Our contributor, Miso of Miso Bakes, is here with a new tutorial perfect for Spring and Mother’s Day.

This past December, I traveled to Europe again but this time with my mom accompanying me. Together we visited many museums and looked at hundreds, if not thousands, of paintings. Though I have been to and have seen some of the museums and paintings a few times before, my fingers still tingled in excitement and my heart still smiled at the sight of works by Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, etc. The use of colors and textures, brushstrokes and lighting in some of the paintings left me so in awe that I talked about them for days. Months later, I still sit here and daydream about them.

I returned wanting to create a cake inspired by all the art I saw. I wanted to add texture and depth using various buttercream colors, but at the same time, I wanted it to be season appropriate. This is what I created…

Today we’re going to talk about how to “paint” your cake using shades of buttecream and a palette knife.  Let’s get started with this Watercolor Painted Cake Tutorial…

WATERCOLOR PAINTED CAKE
a DIY by Miso Bakes

STEP 1:   Tint small amounts of buttercream to your liking. If you have time to spare, do this the night before so the colors can fully develop and you can adjust the colors if needed.

STEP 2:  Have your cake iced in buttercream and ready to go. Make sure the cake is well chilled.

STEP 3:  Using the tip of your palette knife, dab a little buttercream to the chilled cake.

STEP 4:  Using the side of your palette knife, smooth it out.

STEP 5:  Continue doing this throughout the whole tier. If the white buttercream starts clinging to your palette knife or dragging along with the green buttercream, chill your cake and try it again.

STEP 6:  Once you have your first layer of green on, you may chill your cake and apply a second coat of green buttercream in a different color. By applying your green in separate coats, you can control the overall look and effect of your cake.

STEP 7:  However, if you wish to be a bit more daring or artsy, you can mix your colors and then dab it onto the cake like this.

STEP 8:  Similar effect, but different technique. You may choose either technique. It’s ultimately what you feel most comfortable with.

STEP 9:  Chill your cake and design the cake to your heart’s desire. I piped buttercream roses, grass and leaves since it’s Spring.

TIP: If you would like to add ‘brushstrokes’ you can brush over some areas with a clean paintbrush.

While the concept of watercolor painted cakes is not new, I hope you enjoy my approach to this technique!   Happy Caking!

	Miso Bakes Miso is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a talented pastry chef with a big passion for cakes. Read more about Miso on her bio page.

I could not be more excited about today’s post!  We’re taking you to the kitchen of an inspiring baker and giving you a behind the scenes look at her creation process.  It’s a fabulous Friday field trip and I hope your permission slip is signed!

Marcella Robin is the owner, baker, designer and chief mastermind at MRobin Cakes in Portland.  If you’ve been reading for awhile, you probably remember when we first featured Marcella’s work back in 2011.  (If you’re new, you can catch up HERE.)  Marcella designs entremet cakes which are made of sponge cake, layered with a variety of creams, custards, mousses and then wrapped in a thin exterior layer of sponge cake.  The design is actually baked into the outside layer.  And they are simply out of this world!  This creative spin on cake design is bold, fresh and just down right fun.

Okay, so here’s the agenda for our time with Marcella.  First we’re going to swoon over a few of her most recent designs.  Then take a peek at her creation process.  Followed by the sweetest treat of all…. a must see video!  If you watch one thing this weekend, make it this video!  So stick with me for a few.  You won’t want to miss a single moment.  We’re hanging In the Kitchen with MRobin Cake Design!

Simply a.ma.zing.  I could write an entire post about either one of these cakes!  They are seriously so incredible.  But we have an appointment to keep and I want to keep us on track.  Let’s head to the kitchen….

If you think the cakes are cool, you simply must, must watch the full video.  I’ve watched it several times already.  Not only is Marcella extremely talented, which is evident from her cakes, but she’s totally laid back and incredibly humble.  And this video captures all of the funky extrement fun!  You’re going to love this peek into her creative process!  If you’re at work or somewhere you can’t just launch into a video, then make a mental note in your weekend planner.  This is a must see….

Are you loving this or what?  Seriously, it’s okay to hit the play button again.  I know you want to!

A special thanks to Marcella at MRobin Cakes for inviting us into her kitchen today.  And to the talented crew over at Cineastas who shared their awesome video with us.  Happy Weekend everyone!

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cake:  MRobin Cakes
Video & Still Photography:  Cineastas Video Production
Photography:  Precious Bugarin Design

Let’s talk about pretty petals, shall we?  But I don’t mean your ordinary, run of the mill, sugar flowers.  I’m talking an entire day’s worth of beautiful blooms.  Delicate, graceful, blooms.  Hand cut and placed with precision.  Grouped and bunched and snuggled together into an oh-so-beautiful bouquet.  Because that’s exactly what today’s cake has in store for us.  An entire tier of gorgeous blooms clustered together in a frilly, almost ruffle-like, pattern.  Add in a touch of lace and some incredibly chic cake toppers and you have this little beauty.  It comes to us from Isabelle Bambridge of The Designer Cake Company in the North East of England.  And I know you’re going to love it!  So sit back and enjoy today’s cake…

Isabelle of The Designer Cake Company tells us about her inspiration:

“The inspiration for this cake came from a number of places. I spend hours reading wedding blogs and looking at colour palettes for ideas and I just adore pale peach with ivory and white at the moment. To me, these colours are delicate and warm and have a vintage feel which I love!”

Isabelle of The Designer Cake Company gives us the scoop on her technique:

“With this cake, I was really keen to play around with different tier heights in order to give it a modern and less traditional feel which I think works well but the detail on the base tier was a real labour of love as you can imagine. It took me an entire day to cut, frill and stick all those flowers on but it turned out exactly how I planned and to me, looks a bit like the frilly skirt on a wedding dress. The cute wooden peg people on the top of the cake were a bit of an after thought to be honest. I felt it needed something to balance the detail on the bottom but didn’t want to detract from the flowers and when I saw these little guys, I fell in love with them immediately. I’m not usually a fan of ‘people’ cake toppers but these are just adorable.”

Seriously. So. Gorgeous.  A special thank you to Isabelle of The Designer Cake Company for sharing her beautiful blooms with us today.

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cake:  The Designer Cake Company
Photography:  Simon Williams at Crest Photography