Treasure Chest Cake

After a short hiatus to take handle some things in my personal life - I'm back in caking action :)

I made this treasure chest cake for my friend George's daughter's 5th birthday party, and it was SO much fun to make.  It's pretty much the first 3-D, non-standard shaped cake I've made, and definitely challenged me a bit to think outside of the box.

The lid was made out of rice krispie treats; the box portion was yellow cake filled with chocolate buttercream.  I covered the whole thing with dark chocolate fondant, and created the pearl strands, coins, and chest embellishments out of fondant and gumpaste.  And of course - what's a treasure chest without a little beach element - the cake was surrounded by graham cracker crumb "sand".  I'm absolutely thrilled with the result!

Happy 5th birthday Zoe!!

National S'mores Day!

Hi all.  Me again.  I know it's been over a month since I last posted, but life took some unexpected twists and turns (isn't life good at doing things like that?).  However - I'm pretty much back, and looking forward to sharing more sugar with all of you!

Did you know that today is National S'mores Day??  Head on over to the Sugar Turntable to check out the recipes for s'mores pops and peanut butter crunch s'mores bars - no campfire required!  Or, if you have a little bit more time on your hands, check out the recipe for my amazing s'mores cupcakes.