Sunday Sweets: Like Buttah
March 22, 2009 Buttercream icing, that is.
Yep, here's another fondant-free installment for you purists out there. I've got nothing against fondant per se, but I do agree that all-icing decorations are much yummier. Besides, it's nice to see what cake artists can come up with when they're limited to non-fondant options.
First up, Alison B. of Town Lake Cakes certainly knows where the wild things are:
Alison, will you tell us your secret to drawing such perfect characters? I'm guessing you used either a stencil or possibly hand-drawn chocolate transfers - am I close? Of course, whatever you used, I love the result.
Speaking of love, I am gaga for the bright colors and glass-smooth icing on this Abby Cadabby cake Shelly M. got for her daughter's birthday:
Isn't it adorable? And you'd really never know it wasn't fondant, the lines are so clean. The bakers over at The Cake Stand in McKinney, Texas clearly have some mad skilz.
You know how we're always getting down on grocery-store decorators? Well believe it or not, not all of them are illiterate goofballs; some of them are real artists. And a few of these artists are determined to change my mind on the horror of CCCs. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. [eye roll]
However, I will grudgingly admit that this Squidward CCC is darn impressive:
The decorator in question whipped this up for a customer on the spot at the grocery store where s/he works, but asked to remain anonymous. For those of you not up on your Sponge Bob characters, here's a reference shot of Squidward:
Nice, huh? Or at least, it looks like him. ;)
And lastly, Jody H.'s creation - also a Cupcake Cake, and also all buttercream - is flatly astounding:
Wait, wait, wait. A CCC...with airbrushing... and it's NOT a WRECK?!? I think my head may implode: clearly we've entered some kind of parallel universe here.
Oh, and if you don't recognize Jose, the famous "Jalapeno on a Steeck", watch this:
(Note to moms: vid includes mild language.)
Reader Comments (94)
Cakes: Very cool.
Jeff Dunham: Racist idiot.
my gawd, the evill CCC is conquering the world of CakeWrecks! Noooooo! It's even on the Sunday Sweets! IT'S SCARING ME!
Love Jose!!! That person did a great job on him!
I love the "Where the Wild Things Are" cake! I was even more excited when I clicked the bakery link and saw that she is located in Austin, TX like me. I'll have to keep her in mind the next time I need a fancy cake. Austin represent!
First!
I love that guy on a stick!
Love the Where the Wild Things Are cake!!!!
Hey, I thought you might want to know about a particularly wrecky cake I saw at a wal-mart that shall remain namless.
It was... A RICE KRISPY TREAT CAKE!! I'm not joking. I would have gotten a picture, but the batteries on my digital camera died. I will try to find you a picture soon.
I wish I'd gotten amazing cakes like that for my birthday parties as a child!
Love the Jose cake, my friend is having a Jeff Dunham themed birthday and I'd love to suprise him with one!
I would wild rumpus the hell out of that first cake. I'm not a huge fondant fan so bring on that mofo
Awesome cakes! My only confusion belongs with the Jose cake... "Happy 10th Birthday"? On a cake referring to a character on a very adult comedy show? Not something I'd let my 10 year old watch, but the cake itself is freakin' AWESOME! :)
The first two are awesome!
The second two? While they aren't wrecks, per se, I don't think they are of Sunday Sweets caliber.
Oh, I love them!!! I just dug out my old copy of "Where the Wild Things Are" to read to my son and that cake is exactly like the book.
And I'm a huge fan of both Sponge Bob and Jef-f Dun-Ham (DOT COM) so those CCC I would totally buy.
Oh i LOVE the Squidward and Jose cakes!! I would have either of those in a heartbeat! How stinkin cute!
Jalapeno on a stick. Haha. I'd like to see a CAKE on a stick, is what I'd like to see.
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com)
Yeay! Go Jose! Love it!
Okay, I'll admit that's a pretty awesome rendition of Jose. But let's see someone pull off a non-wreck CCC of Achmed. Ha!
They were all awesome!! The wild things cake looks like a buttercream transfer to me.
Jef-f Dun-Ham (Dot Com) ROCKS, and my son squealed when he saw squidward!!
My brother saw Jose, and now we're happily watching Jeff Dunham who basically rules my house these days. I want one! XD
And, yes, I'm so glad that there's still people who believe in buttercream! Fondant always reminds me of edible playdough which sort of kills the thought of eating it for me.
~ Peace and Love
The Jalapeno cake looks better than the real puppet.
I love the Abby cake. That is the smoothest bc work I've ever seen!
I apologize for my ignorance, but what is CCC?
Squidward is very impressive, considering. The decorator did a good job. But the Sendak cake! Omg, that rocks. Why wasn't there anyone making those kind of cakes around here, when my boys were little and I reduced to a generic dinosaur cake?
OMG, I LOVE Jose! :)
I want a peanut cake.
Wait...jalapeno on a steeck for a ten year-old? I'm pretty sure Jeff Dunham doesn't even come on until after 11.
Those are some awesome cakes! I love that you have the beautiful cakes once a week to remind me that there are some wonderful cake artist out there.
Oh! It's a place I recognize. :3 The Cake Stand is amaaaazing, makes me kind of glad there's at least one good cake place in McKinney here, heh. (This area is so deeeead to anything but grocery stores, fast food, and retail.)
That Where the Wild Things Are Cake is absolutely awesome. Kudos to the decorator!
Awesome!! Squidward looks unhappy and everything! Now we just need a Peanut cake. :)
Sorry, but I can't see eating a cake with a green face on it that represents an anthro jalapeno.
WV: prowleck -- Okay, I don't know what it means, but it sounds naughty enough for Jeff Dunham.
Wow I WISH that I could find cakes like that at the grocery store!!
couple of ways to get pictures like on the wild things cake... you can trace a picture on some gelatin paper, put the paper on the cake, and trace over the lines. Or you can take a slide of the picture you want, project it onto the cake, and trace the outlines.
CCC=CupCake Cake
Jeff Dunham for a 10-year-old? Really?
Those are very nice!!
I love Jeff Dunham!! LOL
~Amy B.
wv: hismine (does that equal ours?)
I love Jose! I wonder which of his other characters will end up as cakes... Sweet Daddy D would be punny though.
It was kinda odd to see the Jose cake for a 10 year old. That's kinda disturbing.
Aaah!! Someone made the Jalapeno on the stick!! And the classic Where the Wild Things Are.....
these are sooo amazing!
are we sure those aren't cookies for the characters on that first cake? They look like they might be cookies.
"Where the Wild Things Are" — fantastic! Even the facial expressions are right!
And José the Jalapeno CCC is muy bueno! Thanks for the clip. I'd never seen José before, and seeing him reminded me of my childhood days with Senor Wences.
"S'right?"
"S'right!"
(Showing my age here.)
I am not fond of fondant cakes either although I can appreciate the time it takes to create them. I do only buttercream cakes myself, and the pink cartoon girl cake is smooth thanks to (I am assuming) VIVA paper towels. They are fantastic to use once the icing has air dried a bit to smooth out the surface if needed.
Those CCC's look good for a change, butI refuse to make them at our bakery. They are a pain in the rear to put together!
BTW, Jeff Dunham ROCKS and my kids love him and all his character puppets!
Love that Abby Cadabby cake! I'm a big fan of brightly colored cakes (when done well)...lol.
Julie from
http://www.cakesandkids.com" REL="nofollow">CakesAndKids.com
I would wild rumpus the hell out of that first cake.
Sitty Living, that was the best comment EVER! I'm totally going to use it.
OMG, I want that Squidward CCC now! (mostly because I love the character)
I think the Where the Wild Things Are cake involves the use of a couple frozen buttercream transfers. Print out a picture of what you want to create (flipped horizontally, so it's actually a mirror image), place a piece of parchment paper on top, and pipe your buttercream onto it. Freeze, then pop it onto a frosted cake.
If I'm right, though, that's a seriously epic-level transfer!
O_O Wow. Maybe the last two aren't really actual CCCs . . . do they still have the wrappers on the bottom?
Those are awesome!!
Oh my goodness! I just spent the last hour watching Jeff Dunham on YouTube. Love that Jose!
these are fantastic- on a steeek!
sj
http://bestiarumvocabulum.wordpress.com/
OMG - Jalapeneo on a STEEEEEEK!!! I love where that reference pops up. You just never know and it always cracks me up.
I would call that pepper a fail because Jeff Dunham is so very, very far away from anything resembling a win. Or funny and non-racist, for that matter.
O.M.G!!! Sendak, Squidward AND Jose in the same blog? and all rendered soooo well?!?! I luuuurrrvvveee it!