Survival of the Fittest

Or maybe it's just survival of the busiest and most sleep-deprived.  Either way, I am one of the survivors!  And a pretty pleased one at that.

So, what, exactly, did I survive?

How about two (count 'em, TWO) weddings, including the groom's cake for both, as well as two special occasion cakes...all in the same weekend!  Not the same week, people, the same WEEKEND; we're talking two days to stack, decorate, and deliver over 500 servings of cake...

Crazy?  Yes. Un-doable? Absolutely not!  (And I can prove it, because I've got the photos! Hee-he!)

Let's start with the special occasion cakes.

One for a baby shower that, unfortunately, was postponed because the mom-to-be couldn't attend.  But on the bright side, when the party is re-scheduled, the baby honoree will be in attendance!  Congratulations!  (Yep, that means exactly what you think it means.)

And one for a surprise birthday party.  The golf ball, sadly, was not edible.  I chose to make it from Styrofoam to prevent it sinking into the cake because of weight.  I'm glad I did...it wanted to weeble-wobble as it was, it definitely wouldn't have stayed upright if it had been any heavier!

Now on to the grooms' cakes.  (O yeah, I'm gonna make you wait until the very end to see the wedding cakes...I know that's what you're really waiting for.)

This one was fairly simple, but was exactly what the groom had in mind.  The photo image was fully edible and the cake was filled with homemade caramel.

This next cake was probably my favorite of the entire weekend...though I would like to make another one sometime to tweak a few design methods, make it look even better, and truer to life.

It's a fire fighter's helmet made out of cake.  Even the shield and eagle are edible.  It was designed to closely match the groom's real helmet.  Here's a side view of the cake one, as well as a similar view of the real one:

Not too shabby, eh?  Though, in retrospect, I shouldn't have steamed the cake helmet; made it a bit too shiny! 

And now, for the moment we've all been waiting for...drum roll, please...

The Wedding Cakes!

Both of these wedding cakes were done in buttercream...not a bit of fondant in sight.  This made the transport even more nerve-wracking then usual considering it was 90+ degrees outside, but they both held up fabulously well. All I can say is thank goodness for excellent air conditioning!

Although I've used fabric ribbon on cakes before (as in the top wedding cake picture), the crystal cake banding (in bottom picture) was a new element for me.  I was excited that I was able to utilize it, and found it fairly easy to work with.  It definitely added plenty of "bling" to the cake!

Cheers!

Oh...I almost forgot!  Special thanks to A, K, and Hunny's for helping me survive the madness.  I couldn't have done it without you!