Wild Cakes

Zombie Proposal

2011-01-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

I received an email a few months ago, inquiring about a cake as she wanted to propose to her boyfriend.

Well right away, I was interested! Her next line completely sold me though... she said "we're really into zombies" I knew then that I HAD to do this cake! Weird and wonderful, creepy and ghoulish are my favourite themes! Turns out that they also love Harry Potter and computers, as well as the movie "Alien" so we combined those things to create this dementor-ish zombie emerging from a computer CPU.

As I worked on this cake, he developed quite a personality (yes, I DO anthropmorphize my cakes!) so he needed a name. I settled on Rob. Rob Zombie. (for those of you too old or too young or just not into heavy metal and horror, just Google the name.)

Rob ended up rather larger than I had originally planned, and as this client wanted to pick up the cake, she had to scramble to find a vehicle to transport him (he was NOT fitting into her small car!) Well she managed to rope in a friend with a station wagon and we twisted and turned and tilted until we got Rob into the back. With approximately 1/4" clearance for his head, I wished them safe driving!

She assures me that he survived to made his grand entrance, and that "the cake was the best thing I've done, and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing."

I just wish that he had said yes. :(

Alice in Wonderland

2010-07-23T14:18:00.009-04:00

Just competed in a fabulously fun cake competition at Icing Inspirations in Kitchener last weekend! The cakes were amazing, prizes were phenomenal, and the judges were totally sweet!

I entered both the professional tiered cake division as well as the open sculpted division. Unfortunately, my sculpture of Mallymkus the doormouse had a little... incident on the way. It was a 40 minute drive, and less than a minute from the store, I had to brake a little hard. I

heard a soft "thump" in the back and didn't dare look until I got to the competition.

THIS is what I found:

And minutes later...

That is when I decided to rename her "Revenge of the Bandersnatch" Despite the fact that she fell on TOP of the Bandersnatch's eyeball there on her hip, it survived without a scratch!

Yes, I did get photos before I delivered her:

Fortunately, my tiered cake fared better on the drive! For those of you who may not really know me, I should explain something before I show you these photos. I don't really like "traditional" looking cakes. I hate doing piping and stringwork and ruffles. Unfortunately, in most competitions, those are the gold standard that judges are looking for as they can be quite difficult techniques.

Generally, I ignore that, and do a cake that is my own style anyhow; I enter competitions to push myself further, not really worrying about winning.

So...this competition was something different! The judges were young and hip cake artists. The theme was fun and whimsical; funky and wild! In other words... right up my alley.

So what did I do?

Yep. Lace. Ruffles. Insanely tiny piping. Crazily intricate stringwork in alternating colours. Delicate teacup made of gumpaste. Itty bitty black buttons with gold stars.

WHY?

My daughter says I have gone so far past normal that I am simply coming back around to it. My husband says I just have a pathological need to stand out and be different.

Either way, in a sea of wildly colourful and crazily funky cakes... I produced this uber-traditional cake based on the details in Alice's dress at the beginning of the Burton movie.

Here are some close ups:

Gumpaste teacup... hand made & painted.

Stringwork.

Based on Alice's striped petticoat.

Tiny detailed embroidery pattern.

Based on the hem of her dress.

Completely out of character for me, but nobody guessed it was my cake! Which was good, as one of the judges is a friend of mine, and I had to work really hard not to give away anything about my cake beforehand because I didn't want to bias her! Needless to say, she was utterly shocked when she found out this was mine!

Huge thanks to Vera at http://alice-kingsley.livejournal.com/ who had researched so many of the details of the dress, and who kindly shared her template of the embroidery pattern!

Sweet Naughtiness

2010-06-05T19:53:00.006-04:00

naughty bed
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

boudoir scene cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

Perhaps my favourite cakes are the ones that tell a story... that have a sense of humour... that have new details to notice every time you look at them.

I am also partial to the naughty cakes for the simple reason that my kitchen is in the basement of a parish hall, and there is a delicious frisson at having to hide the evidence of my work when the church ladies come down to say hello. (not to say that my naughty cakes are a big secret; it was discussed before I started working there, but not everyone shares my sense of humour!)

In any case... this week I had the opportunity to replicate a design I did a couple of years ago for my sister-in-law's stag and doe.

There is nothing actually shown on this cake that would make it X-rated, yet the design is two of the naughtiest cakes I have done. The new version of this cake includes a police hat (groom-to-be is a cop) and a naughty-nurse's uniform (yep, bride-to-be is a nurse)

Here Lies Cory's Youth...

2010-05-12T17:39:00.003-04:00

This past week was my husband's 40th birthday. He REALLY doesn't like milestone birthdays so I tend to be relentlessly cruel (years past have included singing balloon-o-grams from Father Time delivered to his work, amongst other entertainment!)

I decided to go easy on him this year. we went out for dinner with his family to one of his favourite restaurants. Bought him a ticket to see one of his favourite singers in concert. Gave him a mushy birthday card.

Then made him this cake...

Bridezilla

2010-04-19T15:32:00.003-04:00

I have been itching to share this cake with you, but since it was for a competition, I had to keep it under wraps!

The competition required the cake to be a 3 tier wedding cake. Each tier was to look like a gift box and have a lid, a bow & a ribbon.

Well as you can guess by the name of my business, doing something that straightforward for a display cake was not going to happen! I needed to make it WILDER!

Presenting: BRIDEZILLA!!!

Do you like her ring? How about her french manicure? Her lovely complexion??

Or the back of her lovely gown?

LOL... say something nice... those teeth look SHARP!

I just LOVE the look of terror on the groom's face!

I didn't place (I did have some non-conformance issues) but was a close runner-up for the People's Choice award, and I believe the public was nearly as amused as I was, so that's win enough for me!

class with Mike McCarey!

2010-03-30T09:22:00.003-04:00

I have just come back from a 2-day structures class with Mike McCarey (Mike's Amazing Cakes)

and WOW!!! The class was AMAZING!! Mike (and his assistant Mike) were so friendly and approachable, energetic and just soooo much fun to be around!! The amount of knowledge Mike shares in 2 short days is phenomenal!

If you have seen him in TV, you may remember his Sesame Street Big Bird cake... well we did a half-size version of it! (yes, that is MY cake at the top of this post!)

So, without further ado... BIG BIRD ON PARADE!

winter wedding cake

2010-02-21T21:37:00.001-05:00

winter wedding cake view 2
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

Just had to share this adorable winter wedding cake! This one was actually commissioned by my cousin who was getting married nearly 6 hours away from my shop! (no... I don't make that sort of delivery for just anyone!!!)

It was really fun to actually attend a wedding with my cake, and hear the reaction of all the guests!

pirate guinea pig cake

2010-02-16T15:44:00.001-05:00

pirate guinea pig cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

Perhaps my favourite recent animal cake! This was for my son's 6th birthday... he was having a pirate themed party, then saw the movie G-Force and begged us for a guinea pig!

Well since rodents freak my hubby out, that's not going to happen. Instead, my son got this adorable cake (complete with a "wooden" peg leg at the back which you can't see in this photo!)

Props to my friend Debbie who did an incredible white guinea pig cake which inspired me to do this cake!

cow cake

2010-02-08T13:04:00.001-05:00

cow cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

This cake always makes me grin. I love doing very personal cakes, even if they make no sense to anyone else!

This more than 2 foot tall jersey cow was created for the grandfather of a very dear friend. He was turning 90(!) and they were celebrating in style!

Though not privy to the whole story, I was told that he raised jersey cows for most of his adult life, loves he tv shows, and enjoys nothing more than a bowl of cheese curds and maple syrup. His nemesis has been a saucy squirrel who lost his tail but still manages to torment!

So we put all of those factors together and sat the saucy squirrel on the back of the cow; noshing on a bowl of Grandpa's favourite snack while hogging the TV remote!

Harley Cake

2010-02-02T09:55:00.001-05:00

Harley Cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

Another non-carved, non-wedding cake (yes, we DO make those, sometimes!)

Everything on the cake is edible (except the handlebars!)

ocean blue

2010-02-02T09:53:00.001-05:00

ocean cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

A beautiful blue ocean cake for a lovely young woman who really wants to vacation in Mexico again!

Hamilton Bridal Show

2010-01-16T22:14:00.010-05:00

A few shots of our Hamilton-Haldimand Spring Bridal show booth. We decided to go with deep rich tones this year; shimmery plum and metallic green-gold. Very hot colours this year!

I just love green!

Our show-stopper this season!

Steampunk Cake

2010-01-15T15:13:00.008-05:00

Well it has been forever since I last blogged... sorry about that!

I am going to aim for weekly posts to keep you all entertained... we'll see how that goes! LOL

I just HAD to share my latest favourite cake which I created for my bridal show display this year!

It's my Steampunk Wedding Cake.

I found these delightful cake toppers on-line and knew I had to have them! I began designing a cake for them just as soon as they arrived. I wanted to combine a traditional design with unique

details and colours; just as the steampunk aesthetic combines Victoriana with mechanical fantasy!

photo courtesy of the Builders Studio via Flickr

So I pulled the gorgeous metallic colours from the topper... copper, bright silver, bronze, and brushed silver, along with a small accent of bright brass. The base traditional design is simply the 4 tier round cake with a cascade wrapping around the cake as it descends the tiers. However, instead of a floral cascade, I ordered custom cutters in the shape of several different gears. Each

gear was cut out of gumpaste and dried. Then it was airbrushed on both sides to one of the 5

colours (most of these colours required multiple layers of colour to get it just right!)

Once all the gears were dried came the fun part! Assembly! I was excited about this cake right from inspiration, but I absolutely LOVE it now that it's done!

just a moment.

2009-09-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

Well my timing is all wrong, but... stopped for a moment and thought about what has changed, what hasn't... the sorrow, the triumph, the incredible camaraderie and the horror that we humans do to one another in the name of ideology.

Remembering to take nothing for granted; to live each day as if it were my last. Tell my loved ones what they mean to me. Reconnect with old friends. Make amends or at least work on mending fences. Let go of old grudges.

Gentle hugs for those who lost someone eight years ago. Bigger hugs for you military folks who stand watch.

yet another interlude...

2009-08-13T14:57:00.004-04:00

I'll blog more cakes shortly, but i just wanted to share with (all 3 of you LOL) a fabulous singer I heard in person last weekend...

Angie Nussey is absolutely fabulous and a delight! Give her song "Warm Hands" a listen, then peek into the "Little Tragedies" section and listen to "Broken" if you want to hear a couple of my faves! Then if you feel like something silly; well she does that too (my kids adore the Jumbotron song!)

Kathleen's 11th B-day Cake

2009-08-06T21:57:00.001-04:00

Kathleen's 11th B-day Cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

This cake is from a couple of years ago, but it remains one of my favourite designs!

satin bow wedding cake

2009-08-05T07:09:00.001-04:00

satin-bow1 wedding cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

Back to the wedding cakes for a moment... here is a petite beauty we just love! Delicate piping, edible bow and jewellery and some lovely gumpaste roses... divine!

satin bow wedding cake... another view

2009-08-05T07:03:00.001-04:00

satin-bow2 wedding cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

And just to show you all what a difference even small details can make to a cake, here is the same wedding cake with a different topper and different lighing!

princess-purse cake

2009-08-05T06:55:00.001-04:00

princess-purse cake
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

Fun purse for a sweet little girl! Filled with her favourite things like her rubber duckie and her jewels, this purse looks like it's ready for a day on the town!

twilight book cake

2009-08-05T06:53:00.001-04:00

twilight book cake2
Originally uploaded by Wild Cakes

I suspect this design is going to be very popular this year!

The apple is cake, the chess pieces are chocolate and the petals are gumpaste. The ribbon is the only non-edible component on this cake and is just... ribbon.

Wedding Cakes

2009-07-24T23:54:00.007-04:00

As promised... some recent wedding cakes!

The first wedding cake is a personal favourite of mine... it was a designed based on our logo! We had made a similar cake last year for the bridal shows we attend, and this couple fell in love with the design, though they had different colours in mind!

They also requested a rough and rustic wooden looking base which was loads of fun to create in fondant!

The second wedding cake I have for you today is one that was booked well over a year ago, and based very strongly on a design by Colette Peters. Pure elegance!

Even the vase was hand made of gumpaste and filled with flowers in delicate shades of ivory. This was a time consuming design; from the fine piping at the top to the large stencilled bottom, but well worth the effort!

The third cake I wanted to share today is another based on one of our existing designs but completely re-worked! The original was done in chocolate fondant with HOT lime green champagne bubbles on a square 2 tier cake...

I love the progression from lime to soft yellow within the bubbles on each tier; it's a subtle effect but really quite lovely!

As is often the case, I designed the base while working on the rest of the cake; many couples love to be surprised with that little detail, and inspiration often strikes once I am mid-way through putting the elements of the cake together.

The last one for today was for my dear brother-in-law and his new bride. She ordered this gorgeous (though huge) monogram topper. When I saw it, I realized that a 6" top tier just wouldn't do, and we re-designed the cake to have an 8" top tier!

Oh wow...

2009-07-14T23:02:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since I have written anything here! So much has happened in the last few months!

We had a complete re-design of the web site http://www.wildcakes.ca/ and we couldn't be happier!!

We have a winner of our Geeky Cake contest and will actually be meeting with her in person in August! (THOSE cake photos to come with another post.)

As for THIS post... I thought I reward your patience with a few sculpted cakes...

First off we have one of the longest cakes we have done to date... a nearly 4 foot long moose (yes, he was half chocolate!) for a retiring game warden. I named him Murray the Moose.

Murray is submerged in a poured sugar lake with rice paper bullrushes.

Completed the same weekend was a typewriter made to replicate the graduate's old manual typewriter and to celebrate her graduation from Laurier.

I have to thank my fabulous associate Michelle from Tierful Designs for her help with this cake!

And finally to wind up today's cakes... a birthday moneybag for a lad who appreciates the finer things in life...

Next week... wedding cakes!!

shameless

2009-04-16T10:14:00.004-04:00

If you've come here for fabulous cake stories, I'm sorry (more soon I promise!)

If you've come here for DA RULZ on our fabulous Geeky Cake Design Contest... see below!

And if you've come here to randomly help my cousin win a car... WOOO HOOOO!!! Have I got the post for you!!! LOL

My cousin Andrew Capyk is one of the finalists in a contest to win a Nissan Cube. If you like voting for stuff, or have 2 minutes to spare, you can vote daily from now until the end of the month. Andrew is getting married in the new year (yes, I am making the cake... details to follow!!) and having a new car would certainly help out this young couple!

Want to know more? Andrew did a quick video on youTube, and has a group on FB (go on... join up and ask Andrew to do something goofy for your vote!) and probably a few other things I've forgotten! If you just want to get on with voting already... go to www.hypercube.ca

and search for CAPYK then vote for him*

* you do have to register to be able to vote. If you are cool with that, GREAT!! If not, then no problem... thanks for reading!

Geeky Cake Contest

2009-04-14T21:35:00.003-04:00

Wild Cakes loves a challenge. We also love theme cakes!
You love our Corpse Bride wedding cake.
We all love Cake Wrecks and the Great White Snark. They love geeky cakes.

So... inspired by all this love, Wild Cakes is running a contest for all you closet geeks who have fabulous cake ideas, and nobody to make 'em.

Wild Cakes' first ever Geeky Cake Design Contest starts now and will close April 30, 2009.So how do you enter? Just hop on over to GWS's blog and comment on the contest post! Tell us what you think would be the ULTIMATE geeky cake!

Winner will be chosen based on feasibility (hey, we're good, but gravity still applies!) and just general geeky goodness. It can be based on wildly popular or more esoteric geek pop culture. We love cake sculpting and figure modelling, but wedding cake ideas are welcome too.

Describe your cake idea in general terms in a comment on the blog, and you can then submit additional details and/or a sketch via e-mail to contest@wildcakes.ca (but please post on the blog first and refer to your comment number in the e-mail*)

Winner will get to see their idea produced in cakey goodness. the cake will be added to our web site gallery, and will be on display at all the shows we do in the next season. It may also be featured on a Sunday Sweets on Cake Wrecks and Geeky Cake of the Week on the GWS (if Jen & Mike decide that it is up to their high standards of sweet geeky cake-ness! LOL)

And if all that internet fame is not enough, you also get a custom t-shirt based on your cake design, a copy of Wild Cakes' design sketch and a signed copy of a photo of your finished design!

* note that we reserve the right to adjust or modify the design in whatever way we feel is necesary to produce the best possible cake. If a particular detail is critical to the design, tell us why!
**in the case where more than one version of the same design is submitted, the first one recieved will be considered the winner. If multiple similar (yet substantially different) designs are received, the one that is best described will win.
*** enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must be a different design. Entering the same design 10 times will just annoy us; this is not a raffle where more entries = more chances to win!

Turning 40... with STYLE!

2009-04-01T09:45:00.006-04:00

This cake was the result of several phone calls and e-mails! Mr. C's lovely fashionista wife was having a 40th birthday party so he wanted something special to celebrate!!

He also wanted to poke gentle fun at the fact that she had reached this amazing milestone. And pay homage to her planned trip to New York City with her fashionista "girls"

In the end, we decided a Louis Vuitton (her fave designer) purse made of raspberry chocolate fudge cake with certain accoutrements of getting older spilling out would be just the ticket!

Then we added a set of lemon cupcakes with large apples (for the Big Apple) and clock faces (Times Square anyone? Time flies by? All sorts of fun meanings here!)

Fun order, lovely client with a sense of humour... I LOVE MY JOB!!!

Wild Cakes... take a walk on the Wild Side!

2009-03-30T00:34:00.008-04:00

Wild Cakes is something a little different. We don't do slab cakes. We don't do basic cakes with 2 roses and Happy Birthday written on them. We don't do boring.

We also don't do bland. Our cakes are made COMPLETELY from scratch. We do not start with a commercial mix or base, we do not use artificial flavourings. We don't use shortening.
What we do use is pure unsalted butter, premium Nielsen Massey vanilla, Callebaut chocolate, real raspberries and so much more.

What we do is the extraordinary. We do flights of fancy and jaw dropping replicas of everyday objects. We do beautiful contemporary cake designs. We do custom toppers. We do wedding cakes for every type of wedding.
(we don't do fountains with coloured water however...)

We have also been known to make REALLY WILD cakes for bachelorette parties, divorce parties, and those ever-so-intimate special evenings in.

So that is what we do (and do not.)

Who are we?

Wild Cakes is a new business located in Brantford, Ontario. We serve an area with an approximately 60km radius of Brantford for delivered cakes, or as far as you want to drive if you want to pick up your cake.

We do not currently have a retail space; Wild Cakes rents a commercial kitchen which is fully health-board certified and inspected. This arrangement allows us to stay true to our vision and focus on the one-of-a-kind cakes we love so much.

I am Melissa Capyk; owner and head artist at Wild Cakes. I have a background in both Fine Arts and Architectural Technology. I have what can only be described as a unique sense of humour. I have been creating cakes for friends and family for several years, then in December of 2007 I took the opportunity of being downsized from my day job to start following my dreams and Wild Cakes was born.

I source tools and techniques, toppers and inspiration from all over the world. I display at several different bridal shows and other events around the area every year.

I am not hiring. Seriously.

I am obsessed with cake. EVERYTHING I look at is a potential source of inspiration. Buildings, fabrics, papers, everything. I even have a cake on my tattoo.

Why start a blog?

Well because all the cool kids are doing it. And also, because I don't get the chance to share the wonderful stories behind so many of my creations. Names will be changed to protect the private. Pricing will not be discussed here because every cake is different.

Posting will be erratic at best, so you may want to subscribe using one of those handy buttons over there on the right.

Want to know more? Take a gander at our web site: http://www.wildcakes.ca/ and I hope to hear from you soon.