Behind the Scenes: Marina Bolisacova’s Red Sea Cake
Marina Bolisacova, the featured cake-maker in April’s issue of Cake Central Magazine shared with us behind the scenes photos of how she assembled her The Pearl of the Red Sea cake. This award winning cake was made for the 2011 Top Chef Arabia competition, and it contains no internal supports or inedible pieces. Learn to make her edible, fondant coral reef, sting rays, tropical fish and hand painting techniques.
Marina free formed the coral and rocky texture on the cake.
Many of the sea creatures were made using molds and hand painted.
Some of the creatures were sculpted by hand and then painted.
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Bridal Shower Cookie IC Winner
We’re happy to announce that the winner of our bridal shower cookie Inspiration Challenge is thisandthat2000! Congratulations!
Thisandthat2000 used bits and pieces from all of the photos on the inspiration board and used a variety of styles on these cookies. We really like the lavender cookies and the lace doily-style cookies in the back. The cookies stacked like cakes are a nice touch for a bridal shower. Together, this collection of cookies would make for a fabulous centerpiece at a brunch for the bride. Congratulations, thisandthat2000!
To see more beautiful cookies, check out the Cookie Challenge 6 album. Later this week, we’ll have a new challenge to inspire you!
Read MoreMost Saved Baby Bump Baby Shower Cakes
Peachy Mother To Be By ellyrae
Buttercream and Fondant icing, square is 12″x12″, “belly” is an egg shaped cake pan.
Baby bump belly cakes have quickly become one of the most popular styles of baby shower cakes. They can be used to reveal the baby’s gender as a fun surprise, and they also can be decorated to look just like the mother-to-be. Here are some of the top baby bump cakes from the gallery!
Belly Cake By awiscar
Two Tier Belly Cake By meomy
My first two tiered belly cake. Was fun, was BIG! Was a hit at the shower.
Pregnant silhouette By KoryAK
Fondant icing and banner with a chocolate transfer on top. Template is also in my photos now.
Kayden By cheflene
Inspired by a cake I found on the internet or here on CC (can’t remember). Red velvet cake with cream cheese filling and cream cheese buttercream icing. The belly was made with the Wilton sports ball pan and the breasts were made from the mini ball pan. I used two ball halves for each “round” and just trimmed the bottoms so they would sit flat. The bottom cake is from a two layer 9×13 sheet. The bow was made from a mixture of fondant and chocolate clay with a bit of tylose added.
Belly cake By lea74
This is 10″ square cake iced in buttercream with fondant accents. I used Wilton ball pan for the belly and mini ball pan for the boobs. TFL
Blue pattern bump cake By emilsmee
Hand-painted design on a 3D belly cake.
Valente Baby Bump By Sweetwise
Baby Bump By kazmick
This is our first attempt at a belly cake. Quite a challenge!!
crazy baby bump By sylly
CSM:chocolate cake carved with two mini balls and fondant covering with bow- very fun cake! TFL!
Small Baby Bump Cake By SusiesBakeShoppe
10″ Round Cake with Fondant DecorationsThanks CC for the Idea!
Baby Bump By luv4cake
My first baby bump cake – had a lot of fun making this one.
BABY SHOWER BUMP By JENNYSGOODYS
THIS IS A CAKE I DID FOR A LONG TIME FRIEND.IT IS A FONDARIFIC FONDANT!
Baby Shower Boy Bump or Baby Belly Dress cookies By Meri8
NFSC with rolled Fondant & RI details. I cut the cookie then made a little ball of dough to stick on before baking. Then I had to stretch the fondant a little in the middle to cover the cookie. Some have a rubber mat impression for texture, some are marbled. I saw ones like these here on CC but then could not find them again so I hope people use mine for ideas! TFL.
Baby Belly By pat-a-cakes
Baby belly cake on top of half slab cake. Breast are RKT the rest is cake covered with MMF. Customer said the theme was hot pink and zebra print.
Baby Shower By CorinasConfections
Made for a baby shower. Belly is cake and boobies are RKT. TFL
Shimmery Baby Kicks By kiddocakes
Yet another belly cake, but this time I added a bit of pearl shimmer to the blue airbrush color and I loved the detail this time. Customer wanted the same colors I’d done before on another cake but w/the baby foot included. This is what it came out to be. Hope you enjoy =) TFL!
Baby Showe Belly Cake By Kimskakes23336
Cake adapted from ctorno’s shower cakes. I made this cake for my little cousin’s baby shower. The base cake is three layers of chocolate with praline buttercream. The torso is butter cakes. Both cakes covered with Satin Ice fondant. Figures and decorations were made with gumpaste.
Mini-Baby Belly Cakes! By jayhawkcake
My girlfriend saw this somewhere on the web and told me about it, so I had to try them out myself for a baby shower luncheon. It was a small affair and they wanted individual serving of cake. I thought they turned out super cute! Thanks for looking and thanks to the original creator, I can’t take the credit! 
Belly Bump By torysgirl87
My first belly cake. 3-D egg pan and mini wonder molds. Baby Winnie the Pooh themed shower. TFL!
Baby Bump Cake By madicakes
Toile baby bump By sunnydayz
Surprised the Momma to be (with the help of Grandma to be)…by replicating the blouse the Momma to be…would be wearing at her baby shower…it was a fun project.
Baby Bump Shower Cake By halfbaked
Western Themed Baby Bump Baby Shower Cake By gracefull
What’s your best baby shower story?
Love them or hate them, we’ve all been to plenty of baby showers, especially as cake-makers! We want to hear your best stories about the most memorable baby showers you’ve been to, whether they’re sweet, fond memories or hilarious comedies of errors.
You must be logged in to submit!
Read MoreFriday Faves: Easter, Spring and Cherry Blossoms
Pink sugar roses and cute gumpaste kittens; vintage tea parties and warm scents from the kitchen; three-layer cakes covered in buttercream: these are a few of our favorite things!
As editors of Cake Central magazine, we come across so many awesome, inspiring things while working. From users to cake creations to wedding inspiration to cool new products, we want to share a few of our favorite finds with you every week.
Here are this week’s Friday faves:
Jackie’s Faves
![900x900px-LL-1947ef37_VintageEastereggs[1]](http://media-us-148799954183.s3.amazonaws.com/b/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/900x900px-LL-1947ef37_VintageEastereggs1-581x600.jpeg)
These vintage easter eggs by 1DessertQueen are just lovely! These would make a great addition to any Easter dessert table.
![900x900px-LL-488fac70_faberge[1]](http://media-us-148799954183.s3.amazonaws.com/b/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/900x900px-LL-488fac70_faberge1-416x600.jpeg)
Another beautiful way to serve up sweets by couturecakesbyrose: rice cereal treats disguised as decorated Fabergé-styled Easter eggs.
Justine’s Faves
![900x900px-LL-85fb0032_image[1]](http://media-us-148799954183.s3.amazonaws.com/b/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/900x900px-LL-85fb0032_image1-600x600.jpeg)
These hand-painted Easter cookies from Artful Bakery look like they jumped right off the pages of a storybook. The adorable, happy bunny and chick make me want to celebrate springtime!
![900x900px-LL-361b2564_Brave22[1]](http://media-us-148799954183.s3.amazonaws.com/b/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/900x900px-LL-361b2564_Brave221-450x600.jpeg)
This sculpture of Merida from Brave is so realistic! HaveSomeSugar perfectly captures Merida’s spirited attitude— and her signature curly hair.
Andi’s Faves
![900x900px-LL-142ac039_photo[1]](http://media-us-148799954183.s3.amazonaws.com/b/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/900x900px-LL-142ac039_photo1-450x600.jpeg)
I couldn’t resist including this yarn ball cake in my faves! I love how accurately IHeartCupcakes captured the look of two-ply variegated yarn. It looks like you could pick up a ball and knit with it!
![900x900px-LL-3319b5a7_002[1]](http://media-us-148799954183.s3.amazonaws.com/b/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/900x900px-LL-3319b5a7_0021-401x600.jpeg)
One of my favorite things about spring is when the cherry blossoms bloom, and the petals get blown around by the wind. MoreSugar01’s cake makes me want to go walk through a garden full of Japanese cherry trees. It’s beautiful.
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Lalaloopsy Cakes, Cookies and Cake-Pops
Lalaloopsy Cake By SheiCakes
This Lalaloopsy cake was made for my daughter, Mia, for her 6th birthday. Three super decorated tiers with different flavours (vanilla, red velvet and chocolate) and her real size favorite Lalaloopsy doll handmade by me 
. Hope you like it! It is one of my favorites!!!
Break out your button molds! We’ve got a collection of Lalaloopsy
cakes that are sure to inspire you to make your own.
Lalaloopsy Cake Pops By AngelFood4
Made 20 of these along with a Lalaloopsy themed cake. So much work but they turned out so cute. Chocolate cake balls baked in a cake ball pan, dipped in chocolate and decorated with MMF. Too bad the detail on their eyes don’t show up on the photo. More details on my blog.
Lalaloopsy cake By preciouspjs
I made this cake for my daughter, its 10″ round and 7″ round cakes covered in fondant. bottom tier has “quilted” pattern, and colorful buttons I made out of fondant. top tier has patches and frosting “stiching”. I really didn’t care for the top tier, I would definitely change the design next time. I used toys on this cake because my daughter really wanted the minis, and since I also did my son’s cake, it was much easier and faster
Lalaloopsy By AngelFood4
Made this for my niece along with 20 Lalaloopsy Cake Pops. 9″ round covered and decorated in MMF. Lalaloopsy’s head is a cake pop and covered in a mix of modeling chocolate and MMF, the dress is gumpaste. More details on my blog.
Lalaloopsy Art cake By briancrys1
made for my daughters birthday. Got the idea from another larger art cake that I found online and added lalaloopsy touches to it.
Lalaloopsy By smcakes
for a little 4 year old who wanted Pepper, her pig, and lots of buttons on her cake! All edible www.mcgreevycakes.com
Lalaloopsy Cake “Suzette la Sweet” By lanana
She is all edible. I tried Lots of new techniques including internal structure set up, hand painted flowers and eyelets. This was my gift for my best friend’s daughter Daniela. Cake is Vanilla with pink vanilla buttercream
Lala-cutesy………..Lalaloopsy…… By ellawillow
Just finished this cake for my friend’s daughter……just know she is going to LOVE her cake. Miss Loopsy turned out so cute….I love it.
Lalaloopsy cake By maryscik
This is a birthday cake for my little daughter – with her favorite toys – all dolls are made from sugarpaste
Lalaloopsy Cake Pop Favors By AngelFood4
Cake balls decorated in MMF to resemble the lalaloopsy dolls. Details on my blog.
Lalaloopsy – Crumb Sugar Cookies and Pet Mouse By Yummy-MummyCakeCreations
Doll and Pet Mouse are both Vanilla Cake with Vanilla buttercream.Decorated in fondant.Approx 42cm tall. THE CUTEST CAKE I’VE MADE TO DATE!!!
Lalaloopsy Birthday Cake By Rookno17
This cake was inspired by Lalaloopsy dolls. The “doll” is made from fondant and krispie treats. The cake is made of raspberry cake & cream cheese icing and is covered in rolled fondant.
Lalaloopsy Pillow Featherbed/Pillow Cake By chinacat77
Lalaloopsy Doll cake (Pillow Featherbed), the doll was made of RKT and covered in fondant. her pet lamb was also made of RKT and covered in royal icing. She sits on a ‘fuzzy’ pillow cake iced in buttercream, with fondant button accents. My colors were a little off though (from the original doll) and just now noticed I forgot to put my last piece of rick rack on in the front! lol. (I forgot it in the mold in the freezer…which makes removal soo much easier without distortion) I also used the new wilton button/rick rack mold, which fits lalaloopsy perfectly!
Lalaloopsy By mum321
Lalaloopsy cake for my daughter! Vanilla spot cake inside with white choc ganache.Pix E flutters topper, and Pillow Featherbed, Bea Spells Alot, Blossom Flowerpot, Mittens Fluff n Stuff and Jewel Sparkles around the top tier
Punk Lalaloopsy doll By DailyCookie
I have the best clientele! This was for a lady who sent me pictures of two Lalaloopsy dolls… She wanted the head of one of them on the body of another and all the colours to be changed up I called her Punk Skullz’N'Bones
Lalaloopsy By rearly
This cake gave me so many problems! First off I made the wrong flavor cake and had to start over…..not sure where my head was at. Secondly, it was a cold sunny day in Canada today and the sun was shining onto the cake as I was making it fading the pink and purple to light pink and purple/blue. Sometimes you just have to “go with it”!Please note this is not my own design but a combination of great cakes found on CC.
Lalaloopsy Jumbo Cupcakes By Bilbar33
My twin granddaughters love Lalaloopsy, I decided to surprise them for their 5th bday with jumbo cupcakes instead of a cake. Chocolate Cake, with my buttercream icing & fondant Lalaloopsy faces.
Lalaloopsy Crumbs Sugar Cookie By Andreacassie
Vanilla rainbow cake with vanilla buttercream & raspberry jam filling
Lalaloopsy Birthday Cake By Tcree30
Lalaloopsy cake! Double chocolate on top and bottom tier, middle tier was vanilla cake with with butter cream. All Figures are fondant. This was only the second fondant cake I ever did..
LALALOOPSY By doramoreno62
This is a 1/2 sheet cake with the popular Lalaloopsy doll, Sugar Cookie Crumble. All frosted in Pastry Pride. Doll was copied onto a Wilton Sugar Sheet. Buttons are gumpaste. Thanks for looking!
Lalaloopsy By capecodcakes
Marble cake with ganache filling iced in buttercrem. All decorations are fondant except the little people. The house is a huge sugar cookie covered in fondant. I love all the colors!
Lalaloopsy Cake By LorisSweetCakes
The Lalaloopsy doll was made entirely of rice crispie and fondant.
Lalaloopsy birthday cake By bordeasr
Lalaloopsy “Crumbs Sugar Cookie” cake . She’s made from RKT (head) and fondant/gumpaste (body)
By ellawillow
I was asked to do a Lalaloopsy cake…unfortunately I already had a cake to make that day…. I did however make a little doll topper and the birthday girls name and some buttons so mum could decorate the cake herself. Seriously – how cute are the Lalaloopsy dolls…I want to make all of them
Lalaloopsy Birthday Cake By debecakes1
I made this cake for my twin nieces’ birthday. Each level represents a different Lalaloopsy doll. The bottom is Blossom Flowerpot. Middle is Pillow Featherbed. The cupcake on top is for Sugar Crumb Cake.
Lalaloopsy By Newfoundlandgirl
Buttons, buttons and more buttons ! The buttons are made from melting wafers and the doll is made from rkt and fondant.
Lalaloopsy theme By angeleyesmm5
This cake has 7 different themes according to the lalaloopsy doll. cake is 12 in manderin, 8 in banana strawberry, and 6 in oreo cookie. Covered in mmf, decorations made from mmf. the dolls are toys. TFL
Lalaloopsy Cake By Lymaris81
Lalaloopsy cake for my friend’s niece.Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake w/Almond Buttercream.Decoration made from fondant/gumpaste.TFL! 
www.facebook.com/FirstClassCakes
Lalaloopsy By cupncake1
Made for fun, I didn’t get to finish them I wanted to do all the characters, maybe next time
Lalaloopsy Cake By Atomikjen
This is for my daughter’s 5th Birthday. She loves Lalaloopsy so she picked out which girls she wanted.Cake is 8″ round (6″tall) and a 6″ round (4″tall) rainbow colored vanilla cake. Vanilla buttercream white inside with Green and blue outside. Gumpaste decorations.
Lalaloopsy By cj72
Fun to make. Covered in creamcheese frosting with MMF and B/C accents. Finally had a reason to use my button mold.
Lalaloopsy Cake – Toffee Cocoa Cuddles By AngelFood4
8″ round (6″ tall) cake decorated in MMF. Lalaloopsy Figurine’s head is a cake ball, body is made out of gumpaste and MMF. I also made Lalaloopsy cake pop favors to match. Details on my blog.
By Connie1027
The blue-haired Lalaloopsy doll is the birthday girl’s favorite. I did a play on the Lalaloopsy logo using her name. Buttercream with fondant and gumpaste accents. LOTS of colors in this one!!
Lalaloopsy By mplaidgirl2
Doll was made out of RKT.Her feet are resting on a stack of buttons and a spool of thread. I loved making this bright girly cake!
Lalaloopsy cake By Kaatje72
Made this lalaloopsy cake for my little niece who turning 5. I used real dolls and the original house the doll used to be in.I think it turned out really nice.
Modeling Chocolate Recipe & Tutorial
Easy Modelling Chocolate Recipe & Tutorial!
We have a list of FAQ’s below for troubleshooting! Please check them if you are having any trouble! Better than home made fondant! Modeling chocolate tastes better and is easy to make and use!
So many requests for a FONDANT Recipe & Tutorial but I have found something better!
MODELLING CHOCOLATE is quite similar to fondant but it tastes better, is easier to use and can be easily made at home in your microwave!
Great for figurines, detail work, covering cupcakes and even flowers.
Prepare 1-2 days prior to use for best results. Can be made using white, milk or dark chocolate.
Ingredients:
250g (9 Ounces) of white chocolate, melted
4 tablespoons of liquid glucose (or corn syrup)
1 tablespoon of water
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS! Please check these before messaging me as it will very likely answer most of your questions!! (& I get hundreds of emails a day so may be a little slow to respond – I will respond though!)
1/ WHEN DO I ADD COLOUR TO MY MODELLING CHOCOLATE?
Once the chocolate is completely made and fully kneaded, I add colour paste or gel (not liquid) and knead it into the completed batch of MC – If possible, colour it the day prior to using it as the additional kneading can make it a bit sticky, or pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes post-colouring to chill it out a bit
2/ WHAT TYPE OF CHOCOLATE SHOULD I USE?
Just plain, supermarket white chocolate – it can be cooking chocolate or chocolate you just eat, but not couverture chocolate (it will say it on the packet and will be super expensive if its couverture) If its a whole block, just break it into pieces and weigh out the correct amount
3/ CAN I USE COLOURED CANDY MELTS?
Yes, you can
4/ HOW DO I STORE MY COMPLETED MODELLING CHOCOLATE & FOR HOW LONG?
I dont freeze mine as I find it gets sticky with the extra moisture generated by the defrost. Just put it in a zip lock bag and store at room temp for up to 2 months. I actually just used one of the batches I made for this tutorial and that was nearly 3 months later! Essentially it’ll last till the expiry date of the chocolate used, so long as its air-tight
5/ CAN I USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN LIQUID GLUCOSE OR CORN SYRUP?
I have HEARD of people having success with golden syrup, but I haven’t personally tried it so can’t recommend it from experience – I would recommend having a try if you cant find either of the other options, but it will tint your MC slightly brownish. You cannot use honey.
6/ CAN I COVER BIG / FULL SIZED CAKES WITH THIS MODELLING CHOCOLATE?
Depending on the size – I love MC for cupcakes and decorations, but prefer fondant for big cakes – easier to smooth and get nice sharp edges! I also love a 50/50 mix of fondant and MC
7/ MY MODELLING CHOCOLATE IN GRAINY?
Grainy usually suggests it has been either overmixed or the chocolate was not entirely melted to begin with. You want to mix until that clear liquid is only just not visible and it just lift away from the sides of the bowl – 90% of MC issues happen in the mixing stage.
8/ MY MODELLING CHOCOLATE IS GREASY?
It will look greasy when just mixed but if it is soft and sticky AFTER you had let it set for 12 hours, this is usually a case of too much glucose. Try melting a quarter of the amount of white chocolate used in the recipe and melting the MC mix back down and combining the two, then see if it sets – be careful not to mix too long!
9/ WHAT CAN I DO WITH RUINED MODELLING CHOCOLATE?
I store it as above and when I want one, I will melt a portion down and add it to hot milk for an amazing white hot chocolate! Chocolate should never be wasted – lol
10/ CAN I SET MY MODELLING CHOCOLATE IN THE FRIDGE FOR FASTER SETTING?
You can fridge it, but bring it out an hour or so before trying to knead it as you dont want it super cold, room temp is best for kneading.
11/ WHAT DOES MODELLING CHOCOLATE TASTE LIKE?
Erm… Chocolate
From Youtube
I’d love to see pics of your cakes and cake pops on ANY of the above — You all know how mine turn out — now show me YOUR creations!
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