Today I thought I would share this pretty two bee themed cake I made for a 65th birthday.

The client contacted the Vanilla Pod Bakery via email and told me the recipients likes and dislikes, how many people they wanted the cake to feed and what flavour they wanted. From there I designed a few sketches and the client chose his favourite.

From start to finish this cake took 3 weeks to organise, design and create. Normally, I like a bit more time but I had a rare free space so happily took on the order.






It was quite tricky working with the dairy free buttercream to crumb coat the cake and then cover with sugarpaste icing, as normally I use a chocolate ganache to crumb coat. But overall I was very happy with the cake and the client was too.

This fantastic cake continues to be a wedding favourite and is fast becoming a classic cake design. Yet there are still so many options within it. Today I thought I would showcase a few cakes that use both light and dark sponges, and how using these contrasting colours adds another dimension to the rustic but elegant cake.

The first cake we can see is one I made for a wedding fayre as a real live example.  Previous to this display cake all of my brides had opted for the single tone look. However, now I have shared this image the two tone look is now becoming popular with my couples as well.

The one below showcases a simplistic take on the Naked Cake. It has exposed layers of ruffly buttercream (created using a large star nozzle and piping bag), it is then dressed with fresh fruit, a satin ribbon, fresh pink flowers and finished with a dusting of icing sugar.

Simplistic Mary Berry Cake

Two Tone Mary Berry Cake

Lovely testimonial from bride who had the cake above.

Day 7 and I am on a roll! Today I am going to share this super Final Fantasy themed wedding cake I made in March for a lovely couple who got married in Egypt Mill,  Nailsworth.

Final Fantasy Themed Wedding cake

The couple first approached me about two years ago and we met for a tasting consultation at my old bakery, where together we designed their dream wedding cake. I thought it was a fantastic idea as it was so personal to them.

Fast forward to now, and wow, that two years went by fast! At the beginning of March 2015 it suddenly dawned on me that this cake will be quite a challenge! I had previously sketched the design so I studied that hard,  and then went on my journey of ordering and purchasing all the ingredients and equipment needed.

I started the modelling process seven days before the wedding day. Using homemade rice crispy treats, white chocolate, lots of dowels and sugarpaste I created the mushroom tree trunk house which I was very happy with. Then over the next couple of days I went on to make the wild flowers and the two Moggie figures. By this time it was three days until the cake was required so I got on with the baking process. The couple opted for a Poppy Seed and Lemon Drizzle cake for the bottom tier and a Orange Blossom Drizzle cake for the top. The also ordered a Battenburg, tray of Triple Chocolate Brownies, a small Rich Fruit Cake  and a tray of Bakewell Tart. So there was quite a lot to do.



After the baking, I coated the two tiers with white chocolate ganache to protect them and make sure that they held their shape. Once set I then stacked the cakes and whipped up some green buttercream, which I then lovingly applied to the cake. The cake was finished with the decorations and I then stood back to admire my work. However, I wasn't happy, something was not quite right, and I couldn't put my finger on it.  I thought the best thing to do it leave it for a couple of hours and come back to it.

I came back a couple of hours later and realised the buttercream was just too dark and too green, and getting darker and green by the minute!  I was not at all happy with it. So I painstakingly removed all the decorations and the dark green buttercream. And started the decoration process again, I whipped up a fresh batch of pale green buttercream, lovingly applied and reattached the wildflowers and tree trunk. I even had to make a few extra wild flowers as some had got damaged in the removal stage.

I am 100% happy that I that that, as it completely changed the look of the cake. The pale green buttercream, made it look romantic and pretty,  and perfect for a spring wedding.

The cake was safely delivered and I received a wonderful testimonial from the couple a few days later. I absolutely loved making this cake, it was a fantastic challenge.

The Wonderful Testimonial

Hello Blog Readers! You may have noticed I haven't written in here for a couple of weeks but I am still doing my blog challenge, it is taking a lot longer than expect! The reason being, I have been super busy baking here at Vanilla Pod Bakery with lots of birthday cakes, wedding cakes and cupcakes flying out the door....which I will blog about in the next coming days - watch this space!

But for now, as I approach Day 6 of my blog challenge, and I thought I would write about Easter Inspirations for beautiful spring weddings.

Whether you are religious or not Easter is a major holiday, and is a wonderful time of year to spend with friends and family. Over the last 5 years I have had the privilege to create many beautiful Easter wedding cakes (like the buttercream one below) and attend a few friends Easter weddings too.


I particularly like the colour palette for Easter weddings, many of my past couples have opted for spring yellows, pretty pastels and glamorous golds.  I have created wedding cakes for weddings which used Easter eggs and some which don't and either or looks stunning.

If your planning your Easter wedding, or you are just feeling inspired I have put together a beautiful Easter Pinterest board (which I had great fun doing). Even if your not getting married, it has a wonderful selection of pins to inspire your Easter weekend table settings, delicious recipes to serve friends and family,  as well as a super cute furry beings to keep you entertained.