Sunday Sweets: Dreaming of Dragon*Con

As you know, John and I were at the ultimate geek gathering, Dragon*Con, last weekend.

[wistful sigh]

Ah, how I miss my people.


Fortunately, I have this week's awesome Sweets line-up to help heal the hurt.

By Nicole D., an amateur baker. (!!) Found here.

Beware the Cthulhu, a monstrous creature of gargantuan size which evokes terror in all it encounters!!

He also likes ice cream.

Made by Rebecca H, another hobby baker, and based on the artwork "Cthulu's Day Out" by Ursulav.

You score 10 geek points if you can correctly identify this next cake:

By Jane's Cakes

A better angle:

Did you get it? Did you guess Disc World?

Yes?

Wow, you guys are GEEKS. Yeesh.

:D

Here's a close up of the top:

That's all sugar! Oh, and it was a wedding cake.

Yep, these are my people, I tell ya.

Who out there remembers these?

By Cakes By The Pound

Excellent.

If you're familiar with my other blog, Epbot, then you know one of my current obsessions is steampunk. Steampunk was also huge at Dragon*Con this year, with a fashion show, exhibition, and enough costumes to make this geek girl giddy.

So, imagine my glee when I saw this:

By Pastrygirl

Awww yeeeeah.

I'm not sure who this next chibi character is, but she's fondant-free and absolutely adorable:

By Don Buciak

I still can't get over the fact that Don uses nothing but icing to get that incredible shading. Wow.

[Update: I'm told this is "Saber from Fate Stay Night." Here's hoping that means something to somebody out there. :)]


And finally, a fitting homage to Dragon*Con:

By Sugar Madness

Detail shot:



And that's it! Thanks very much to all of you lovely readers who found us and said hello last weekend; it was a blast meeting you! I can't wait to do it all over again next year.


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

Sunday Sweets: Fastastical Beasts

I can see that I'm going to have to be a lot more specific with Sunday Sweet Assignments: giving you guys free rein on the Fantasy theme has resulted in hundreds (and hundreds) of submissions. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE that you guys are responding so, er, enthusiastically, but I'm going to have to narrow down the criteria in the future.

Since I've got so much good stuff to share with you, I'm going to break it up into categories. Today's feature will be dragons and unicorns. Tune in next week for Fairies & Castles.

First and foremost, here's a flat-out AMAZING dragon from - who else? - Mike's Amazing Cakes:

You can tell this is for role-playing gamers by the corn dogs and mozzarella sticks in the background. Come to think of it, all this shin-dig is missing are some Hot Pockets! [cue Jim Gaffigan bit]

Here's another angle:

(Thanks to Christine C. and Sarah, who were among the first of billions to send these in. Check here for more shots and pics of the cake being cut.)

Next we have an equally impressive Unicorn and Fairy Combo from Sandra of Sugar Fun:

Visit Sandra's site to see in-process photos.
(Laura N. was the first to send this one. Thanks, Laura!)

Next, in the "so-cute-it-hurts" category from Richard's Cakes, we have a dragon...in a tutu:

So obviously when I say "I'm drawing the line at tutus" I mean "unless they're stinkin' adorable". Everybody got that?

And lastly, Julie W. found a not-so-great photo of a truly great cake:

Arg, my kingdom for decent lighting! Still, if you can look past the blinding flash and shadows, you'll see this is a gorgeous replica of the famous "Unicorn in Captivity" tapestry:

The floral work is exquisite, and I love the little tree. It was made by Magda's Cake Creations, and if you visit the link you'll see a few other angles there.

And let me close with another great dragon cake. Uh, let's see, first I have to choose one... (this is torture, guys; you sent in so many good ones!)

Ok, here, let's go with Kenya S.'s find:

I love that color. According to creator Shoshannah84 over on Deviant Art, it was inspired by Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders. Nice!

Thanks so much, everyone! Feel free to continue sending in fantasy cakes, but particularly fairy and/or castle cakes for next Sunday.

Sunday Sweets: Cutey-Patootey Dragon Babes

I think the designers of today's baby dragon cakes need to get into stuffed-animal design. And then send me free samples. [nodding earnestly]

Amber D. found these two from The Cake Fairy:

Everyone together now: Awwwww.

The wings! The itty-bitty wings! [swoons]

Check out the floppy ears on this guy:

Those scales must have taken forever! They look great, though. Shanna R. found him on Courtney's Cakes Flickr stream.

Here's one from The London Cake Company, found by Brian & Melissa W.:


This was for little Joseph's SECOND birthday?!? Dang, I really missed out during my childhood. (And adulthood, come to think of it...)

And lastly, Kate J. found some of the most adorable figure sculpting I've seen:

I love the simple-yet-ingenious "bushes", and the knight and princess are just spot-on perfect. Great stuff.

Found on Manray3's Flickr stream. I've been told this may be from The Cake Shop in the Covered Market of Oxford, England.

Sunday Sweets: WoW

Some of you know that Jen and I are currently geeking out at the biggest geek fest in the south, Dragon*Con. (For the 98.6 percent of you who read this blog but are not, in the strictest sense of the word, "geeks", Dragon*Con is a convention where the majority of the attendees could tell you, without hesitation, the complete works of Joss Whedon and how Jar Jar Binks single-handedly destroyed Lucas' credibility. But, I digress.

This week, we're going to broaden your horizons with something so geeky that even I know nothing about it: World of Warcraft. Apparently, this is a "game" where "players" spend untold thousands of hours walking around and killing things and otherwise forfeiting what was left of their "lives." To do this, I asked Jen's brother Ben, who is himself a recovering WoW addict, to help decipher these cakes. So let's get started, shall we?

(Submitted by Kelly J. and made by Swank Cakes.)

Our first cake is a laptop with a screen-shot of a member of the Horde called the Tauren shaman. We think that the book cake under it says "Shaman for Dummies."

And here's another angle:

"Gold farming" is a term loosely defined as selling imaginary money for real money. Kind of like the stock market, only dominated by Chinese corporations. (Okay, exactly like the stock market.)

(Submitted by Rachel T. and made by Crazy Cakes.)

This next one is actually awesome even if you know nothing about WoW. Since I went through the effort of finding out, however, I might as well share. She is an Alliance Paladin. Or maybe a warrior. Do you feel more educated? Moving on then...

(Submitted by JJ T. and Made by Art Eats Bakery.)

Here we have a bunch of well-made boxes with a chest on top. The only real WoW reference is the red banner with the Horde symbol. I get the impression that everybody who plays WoW is in the Horde (the bad guys) and that the Alliance (the good guys) are all "noobs," or geeks of lesser standing (as determined by those who really are in no position to judge). Got all that?

(Submitted by Tess L. and made by Anne Marie Martino.)

Okay, now we're cooking with gas. This is a shield which has been emblazoned with the symbol for - say it with me - the Horde. Nice woodgraining though.

And finally, we have a cake based on one of the most popular places in the game, the bank in Ogrimmar, the capital city of the Horde.

(Submitted by Jennifer E. and made by Eden Cakes.)

For reference, here's a screen shot of the building in the game:

On a side note, see those itty bitty game people with the colorful words over their heads? Those are your IT guys, your Microsoft employees, and your computer repair people. In short, the folks who keep the internets running and, thusly, control the world. So be nice to them, or someday, when you least expect it, you just might find yourself barred from Facebook. And then what will you do? Call somebody?


A big thanks to Ben, logger of untold hours in Horde-y land, for finally putting all that knowledge to good use.

(Just kidding, Ben! We all know nothing good comes from the Horde.)

- Similar Sweets: Star Wars

Sunday Sweets: Castles

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!

Sunday Sweets For My Dad

We all know dads' tastes are just as diverse as, well, non-dads, so when it came time to choose today's Sweets I decided to hone in on one specific dad: mine.

By East Coast Cookies

So, here 'tis: Father's Day Sweets for my dad, Jim Yates. But the rest of you can feel free to look, too. :)



Hey, Dad, remember that time the neighbor's little boy snuck in to our house, grabbed your guitar, and dragged it down the sidewalk? Ah, good times.

Also, I don't think your guitar looked quite this cool:

Submitted by Kathy H. and made by her sister, Carol V.

And remember how you'd take me for rides on your motorcycle? The turns always scared me, but I loved having my very own kid-sized helmet, and the thrill of climbing into the seat behind you, hanging on for dear life, and thinking maybe my parents weren't quite so embarrassing, after all.

Although, come to think of it, your motorcycle wasn't this cool, either:

Submitted by Tifany D., made by Charm City Cakes

It's possible you've blocked this from memory, but you really did teach me to drive. In our ancient green Toyota pickup, no less, with a floor stick shift.

By CakeDesigns

Our truck was DEFINITELY not this cool.

It took me years to figure out what you did for a living. All I knew was you worked at a big, intimidating office/factory and you wore a suit every day. (Btw, you're, uh, some kind of project manager/engineer type, right?) I still remember the first time you asked me if your tie went with your shirt; it made me feel so important, that you'd ask for my opinion. Actually, I still feel that way, any time you ask.

By Homebaked by Audrey

And for the record: that tie + that shirt = perfect.

Remember when I came home crying because all the kids were making flashy, expensive models for a school project, and I didn't have anything flashy OR expensive? You sat me down and asked me what I'd like to do. Then we went to Skycraft Surplus (remember that?). In the end, I couldn't have been more proud: my project board's little Styrofoam car had real working headlights!

By pastrychik

To this day, I clearly remember "The Sociological Impact of the Lightbulb" - because my Dad helped me build it.

Remember Starbuck and Midnight, our pet miniature goats? We must have been the only family in an Orlando subdivision with two goats bleating in the backyard. I still can't believe you bought them for us. Heh.

Submitted by Amelia B. and made by Kick Ass Kakes

(Bet you were expecting a goat cake, huh?)

You were forever doing home projects, and I loved weekends when you'd ask, "Shorty, want to go to the Home o' de Pot?"

By justcakinmytime

We'd pile into our old green pickup, and you'd sing "Greasy Grimey Gopher Guts" and "On Top of Old Smokey" along the way. Thanks to you I still love the smell of sawdust and grease that hits me every time I walk into our local Home Depot - and today I rock my own tool belt.

By Highland Bakery

One night I peeked into the living room to see what you and Mom were laughing about, and there on the TV was a curly-headed man in a long scarf bouncing into a blue police box.

By The Mad Platters

Soon we were all watching together, just like we watched Star Trek and Night Court and Monty Python together. The next year you brought us to my very first convention - a Doctor Who convention.

(I like to think my geeky lineage came full circle when John and I brought you and Mom to Dragon*Con last year - thus starting a yearly tradition, perhaps?)

When we were little, you seemed to take sadistic glee in waking Ben and me with loud jazz music, water, or banging suddenly on our bedroom doors - but I'll never forget the time you woke us with "Who wants to go to Disney World?!"

Sub'd by Stacey R., made by nice icing

You never set limits on my future, Dad. When I wrote lousy poetry, you submitted your favorite to a national magazine - and you were more disappointed than I was when it wasn't printed. When I thought I wanted to be a professional clown, you got brochures for Ringling College. When I first introduced you to John, you asked if we'd set a date yet.

You taught me to pursue my dreams, marry only for love, and to always finish my Brussels sprouts.

Hey, two out of three ain't bad, right?

So thanks, Dad. Happy Father's Day.

(Oh, and see you at Dragon*Con.)

By Cookievonster

Happy Father's Day to the rest of you dads out there, too! May all your children grow up to make you proud - when they're not publicly embarrassing you on the Internet, of course.

Sunday Sweets: Tour Edition

Today we're featuring the five bakers who provided the amazing cakey creations for our latest "world" tour, which wraps today. Though the cakes for the shows have been/will be featured in the tour posts for each city, we thought it'd be fun to show some more of their best work here today. So, with no further ado...

Breanna Kealey
Sugar Dreams Cakes & Things
Tempe, AZ

Breanna made this and the next cake for the new Cake Central magazine. (Yep, she's totally famous and stuff now! Of course, I take all the credit. :D)

Just look at her lace work:

Yes, that's all edible! Wowza.

Vanessa Martin
Amazing Cakes By Vanessa!
Tempe, AZ

It's so refreshing to see "congratulations" spelled correctly and a grad cap that actually looks like a grad cap, don't you think?

Ryley Eaton
That's My Cake!
Salt Lake City, UT

Little monsters! So cute.

Linda Darck
Sweet Art Cupcakes
Pasadena, CA

Seriously, how perfect is this cupcake?

Linda really knows how to make cupcakes look (and taste!) amazing:

Awwww.

(Btw, John has declared her strawberry cupcakes to be the best he's ever tasted.)


Lisa Douglas
Cake Dreams and Cookie Wishes
La Jolla, CA

I'd like this dragon in plush, please:

And also this bear:

Must. Not. Hug. Cake.


Thanks again for making our tour so sweet, ladies! You guys are awesome.

Have a sweet to nominate? Send it to Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.