A handbag cake for my mum’s birthday

I have two more ‘big’ birthday cakes to share with you, and had better start with my mum’s, as this one happened almost a year ago now!!

Back in April last year my mum turned 70 – an event she wasn’t going to let slip by quietly!! ☺️ We had numerous celebrations and I think she loved every single one. One of these celebrations was a party at Brian’s daughter Claire’s house….  Claire kindly allowed loads of friends and family round for a Sunday afternoon soiree, and whilst Claire provided the buffet food and drink, I asked if I could provide the cake – obviously! 😝  And as you might imagine, I’d been thinking about it for months…. I settled on an idea involving lots of beautiful sugar flowers, and although James pointed out that she’s not a keen gardener, I didn’t think that mattered as the cake was just to look ‘pretty’ & her lack of interest in gardening didn’t worry me. However, as the event drew nearer & more people were asking me about my plans, one too many people made the same comment & just a few weeks before the party I crumbled & decided to do something more suited to her likes!! I thought about how much she likes shoes & handbags and tried to find something manageable along that theme. I thought a shoe would be quite difficult, and then found a tutorial for a handbag cake which made up my mind. There is an amazing cake artist in Canada called Yolanda Gampp, & I watched a video she made of her handbag cake. After studying it three times & making notes, I realised all the amazing little things she did that weren’t in the instructions, but when you looked closely at her cake, it was clear these little details made the cake look so amazing… So it took quite a bit of thinking, planning, & lots of baking…… The cake ended up huge, & James had to carry it as it was so heavy!! I used my favourite chocolate swirl Madeira cake recipe, & set about stacking & filling the layers, before carving them into a tent-like shape.  Then all the fondant decoration went on….  I made several pieces in advance, and tried to add a higher level of detail than I would for most cakes. If anyone is interested in the details of how to make one of these, check out Yolanda’s tutorial here:

http://howtocakeit.com/blogs/cakes/97918919-a-vanilla-toffee-handbag-cake-for-kate-middletons-birthday

I hope you think my cake is almost as good as hers!!! 😋

The finished handbag cake

The finished handbag cake

I was really pleased with how it turned out & couldn’t wait for my mum to see it at the party. Her reaction was great & I loved how lots of guests didn’t even realise it was a cake to start with ☺️

There wasn't a lot of room for candles!!

There wasn’t a lot of room for candles!!

A close up of the buckles

A close up of the buckles

The front clasp

The front clasp

When the time came to cut it, I was a little disappointed after all the work that had gone into it, but was delighted that people enjoyed it & there was more then plenty to go around!!

I’m going to finish with his picture, as I just love the expression on Brian’s grandson Baxter’s face you can just see in the top left corner of the photo 😆

The cutting of the cake!

The cutting of the cake!

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