Pillow Cake

First attempt at a pillow cake.

I've noticed that pillow cakes have become somewhat of a trend over the past few years. They're always so ornate, detailed, and pretty. It's really just cake that is either carved or baked into the shape of a pillow. Once it is decorated though, it truly does look like a stack of plush pillows.

The first time I saw one, my thoughts were 1. how does the fondant not just fall off of the cake (the picture I saw had a different color fondant on the bottom side of the pillow), and 2. how are they assembled so that the tiers are steady? I tried it on a cake for a class that wasn't for anyone, just in case there were some issues. Luckily, there were none! It turned out beautifully, and although there are some flaws in my embossing and the way I tucked the fondant underneath, this cake always gets people's attention.

I can't wait until the next time I do a cake like this now that I really have it figured out. The fondant doesn't fall off because it's draped over the top and tucked under, and the construction is steady because you stack pillow cakes the same way a regular tiered cake is staked, just with a smaller base.

Tiara topper is an actual hairpiece that was never used!

Cupcakes for a Lingerie Shower

Eyelet detail, ribbon cupcake, & pillow top cupcake

 To celebrate one of my good friend's upcoming marriage, I made these cupcakes decorated with homemade marshmallow fondant. The fondant decorations were inspired by silky, lacy, white bridal lingerie. Whether I 100% achieved this look or not they were most definitely a huge success at the party. Slightly more importantly than the way they were decorated was the taste. I made 3 dozen total, each dozen being different.

Lemon and yogurt cupcakes with vanilla bean butter cream

Lemon blueberry and yogurt cupcakes with vanilla bean butter cream

Almond cupcakes with amaretto butter cream filling and vanilla bean butter cream on top

I used 2.5 ounces of plain Greek yogurt in each batch of the yogurt cupcakes. The cake was incredibly moist, even after 3 days! However, since it was so moist the cupcakes sunk in a little bit after cooling. In this case it worked to my advantage because I need flat tops for my decorations. I was able to even out the indent with some butter cream, and that way each cupcake not only had the fanciful fondant top, but underneath that was about a teaspoon of real butter cream frosting. Many of the guests loved that part. =) Flavored with fresh lemon zest and plump blueberries, these cupcakes were most definitely delicious.

Variations of the ribbon cupcake