wrapped properly.

Effect on Cake Texture
Chilling: Leaves the cake slightly firm but ready to decorate or serve after a short rest.
Freezing: Makes the cake much firmer, which helps with carving and achieving sharp edges. Once thawed correctly, the cake remains soft and moist.

Best Uses
Chilling is best for:
Setting buttercream or ganache.
Stabilizing tiered cakes.
Keeping decorated cakes firm before delivery.
Short-term storage.
Freezing is best for:
Baking cakes ahead of time.
Preparing for large orders.
Carving novelty cakes.
Reducing crumbs during frosting.

I hope that helps! And a friendly tip to remember that putting a warm cake in the refrigerator traps heat and moisture, which leads to condensation and a soggy, ruined texture. It also causes starches to crystallize much faster, making the cake stale.

Life can be as sweet as you make it! Find goodness and gratitude today! There are sweet reminders all around if you take the time to look. 🫶🏻

The past couple weeks I've had a few potential customers try to get me to price match another baker. No hard feelings from me, I mean it doesn't hurt to ask me.

However, I wanted to share my thoughts on this. My pricing is MY pricing. My pricing is only partially based on my homemade recipes, because a lot of us have homemade recipes. My pricing is mostly based on my skill set as a sugar artist. Asking me to come down in pricing to another baker, whose skill set is different, is not something I am willing to do. I put real effort into my quotes. They are based on all of my costs and overhead, and then I factor in an hourly wage I give myself (for my skill level) for the amount of time that I'm guessing it will take to create a cake that is also my own artwork and not copied from someone else (if I can help it.) Humbly, I book up, and there's always people that understand the level of detail they will receive from my products that are willing to pay. You will always receive all of my dedication and heart when I create a cake for your special occasion. I will not do it for less than I am worth. Working for less money takes away from the money I make for my family and takes time away from spending with them. I will always choose Me, my sanity, my children and paying customers first.

Please note that we have a lot of Amazing Bakers in our area that offer a variety of different skill sets at different price points. If you need a more budget friendly cake than I offer, please let me know and I can tell you the names of a few people that I trust.

Thanks!
Nicki

MEET ME MONDAY!

Yup! This is a little me back in the 80's rocking my yellow shirt and circus cake! I always thought that my mom made the coolest cakes for all of us when we were growing up. It's one of the fondest memories from my childhood. I attribute this to one of many reasons I do what I do. I've always been an artist, but it just makes sense to combine art and cake. 🥰

Hello! I'll be adding my cakes from the last few months into folders by category. Please forgive the multiple posts!!!!

Hello! I'll be adding my cakes from the last few months into folders by category. Please forgive the multiple posts!!!!