Cakes By Rachel

RACHEL R.

2012-01-11T16:17:00.001-05:00

Photos by Jack Looney.

CRISTINA

2012-01-11T15:55:00.002-05:00

Photos by Holland Photo Arts

MAUREEN

2012-01-09T19:03:00.001-05:00

JULIE S.

2011-10-09T23:38:00.001-04:00

JAMIE D.

2011-10-09T23:34:00.001-04:00

DANIELLE B.

2011-10-09T23:28:00.001-04:00

CORINNE

2011-10-09T23:21:00.001-04:00

AMY S.

2011-10-09T23:18:00.001-04:00

HOLLY

2011-10-09T23:14:00.001-04:00

JANE K.

2011-10-09T23:11:00.001-04:00

SIOBHAN AND MIKE J.

2011-10-09T23:03:00.001-04:00

KIM W.

2011-10-09T22:56:00.002-04:00

ANA

2011-08-19T15:56:00.002-04:00

NANCY AND KATE

2011-08-19T15:53:00.002-04:00

This is a small cake I made for my friend Nancy to take to her daughter at college on her birthday. The flavor was the Deanne . I just thought this 5" cake was cute as a button and a good reminder that a cake doesn't need to be big to be special.

SUMMER MOON 2

2011-08-19T15:50:00.004-04:00

You may remember Summer from last year when I did gumpaste dandelions on her birthday cake. I, for some reason just love to make her birthday cakes.
She has gone gluten free, so I did a great Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, filled with Chocolate Ganache and Triple Cream with fresh Raspberries, Iced with the Darkest Chocolate Buttercream possible!
The sunflower is a perfect one picked from my garden. Although the dandelion is one of her favorites, the sunflower is really her totem flower. Nothing represents her better!

I thought it would be fun to post some of Summers cakes from the past.

This one is from 2008! Have I mentioned she is a quilter.

And here is a cake that I made for her Blessing Way ceremony for her first born.

NOAH AND ELLE

2011-08-19T15:47:00.004-04:00

Now, those who know me might say, "Rachel, we thought you didn't do this sort of thing."
Well, when Noah and Elle's mom, Robin, called me and asked if I would be willing to make birthday cakes for her family, and explained that Noah had special dietary needs, I said yes! I can't refuse a child who needs a birthday cake!
Both of the cakes are made dairy and egg free.

Noah's cake was vanilla with a vanilla icing and Elle's was chocolate with my vegan tofu chocolate pudding on the inside. Even though I am lucky enough to eat dairy and eggs, I found I could not resist the trimmings when I carved out Elmo's head.
The accents are in fondant but the rest is all "butter"cream.
Thank you Robin, Noah and Elle for giving me an opportunity to stretch outside the box I usually bake in!

MARTHA

2011-08-19T15:43:00.002-04:00

Martha is a chef and the owner of the Charlottesville Cooking School. For her 50th birthday, she had a fabulous dinner party catered by Mike Lund. I had the great honor to provide the cake!

I wanted a flavor combination that was appropriate for January, would appeal to her classic side, and yet be intriguing to the educated palettes in the room. The cake was Almond Sponge Layers moistened with Frangelico, filled with Chocolate Ganache and Mascarpone Cream, iced with a Maple Hazelnut Praline Buttercream.
She mentioned she loves Peonies, so I made a gumpaste peony for the top!
Here is to 50 more!!!

KATE C.

2011-08-19T15:41:00.004-04:00

Kate had a great vision for her cake buffet.

She found vintage bride and groom cake toppers and then we made cakes to fit her navy blue theme. The overall effect was classic and whimsical all at the same time!

Some of the cakes were Vanilla Chiffon and some were Dark Chocolate Sour Cream, all filled with Triple Cream and Fresh Raspberries and iced with White Chocolate Buttercream.

WENDY AND JASON

2011-08-19T15:15:00.005-04:00

Wendy and Jason were married at Veritas Vineyard on a lovely November day. Their flavors were simple and delicious. Vanilla Chiffon Layers moistened with Grand Marnier, filled with Orange Curd and iced with White Chocolate Buttercream. We gave the outside the texture of fabric with fondant ribbon roses cascading down.
Wendy and Jason, congratulations and best wishes!

And guess who's favorite super hero is Captain America!

BETHANY

2011-02-22T21:51:00.005-05:00

Bethany and Jerry were married on a beautiful September day at Montfair Lodge in White Hall. They chose a design to match the lace pattern of her dress. I had a fabulous time piping this cake!
The flavors were some of my favorites. Almond Sponge Layers filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse and iced with Vanilla Buttercream.
This cake, during the process of designing and creating, made me a better cake baker!
Thank you Bethany and Jerry.

KAREN AND BEN

2011-02-11T16:38:00.007-05:00

Karen and Ben were married at Oakridge Estate with the Rock Barn for their caterer. What I loved best about this wedding, was that modern fun cupcakes fit so well in this elegant old estate home.

They chose three types of cupcakes; Dark Chocolate Sour Cream with White Chocolate Buttercream, Vanilla with Chocolate Fudge Icing and Coconut with Coconut Buttercream.

The cutting cake was a Vanilla Chiffon cake filled with whipped Chocolate Ganache and iced with White Chocolate Buttercream.

Yum!!!!!

PAT

2011-01-09T22:19:00.003-05:00

A birthday cake for a beautiful lady from Sweden!

LUCY

2011-01-09T22:17:00.004-05:00

Lucy and Keith were married at the end of November. In keeping with the season, they asked each guest bring their favorite pie to the wedding reception. It was beautiful to see all the pies on display. They even had a pie eating contest!!
Even though they love pie very much, the confided in me that they really love cake too. A couple after my heart! So we made them a small cake for the cutting ceremony. The top tier is Chocolate Sour Cream filled with Raspberry Curd and Chocolate Whipped Cream. The bottom tier is Vanilla Chiffon filled with Fresh Pumpkin Mousse. All is iced with Vanilla Buttercream.
This picture does not do justice how cute the salt and pepper shaker topper looked.
Much joy to you Lucy and Keith.

CHRISTINE T.

2011-01-09T22:14:00.003-05:00

I have become a big fan of the cake buffet!
Christine and Tom went all out for the cakes for their December wedding at Veritas Vineyard. They had three different types of cake all presented on stumps cut and carved by my Super Husband, Andy.

The three cakes were; the Deanne, White Butter Layers soaked with Kahlua Syrup, filled with Mascarpone Cream and iced with Mocha Buttercream; the Andy, Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Layers filled with a Coconut Pecan Bourbon Icing; and the Amy, Vanilla Chiffon Layers kept moist with Cognac, filled with Fresh Pumpkin Mousse and iced with Maple Buttercream.
The cakes were adorned with purple tulips and ruby red pomegranates. It felt like a Dutch painting!

HOLIDAY COOKIES

2011-01-09T22:10:00.002-05:00

I had a great time making cookies this year for Christmas gifts! I am afraid that I ate quite a few myself. Here is an assortment we ate with friends on Christmas Eve. In the front are my fabulous Hungarian Shortbread bars filled with strawberry rhubarb jam. Next are hazelnut thumbprints filled with 3 types of jam. Next are cornmeal icebox cookies layered with homemade cherry jam made from an old variety of cherries picked at Monticello's orchard. (I have a close friend who works there!)
Next are pinenut crusted amaretti and maple cream sandwiches.
All with 3 flavors of Ben and Jerry's-we were very happy!

So you can see I had a little too much fun staying up late and making gingerbread men and ladies! I especially liked making the hair!

These were all for a Christmas party catered by Harvest Moon Catering.

CAKE SAFE

2011-01-09T22:04:00.004-05:00

If you have not yet heard about the Cake Safe I am proud to introduce you to it! Although, I must admit, I was tempted to keep it as my little secret.
This a large cake that is leaving my kitchen to be delivered to a nearby winery. If I haven't mentioned it yet, I live on a tall mountain with a long, steep, bumpy driveway. My father always asks me why I always need to do things the hard way. Luckily, I now have a Cake Safe. Actually I have two!

Here is the cake loaded into the Cake Safe and into my car!

Here is the cake arrived safely on site and I am about to disassemble the box to put the cake on its table and decorate! I did have to chase away the servers and florist as they were "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing just to take the picture.

Doesn't it look great! Thank you Juli and Scott!
cakesafe.com

MUSIC RESOURCE CENTER

2010-11-03T00:33:00.002-04:00

These musical cupcakes were done for a benefit for Charlottesville's Music Resource Center. For this we came up with a new flavor combination (for us).
Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with Caramel Sea Salt Buttercream.
Music in my mouth!

ASHLEY AND GAVIN

2010-11-03T00:27:00.003-04:00

Ashley is a woman who knows what she wants! This is my favorite type of client. As first, though, I admit that I wasn't sure how her flavor choices would go together. Then, when I was assembling the cake and could taste all of the components together, I fell in love. She really knew what she was doing!
Alternating tiers of Red Velvet Cake filled with Cream Cheese Icing and Chocolate Sour Cream Cake filled with Hazelnut Cream Filling all iced with Vanilla Buttercream.
Classic, yet complex, innovative and delicious!

The design turned out great also! The beautiful afternoon sun beaming into the King Family Vineyard skylights doesn't hurt.

Gavin is English so we honored him and his family's heritage with a traditional fruitcake decorated with a St. George cross. Three weeks soaked with brandy!

STACEY AND FRANKIE

2010-11-03T00:10:00.004-04:00

First off, I have to say that I had a wonderful time making both of these cakes. One classic and one whimsical!

Stacey's wedding cake was the Deanne. White Butter Layers soaked with a Kahlua syrup, filled with Mascarpone Marsala Cream and iced with Mocha Buttercream. The piping of hanging vines and the green centered gumpaste flowers really gave this cake and real presence.

If you haven't guessed, Frankie is a huge Phish fan! So we decorated his groom's cake (Vanilla Butter Layers that were filled with Pumpkin Mousse and Hazelnut Praline and then iced with Maple Cream Cheese Icing) with the Phish logo. Challenging, but really fun to do!

BETH A.

2010-11-03T00:04:00.002-04:00

Beth and Josh chose a cake buffet for their October wedding at Ashlawn!

First, we have Carrot Cake Layers filled with Cream Cheese Icing and iced with Maple Buttercream. The decoration is cornelli lace piping.

Next, is Vanilla Chiffon Layers, moistened with Frangelico, filled with Hazelnut Cream and iced with Dark Chocolate Buttercream.

And third, we have the Nancy, a dense Dark Chocolate Cake filled with fresh Raspberries and Framboise, glazed with Chocolate Ganache and then iced with White Chocolate Buttercream.

A little something for everyone!

LAUREN

2010-11-02T23:54:00.002-04:00

Another fabulous wedding at King Family Vineyard!
Jacob and Lauren had alternating tiers of Chocolate Sour Cream and Vanilla Butter filled with Raspberry Curd and Iced with Vanilla Buttercream.

The piping was done in Chocolate Buttercream as was so much fun to do. It felt like I was making chocolate peacock feathers!

They also had mini NY Style Cheesecakes and

French Macaroons filled with Chocolate Ganache.
Yum!!!

MATT AND JENN

2010-11-02T23:40:00.003-04:00

LIBBIE

2010-11-02T23:37:00.003-04:00

This cake was a triumph! It proved that a very large all-butter Swiss meringue buttercream cake can survive a very hot August day without air conditioning!
Libbie and Will chose Vanilla Chiffon Layers filled with Triple Cream and Fresh Raspberries and iced with White Chocolate Buttercream.

What truly made this cake special was the heirloom topper. It has adorned many generations of her mother's families' cakes. I was so proud to put it on mine.

MELISSA D.

2010-11-02T23:20:00.002-04:00

The first time I spoke with Melissa, she told me she and her man were cupcake aficionados!
I new the cupcakes had to be perfect and I was instantly excited about the challenge.

After our tasting, she proclaimed them perfect! She chose vanilla with chocolate buttercream, chocolate with chocolate buttercream and vanilla with white chocolate buttercream.
A true purist!

We also did a cutting cake of Spice Layers with White Chocolate Buttercream. The most exciting part to me was the gumpaste gardenias. What a pleasure to make!

Above photos by Jack Looney.

MEGHAN M.

2010-11-02T22:32:00.001-04:00

TAMARA

2010-08-20T17:19:00.001-04:00

So this is Tamara! You may have seen her before eating a caramel apple in a earlier post. There are few ladies who could pull of wearing a bathing suit to her birthday dinner party that matched her birthday cake!
This gives a whole new meaning to "birthday suit"!
Her cake, like her, was an elegant classic. Pure coconut. Fitting to her personality, there was a surprise on the inside. The four layers of fresh coconut cake were filled with a tangy passion fruit curd. All iced with a coconut silk meringue buttercream. There was silence at the table after everyone took their first bite. That is the ultimate compliment in my opinion. And this was possibly one of the best cakes I have ever made.

SUMMER MOON

2010-08-20T17:13:00.002-04:00

My friend Summer and Kyle often let me make them their birthday cakes. I am not sure what the magic is between us, but I am always inspired to reach outside my comfort zone and try something new. Summer is very passionate about plant medicine and feels very connected with the Dandelion plant. She has even been dreaming of getting a dandelion tattoo!
I have been working with gumpaste a lot this year and was excited to try a flower that there were no directions for. So this is my rendition of the dandelion complete with roots! It was a blast to make! Thank you, Summer and Kyle, for having me be part of your birthdays!

Mini Cupcakes

2010-08-20T17:11:00.001-04:00

I just had to photograph these cupcakes because they are just so darn cute! One feels like a kid just being around them! These papers are handmade and come in all different colors.
The batch of 500 was made for a benefit for the Charlottesville free clinic featuring Sheryl Crowe. The servers passed them around the concert on trays. Pure fun!

MEGAN C.

2010-08-20T16:54:00.002-04:00

Megan and Todd were married at Veritas Winery at the end of July and the affair was photographed by Rothwell Photography. The wedding and the cake were pure summer.
The cake was vanilla chiffon layers spread with strawberry preserves and filled with triple cream and fresh strawberries. Reports have it that a guest paid another guest $20 for his piece!
I am always honored to be part of families' celebrations and this one was one of the best. The whole event was magical and all came together beautifully.
I was not the only one who thought so!

This is a link to the photos of the wedding.

http://www.rothwellphotographyblog.com/blog/2010/08/megan-todd-wedding/

onewed.com featured the pictures on their site.

http://www.onewed.com/blog/savvy-scoop/category/bridesmaids/2010/08/03/featured-vineyard-wedding-megan-and-todd/

And theknot.com featured the cake as editor's pick!

http://www.theknot.com/contests/my-real-wedding/photo/155017/megan-and-todd039s-quotbirds-and-bloomsquot-vineyard-wedding

APRIL

2010-08-20T16:42:00.001-04:00

April and Alex were married at King Family Vineyard in Crozet! A perfect July summer day and a simply elegant summer cake. The vanilla chiffon layers were filled with triple cream and raspberry curd and iced with white chocolate buttercream. Pools of summer berries and a few flowers were the only accent. Ahh, summer.

KIM B.

2010-08-20T16:27:00.001-04:00

I am crazy for gumpaste daisies!!!
These were so much fun to make. I stayed up late after the hubby and boy go to bed and went to town! When I am working on a something like this, I feel like I am a little girl again making craft projects for school the next day. This time, though, I have the skills to make my "project" look in real life the same way it does in my head. I think it may be why I love making cakes, the vision to reality process. OK, I admit, my incredible love of eating cake might have something to do with it.
This cake definitely fulfilled both loves. The outside was light, airy, innocent, and deceptively simple (there are over 60 daisies on it). But on the inside it was dark, dense, sinful and delicious.
Dark chocolate sour cream layers were spread with raspberry jam, filled with dark chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries, and iced with white chocolate buttercream.
The dichotomy of this cake- does it reflect a complicate nature of the bride? I imagine Alexander is finding out! Lots of love to you both!

SYDNEY

2010-08-20T16:26:00.001-04:00

While my friend, Willow, was giving me a great haircut, she asked if I would be willing to do a birthday cake for her teenage daughter. Syndey loves to watch the cake shows and wants to explore the possibility of working with food as a career. She would like a cake that is fun and whimsical, just like on TV.
Well, of course I wanted to make her a cake! But, anyone who knows me knows that I have mixed feelings about working with fondant. To quote my assistant, Monique, "It is like trying to eat cake with chewing gum in your mouth!" But I love to do fun, lighthearted cakes. Where is the compromise? Gumpaste is great to work with and doesn't get in the way of the enjoyment of eating cake, which in the end, to me, is the most important thing.
Sydney's party was Hawaiian themed, so Monique (who is from Hawaii, lucky lady) and I came up with this design. Vanilla buttercream waves, lapping over a graham cracker crumb beach with a gumpaste lei of plumeria flowers (individually made and painted) and gumpaste flip flops.
This cake was a blast to make!!! Thank you Sydney and Willow for getting my creative juices flowing. I am already thinking about next year. Maybe we can make it together!

MELISSA M.

2010-08-20T15:57:00.001-04:00

Here is another cake photographed by Jack Looney (jacklooney.com)

Melissa and Christopher were married at Alumni Hall in July. When we did our tasting the December before, they were so much fun and so clear about what they wanted their cake to be. Melissa's parents came also and after her father tasted the chocolate mousse, he repeated over and over, it doesn't matter what else you choose, as long as it has the chocolate mousse!!!

They chose two different flavors, alternating tiers of vanilla chiffon cake with triple cream filling, and chocolate chiffon cake with chocolate mouse filling. All iced with white chocolate buttercream. The caterer, Harvest Moon, served the slices with fresh berries on the side.

Action shot of the bride digging into the cake. I love it!!

ABBIE

2010-08-20T15:53:00.002-04:00

Mini cupcakes to pop in your mouth! That was the desire of Abbie and Jeremy for their King Family July Fourth wedding. The flavors were chocolate with white chocolate buttercream, vanilla with raspberry buttercream, and red velvet with cream cheese icing. A little festive flair, with not too much. Simply elegant and oh so delicious.
We also did a few gluten free minis for Jeremy, carrot cake with cream cheese icing and lemon cake with raspberry buttercream. They reported back that they were tentative to eat them, they were too good to be gluten free!

JACK

2010-08-20T15:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, I didn't create a cake for Jack, but when Jack Looney sent me this picture from the wedding in the previous post (Michele S.), my heart melted. Nothing warms this cake baker more than to see an elder enjoying some of her cake. One day I will have a cake studio or even a cake shop and this picture will be framed on the wall. Really big!
Thank you, Jack.

MICHELE S.

2010-08-20T14:27:00.001-04:00

It was clear from the beginning that Drew and Michele are knowledgeable about food and know what they like. I knew right away that I was going to enjoy working with them. It wasn't until the end of the tasting that I learned that Drew is a well respected chef! Always an honor to work for fellow culinary professionals!

Their pure vision produced a beautiful cake. Almond Sponge Layers moistened with Amaretto, filled with Triple Cream and iced with waves of White Chocolate Buttercream.

The wedding took place at the Kluge Estate with Harvest Moon doing the catering.
We all worked together to create a dessert buffet with classic French almond macaroons sandwiched with vanilla buttercream, dark chocolate truffles, and lemon curd raspberry tartlets!

These photographs were taken by Jack Looney. He is amazing!
www.jacklooney.com