Sunday, August 9, 2009

Sunday Sweets: Castles

Sunday, August 9, 2009

It's pretty rare that I get to break out the ol' baking pans these days, but happily John and I get to provide John & Abby's baby shower cake next weekend. We're going with a medieval knights and dragon theme - which is tough to find at the party store, I might add. Anyhoo, while researching cake ideas, I came across some gorgeous castle examples that were too good not to share. So here I am, sharing them. Enjoy!

I've had this gorgeous sand castle cake on my hard drive for ages, so I don't know who made it. Anyone know?


Here's a sweet Arabian Nights style - I'm such a sucker for those little onion domes! (Made by The London Cake Company & submitted by Victoria M.)

This is a wedding cake, so mad props to whoever thought up having the bride and groom figurines riding a dragon! Plus the castle itself is a great medieval style - check out the little crossbow windows and delicate stone shading. (Found by Evil M., made by Jane's Cakes )


And finally, here's the ultimate castle cake for us Disney Geeks:

Woohoo! Am I right?

Here's a close-up:

Just gorgeous. I think Walt would be proud.
(Found by Stacey R., made by Cakes By Lynette)

Have a sweet to nominate, or a theme to suggest? Then send it to me at Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.


- Similar Sweets: Castles & Fairies


Hey, pro bakers! I still need volunteers to provide the cake for most of the stops on the coming book tour. Here are the cities still in need of the cakey goodness:
Orlando, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Kansas City, & NYC

This is a great chance to show off your handiwork to hundreds of locals residents, and of course I'll be sharing the love here on CW and via Twitter. So if you're a professional baker (sorry, no home-baked goods) and are interested, please let me know!

Fluffy Cow said...

LOVE the Disney cake. Can't remember... is that the CA Sleeping Beauty castle, or the FL Cinderella castle??

Kat said...

I adore that name! Can't wait to see your cake posted. I spread the Cakewrecks love every chance I get~

Melinda said...

Aww! Congratulations to both John & Abby. I can't wait to see the fantastic cake you come up with for them (again, your first birthday cakes were beautiful!). You have some great inspirational examples for them.

Juz said...

Maybe you can provide my flatmates and I with a new cake flat to move into, space isn't what it used to be.

http://juztick.blogspot.com

El

Brenda said...

I LOVE that Cinderella Castle cake.

Don't let diddleymaz decorate Valor's cake, or it'll end up on Cake Wrecks with a misspelled name. :)

ME Moon said...

is it me or did those onion domes look more like the snot sucker bulbs (what the heck is their official name anyway?) for babies?

BlueCloud said...

Those cakes are just beautiful!

Anonymous said...

The first cake that you asked about is from Jacques Pastries. Here's the url: http://www.jacquespastries.com
They have some more AWESOME cakes you should check out! Love your site. Thanks for the laughs and inspiration from the Sunday Sweets!

jadore_histoire said...

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=301-910

Try these - I saw them at Michael's Craft Store, and Wilton's website has a ton of ideas on how to use them. Good luck!

Keidi said...

I'm so excited for John and Abby. I read the entire blog about baby James the last time you posted about them and cried my eyes out. Please let them know that I am praying for their baby! And have a great baby shower with lots of cakey goodness.

The best part about being gone a lot this summer has been coming back home and getting to catch up on multiple cake wrecks posts. I love it that you post every day, good work! So thank you, Jen and John.

Lucky66 said...

Who is providing the cake for your stop in Denver? I can't wait!

jonahsmom said...

Beautiful cakes! PLEASE tell me that you're going to have a flying dragon carrying the little bundle of joy "stork" style! It would be so absolutely adorable!!!!

Love this site. I come all the time. I can't get enough. Makes me feel better about my hobby cakes!

Michele said...

I LOVE the Disney castle cake!!! Right on! And the Arabian nights one is awesome! :-)

Amethyst Rose said...

I love dragons, so of course I'm in love with the dragon and castle wedding cake. That's what I want when I get married!

S3XinthePantry said...

love the original wedding cake and the Disney cake is amazing!

Anonymous said...

I want one. I want them all!!

@Liss - snot suckers = nasal aspirators

Alex

(Third try to enter the WV correctly!!? Wth?)

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful!

~Amy B.

Anonymous said...

I'm voting for the Disney castle to be Cindarella's in the Magic Kingdom (as opposed to Sleeping Beauty's in Disneyland). The tall spire, if topped with gold, would have sealed it. -- Jules

Valerie said...

Hoping you will post a picture of your finished cake next week.

Debbi said...

So happy for Abby and John! You will make an *awesome* cake for Valor!

Today is my birthday but I don't think Hubs is baking me a cake (thank you Hubs!!!)

WV - proni. Jen is proni to make a great cake for Valor.

Stellar said...

Hey Jen, you should get in touch with the CakeGirls in Chicago. They're fantastic and might be interested in helping out.

Bookworm said...

Wow. That first one is gorgeous--I want it! (:

bodoba said...

So much detail on that disney cake, that must've taken forever to do! They're all nicely done.

Anonymous said...

Jen- Did you see the Ace of Cakes where they did the bride and groom getting eaten by a dragon? Probably not a good suggestion for a baby shower, but could also be HILARIOUS! Love the castle cakes!

Vixi said...

nodricware sells a sand castle cake pan

http://www.bakedeco.com/a/nordicware-sandcastl-5121.htm

(I use it for my little one's b'days, I also do medieval/ fantasy birthdays) that is really nicely detailed, and doesn't require cutting or fondant skills. I use marble fudge with it because it stays moist, since frosting more than accents would lose the detail of the cake. . . .just another idea, the wilton set looks cute too . . .

Kelly said...

I do hope you'll be posting pictures of your cake too when it's finished!

Anonymous said...

Woohoo! Go Disney Geeks! The Cinderella's Castle (I'm pretty sure it's the one from FL) is AMAZING! I LOVE it!

Anna Marie

Anonymous said...

I hope the cake comes out well! I'm so glad you all get to celebrate such a happy occasion next weekend--John and Abby's faith through their experiences is really, really inspiring and I loved reading their blog, even though I used half a box of kleenex. They certainly deserve an amazing cake, and I'm sure you will deliver! And you certainly have many, many, many examples of how NOT to do a baby shower cake! (Push Olivia Push comes to mind.)

-kate

G.H. said...

My heart melted a little when I saw the Cinderella castle cake...

ahhh!!

http://confessions-of-a-waitress.blogspot.com/

. said...

Oooh, congrats to John and Abby! I remember when you posted sweet baby James' birthday cakes, and that day I read their entire blog in a matter of hours. My heart has been with them ever since. I'm so glad for them.. and these cakes are beautiful!

robyn said...

Just FYI, if anyone hasn't mentioned it, the Disney castle was copied from the Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein. One of the newer castles, it was built in the 1800s. We toured it while we were in Germany years ago, and it's incredibly beautiful inside!

sendingtheclowns said...

@ robyn:
Right you are, about the castle! "The Castle of the Mad King" was what my Mom used to call it. She loved it (and the legend), and painted a watercolor of it, years and years ago.
**********************
As for me, I'd ADORE a cake that looked like Saint Basil's Cathedral. It's pobably my favorite building in the world...unless you consider the Sphinx a "building."
>^??^<

WV: "givellyt" :
1.--I don'y like givellyt stuffing; the givellyts belong in the turkey or the garbage.
2.--*singing* "Givellyt a bit--givellyt a bit of your heart to me..."

Cindy said...

Cake wrecks will be in Austin? Horray!

Sarah said...

That Disney Cake is outstanding! Be sure to share pics of the cake that you make for John and Abby!

CaliGirl9 said...

I can't wait to see what you come up with for Valor.

I pray for John, Abby, Valor and James and Dora Jewel every night. If ever a pair of human beings deserved and should be parents, that's John and Abby! (Well, along with Jason and Adrienne of the "Noah Steven" blog.)

I'm looking forward to meeting the young man via his parent's blog soon. I've loved the 3-D ultrasound pix! Having suffered plenty of miscarriages I understand some of the pain of loss, and am grateful for the one I have that He let me keep.

Give John and Abby my best.

Potential Serendipity said...

Awesome castle cakes!

Katy said...

I love the sandcastle cake. So pretty! :)

Cinderill said...

I read all about Sweet Baby James just after you started this blog. I have looked for a way to keep reading about John and Abby but I have found nothing. Do they have a blog that they would like to share? I have thought of them often in the past year and wondered if they every got to have more children. Please tell me how I can stay up on how things are going for them. Thanks!

Marion said...

The first cake seems to be of unknown origin. Another poster suggested Jacques Pastries, but I have done this cake as well (here's the link: http://www.myriadcakedesign.com/pages/special_occasion.php)
It's in the bottom right.

When I was searching online for a castle cake design, I found this one on a site called "castlecakes.org" which no longer exists. That cake had stars where the one Jen posted has seashells. I have done this cake with pink stars and with a variety of green leaves.

Love the site, see you in Portland next month, Jen!

Lucia said...

i am speechless!!!!!

Unknown said...

Hey there,

The wedding cake was actually made for my wife and I back in 2002 by the wonderful lady at Jane's Cakes (the description has the link)

She did an awesome job and we were so happy with the outcome.

My wife said she wanted a dragon and we sat down with Jane, described what we wanted and bingo - there it was.

Don said...

Medieval baby shower cake? Have you considered baby bottles as turrets?

Unknown said...

Love your blog. I was just stopping by to see if I could conjure up a cake idea and noticed that you still need a cake for your book tour stop in Denver. I would love to volunteer and offer up a cake for the stop. Here's a link to my pics and just let me know if I can help. Keep up the great work, it inspires me. Kim

http://sites.google.com/site/akimmycake/

Paula said...

What about Atlanta???? You have fans here too! :)

Rose said...

That Cinderella cake would have made my daughter's dream come true, especially since she just had a Disney birthday. Love this site! It is good to shed tears of happiness once in a while :)

http://roseintheslowlane.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

What about us pro bakers at home? I have a legal business I run out of my home near KC, does that count? http://suchcakes.webs.com

I might be able to pitch in with SOME cake, but probably not ALL the cake you'd be needing with all the fans I know you have! :D

Kristen K. said...

I thought the first one was Jacques also, but it looks a little different...

I just wanted to give props to Jacques Pastries anyway- They've done all our birthday cakes and there are 4 of ours on their website!!!!

Love the site

Unknown said...

Wow, where were all these cakes last month!? I made a castle cake for my little cousin's 16th birthday:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrtrick/CAKE#

It's put to shame by any of the professional cakes, but I'm pretty proud of it.

Kristin said...

Anyone unable to find the Gjertsen's new blog, it's here: http://houseofgjertsen.info/

Oh goodness I am so excited/worried/hopeful about their lil Valor! I seldom get caught up in the lives of strangers, but the story of SweetBabyJames just really really got to me. I keep them in my brightest most positive thoughts.
And yay for castle cakes! :)

The Shoppe Denver said...

Hello! We would love to donate a cake for your next stop in Denver! We are The Shoppe Denver and we are right down the street from Tattered Cover and we are partners together in Story Time Reading Every Saturday with Tattered! Please email us at theshoppedenver@yahoo.com or call us @ 303-322-3969 http://theshoppedenver.com/
xoxo :) Tran Wills

Garden Lily said...

I wonder if the dragon had a "Just Married" sign on his tail end. Wow, what beautiful creations! Too nice to eat.

Jessica said...

Lovely cakes... and you know we want to see yours when you are done!

Anonymous said...

Cinderill--

If you go to the sweetbabyjames site, at the bottom of the bar on the right side of the page, you'll see a section of links. The "House of Gjertsen" link should answer some of your questions.

Sarah said...

"There will also be cake for everyone (bakers, if you'd like to volunteer your services in your city, let me know), so rest assured you will be leaving with a sugar buzz even if you don't bring an entry - but you still should anyway, so that those of us with icing in our hair don't mock you."

So I got all excited and started thinking about what I could bring. And then I read today's. I guess since I work out of my home, I'm not professional. :-( Okay then.

Jules said...

Love that Arabian style cake. And the last cake is gorgeous indeed! =D

Summer
A Writers Den
The Brown Mestizo

Mikey said...

Liss said...

is it me or did those onion domes look more like the snot sucker bulbs (what the heck is their official name anyway?) for babies?

Technically they're called bulb syringes.

Italo said...

WOW! EATING CASTLES, my dream! :D

Anonymous said...

OOHH Pretty!
Amazing cakes and Im praying that your friends John and Abby and new baby are all safe ,happy and well.
Keep up the amazing work!

Melissa (& Billy) said...

Could never, ever eat those. Beautiful!

Nichole Loves Cake said...

I'm a Disney geek and that last cake took my breath away!

Nunya Biz said...

Just to clarify - the S. F. Bay signing is in Petaluma, not SF. You need to find a bakery on that side of the bay, or they'll be driving a while to get it there. *LOL*

Anonymous said...

Patty Cakes Catering & Bakery would like to volunteer to make the cake for your Book tour stop in Dallas, TX. Please contact at 817-416-0923

Sarah said...

If you were coming to San Diego, I would happily provide cake! Hint, hint!

Little Lovables said...

Wow, these are all amazing, the first two are my favorites!

Nonna said...

Oh, how I adore Sunday Sweets...it helps me get thru all the Wreck posts and puts a big smile on my face...these cakes are by truly talented and inspired artists and I just know they taste as good as they look !

Tiffany said...

I had no idea there was a CW/Disney crossover sub-section! Yikes! I could go on and on....we honeymooned there for one and now my husband works for them, but we did not have a Disney wedding cake.

Anyone wanna talk Disney, gimme a holla.

Jo said...

how is this even possible

its amazing

Anonymous said...

I'm nominating Alliance Bakery (1736 West Division St. Chicago, IL 60622 (773) 278-0366) to do the cake for your Chicago book tour stop! http://www.alliance-bakery.com/index.html

I don't work there, and have never bought anything from them, but I like their work!

Breeanna "Ducky" Menendez said...

ALL of these cakes are AMAZING. The last one by far takes my breathe away. I love seeing cake artists who know what they're doing, and do it well.

Cupcakin' It Up said...

This is so cool! And Hogwarts-y! AMAZING!

Kay said...

I love all these cakes! My favorite is the one with the dragon. It reminds me of the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey.

Anonymous said...

the last cake looks EXACTLY like the cinderella castle toy i had when i was little