Today is the fourth and final day in our new cake series, The 4 Cakes of July!  Four talented bakers were asked to create new designs inspired by the 4th of July holiday.  To bring the beauty and colors of the American flag to life in a modern cake design like none we have seen before.  And today’s cake is red, white and beautifully bold!

This fourth American beauty comes to us from Rachel Skvaril, owner of Fondant Flinger in Kodiak, Alaska.  You may remember Rachel from previous features on our site (like her blue poppy flowers and this snow owl birthday).  Rachel has a serious flair for ruffles and I was thrilled to hear she was going big and going bold with her design!  Vertical ruffles, alternating from red to white, mimic the stripes of the flag dancing in the wind.  An entire bottom tier of tightly woven ruffles creates the perfect block of blue and is nothing less than spectacular!  This is definitely not your grandma’s flag cake… but I think Betsy Ross would be proud!  It’s the grand finale!  And it’s The 4th Cake of July!

Rachel of Fondant Flinger shares the inspiration for her design:

“When Carrie first mentioned cakes designed after the flag, my first thought was of my biggest supporter and inspiration – my Mom, also known as the “Queen of Fling”.  She was born on June 14 (Flag Day), and she’s from the Heartland of America; New London Iowa, the self-proclaimed “biggest small town” in Iowa.  She has memories of the town completely decked out in its patriotic pride and as a child, always thought they had decorated just for her birthday.

There’s something about the patriotism of New London that has always held a soft spot for me.  On any given day of the year, rustic old red barns are set off by large metal blue stars and front doors decorated with wreaths made of flag motifs.  It’s all very Norman Rockwellish – Americana at its best.  So that’s where I went to get my inspiration for this cake.  Vintage Americana art with its simple, rustic appeal.”

More from Rachel of Fondant Flinger

“Ruffles are kind of my thing, and I feel they translate so well on this cake, and portray so well the furling of our nation’s flag.  The overall cake design, including the flower, mimics Americana fabrics that I found.  The inspiration even flowed into the cake itself, which is vibrant red velvet, offset with cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream.

I muted the colors a bit, to give the impression of an earlier time in our history and to give the cake a vintage feel.”

Just like any great fireworks display, we’re going out with a big finish.  Talk about a grand finale!  This cake is bold, daring and incredibly striking!  Yet somehow the ruffles have a soft romantic quality to them as well.  Put it all together and you have one dazzling display!

A huge thank you to Rachel of Fondant Flinger for inspiring us with her fantastic red, white and blue ruffles!  And to Sylwia Ok Photography for the gorgeous images!

What a way to wrap up a wonderful week of new and very patriotic cakes!  I hope you’ve enjoyed The 4 Cakes of July as much as I have!  It is remarkable to see how each of these incredible designers transformed our red, white and blue theme into a cake.  Each design was different yet totally amazing!!  Thank you to the talented ladies who created these beauties for us!  If you missed any of the spectacular designs in this series, you can find all four cakes HERE!

And remember that our big Crate & Barrel Giveaway is still open until July 4th!  If you haven’t entered yet, what are you waiting for?!?  Happy Friday everyone!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Cake:  Fondant Flinger
Photography:  Sylwia Ok Photography

Today is day three in our new cake series, The 4 Cakes of July!  Four talented bakers were asked to create new designs inspired by the 4th of July holiday.  To bring the beauty and colors of the American flag to life in a modern cake design like none we had seen before.  And today’s cake is all about refined elegance!

This third American beauty 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 ruched design).  Rachael paints a grand picture with her sophisticated interpretation of this patriotic theme.  The American flag, fluttering in the wind.  The stars and stripes gently rippling in the warm summer breeze.  With delicate hand-painted ribbons and soft silvery stars, this design is perfectly tailored for an elegant affair.  It’s exquisite!  And it’s The 3rd Cake of July!

Rachael of Intricate Icings Cake Design shares the inspiration for her design:

“My inspiration for this cake was the US flag… deconstructed.  I incorporated a wavy red white and blue pattern on the bottom to symbolize the flag blowing in the wind by hand painting the stripes.  The top tier has 50 stars painted in a combination of blue and pearl shimmer.  The center tier highlights the hand made red sugar magnolia.”

I love how the hand-painted ribbons gracefully cascade around the bottom tier while the subtle stars encircle the top tier.  The red, white and blue ribbon backdrop provides such a bold contrast to the crisp white cake.  It’s magnificent!  Now, let’s talk about this incredible sugar flower, shall we?  The details are crazy good and definitely demand a close up…

This soft and feminine design redefines the concept of flag waving!  I love that Rachael embraced the bold side of this color scheme and yet created something so polished.  The sugar magnolia bloom is incredibly striking with its bright crimson red details.   The whole scene is simply breathtaking!

A special thank you to Rachael of  Intricate Icings Cake Design for the ultra elegant red, white and blue inspiration!  And to Revert Imaging for the incredible photography!

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

Today is day two in our new cake series, The 4 Cakes of July!  Four talented bakers were asked to create new designs inspired by the 4th of July holiday.  To bring the beauty and colors of the American flag to life in a sophisticated cake design like none we had seen before.  And today’s cake is vintage elegance defined!

This second American beauty 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 honeycomb cake).  Erin’s vintage-inspired creation takes you back to small town America on Independence Day.  White picket fences lined with the stars and stripes.  Flag waving children eagerly awaiting the upcoming parade.  The fire truck making its way down main street, siren blaring, to start the festivities.  It’s pure patriotic fun!  And it’s The 2nd Cake of July!!

Erin of Wild Orchid Baking Company shares the inspiration for her design:

“For this cake I was inspired by a “vintage” 4th of July.  Instead of bright colors, I chose more muted tones of burgundy, navy and ivory.  I love to draw inspiration from fabric, so I decided to wrap the bottom tier in striped red, white and blue bunting.  Something similar to what you’d see swagged from railings and porches along a parade route.”

More from Erin of Wild Orchid Baking Company:

” To top the cake I created a layered textured bow in alternating stars and stripes.  The center of the bow is finished with a brushed gold bunting.  To keep the focus on the ribbon and bow details, I kept the base of the cake clean with a smooth ivory finish.  The edges are finished with ivory cords along the top and middle tiers and a red, white and blue twisted cord around the bottom tier.”

I love everything about this cake!  The rich burgundy and deep blue perfectly contrast the soft ivory base.  From the draped bunting to the intricate stars-and-stripes bow, this cake is magnificent!  Its refined elegance puts a whole new spin on flag bunting and is vintage Americana at its best.  Simply put, it is fabulous!

Thank you, thank you to Erin of Wild Orchid Baking Company for creating this spectacular design for us!  And to Mark Davidson for the beautiful photography!

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