Baking for A Baker

I had the opportunity this past week to make the birthday cake for one of my cake comrades.  And, while I was excited to undertake the project, I was also quite nervous about it.  After all, she's a baker herself, has cake decorating skills I'm slightly envious of and owns her own bakery...no pressure or anything.  She seemed genuinely pleased with the cake, so I definitely breathed a sigh of relief after I delivered it!  And, I think it may well be one of my favorite cakes.  Think it could have anything to do with the theme?

The cake was iced in buttercream with the pink and green overlays done in fondant, and all the small baking accoutrements were made from gumpaste.  They included bags of flour and sugar, a rolling pin, oven mitt, eggs, a bowl of batter (complete with a spoon), cookies, and, of course, a cake, cake slice, and cupcake.  The stand mixer was molded from rice krispy treats then covered in fondant...my first ever attempt at a larger scale "krispy" design.  I was pleased that it looked like the object it was supposed to represent and that it didn't cave in on itself.  (I did some serious thinking and planning on the supports for it.  I'm no engineer, but they worked!)  I've still got to do some work on covering the krispies smoothly though...it was a bit "bumpier" than I would have liked.

I did quite a lot of other gumpaste work/sculpting, in addition to the miniatures for the baker's cake, this past week.  There was this wedding cake with gumpaste roses, leaves, and stephanotis:

This baby shower cake with baby booties and bow:

Side note:  I just have to say, I love the giraffe print!  It's a nice change from the zebra that is very popular right now and still fits well with a safari theme.  Plus, I got to work in a heart shaped spot...do you see it?  There were also cake balls to accompany the giraffe baby shower cake:

And, then these horse themed cupcakes:

Yes, the horse heads are 3D.  No, I didn't sculpt them by hand - I used a mold that I had from a previous project.  Might as well use the tools available to make things easier, right?

Oh, and I have to share this deliciousness with you...

Brown butter chocolate chip cookie sundaes with mocha fudge sauce.  They...were...amazing!  So good in fact, that I didn't share with the family.  And, that's saying something since I typically try one of anything I bake up, then send the rest to my nieces, nephews, sisters, madre, etc.  Why?  Well, less temptation that way and less possibility of falling off the fitness wagon.  

But...not with these, these I kept all to myself.  Don't judge me - there were only 6 and I've still got 2 in the fridge.  It's not like I gorged myself by eating them all in one sitting.  And, I will be throwing these in as a dessert when I do my turn as cook for the goat kidding crew.  I think they'll be a big hit.

Who wants a sundae?