Past Project Friday

Every Friday I will be posting some sort of crafty project that I have completed in the past.  It could be anything from baking, to sewing, needlecrafts, art, decorating, etc.

I started decorating cakes about five years ago.  I had just gotten married and moved across the state with my husband, who was starting medical school.  Well, I learned pretty quick that I should consider myself lucky if I got to see my husband for at least 10 minutes at the end of the day with his intense schedule - so needless to say, I had a lot of time on my hands.  

I decided on a whim to sign myself up for the Wilton cake decorating classes that are offered at Joann's or Michaels.  I'd always liked baking, and it just seemed like something fun to do.  Well, it turned out that I was a pretty good cake decorator!  I ended up taking all three Wilton classes, and kind of struck out on my own after that; learning new methods by reading books, websites, and a whole lot of trial-and-error.

 

This cake was made a mere 4 months after taking my first class.  I volunteered to make the cake for our work Christmas party, and pretty much knocked the socks off of everyone when I walked in with this.

It's a chocolate cake filled with a mint chocolate ganache.  The cup of cocoa on top is made of cake with white chocolate steam swirls and marshmallows.  I made the snowmen out of fondant and the snowflakes are royal icing.

It's only fitting that I post about this cake today since just a couple of days ago the book 1,000 Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes hit the shelves, which features this cake!  I haven't seen it in person yet, but I think a trip to the bookstore is in order.  You can check it out for yourself here....