Sunday, June 12, 2011

Sunday Sweets: Summer Lovin'

Sunday, June 12, 2011

While it's been well over three hundred degrees in the shade here in Florida since, well, the last Ice Age, I think we've finally reached a point on the calendar where we can *all* agree it is, in fact, Summer. So...

Bring on the Summer Sweets!!



Woohoo! Beach pail cupcakes? Now THAT is what I'm talking about.
(Yes, really; they're cupcakes!)

Or how about this fun Tiki party?


Such a great grad cake.


Proper summertime attire is essential, of course:

Submitted by Beth B. and made by Art by Vanessa

Those flip-flops look pillowy soft - and delicious.


And what's summer without your favorite Hawaiian shirt?



Submitted by Maryanne S. and made by Blackmarket Bakery

Love the colors.

Of course, beachy summer cakes can be elegant, too. Just look at this gorgeous wedding cake:

By Betty's Sugar Dreams

(Even the netting is edible; it's made from flexible icing!)



Or this one:

Photo by MB3 Photography; baker unknown. Anyone recognize it?

Ack! Seahorses! I LOVE SEAHORSES. And these are gorgeous - so delicately done.


These cookies make me want to melt:

Submitted by Sarah K. and made by Nicole of Life's a Batch

And also maybe have a piƱa colada. On the beach. In Grand Cayman. Mmmm. Yeah.


Every single detail on this next cake is perfection:

By Sugar Siren Cakes

See the name spelled out in the open scallops? And the itty-bitty starfish? And the string of pearls? And the delicate flower petals? PERFECTION, I say.


And finally, my favorite:

The lace molding, the graduated colors, the shells and letters placed just-so on the "sandy" cake board...simply stunning. Cakes like these make me love my job. :)


Now, everyone raise your popsicles - and here's to a great summer!


Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.
Anonymous said...

What is this summer thou speaketh of? Apparently California missed that memo. Gorgeous cakes, though!

Tana said...

Just being contrary, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere. It's most definitely winter here. :P

Judy C said...

I've been complaining about the hot weather. This is a better way to look at summer.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I wish weather in Minnesota would stay consistent. One day it's 100 degrees, the next it's 50.

Cat said...

I'll enjoy the Summer when it gets here. (if it ever does, stupid British Weather!)

Anonymous said...

The pail cupcakes-awww :D The wedding cakes are great, and I loved the cake with the name in the oysters-so sweet. Well done

Bookworm said...

I agree--that last cake is stunning! Thanks for sharing the beachy, cakey goodness =).

Sammy said...

@Tana same here. ;) It sucks seeing northern hemisphere people celebrating summer when Im watching the rain pour in Australia.

mickeyp415 said...

that off-white/peach-y one with the real shells (and seahorses) was my fave, but then i kept scrolling. the ombre'd blue one at the end is just magnificent. what a great way to keep cool in the heat! gorg....

Anonymous said...

So, those of us who live west of the Rockies are experiencing temperatures 10-20 degrees below normal. Not that I'm complaining, mind, it means that I haven't had to turn on my air conditioner yet this year. It's just not summer, yet.

And those cakes are causing me beach envy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a kiddie pool, a hose, and a sweater.

MichelleH said...

We haven't gotten much summer here in Alberta...and not much ocean either. Since I grew up on the coast, beaches are what I miss the most in the summer. I LOVE the beachy cakes - they make me smile. :)

Potsy said...

Those cookies made me want to go bake!! But then I remembered that I like in AZ and it's already sweltering at 8:30am, so probably not going to happen. ;) But all of those cakes were fabulous!

Daya said...

Would you mind sharing a little summer with us here in Oregon. I think we have had maybe 7 days over 70 this YEAR. People just think my toenails are painted blue. They are actually just frostbitten!! I love the cakes!! Makes me want to go to the beach. Not an Oregon one of course. I wanna go to a warm one...maybe Hawaiian!!

Anonymous said...

I hate summer (I have a condition that I can't handle heat and get really sick) but if I can stay inside and look at pretty cakes like these, I'll be happy.

antique wedding rings said...

ooohhhh i love the summer cakes!

Pease Family said...

I love all these cakes! But, the blue one and the sea horse one should be in my living room so I can admire them every day. So beautiful!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Cupcakes we can all like. :D

-Barbara Anne

wv: recliker
These are so pretty I'll come back and recliker on them again sometime.

Katie (Kali) said...

Beautiful cakes, but it kind of hurt to look at them. Why? Because here in Missoula, Montana, at the moment, it's 46 degrees. I sooo want summer!

Anonymous said...

It's definitely Summer in Scotland! 2 heatwave weekends since March and roughly 6 non-continuous days of sun in 2 months!

Pink Peril

WV: sparpers. As in "Parp parp!" *vroooom* (I like Toad)

Unknown said...

That's a fabulous use of the lace mold. Wow. Usually I see those molds and I associate them with gaudy, overdone, baroque cakes with too much edible glitter. But that is a masterpiece. Bravo to the creator!

Shannon said...

Beautiful! I have to laugh a little because I just got home from my county's Relay for Life (it's an American Cancer Society fundraiser) and our theme was under the sea! Have you come across any good cakes for events like that (9the word I'm looking for escapes me at the moment. I guess that's what happens when you stay up all night!)

Debby said...

The sea horse cake is the best, I love it.

Marcy said...

I thought for sure there would be an Epcot over the fact that those are scallops, not oysters!

Robin said...

Summer? it's 11degrees C here. we've had snow in the hills. Yes this is the Northern hemisphere. You are teasing me with those gorgeous, lovely, warm weather cakes!

LilPeach (aka Laura) said...

Love all the cakes today. Where you said the name was in oyster shells, you were wrong. Those are scallop shells. Just sayin'

Nil Zed said...

Yaaayy! Blackmarket Bakery is super cool! My daughter failed in wedding cake ordering. I called Blackmarket and told her she wanted a topsy turvy wedding cake. In 9 days. Wedding cakes require more lead time. But before I could commence begging, they pointed out a 3 layer topsy turvy cake was just a cake, needing about 3 days lead. That plus a sheet cake that the carefree could begin cutting while everyone else was watching the bride and groom cut a slice worked fine and removed the usual delay of waiting for cake service.

Also, different yummy filling and cake for each layer. Yum!

Irrelevant said...

Did anyone else see the last cake and immediately think of Ginevra Weasley? Because that's what I thought of.
"Ooh, pretty! Wait, Ginevra? Ginny's got a cake!"

The Nature Geek said...

Call me clueless ("Hi clueless!") but what is the sand made of on all of those cakes? Light brown sugar?

wv: reanted
After the exterminator removed the insects from my neighbor's house, I went over and reanted their kitchen :)

Anonymous said...

@LilPeach (aka Laura) or that fact that piƱa colada is spelled wrong.

... and you claim to be from Florida.

john (the hubby of Jen) said...

*sigh*

So today, we misspelled "calendar," misplaced the squiggly doohickey on "piƱa" and we called a scallop an oyster.

Everone has a bad day onse in a wile.

love,

john

salgalruns said...

Oh my goodness - some of my favorite Sunday sweets ever! Makes me think of summer even when the weather in Southern California isn't cooperating!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE them all!

Aliza said...

Greetings from landlocked Ontario (Canada), where the weather is definitely early summer (ie alternating between sweltering and merely warm, as opposed to July and August which are pure sweltering), iris, peonies and roses are in full bloom, and what we call a "beach" here is truly pathetic. (I miss the Australian beaches of my childhood). Thought I'd agree that it's summer since an Epcot seems to be forming with those saying it isn't! (And Quebecers/Ontarians will definitely support Floridians, since you guys are so hospitable to our parents and grandparents during our winters).

But what we can all agree on is that those cakes are lovely. That last one in particular. And those cupcakes and iced cookies are so cute (although a ridiculous amount of work!).

PS a teensy request? can you do a sweets of graduation cakes? I'm just wrapping up another Masters degree and would love to see proof that grad cakes aren't all wrecks!

WV "pretater". There's no pretating that Sunday Sweets cakes are lovely.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I'll agree with the other posters that not ALL of us would say that it is finally summer. We in the Seattle area are just hoping that it's finally not winter any more--although my 6-year-old twins are already complaining about being "hot" when playing, and "boiling" in the car on those rare days when the sun is out. Good grief!

Thanks for the beautiful reminders that summer does eventually come! At least some of us can dream...

Elizabeth (Foodie, Formerly Fat) said...

The first one is my favorite. All that "sand" makes me want to take off my shoes and go for a swim! Beautiful homage to summer, my favorite season!

Oh, and I've got your fruity drink for you: http://foodieformerlyfat.com/2011/06/10/rum-punch/

LeahR said...

@Katie: My guess is brown sugar and/or Graham cracker crumbs. My Sis-in-law did her own beach-y wedding cake and used a combo. She also added "sugar in the raw," to help it pick up light for pictures. :)

Jennifer Erbe Kennedy said...

Hey Jen, et al...

Getting a security certificate warning wheb accessing CW on my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab and on my Droid Incredible. Northern Alabama.

Jennifer

Camille said...

Love, love, and LOVE those cakes. Makes me want to take a decorating course...almost. Think I'll just keep soaking it up through your site instead.

Katie Girl said...

Wow, these are beautiful. The flip-flops are my favorite.

Victoria said...

Those cakes are gorgeous! All of them. They're making me wish that the weather here wasn't so gloomy so I could go outside!

Leigha said...

Potato--I did. I didn't have much of anything to comment on until I saw that and went, "Ginevra! That's Ginny's name. Is that intentional, or is there actually someone named that?"

I was hoping someone had commented on it.

Rita said...

Oh that seahorse one is sooo my favourite! Almost enough to make me wanna divorce my lovely husband and remarry him so I have a NEED for that cake. love the last one too, and the one with the frangipanis (plumeria) on top. I love Monday mornings here in Australia, solely for the reason that I get to drool over gorgeous cakes with my morning cuppa :)

Jeanette said...

Oh my goodness..every one of those cakes are awesome!!

Bree said...

Summer has definitely hit Maryland---for the last four days we've been dealing with the heat & humidity and I spent all of Saturday recovering from having to be out in the heat Friday most of the day.

The cakes were gorgeous. My mom would love those flip-flops.

Cheri said...

I don't usually participate in anything that might be considered nit-picking here, but I just have to say something: it's "sea stars" not "starfish." Since they aren't actually "fish" per se. Also while I'm at it, it's "sea jellies" not "jellyfish," for the same reason (though I recognize that there were no sea jellies on any of today's cakes). Sorry to be a downer, won't happen again!

john (the hubby of Jen) said...

Cheri,

I don't usually laugh out loud.

I laughed out loud.

john

p.s. I'm rebelling against "LOL."

Craig said...

So it has come to this: you have to go to the Blackmarket to get something done right. At a lot of other places, the result would have been either a sheet cake or a cake wrapped in an actual shirt. The lei probably would have been two figures in a compromising position.

@Anonymous @ 9:34, you said it. I think it made it all the way to 70F today (grumble). Of course, Spring has nine days to go, according to the calendar, and the really hot weather here usually runs through October...

I was going to say something snarky about oysters vs. scallops, but the posting only mentions scallops. Darn -- guess I should have checked earlier.

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile, down here in the Southern Hemisphere, we are freezing our butts off. xD

Anonymous said...

Torrential rain here in Ireland, but sure that's summer for you!

Jessie51212 said...

My wedding cake will be a beach / seashell theme, I hope it looks as pretty as the ones here do!

buy rift platinum said...

OMG! super cute cakes indeed. i super like especially the flip flop design. .=0

sendingtheclowns said...

¡Ay Caramba!

With all of the word-nerd nit-pickers and various weather and marine biology reports, one could almost forget to stop and smell the CAKES!

=^@.@^=

I love the seahorse one the best because it's just creamy-dreamy and beachy-peachy and...and...
Because Summer, that's why.
(As in your famous "Because America.")

@ John: Good for you--I rebelled against "LOL" when it was a baby ("lol")...heck, before it was even a glimmer in its father's i.

Jilliebean1973 said...

I am so curious how much some of these cakes cost. They are all complete works of art! I bet those precious pail cupcakes have to be $10 each.

Arlene said...

Wow to all of these but especially that seahorse cake. Wow! Too bad you have to cut into these beauties.

Adorably Dead said...

That last one is just...wow. Gorgeous...or however you spell it. :p

Anonymous said...

damn. It's freezing where I am. Lucky you guys! I get so confused when people talk in farenheit. 300 degrees is 3 times boiling point in celsius :p

Rafael said...

I love the cookies! So beautiful!

Think you'd like to see this Nightmare before Xmas cake: http://the-nonexistent.deviantart.com/art/Nightmare-Before-Xmas-Cake-212861469

It's awesome!

lisadh said...

Lovely, lovely cakes!

AnotherKate said...

These are great! The seahorse wedding cake looks a lot like the one that some friends of mine had; they got married in the Charleston (SC) aquarium and the cake was gorgeous, although I don't think it actually had the seahorse cake topper. It was a couple years ago, so I'd have to ask her to be sure.

As I recall, the "sand" was cinnamon sugar, very light on the cinnamon. Most of it was just around the bottom, though, and not on the cake. I don't remember it tasting weird and I'm SURE I had at least two pieces!

The Nature Geek said...

@Cheri--You forgot that sand dollars are really keyhole urchins! hehehe

Ok, I'll shut my keyhole now.

Caitlyn Baker said...

My mom makes cakes and she has a summer cake on her blog. johntiffnfam.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

great cakes!makes me want to go to the beach!

Valraven said...

You've suddenly made me want to make tiki cupcakes. And pirate's booty cupcakes for Talk Like a Pirate Day this year...

BowserRanch said...

@Leigha--My Granny's name was Genevra; it's a French name. Also, Ginny from the Harry Potter books--her full name is Genevra. I was thrilled to see it on that gorgeous cake. And to jump in on the weather bandwagon: Up here north of Seattle, the season is "sprinter" and the month is "June-uary". Brrr!

Greenwick Press said...

Wow! It is so hard to find tastefully done beach-themed stuff! :D So awesome! I am amazed at the icing netting.

Unknown said...

Aaahhh! I live right near Pink Cake Box! It's a tiny bakery in Northern NJ: but, as you can see, the cakes are BEAUTIFUL!! (If you are ever in the neighborhood, go across the street and eat at Mara's Cafe! Famous for their cheese cakes and gelato!)

And...just another piece of cake decorator info: my sister-in-law, Colleen, teaches Buddy's daughter in Elementary School (Buddy from CAKE BOSS). Buddy gave Colleen a free birthday cake and let me tell you--it was the most delicious cake I have ever eaten--and I LOVE cake!! There was SO much "dirty icing" under the fondant; I was in heaven!! :)

This has been a special irrelevent News Report from Morris County, NJ.
Thank you for listening. Stay tuned for Family Guy...

Long time follower, first time poster. said...

Summer??? What is that...is it a mythical creature with love and joy flowing from it?? I'm in Eastern Washington and we're still waiting for much above 70...coldest June on record. However, those sweets made me feel warm, so that's good. (Goes and turns down the heat from 70 to 68.)