Today is the final day of our new cake series, EEEK It’s Halloween Week!  Five talented bakers were asked to create new designs inspired by Halloween.  To bring the spirit of the holiday to life in a modern cake design like none we had seen before.  Each baker was given a basic black and white color scheme and a specific genre, creating a week of inspiring cakes for everyone.  We’ve seen everything from whimsical to couture….  but it is Halloween Week after all.  So today we have something a little darker.  It’s time for the Vintage Goth category!

This fifth Halloween cake comes to us from Erin Gardner, owner of Wild Orchid Baking Company in North Hampton, NH.  You may remember Erin from previous features on our site (like her rainbow cake and her vintage bunting cake).  Erin has a talent for transforming trends into sophisticated cake designs and today’s feature is yet another great example of this skill.  Erin’s design is delightfully dark and transcends us into a scene of tall candelabras, wax-dripping candles and heavy black curtains.  A world where black orchids, black petunias and inky fingers are the flowers of choice.  Where graveyard-inspired iron fencing is covered in cobwebs and a menacing skull is on display.  Erin’s cake is a fabulous cross between beautiful and foreboding, creepy and cool.  Refined yet frightful, it’s a Vintage Goth Halloween Cake!

EEEK!  Can you believe this cake?  I’ve been looking at it for days now and I’m still in awe!  How can something so dark be so sophisticated?  It’s quite possibly the most elegant cake to include a skull, ever!  And the sugar flowers are insanely gorgeous with their black and grey tones, intensified with deep shades of purple.  It’s eerie and spooky and down right spectacular!  Let’s get a better look, shall we?

Erin of Wild Orchid Baking Company gives us the scoop on her design:

“My inspiration was a super chic goth Halloween ball.  I imagined a big Edwardian ballroom, black gowns and drippy candles.  The black curtain inspired base tier opens up to reveal an antiqued stone finish.  On the second tier are details mimicking a wrought iron fence.  I wanted to bring in the elements of a grave yard (head stones, fences), without being too literal.  On the top is a skull cake wrapped in black sugar flowers.  I’ve been dying (ha ha) to do black sugar flowers!  For this cake I researched actual “black” flowers and foliage that can be found in nature.  I created black orchids, black petunias, inky fingers (the black centered leaved one – love the name!) and ivy.”

Erin was going for gothic chic and she certainly nailed it!  This cake is so crazy cool!  It’s dark and eerie and simply captivating.  Can’t you just imagine a fabulous, adult-friendly Halloween bash with this cake as the centerpiece?  It would be frightfully a-ma-zing, just like this cake!

Thank you, thank you to Erin of Wild Orchid Baking Company for creating this spectacular Vintage Goth Halloween Cake for us!  And to Mark Davidson for the gorgeous photography!

Oh, and if you’re keeping track of promises…. yes, there is still a new DIY headed your way.  Coming to the blog later today!!  Happy Friday!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Cake:  Wild Orchid Baking Company
Photography: Mark Davidson Photography

Today is day four in our new cake series, EEEK It’s Halloween Week!  Five talented bakers were asked to create new designs inspired by Halloween.  To bring the spirit of the holiday to life in a modern cake design like none we had seen before.  Each baker was given a basic black and white color scheme and a specific genre, creating a week of inspiring cakes for everyone.  And today is we’re moving on to the Whimsical category.

This third Halloween cake comes to us from Yeni Monroy and her team at Dream Day Cakes®, located in Gainesville, Florida.  You probably remember Yeni from previous features on our site (like this Thing 1 & Thing 2 cake or this robot cake).  Her cakes are the perfect combination of precision and whimsy, creating magical designs with incredible attention to detail.  Yeni once again brings her signature style to the blog with an enchanting design capturing the playful side of Halloween.  Prepare to oooohh and aaaahh over this Bear-y Whimsical Halloween Cake!

Oh my goodness!  Where do we start?  Ridiculous cuteness from bottom to top!   A 3D pumpkin base is topped with topsy-turvy tiers of black and white.  Surrounded by the most loveable bears, dressed in costume and wearing big smiles.  They are so ready for some Halloween cake!  Spooky bats fly in the moonlight as the itsy-bitsy spider happily descends from a fanciful witch hat!  This cake simply cheers… Happy Halloween!

Fred from Dream Day Cakes shares the scoop on this design:

“The cake features 4 trick-or-treating bears dressed as a skeleton, mummy, vampire, and ghost.  Scrolls and topsy-turvy tiers keeps this cake whimsical and kids will immediately recognize the bears as wearing costumes. In showing that Halloween can be more fun than scary, even the spider (on the witch’s hat) is all smiles.”

This cake may include a vampire, skeleton, mummy and ghost… but it’s all fun, no fright!  The darling trick-or-treating bears are captivating for children of all ages.  You just can’t help but smile!  And who knew a spider could be so inviting and happy?!

Not only was this cake created to inspire you, but it was served at a very special event.  Fred from Dream Day Cakes tell us more :

“The cake was served to attendees of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Kickoff to a Cure event held at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. More than $70k was raised for this foundation– we were truly honored to be a part of it.

We kept the black & white theme throughout the inside of the cake with our accent color of orange– trying to have fun with it. For example, the pumpkin tier was an almond cake with layers of pumpkin spice buttercream.  We also had a tier of chocolate cake with cookies & cream buttercream (with orange jimmies), as well as vanilla cake with chocolate and funfetti buttercream.”

A Halloween cake full of creativity, charm and whimsy… that also supported a good cause?  Just one more reason to love this cake!  As if all of the amazing details weren’t enough.  We didn’t even talk about the ingenious use of chevron or the gorgeous hand-cut Halloween lettering….!   What a delightful combination of genuine Halloween fun!

A huge thanks to Yeni and Fred at Dream Day Cakes® for sharing this Bear-y Whimsical Halloween Cake with us today!

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cake : Dream Day Cakes®

Today is day three in our new cake series, EEEK It’s Halloween Week!  Five talented bakers were asked to create new designs inspired by Halloween.  To bring the spirit of the holiday to life in a modern cake design like none we had seen before.  Each baker was given a basic black and white color scheme and a specific genre, creating a week of inspiring cakes for everyone.  So far we’ve seen the Classic Halloween category followed by the Modern Chic.  And today we’re moving on to Glittery Glam!!

This third Halloween cake comes to us from Rachael Teufel, owner of Intricate Icings Cake Design in Erie, Colorado.  Rachael has been inspiring us with her beautiful cakes for years now (like this tangerine and turquoise tango and this sugar burlap cake).  Once again, Rachael has us swooning over her sophisticated interpretation and elegant style.  While we’ve featured many dress-inspired cakes in the past (Rachael’s ruched design included), today’s feature takes the ‘From Dress to Cake’ concept to a whole new level!  It’s, by far, the most creative dress-inspired cake yet… and I simply cannot get enough!  Who knew a fashion icon could inspire a Halloween cake?  A fabulous Oscar De La Renta gown is transformed into a seriously wicked Halloween design, with sleek black and white stripes that will make your head spin!  Accented with just the right amount of purple glitter and flying bats, this cake is one part Beetlejuice and two parts Glittery Glam!

Okay, okay.  Quiet down with all that squealing.  Oh wait, that was me squealing!  For the umpteenth time!  Seriously.  Can you believe this cake!?!

Rachael of Intricate Icings gives us the insider scoop on her design:

“Glitz and Glam is totally up my ally when it comes to cake designs and I love a little sparkle, but then again what girl doesn’t?  I also love having an inspiration piece to guide my design process.  When I think of glitz and glam, I think of those gorgeous gowns on the red carpet.  I thought using a new fashion trend from 2013 would be glamorous, so I chose a gown designed by Oscar De La Renta, one of the world’s leading fashion designers.  This black and white striped gown even has a bit of a Beetle-juice feel to it … perfect for Halloween.”

Rachael of Intricate Icings talks about her technique:

“I first covered the cake in white fondant.  I added a piece of purple for the under-skirting and then used modeling chocolate to form the flowing fabric at the bottom of the dress.  Each black modeling chocolate stripe was hand placed onto the dress.  I hand cut two bats and glittered them along with the under-skirting using edible glitter of course.”

Seriously?!!  We just have to pause and talk about these stripes.  I love striped cakes and this is the ultimate in stripes.  Vertical stripes – check.  Horizontal stripes – check.  Diagonal stripes – check and check.  Softly flowing draped stripes?  Yep, got those too.  Folds upon folds of stripes…. seriously?  Oh my stripe-loving-goodness!  Talk about spectacular!   Just look how the front bottom fold lines up with the underlying stripes to create a perfect V!  The precision and attention to detail in these stripes is phenomenal!

If I had a ‘Queen of Stripes’ crown, I would now place it on Rachael’s head.  She has definitely earned the title with this cake!  Her impeccably tailored stripes, coupled with the purple glitter and glam bats, create the perfect cross between Beetlejuice and stylish wicked witch.  It’s Glittery Glam Halloween to the max!

A special thank you to Rachael of  Intricate Icings Cake Design for the breathtaking, glittery glam inspiration!  And to Revert Imaging for the incredible photography!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Cake:  Intricate Icings Cake Design
Photography:  Revert Imaging