Sunday Sweets; Fondant Free!

A lot of you have requested that I feature some non-fondant cakes for Sunday Sweets. (For you non-bakers, fondant is a kind of sugar dough which makes cakes look ultra-smooth.) Turns out, that's easier said than done; most bakeries these days use fondant almost exclusively. Still, the more I looked, the more I wanted to feature some butter cream-only Sweets, if for no other reason than to show that you still CAN make a beautiful cake without the aid of fondant, and also without all the expensive doo-dads the pros use.

As usual with my Sunday Sweets, I don't have the credits for all these photos, so if you recognize a cake please let me know who made it so I can link to their site. Thanks!

First up, a cute-as-a-button Strawberry Shortcake Cake from Pink Apron:

I like that she used sugar cookies instead of solid fondant for the name (and probably the strawberries, too, although I can't be sure); I'm always in favor of a cake being as edible as possible. The colors, the little flowers - it all just works. Love it.

Next up is a super fun cake that's surprisingly easy to make, considering how cool it looks:

See, I know it's easy, because I actually made one before. Yeah - me. (This is not it.) You can also make the popcorn using fondant, but it's much easier (and yummier) to make it with icing.

This next one uses a nifty icing technique where you dab it on with a brush or sponge:

Sad looking, worn-out teddy bears = unbearable cuteness, in my book. This little guy is by Sarah of The Little Bakehouse.

And finally, here's a great example of all kinds of different piping techniques:

Simple, maybe, but Tammy over at The Piece of Cake knows her way around a piping bag. That basket weave ain't easy, folks!

The best part is anyone who has taken the Wilton classes can make this cake; I'm pretty sure they teach every technique used here, including the flowers. I'm not plugging for Wilton, mind you (I haven't forgiven them yet for those CCC kits) - but I've known some great Wilton instructors in my time.

Sunday Sweets: Cupcakes!

A few of you still seem to think I have a problem with cupcakes. Not so! In fact, today's post features some awesome cupcake designs that get the Jen stamp of approval.

Check out this fabulousness from Bakerella:

It's everyone's favorite fat cat: Garfield! I used to collect the books when I was a kid. How cool is it that Bakerella included Pooky and Nermal, the World's Cutest Kitten, too?

Since I'm more of the Garfield generation, I don't claim to know who any of these Pokemon characters are:

But they sure are cute. Reader Kelly made them for her son's birthday. Ok, Kelly, you got me: I do love them.

And lastly, many of you have sent in these 3 beauties made by hello naomi over on Flickr:

See, now this is the way to do a cupcake-cake: don't ice them all together, and reference an 80's video game!

Another example:

I call dibs on the green mushroom!

Not only are these robot cupcakes the perfect collision of geekdom and cuteness, but the parts are also interchangeable. So, you can mix up the heads and arms and such to make different robot cupcake combos. Super nifty.