Hey everyone, Husband Mic here and we are rounding the third base of Season 3 of Amazing Wedding Cakes! I use a baseball reference because my hometown San Francisco Giants are kind of the World Series Champions and I'm gonna flaunt that while I can;)
This penultimate episode featured what I would call a classic Reva type cake dubbed the "Gypsy Rose." Bold colors, pretty flowers, a simple statement on a theme, those are the hallmarks of what Reva likes to do best. It can be easy to do a literal translation of an idea, like a sculpted cake or direct images of a favorite movie or character, but when we are presented with something like the My Fair Lady idea or this show and the general direction of retaining some theatricality, it is a challenge to find the right balance between meeting your goals and blending traditional wedding cake elements.
Megan and Andy weren't looking for something over the top, they wanted a wedding cake that looked like a wedding cake, but they also wanted hints of their lives. Reva had to design something that suggested the world of the theater, but stayed within the confines of a color scheme and of course, a budget! And... action!
Above: Reva explaining the idea of the Gypsy Rose to the cameras.
The big design element was going to be a simple fondant drape that swooped over the tiers. They were pegged as "theatrical" during the filming, but they weren't going to be like previous theater inspired drapes we'd done in the past. First, they wouldn't be as heavy and chunky like the fabric you'd see on stage and second they would stray from the darker reds and blues of the theater and be of a lighter French blue.
The roses were the next big addition to the cake, otherwise it would've just been the "Gypsy!" We used a combination of a few pre-made sugar roses for the smaller flowers and the hand made roses that you saw Reva and Marc working on in the show.
Always keep those egg crates handy cakers! The bigger ones are actually for avocados and work great for large petals. Talk to your local grocery store and grab a few for yourself! Here is a close up of the big "fantasy" rose Reva created for the cake.
Next up is what I dubbed "The Great Tassels Hassle of 2009." We made hundreds of them, but it felt like thousands! You saw it on the show, I was always sitting in the back cranking out gumpaste tassels! Marc got the ball rolling, but we could see he was gonna lose his mind at that table, so I got the call to tag in and save his sanity. Here's a closer look at the mold.
Just one of those things Reva picked up somewhere! She's always buying cake stuff! It actually wasn't too bad making all the tassels, just repetitive. That's when the TV usually comes on in the bakery, but for some reason the film crew doesn't like all that noise? Lucky for them, Marc, Reva, and myself are great at talking about nonsense in loud voices!! The TV doesn't sound so bad now does it camera crew? Here's just some of my handy work.
Did you like Marc trying to sell you pearls for $5.99? We were laughing all week doing that voice which was basically us poking fun at the Shamwow guy and his Slap'nChop commercial. "Can you see me camera guy? Look at these nuts!" I'm not lying, all week we were doing that and then Marc went off on the pearls! Glad some of it made it to the show because we were laughing our heads off.
Once the cake was stacked and sashed and the tassels and roses were ready, it was just a matter of Reva assembling everything in a pleasing fashion.
Here's a fun tidbit we couldn't share until this episode aired! The Gypsy Rose and the Pirate Ship cake were done at the same time! Check out Reva on one side working on roses and Marc on the other with his boat!
If that isn't enough, the Koi was also due that same week!! Here's all three as they headed over for the beauty shots at the studio.
As you can imagine, and as I've mentioned in the past, every cake gets delivered basically twice as we prep them not just for clients, but for the show. It is stressful for me and for the cakes, so we always have some touching up to do and often prepare a lot of extra flowers and stuff just in case. Here's Reva touching up the Gypsy Rose for her close-up.
The delivery was smooth as silk. A nice backyard reception area with easy access and a big driveway? I'll take that every time!! Put that cake on top of a handy rolling Cambro and we're ready to go!
Not too bad eh? Like I said, one of the big challenges is to know how to reign in a broad idea and turn it into a beautiful elegant wedding cake. Gander at some behind the scenes beauty shots while I make a cup of tea.
And that brings us to the last episode of the season next Sunday!! We close out the year with a Bollywood inspired cake that has lots of detail and more gold than Mr.T in the 80s! Well, maybe not that much, but there's a lot. Don't forget to check out the blog regularly as we post Silly Cake News and just about anything else we can think of. Thanks for watching everyone, you're the best!!
Reva, you guys are so creative! I just love watching you create. These are gorgeous. So far my favorite is the Day of the Dead cake--I'm a fan of LOTS of colors. Keep on keepin' on! Thanks, Colleen
Posted by: Colleen Barlow | 10 November 2010 at 09:15 PM
Awesome wedding cake. Looks so yummy...
Posted by: Bar Mitzvah Caterers Boston | 01 December 2010 at 08:45 AM