In My Sister's Kitchen

My sister (in-law) works harder than anyone I know at what she does.  In the three or so short years that she started her wedding cake design business Sugar! Wedding Cakes, she has grown to be one of the most in-demand cake designers in her city, and is now gaining national recognition for what she does.  This past month, she received the honor of being recognized in the Canadian magazine Weddingbells in a feature called "Canada's Prettiest Cakes".  I'm overdue to take this opportunity to give her a shout out and honor her success as an outstanding designer and business owner.  Here's the cake that was featured......to die for:

All of the decorations you see are handmade and completely edible.  She has developed such a signature style, and I love the ruffly, floppy-yet-perfect flowers that adorn this cake.  They remind me of peonies-- my favorite flower.  The colors she's incorporated are subtle blush tones, and the way this monochromatic scheme plays off of itself gives it a sophistication that would blend with many wedding colors/designs.  If you look close, you can also see edible vintage buttons placed strategically throughout the flowers.  Yes, she makes those as well--here's a close up:

Her work is truly outstanding, and its no surprise that she's commanding national attention.  The hours she puts in are long, and most weekends throughout the year are booked solid with at least two to three cake orders.  Here are a few more of my recent favorites, which I should add taste just as good as they look:

all photos courtesy of Sugar! Wedding Cakes

Yep.  She made these flowers too.....and you can eat them!  For a sugar-lover like me, it would be my dream job to work with icing sugar and cake batter all day, but I'll leave that to the pro--my sis, because she's clearly doing an outstanding job.  This weekend is a rare treat with no weddings or cake orders booked.  To celebrate, my brother is taking his girls (my sis and adorable niece) on a fun road-trip through Western Canada.  Well deserved, I say.

Be inspired by more creative and beautiful cakes here, and have a great weekend!

My Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend I headed back home to Canada to visit my family one last time before the baby is born.  I had  a very memorable time, and I want to take the opportunity to brag on my wonderful family for the great time they hosted for me while I was there. 

First, I got to see this little peanut, who is just as precious as ever, and is developing the most charming, fun-loving personality.

Then, my talented sister-in-law, who owns and designs wedding cakes for Sugar! Wedding Cakes invited me to help her with a one-of-a-kind creation for a wedding this weekend.  It was SO MUCH FUN, and the cake, which was inspired by the art of quilling, turned out beautifully!

Sugar! Wedding Cakes

 Sugar! Wedding Cakes

We had hours and hours of fun, and I was honored to be a part of this custom piece, which by the way, tastes as good as it looks.  The banana cake she makes is delicious, and cream cheese frosting is to die for!  The baby definitely got a sugar rush during my visit this weekend!  

In the midst of all of this fun, my sis topped it off by telling me that she was hosting a "surprise" baby shower on Sunday afternoon!  So exciting, and so appreciated by me.  Despite having cakes to bake, decorate and deliver all weekend, she managed to fit everything in, and threw me a wonderful shower where I had the opportunity to see old friends and dear family members from my "homeland".  And I certainly can't neglect to mention my amazing mom in all of this--it was the two of them who worked really hard to make this all come together in a beautiful (and delicious!) way.  Here's what they did:

Lovely little touches throughout the house--inspired by my color scheme for the baby's room, aqua and orange, and my love for little baby whales.

I love the handmade touches the best, and am so excited about this art piece my sis made for the baby's room--perfect color choices, and so well put together!  Beautiful job, and I can't wait to get it hung up in the completed nursery.

My mom's "cake" creation is so special to me.  She put it together with handmade receiving blankets (made by her, of course), and a collection of the tiniest, most wonderful little sleepers for the new baby boy.  It still seems surreal that we'll be welcoming him into the world in just two short months!

So together with a smattering of sweet desserts, an afternoon of fun and fellowship with family and friends (not to mention the generous gifts given by all), and the hard work and love my family poured into making this a memorable weekend, I'm one happy mama-to-be.  Thank you and love you lots, mom and Sheena!

Where I've Been.....

I'm back to the grind after a wonderful week away in Canada, visiting my dear family.  I'll take any excuse to visit my precious little niece, and since it happened to be her first birthday this past week, I couldn't possibly stay away!  My sister-in-law, designer and owner of Sugar! Wedding Cakes didn't disappoint, and the party she put together was full of personal touches that honored her darling daughter.

The color inspiration for the event came from this little dress....isn't that handmade flower hair clip the cutest! (And doesn't the girl wearing it make your heart melt?)

This is fabulous!  Maybe it would have been over the top for other first birthdays, but a cake designer has a standard to live up to.  I can also say that this cake tasted as good as it looked......banana layer cake with cream cheese frosting--my favorite!

Even the sprinkles on this cupcake topper were hand-rolled!

Vanilla cupcakes with matching frilly cupcake holders.....delicious as well.  I definitely indulged at this party!

The finishing touch was a yummy candy bar full of sugary treats that matched the birthday decor.  I was so honored to able to be a part of this great family event.  Although I had the privilege of helping my sister put it all together, the vision for the elements that went into it was all her.  Maybe she'll have to branch out and add "party planning" to her list of services :)  To see more of her stunning work with cakes, click here.

One more of the cute little family.....can't wait to see them all again :)

My Sister's Kitchen

I've had it in mind to post about this for months now, and its finally time.  I'm blessed to be a sister-in-law to one of the most talented cake designers out there.  My "sister" launched her wedding cake business just last year, and it has taken off in an amazing way, due largely to her amazing design skills and hard work ethic.  Its called Sugar! Wedding Cakes, and these beauties taste as good as they look.  It helps that my brother (her husband) is a marketing genius and has come up with all sorts of clever ways to promote the business.  She's currently based out of Saskatchewan, Canada, but I'm sure with the rising demand for talent and quality, she'll need to figure out a way to ship these creations elsewhere!  So without further hesitation, here is what happens in my sister's kitchen almost every weekend of the year--an amazing collection--some done as showpieces, and most done for her lucky clients.

The level of detail and pretty elements working together here just excites me!  This is among my favorite of her recent cakes (although its hard to choose)--I love the high contrast color scheme, quilting detail on the top tier, and cutout damask pattern on the bottom.  So striking.

There has been a lot of demand for this one, I think due to its soft tone-on-tone color palate and flawless execution.  Yes, my sis made all of those edible flowers on the top, and aren't those the most perfectly tied bows you've ever seen?

Another favorite.  I love this unique overlapping technique, created by using vertical strips of fondant.  Classic with a bit of an edge.

This cake has the perfect amount of whimsy and fun.  I've never seen a cake like it before, and I think it would be perfect for a bride who's all about frills and fancy.

If I had to do it all over again, this might be the cake I'd choose for my wedding (although I LOVED mine--I'll do a special post with photos of that cake).  I love how architectural and organic this one is, and again, so out of the ordinary.

I need to note that all of this piping was done by hand--often without a template of any kind.  Yes, she's that good.....:)

How fun are those Jones soda bottles with the couple's photo on them?  Great wedding favors, and the cake compliments the theme perfectly.

Another freehand cake creation--all of the cutouts and piping are an original design.....beautifully done!

all photos courtesy of Flare Weddings

This gorgeous composition was created as a replica of my brother and sister-in-law's own wedding cake.  They got married at Christmas, and wanted the cake to be a classy resemblance of Christmas gifts.  The original cake was done by my sis's parents, who are also cake geniuses.......and as you can see from all of these beautiful photos, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Oh, and one more thing.....the "icing on the cake" is the car they drive around to promote their business.  One of the most clever marketing strategies, if you ask me.....its called "The Sugar Cube"

I could post way more images, but I'll let you visit her website here to discover more of these beauties for yourself.  And after all of this, I'm craving chocolate cake and icing.....wonder why :)