Gem City Cakes

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Wordpress

I know this might be confusing, but please- follow me to the new home for my blog...

http://gemcitytiffany.wordpress.com

If you were directed here by one of my cards, myself or someone else, please click through above to continue to my new site! You'll be glad you did!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Guinea Pig Cake!

This cake was for my brother for his birthday!
Guinea Pig Cake

He loves guinea pigs and currently has two. We constantly joke about how they eat them in some countries, so I thought this would be sort of funny.
Guinea Pig CakeGuinea Pig Cake

The little guy was so darn cute... I'm glad I decided it would be in terrible taste to make him red velvet inside hahaha. This isn't an armadillo and this isn't Steel Magnolias.

Sliced cake
Confetti cake seemed the most festive and well... the least threatening haha.

Here's my brother with his cake:
My brother with his cake


Any for no reason at all other than to show off how fabulous my hair stylist is, here's a photo of me, since I never post photos of myself on here.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010

Manly Cakes

Decorative cakes, by nature, normal aren't so... eh... manly. I suppose you could say. Most decorative cakes boast swirls and flowers and shimmery things. Most are whimsical and cute. So when it comes time to make a cake for a guy, I always try to keep it as masculine as possible. I hold back the need to embellish things and frill things up.

The last three cakes I've done have been for guys. Two of them were delightfully nerd-themed.
A girl I met at Jess's wedding contacted me about making a cake!

Nintendo! Who doesn't get all nostalgic over that. I remember when I was a kid, my brother and I used to fiiiiight over some Nintendo. He probably has the scars to prove it. One day, during a particularly bad outburst, my brother and I were reduced to swapping punches over a game of Mario. (You know the ORIGINAL Mario...) anyway, my dad calmly walks into the room, yanks the cords out of the Nintendo, opened the living room window, tossed the console outside and left the room.
We were in shock. And quite devastated. I remember we had to duct tape it together to make it work. We couldn't live without it though!
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I can only hope this cake brought David equally thrilling childhood memories! Hahaha.


The next cake was for another guy who still enjoys childhood things such as Transformers! My friend Samantha sent me a message on Facebook asking me to make this for her boyfriend.
This Decepticon cake was made of fondant and the logo was cut from layered white and purple fondant for a more 3D look.
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My camera wasn't picking up the true colors of the cake for some reason, but the photo below shows it!

I was asked to make the cake "decepticon purple" lol
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I hear it was totally loved!


The next cake, I'm sort of cheating by posting. I normally don't post cakes until I've given them to the person who is having me make them, but I'm cheating, because I already sent her this photo. :)
My friend Nickie, who is totally awesome, had me make this for her boyfriend's birthday!
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I've never made a gum paste model before. So this was different for me! It was a challenge and lots of fun. I looked online for ideas and saw lots of airplane cakes. But most of the planes that were MADE of cake were weird and squatty looking. Jet planes are sleek and slim and there's not much "meat" on them. So I didn't want to make the plane out of cake. I decided to do a gum paste model rather than blow out the proportions of the cake. I was very pleased with the result!

So, the next time you're in need of a "dude cake," remember, there's more to cake than flowers and frills! Even sweet confections can be manly!

*Edit*Silly me! I see that I already posted this transformer cake!! But guess what, it fits the post! So it stays! lol**

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Brian's 30th Birthday!

My husband is a recording engineer. He loves recording gear. I love my husband.
I can't afford thousands of dollars worth of gear for him, so I did the next best thing. I made it out of sugar.

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API Lunch Box filled with expensive stuff haha
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He was thrilled! The knobs turned and everything.

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It was strawberry/chocolate inside and everyone loved it! It was SO delicious and moist. I was even surprised by how tasty it was haha

What a great day we had!

More than meets the eye

Here's a cake I did for my friend's boyfriend's birthday!
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The colors didn't come out so true in the photo, but the purple is very purple and the inside of the cake is purple too!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Music and video games

Last week I did two pretty cool cakes!

One was for the bassist of local band LegBone. His girlfriend asked me to do it as a surprise for him. It was chocolate cake covered in fondant. I used an exacto knife to cut the logo out of fondant and then added the white accents by hand. Shaped like Ohio :)

Legbone Birthday Cake


Also, I made a cake for a cousin. He turned 15 this weekend. Trying to decide what to make a 15 year old kid for his birthday was pretty hard. To be honest. I was sort of clueless. We brainstormed forever until we realized pretty much all 15 year old boys liked video games.
XboX 360 Cake

The cake itself was white and green marbled vanilla cake. The controller was made of cereal treat covered in fondant. The birthday boy ate almost the entire controller lol.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Teirs of Joy

I love making tiered cakes!

This was for a bridal shower:
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Not the best photo lol. All completely edible! The roses and petals were done with fondant. The inside is strawberry/vanilla zebra cake!


This was for a 21st birthday! The cake was being driven about 2 hours away! Glad I was able to make this. I hope the birthday girl loved it!
21st birthday cake

All fondant except the boarder. The 21 was candy melt. The tiara lit up!

I love everything about this cake. The colors, the fondant, the zebra.
Also, the inside is all chocolate/vanilla zebra cake!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The inside counts!

So, I got to see a photo of the inside of the NY cake I made!

Brooklyn Cake inside

It turned out awesome.


Also, here's the inside of the elephant cake:
Chocolate/strawberry zebra cake

Great photo!


Here's a preview of the cake I made yesterday:
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I will have finished photos of that soon. As well as photos of another cake I did last week!

Much more cake to come.



I wasn't selected to be on tv, but that's okay! I still have all of you guys! <3

Saturday, August 14, 2010

TLC show

Okay, somehow I haven't posted about this here.

I sent an application in to TLC for a tv show they're casting for. It's a spin off of Cake Boss. I filled out the super long application and sent it in. A week later, I got this:

Hi Tiffany,

Thanks so much for your interest in our show. Your application was great! I LOVE your story and personality!!!

The next step in the process is for you to make a home video, so that we get a chance to meet you (on camera) and see your talent and personality. The most important thing to remember is to answer the questions with a lot of energy, animation and enthusiasm. (Basically just be yourself!) Your answers in your application were great so feel free to say similar but more elaborate answers on camera!

We pitch a few candidates to the network every week, so please get the tape to us ASAP (Casting ends next week)! The instructions, questions and uploading info are attached. Once it's up, please just shoot me an email to let me know.

Do me a favor and look this over before you start making the video...in case you have questions.

We are super excited to watch it, so have lots of fun!
Tip for the video: Have fun, be creative and do something that makes you STANDOUT! NOW GO MAKE A GREAT VIDEO!! Make sure your video will grab TLC's Attention!!! Make sure to show us some of your talents, interests, or anything that makes you unique in your video (like your love of art and tattoos)!!!!

Thanks and please don't hesitate to ask me any questions.



Wow! How cool!!!

I was in a complete frenzy though. I had to make this video and I had very little time. About two days really. I was going to be out of town all weekend. I did my best. I had to show myself being competitive with friends, so I showed myself doing some biking. I had to show myself doing a hobby that showed my personality. So I got this tattoo!
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A rolling pin that says "roll out" lol

I showed myself working on that cat cake as well lol.

I haven't heard back yet, but, of course, I will keep you all posted. I don't know if I'm allowed to share the video. I never got a response to that question. I'll share if I can though!

Look at these cuties

I made a couple of cakes for a birthday party! The cakes were based on a blanket that had a stuffed elephant in the middle.

One for the party guests and one for the kid to wreck haha.

Elephant blanket birthday cakes

The inside was chocolate and strawberry zebra. I hope I get to see a photo of the inside!

Bike!

We love to bike! My friend Karen has the coolest bike I've ever seen.
Last week her husband asked if I could reproduce it in cake form. Why not?

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It was awesome. It was a totally epic huge cake. Her husband is the guy who I made the beard cake for.

Even though I had three other cakes to make this week, I totally said sure and went for it. It turned out great. Plus, I love when I get to eat cake I made!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Birthday City!

Last week was my best friend Chelsea's birthday!
We like to joke that she's a crazy cat lady, even just with the one cat...
but either way, I wanted it to be all cute and cuddly.

I made her this little guy.
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It was really cute. She mounted the head on her stove. Yeah, I know. We're odd.


I also made these truffles for my friend Kelly's mom's birthday!
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I built the tower using foam board and a wrapping paper tube haha.

More cool cakes coming soon! I have a lot I'm working on this week!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Beard!

My friend Justin had a birthday! He's super cool and he has the longest beard of any one I know. To me, it was obvious what had to be done here...

I was stoked because I finally bought edible markers.
Beard Cake

Beard caaaaake!!!

And what better than to throw in some party accessories?
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I look good with a beard. Jussayin.

Beard cake... it's what's for dinner.
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Friday, July 23, 2010

My Aha Moment!

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Well, here it is!
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http://www.ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/15459

I think I look strange without my glasses, which were taken off due to glare and chubby. I look chubby. Don't judge me. I'm talking about cake.

OH!!! And look!!! New sharing buttons!!!

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Happy Birthday Hef!

My friend Hef just turned 23! Happy birthday babe!

I made her these ice cream cone cupcakes. So darn cute!

Ice cream cone cupcakes

I even rode my bike to the bar with them on my basket!
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What's not to love here???
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There’s nothing you can’t do- Now you’re in New York- These streets will make you feel brand new- Big lights will inspire yo-u

My friend Katie was going to NYC to see our friend Mike, he always goes on about my cakes and how he wants to eat one so she had me make one for him!

NYC cake


Fondant with buttercream and dragee accents. The inside was a zebra stripe with blue, purple, yellow and green, I think. I don't exactly remember lol.

I hope he loved it!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Happy Birthday Eddy!

Some of you might find me crazy, but I think it's more like awesome.

My dog turned 3 yesterday. I want kids- I love kids- I don't have kids. So... I spoil my chihuahua. He is my baby. Well... he's getting older now- I mean come on, he's 21 in dog years!

I texted my husband and reminded him, hey it's the dog's birthday. He immediately said we HAD to do something for him. I said duh, we'll make a cake like last year. Brian even picked out the colors.

In any case, I like ANY reason for cake. Even if I can't eat it.
I made this cake out of all things nommable for dogs.
Carrots, beans, beef, eggs, flour, rice, olive oil... a little paprika, a drop of liquid smoke... good stuff.
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I pureed this and baked it. Then I colored some mashed potatoes (no butter or milk) and used them as "icing" lol

He loved it of course!
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Big hit. The cat didn't want any. Well, he had a few nibbles, but Eddy finished his piece.

A HA!

I got this email last week


Hi Tiffany,
I work for the company that is producing Mutual of Omaha’s “proud sponsor of life’s aha moments” campaign– visit www.ahamoment.com to see what an aha moment is and the great real stories we filmed during the campaign in 2009.

Associated to that, we have a 34-foot Airstream mobile film studio that is traveling the US on a 25-city tour to capture the country’s aha moments. We are headed to Dayton next Monday, July 12th & Tuesday, July 13th, and would love to invite you to share what lead you to begin teaching yourself to decorate cakes, and how your life has changed since. I came across your blog and think that you would have a great story to share! You would just have to step into the Airstream studio for a few minutes and tell your story on film, which would be posted to www.ahamoment.com .

We would love to have you if you are interested. We will be parked at The Victoria Theatre on Monday, July 12th (11am to 7pm) and Tuesday, July 13th (11am to 7pm).

Let me know as soon as possible and I can reserve some time for you, thanks!


I was excited and when they asked me to bring a prop that represented my a-ha moment, I made a cake, of course!
aha

The inside was purple and white zebra stripe. I can't wait to get my link to my interview to post here! (Could be up to 30 days)

Friday, July 9, 2010

Excitement!

I feel like this is the highlight of my cake making so far. This week... I made my very first wedding cake!
Holy cow it was a lot of work, but so worth every second!

My friend Jess asked me to do the cake when she got engaged and with every passing month, I grew anxious about it. I was so worried I'd ruin the cake/wedding/bride's life if I messed this up! lol

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Honestly, I don't think it could have gone any more smoothly. Honestly.

I knew the cake was going to be big... but I suppose even after buying the huge pan set, I still wasn't prepared for just how huge...

It finally hit me when it took 4 lbs of buttercream just to fill and crumb coat the bottom tier. It was 16"x16" and about 4 1/2" tall. Uhm. Wow.
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I had a mini panic attack, but stayed strong lol. If it helps, that mixing bowl is huge. So for it to look so tiny in this photo is mind blowing to me.

By the time I got all three tiers covered, I was feeling some real shock... "Wait... I'm almost done? Nothing horrible has gone wrong???"

I put EIGHT dowels in the bottom tier (paranoia much? lol), four dowels in the middle tier and though I considered a dowel down the middle, I figured the weight would hold it all in place.

I transported the tiers all separate and stacked them at the wedding. I filled my car with pillows and prayed for the best on the drive. It was SO HOT out. Some how I got the cake there with not a scratch!

Once it was all assembled, I got to stand back and see my work done. I almost cried.
I mean... it's really pretty, isn't it?

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What a great moment for me. And to be able to share that with friends... fantastic.
I also made an anniversary tier. With a handmade box.
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The wedding was a blast and everyone loved the cake! I did green buttercream between the top tier and orange between the middle! The bottom tier was chocolate.
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So much fun! The wedding was just great and Jess was a perfect and gorgeous bride. She was about as far from a bridezilla as anyone could possibly be.
Congratulations Jess! I'm so happy for you and so thankful that you trusted me to make such an important cake for you!
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Friday, July 2, 2010

Get em while they're... hot- or something.

Okay, so it's REALLY been hot out here in Ohio the past few weeks! I've been forced to crank my air so that my cakes don't melt as I create them lol.

I made these little angel cakes for my friend on twitter @ginakay for her inlaws!
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She requested three tiny cakes with an angel theme. I wanted pastels and flowers. The base color was a peachy off white. I thought the colors were very whimsical. I piped buttercream transfers of angels for the tops.



futurama
My faaaavorite show was put back on the air after being off for years! I was so excited that I invited my friends over and we had to have cake!

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Everyone dug into the slurm cake. It was half chocolate half confetti cake!
Long live Futurama!!!

Last, but not least, my friend's mom turned 50 last week! I made a cake to show everyone that being "over the hill" isn't so bad.

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Especially when your walker is made of chocolate. And the hill is made of cake.

The top was white cake, the middle was dark chocolate and the bottom was the crowd pleasing favorite lemon cake with strawberries in the middle! Yum! It was the largest tier, but it was eaten before any of the others were barely touched!
It was quite a night!
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