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This unique bespoke 3 tier wedding cake is inspired by the day the groom proposed to his bride on a gondala in the romantic city of Venice.
Inspired by a Venice proposal
I was supplied with photographs of the bride and groom, flowers for the brides bouquet, colours and an idea of a gondala complete with the bride and groom to sit on top.
At first I sketched out a preliminary design that was 2 tiers for the bride and groom to approve. Eventually they changed it to 3 tiers as the wedding got bigger.
All the decoration was made in advance ready to be applied to the cakes which would be covered a few days before the actual wedding.
3D Gondala made of modelling paste
This gorgeous cake topper was made separately from the cake. I like to make it this way so it is detachable from the cake and can be kept as a keepsake of their special day.
When designing this topper, I focused on looking what a gondala really looks like in photographs, and in doing this I found out that if I created one true to an original it would be very large with very small people on it which wouldn’t work.
So this gondala is a stylised version to create impact and therefore characters that are a good size for the cake.
Making sure the figures and gondala are the correct size for the cake is important
‘Blue Moon’ roses, white roses, Lavender, Gypsophila and ‘Dusty Miller’ silver leaves (all in the brides bouquet) were hand made. The Lavender and Gypsophila were created using florists wire and was removed before the cake was cut.
The bottom tier comprised of an elaborate quilt effect on which the delicate flowers sat.
Roses, Lavender, Dusty Miller and Gypsophila flowers adhorn all side off the top of the third tier
It was safer to take the cake and topper in separate boxes so it was assembled at Woodborough Hall, Nottingham ready for the evening reception.
Wedding cake taking pride of place at Woodborough Hall
My original sketch outlining the design for the bride and grooms approval.
A sketch of initial concept
This 10 inch square sponge cake was created last week. It needed to have a clean and simple but intricate stylish design for Bill’s 80th birthday party.
Bagpipes, Canal Boat and Aeroplane 80th Birthday Cake
Firstly I consulted with the client about what kind of style, detail and colours they required which then followed with a computer generated design sent by email for approval.
It’s always best to ask about the person whose birthday it is; what do they like to do, follow, hobbies etc., and then it gives you an idea what to make for the cake.
Designed on a computer first.
To give you an idea of the scale (how small) this design is the plane was about 70mm long. All created using modelling paste onto a board covered with sugarpaste, this was produced a few days before covering the cake so it gave me plenty of time to get it right. The board was then attached to the cake with royal icing which meant that prior to cutting the cake, the design could be removed and saved for memories.
Bespoke 80th Birthday cake
Techniques used in this design involved hand modelling, hand painting and piping and therefore take time and care to reach the desired effect.
I will always endeavour to reply to your enquiry within 48 hours. If you have not heard from me in that time it suggests that there is an error with my mailbox or server which I am currently unaware of and I would therefore ask that you try to contact me by phone or text. Thank you.
Hello all. It’s a while since I have been on here – getting a lot of house renovating and other stuff done. Now we are in the new year it’s an exciting time. British Sugar Guild exhibition at Telford in May – our branch, Burton Joyce, have all hands on deck producing a design I created for entering a table in the exhibition branch competition… that will be thrilling.
But for the time being I have been thinking of new designs to take with me when I am demonstrating and this one, would you believe it, was inspired by a cushion.
Mainly hand cut flowers and leaves with piped stitching effect
I was just sitting in my living room when I glanced across at a cushion on my chair and thought that would make a lovely cake… then I did nothing with it and 6 months later I finally got around to it. It is not copied exactly like the cushion but I just used it to get my brain in gear.
Pretty Cushion Inspired Cake Detail
To start with I made templates out of watercolour paper for the leaves and large flowers (it’s quite stiff but easy to cut and store templates). Rolling out the modelling paste to about one millimetre I proceeded to use my templates and cut out my pink and blue flowers. This style does not require any thinning on the edges with the ball tool – just cut and use. I then used blossom and forget-me-not cutters on the smaller flowers.
Making the leaves are the same process as the large flowers. When attaching these to the cake they were not glued totally flat – it’s nice to lift the edges off the cake slightly to give it a 3D effect. Then trimmed with a little delicate piping with royal icing to look like stitching.
With the balls around the bottom I made one the size I wanted and then keeping that aside I measured all the others next to it to get roughly the same size throughout. Now there is probably an easier way or a tool to do this but as you know I do not own a lot of tools and the least amount of tools I use the better – it makes you have more creative flair.
This cake design is ideal for any type of celebration cake – pretty cake for a teenagers birthday or it can even be translated into a beautiful wedding cake.
If you’d like me to decorate a cake in a bespoke style or something completely different for your special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area. Please feel free to leave me an email or a message and I will always get back to you as soon as possible.
I will always endeavour to reply to your enquiry within 48 hours. If you have not heard from me in that time it suggests that there is an error with my mailbox or server which I am currently unaware of and I would therefore ask that you try to contact me by phone or text. Thank you.
This cake was designed around a Play Station hand console for a boy who loves playing all varieties of computer games that are available in todays world of new technology and gadgetry.
Hand Made Modelling Paste Hand Console Cake
Firstly I don’t play computer games so I had to research what a hand console looked like. I basically printed a photo off the internet to the correct size and cut out a template of the shape. After rolling the black modelling paste to the desired height I used the template to cut out the main body of the console then proceeded to rub my fingers around the sharp edges to soften. Creating the handles was a different technique of rolling the modelling paste into a sausage, then reducing one end to a soft point and then cutting out the other end to fit the main body again using the template. This was finished by hand painting all the symbols in edible food colouring.
Birthday Wishes
The square sponge cake is covered in pale orange sugarpaste on which the console sits. Finished off with royal icing piped birthday wishes and black and red stripes to create a striking cake.
If you’d like me to decorate a cake in a bespoke style or something completely different for your special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area. Please feel free to leave me an email or a message and I will always get back to you as soon as possible.
Hello everyone. Just completed this fantastic 1st rosette birthday cake for Emma who likes horses and likes to win too.
It’s been created in pastel blues, yellows, and greens with pretty flowers around the base (she doesn’t like pink but the cake still looks pretty).
Fortunately I had a rosette in the house to model this from. My husband came first in a classic car show with his Rover P6 and it’s usually hung up on his computer. It is always a great help if you have an actual item in front of you that you are making so you can see all the details and shape from every angle – obviously if you were modelling something like a horse this wouldn’t apply….lol.
After creating the ribbons and rosette in modelling paste the cake was completed by piping 1st Emma and Happy 11th Birthday… and the cake was absolutely loved by the little lady.
If you’d like me to decorate a cake in a bespoke style or something completely different for your special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area. Please feel free to leave me an email or a message and I will always get back to you as soon as possible.
I was commissioned to create this bespoke wedding cake with its cascade of hand-crafted flowers for a couple who loves owls. These cute owls sit on the branch of the delicately hand-painted bride and groom’s names in a beautiful script font.
A single tiered wedding cake with hand-made flowers, hand-painted names and owls
Small pink roses, purple pansies, pink hydrangeas and tiny lily of the valley flowers adorn this one tier fruit cake. All of them made from petal paste and some piped royal icing for the the lily of the valley stems.
Roses, Hydrangeas, Pansies and Lily of the Valley hand-made flowers
The owls were gently sitting with the names so it would compliment the design and add to the overall effect.
Close-up of the hand-painted detail
These hand-made owls are so cute…looking into each others eyes that they make this a special and unique wedding cake.
Overall view of the wedding cake
If you’d like me to decorate a cake in a bespoke style or something completely different for your special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area. Please feel free to leave me an email or a message and I will always get back to you as soon as possible.
This was a first for me…to design a cake topper incorporating a man fishing for a 50th Birthday cake. I had to do my research for what he would wear and what shape the fishes would be. When I create my designs I like some form of realistic reference (not anybody elses cake ideas I must stress they are totally original) and then just let the idea flow and take a form of its own.
He had to be decked out in his fashionable fishing gear with his catch of the day…well nearly anyway. So sat on a lush green bank at the edge of a bright blue pond he is relaxing in the sun and enjoying trying to catch the biggest fish ever.
I used modelling paste for my character and fishes and modelling paste with Tylo powder for the sign, rod and basket as these needed to be harder so they could stand up andnot flop over.
I started off by covering the square vanilla sponge cake with green sugarpaste and then after leaving it to harden I then proceeded to make the pond with marbled blue sugarpaste.
Using the end of a paintbrush I formed small ripples around the waters edge to give it some movement.
For the grass I first attached a large piece of green sugarpaste and moulded it into a shape that resembled a mound. To get a rough texture I used a cocktail stick (any pointed tool will do) and dragged it upwards and all-over until all the green turned into grass.
I built the little man (he ended up about 6 inches tall) from his feet up. I first applied the boots and then the legs went on separately. The next section was his body and then his arms. At this point I inserted a lollipop/modelling stick to secure his body in place and then finished off with his head and hat.
The fish that’s caught on the fishing line in the pond was created our of white modelling paste and then hand painted. On the basket I used my pallet knife to draw the basket weave pattern onto it before constructing it with edible glue. After leaving it for 24 hrs to dry I filled it with white sugarpaste and then painted the fishes in it too.
The fishing rod does have wire inside it to stop it flexing and breaking and the same wire then is the wire on the rod to catch the fish. This part is removed before eating the cake as it is not edible but needed be this way to get the best results.
If you’d like me to decorate a cake in a similar bespoke style or something completely different for your special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area. Please leave me an email or a message and I will always get back to you as soon as possible.
You will probably recognise this cake but notice that its more vibrant in colour than before. I decided to take my first design one step further to show how the design can evolve into this beautiful celebration cake.
All the previous hand-painting made the the gold, turquoise and a hint of silver easy to apply – like a childs colouring-in book.
This design would be wonderful for any type of celebration cake – even a wedding cake with a difference.
If you’d like me to decorate a cake in a similar bespoke style or something completely different for your special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area. Please leave me an email or a message and I will always get back to you as soon as possible.
This fantastic cake was designed for an avid Welsh Rugby Fan for his 80th Birthday party. The cake was a conglomerate of the Welsh flag, a rugby ball and some bright yellow daffodils.
Designed for a Welsh Rugby Fan
First of all I moulded the rugby ball in my hands to get the correct shape and then added the stitching and other details. Next came the tricky flag; the red dragon was cut out by hand and attached to the flag which in turn was attached to the cake and finished of with an edible black pen to create the outlines.
Handmade Rugby Ball And Sentiments
To finish off this design was the cheerful handmade daffodils. For that extra special touch I added some cupcakes with rugby ball and daffodil detail. Some royal icing piping and the wording and voila a finished work of art.
If you’d like me to decorate a similar cake for a special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers to the East Midlands area.
The title says it all really – a cake following the ‘Keep Calm’ trend of the moment.
A great style for a birthday cake.
All these words were hand cut to match the birthday invite I designed. The small letters came out sharper than I imagined and the crown came out a treat finished with piped icing.
Flower and piped detail on the side of the cake.
The final embelishments are the edible printed photos of the lady whose birthday cake it was for.
These detailed letters and crown were hand cut to match an existing invite.
This design could be easily transfered to a wedding cake.
If you’d like me to decorate a similar cake for a special occasion then please feel free to contact me for a quote. Copper Top Cakes is based in Nottingham and delivers the East Midlands area.
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