Jeannette's Custom Cakes

We’re back from vacation! What a vacation it was. Great times with family, friends and learning some new stuff!

As some of you may not know, I’m completely self-taught when it comes to cake decorating. It took a LONG time to get where I am now, I am so thankful that I was able to teach myself. It was time to go bigger. I am no longer self taught. I thought that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. Here’s a hint…

I’ve been watching The Food Network Challenge for years. Everytime it came on I would be so excited to see that this one competitor was competing. I couldn’t put my finger on why I related to her so much, whether it was her unique, whimsical style or just how she approached her challenges. Either way, I knew I someday had to learn from her. This past week was just that.

My husband Anthony and I arrived at Cake Nouveau in Ann Arbor, Michigan the day of my first class. We were welcomed with open arms and the smell of sweet success. While I learned from the extremely talented Courtney Clark, Anthony had a great time chatting with her husband Kendon about fishing and the outdoors.  Here are a few pictures from our visit to the bakery.

Kendon (Courtney’s husband) with the daily cupcakes smiling for the camera.

Courtney’s big cheque for her Disney Pixar Cake.

My cake!! I was pretty proud, I’m not going to lie!

And finally…

Courtney and myself. It was so great to learn from her. Thanks again Courtney, I consider myself lucky to have learned from you and can’t wait for my next class!!

I can’t believe it’s October already. The summer went by so fast! It’s no surprise that it was a busy season for me, but I will admit I am a fan of fall. The cool breeze, the zero humidity, and of course the pumpkin spice lattes. With Thanksgiving coming up next weekend, I will be taking a week of holidays from October 11-17th. Part for work and part for fun, ending with a trip to Cedar Point for our annual trip. This week is busy, so I’ll leave you with a cake I did for one of my closest friends. She keeps me on my toes, challenges me and is the wife of Curt O’Neil. Love ya Jes. Thanks for the challenge!

Jes gave me 2 days notice for this cake. She provided me with a “sketch” that was similar to a drawing that my nephew Nate would do. No joke. I laughed so hard I could barely contain myself, yet somehow I understood what she was trying to get across. So for me the planning stages begun. The theme? NYC. Pretty cool if you ask me, I don’t get that every day. So off I went…

After all that was said and done, this was the final product.

The details are what make this cake, which is the part of my job that I love the most. All the little pieces in total took about 3 hours, from start to finish. Then the cake had to be made on top of that. But it’s the little details that are so cute! I don’t know what my favourite part is, there are so many different pieces. Here is a closeup.

Thanks for the challenge Jes! It was fun!!

Have a great thanksgiving everyone!!

Once and a while, an idea for a cake comes around from a client that I’m more than excited to do. This weekend was it, I was SO excited to sit down and get started. I won’t lie, I thought about it all week. That’s how excited I was.

When Mel and Tim came to me and gave me a rough idea for their wedding cake, my brain immediately went into overdrive. Not only was this something different, but it was something I had wanted to do for a while because there was so much potential with it. Not only did they give me creative control and trust me to come up with something great, they didn’t buy a topper until discussing it with me first. Now I know what you are thinking…”but I have to have a cake topper”. In reality, cakes do look better with something placed on top, however it’s much better to sit down and go over what you want before it is purchased. Simply because what happens if your cake and topper don’t match? Mel and Tim wanted something on the top, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I quickly suggested that I make something to fill that void. I think what we came up with was great, and it suited it perfectly.

Congrats Mel and Tim, I hope youre day was everything you wanted. high five!!

Well, one year ago today, two of our closest friends got married! Little did I know that my first wedding cake would have been such a huge hit!

Thanks Donna for that picture!!!!

Since my husband Anthony and I were Curt’s guinea pigs to start his business, it only seemed right that Curt and Jes were mine. To this day it remains the same. They are often my guinea pigs for new flavours and any time there is extra cake they tend to get it! Happy Anniversary guys, I can’t believe it’s been a year already, and quite a year at that!

On that note, I feel the need to post these pictures. I am in love with them! Be sure to check out the gallery, lots of new cakes!

Have a great week everyone!

Hey everyone!!

What a wonderful vacation! Family and food, it doesn’t get much better than that. We had a great time, and now it’s back to work. I look forward to answering all of your emails and phone calls, thanks for being so patient!!!

Have a great weekend!

Ahhhhhhhh…..

I’ve been getting a few requests lately for repeat cakes. Normally I don’t really like to do this, however when it is a variation of the original design, it’s just another way to see it. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about.

The very popular original seashell cake.

…and the variation.

I got so many requests for the next cake, here is the original design:

another variation….

So if you see a cake that you like, but it doesn’t have to be as big as the one already created, we can still make it to fit what you want!

That’s my little tidbit of info for the week folks, enjoy your weekend!!!

It comes in all shapes and sizes. I’m finding lately, im noticing that it can be from anything, a shoe, to a random piece of paper. Constantly I find myself thinking, how would I make that into a cake, or wow that pattern would be cool replicated in icing. It’s always a new challenge.

This weekend was no exception. I was given a napkin used at a bachlorette party. Who knew it would result in such a cool cake! I was happy with the result.

Never be afraid to give me something that you might like to see replicated. You never know what it will result in!

Here are a few more highlights from the weekend. Thanks everyone!!

bzzzzzzz.

This weekend was great. Busy, but great! I had to call in my “staff”. I use that term loosely haha. My Mother in Law, Mother and Husband all helped me out with some baking this weekend. With 10 cakes, it was the smart thing to do. Here are the highlights from the weekend.

I’m loving that it’s spring time! Time for spring cakes…so exciting! I hope everyone is out enjoying the weather!

On a side note: if you’re trying to contact me and I don’t get back to you in a few days, don’t panic, weekends are very busy for me and I often don’t have time to answer emails until late Sunday or Mondays. Please be patient, I will get back to you. I appreciate all of your calls, emails and word of mouth. Keep it coming!

Enjoy the week everyone!

Back in early January, I was contacted by the Communications Intern with the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie & Algoma District, Shaylan Spurway. She had contacted me to inquire about me donating a cake for their 25th Anniversary Gala.  I was more than happy to jump on board. Not only is this a terrible disease, but it as effected my family as well as my husbands. How could I say no to something that was so close to my heart.

Shay and Bea came over to my house, and we immediately seemed to be on the same page. We stayed in contact for a few months making sure that things were moving along as planned. They chose a marble cake with vanilla buttercream to please everyone, which was a smart idea. Here is the final result.

It was pretty big! One of the biggest ones I have ever done. Nearly 200 forget me nots.

I was happy to help out the community that has been so great to me during this whole process. I can never say that enough.

I am grateful that Shay contacted me to do this. Grateful that I decided to help, and grateful for a new friend.

Very slowly, I’m starting to notice my transition from graphic designer to a cake artist. Don’t get me wrong, the basis behind them is very similar, and I really believe that I wouldn’t be learning so fast if it wasn’t for my background in design. I think this week was my turning point.

I had a client ask for a 50th birthday cake for her mother. According to the daughter, the mother loves bling, leopard print, louis vuitton, martinis and purple. The cake artist in me immediately started sketching. Now when I was in college I hated initial sketches, and I mean hated. I didn’t get the point. It took 8 years for me to FINALLY get it. On the computer its a simple command + z and you can continue. This is not the case for me anymore. Although I do think it very often. Which I believe will always stay with me, as many other designers do. “Oh I wish I could command +z that”. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it means undo. This doesn’t work with cake. The second you put black icing on a white cake, its there, no matter how hard you try to get rid of it, it stays. Same thing with carving cake. You can’t just “put it back” it’s done.

I found myself saying to my husband yesterday, “I feel like my job is one giant puzzle”. The more I think about it, the more it’s true. I see this final vision in my head pretty much after my initial consultation with my client, then it’s my job to have the final product look as much like it as I can…out of cake! It’s not an easy task, but I love it! It’s a challenge. This cake was nothing short of that.

I stood and stared at this 14″ square cake board for a good hour, just trying to decide where I wanted to put everything. Where as if I was still at my old job, or working on design at my laptop, I would have made 5 different versions of it and picked the one that I liked the best. Not here, what I decided was staying. Peeling fondant, icing and cake off a board is messy!

So I decided to make all the little pieces first (and the shoe took a week) while I was thinking. The bow, the tag, the purse accessories etc. Once that was done, I still hadn’t decided. This was by far my most ambitious cake to date. There was no turning back, I just had to start. Time was wasting.

So here is the end result. I really wish everyone could have seen it, it was awesome! I loved it, and felt proud.

The Louis Vuitton pattern on the bag is all hand painted, and it’s all edible.

A close up of some of the detail.

I’m in love with the gift tags lately. They add such a nice touch.

That bag is my pride and joy, and probably the closest I’ll ever get to a real one!

So now, I am a cake artist, not just a designer. I can’t see me being one without the other. These are all new experiences for me, I’m learning as I go and I’m so happy that everyone is following along with me!

Be sure to check out the gallery for the rest of the cakes from the weekend, including an 80′s cake, an anniversary cake, and a whole bunch of girls birthday cakes.

Have a great week everyone. Thanks again for all the support! Spread the word!!