Here’s an incredibly decadent small frame cake we designed and created for a wedding. For this cake we were pretty much given full creative control with just a few definite design requests from the happy couple that included lots of gold, simple blossoms, a lavish style in terms of overall look and a bit of an autumn/winter feel to the end cake.
With all of the fabulous elements that the couple requested in mind we decided upon a bit of a Rococo (always a favourite) influence combined with a luxurious jewel-inspired colour palette which pairs wonderfully with gold and copper accents.
The small bouquets nestled onto the cake are all hand-made from cmc reinforced sugarpaste / gum paste. Following the request for simple blossoms we picked out the silk taffeta damson-style blossoms from the table centrepieces and invites to use as small arrangements adorning the cake. Each was lightly dusted with shimmering gold lustre dust and further accented with burgundy tinted hypercium berries and sugar leaves.
When we designed the cake a few sketches featured the use of grosgrain ribbon to add a little dimenson to the cake’s decor. This idea came from looking though fashionable attire that straddled both the Rococo era and Baroque for women’s necklaces being tied about the neck with silk ribbons. After initially assembling it was clear a little bit of black grosgrain ribbon with chevron snipped tails was needed.
To a nice element of drama as well as to fulfil the couple’s request for lots of gold we decided to carefully gild the smaller top tier with sheets of edible gold leaf. This also added a wonderful bit of texture and a touch of the rustic look.
Using gold leaf is fairly costly and can be quite the challenge. Applying the edible gold took a fair bit of steadiness as well as minutes of holding one’s breath to complete. Our tips for trying out this technique is to use cake decorating tweezers to lift the top two corners of the sheet, carry it slowly to the cake and drape over the side and top before lightly brushing the leaf on to the tier. Also, don’t wet the fondant covering of the cake before doing so!
It was so sad to see this stunning piece leave us as it is definitely our style of cake from the realistic florals to the lavish usage of gold.
We based this design loosely on a stunning gold sequin gown in Elie Saab’s A/W 2012 collection. We simplified the design with plain ivory tiers and large sugar magnolia flowers featuring gold dusted centres. Originally, sugar Juliet roses were to feature perched upon each tier, however, we thought that a more structured floral would work better and also add a more sleek look to the end design.
To add a touch of the romantic we covered and trimmed the board with blush pink fondant and a gorgeously sumptuous liquid gold ribbon finished with our usual double looped bow held with a crystal tipped pin. The board itself ended up being somewhat reminiscent of the Miss Dior Cherie perfume bottles and packaging!
The ‘sequin’ look can be a fairly time consuming and costly process, but it’s certainly worth it if you have the time, resources and patience and if you’re looking for a show-stopping technique! We lost count of how many large bottles of edible gold paint it took to paint this.
We created the magnolia flowers ourselves, as with all of our florals. To begin the process of flower making we always sit down and analyse photographs making notes of texture, sizing, curve, petal count and colour. There are times, however, when a little creative licence is needed so that a particular bloom works with a design rather than against it. These white magnolias were inspired by the Milky Way variety, but instead of the deep pink centres we created them out of ochre gum paste and stamens dusted gold.
This is easily one of our favourite designs in the collection. It is a lovely clean design with detail featuring only on the front of the cake. We created a hand quilted frame inlay of white fondant brushed with glimmering lustre dust before applying pieces of ochre coloured fondant mouldings around the edge and finally hand painting this feature with edible gold paint.
The cake displays such a rich design from just the frame-work alone that we decided to keep the florals to a minimum. Originally, we had sketched this design with roses, hydrangeas, apple blossoms and cherry blossoms; however, we finally chose to stick to simple frosted fantasy berries, sugar leaves, and hand-made ruffled pink cherry blossoms!
The little pops of bright pink from the sugar cherry blossoms add another dimension to the cake and help liven and brighten up the white and ivory tiers. Utilising a more simple floral style helps keeps the main focus of the cake on the ornate gold frame as well as keeping the ye moving up and down the design!
Our entire collection encompasses inspiration from textural fashion (sequins, ruffles, quilting) and antique French elements found in lavish interiors (such as mouldings, scroll-work, and hand painted gold and silver touches). We’re, our course, excited to reveal the remaining cakes from the collection so keep checking back for more news and photographs!
