Next up in our week of "pink plus" color palette ideas is a sweet and stylish stunner from Chicago-based cakegirls.
Self-taught pastry artists (and sisters) Mary and Brenda Maher fell in love with cake decorating in college and opened their own business together. Mary and Brenda see cakes as an opportunity to translate artistic techniques into an edible medium, but at the same time never forgetting that the cake should taste as good as it looks. Now celebrating their 10 year anniversary, cakegirls continues to blend texture and color to make signature wedding cakes with modern appeal.
Check out the photos of this cake in progress and read on for Mary's account of the design and creation.
When I first saw the inspiration for our guest post, it was difficult to decide which "perfect palette" to use, but ultimately I was most drawn to the combination of pink and gray. I love the inherent femininity of pink, and I especially liked it paired with the cool, modern shade of gray from the story. I also really liked the idea that silver was part of the palette, because I'm always a big fan of a little sparkle. So, when designing this cake I decided that I would choose a square shape covered in gray fondant to reinforce the modern, stark feeling but still incorporate pink in a way that would make it the focal point.
I created ruffled dogwood-style flowers with gumpaste, keeping the flowers one shade of pink rather than something more nature-inspired because I really wanted the flowers to create a romantic texture above all else. I also decided that instead of a traditional center, each flower would boast a small, edible brooch handmade from fondant and dragees. I applied the flowers to the cake with a sense of structure so that the focus would remain on the colors and the textures.
*NOTE: The cakegirls shop tragically burnt down at the end of March. We didn't want to withhold this project and hope their hard work and creativity brings many of you inspiration. We wish Brenda, Mary, and and entire cakegirls family all the best!
From: Red Bottom Shoes | 4/21/10 at 12:19 pm
Oh wow! That's a beauty! Pink and gray never looked so subtle yet appealing together.
Can't believe it's edible! ;p
From: Covered Bridge Weddings | 4/22/10 at 2:05 am
I love the idea of putting those flower. This is really nice to look at. I think I would recommend this cake to my cousin who are in plan of a wedding for the next 6 months.
Thanks for sharing.
From: bailey | 4/22/10 at 5:54 am
I love the idea of putting those flower and wedding outfit
From: platinum rings | 4/25/10 at 11:17 pm
thanks your post..
From: Some Things for the Weekend — Purple and Pearls | 5/18/10 at 12:05 pm
[...] A really pretty cake. I can’t believe the work that goes in to it! [...]
From: Jenny Bartholomew | 3/12/13 at 2:44 pm
I have recently started doing cakes and wedding cakes and I cannot even tell you how much I LOVE this cake! Hopefully somebody I know will love it to and I could recreate it:) Just beautiful!
From: jouj | 3/16/13 at 4:16 am
this cake is so elegant, so beautiful i love it...
absolutely gorgeous
From: sophya | 4/27/13 at 4:24 am
I'm sure that you can use this for jewelry, it's beautiful.