When Miss Sarah contacted me and asked if I could help her out with a bridal baby shower... I was about to say no. I have been so busy I could not take on another order... but then she said something that sorta took the no out of me.
"We tried going to local bakery's, but none are willing to take on the challenge."
Dem's like fightin' words to me. I got all hot and bothered and said ABSOLUTELY I will help you out!
Now... what exactly am I going to be making?
She sent me this picture of an invite made by her sister Amanda.
Then said that she liked the idea of this shower, and wanted the bride mom to be to have personal (take home for a gift) cake as well.
She needed the main cake to serve thirty, a personal cake, and then three dozen cookies for snacks.
One of the last things she said to me in our coorespondence was, "Can't wait to see what you come up with!"
All of a sudden the fight was gone, and terror took over. What the heck?!? I had no idea what I was going to do.
So!
I settled on this.
and these...
...and some little flower cookies as well.
I made the "cookie cutter" template for the Russian doll cookies and used my favorite sugar cookie recipe as well as my trusty ole glaze icing recipe.
For the main cake I did devils food with a middle layer of vanilla and vanilla frosting.
The Russian doll personal cake is vanilla with pink vanilla frosting in between the layers, and covered in vanilla frosting. I tried fondant and failed miserably at it. #totalbummer (for you twitter lovers)
I just piped on the face, flower, and border with my glaze icing.
I really hope they like everything! Congrats to the bride mom to be!
*You may have noticed that I sorta got the shower ALL wrong. It was for a BABY shower, not a bridal shower. Thank goodness I didnt write that on any of the cookies huh? :)
*Also, I cant change the title of the post without altering the permalink, which would leave anyone who had linked to this with a bad link among other complications. Live and learn!
Amanda, it's been so long since I visited..... just wanted to say how much I love your Russian doll cookies, and the Boo Cake is to die for. I should have stopped by before Halloween so I could have been inspired to make that cake!
I have a question for you.... I need to make a cake for my just turned 2-yr old baby girl. What cake would you suggest? Thanks, Wendy
Posted by: Wendy @ Almota Roses | Nov 06, 2010 at 11:26 PM
Wow! This is just amazing. I think it looks like perfection. The russian doll cake kills me! (In a good way, of course.)
And I can't wait to try your recipe fro glaze icing. Seems way more tasty than royal icing.
Posted by: take a megabite | Nov 07, 2010 at 05:23 PM
You knocked this one out of the park! Tell me, is there a little Russian doll tucked inside of the main cake?
Posted by: Paula | Nov 07, 2010 at 05:58 PM
Talk about taking a theme and running with it. You seriously outdid yourself here.
Posted by: Eliana | Nov 07, 2010 at 06:32 PM
LOVE these. So beautiful! Of course, as a mother to a little Russian I might be slightly biased :)
Posted by: Hannah | Nov 07, 2010 at 06:34 PM
LOVE it! This is marvelous, as always. Such a cute idea.
Posted by: Andrea | Nov 07, 2010 at 08:44 PM
The cookies are the most wonderful delight ever, it will put a smile on everyone's face. Susan
Posted by: ssJewett | Nov 07, 2010 at 10:35 PM
ADORABLE! I love it!!
Posted by: abby | Nov 08, 2010 at 08:34 AM
Amanda! These are utterly breath-taking. You are an artist in the highest sense - how lovely for that lucky bride! The guests must have been blown away, I would have been.
Posted by: Stephanie Meyer (Fresh Tart) | Nov 08, 2010 at 08:48 AM
Amanda: These are GORGEOUS!!
I wanted a set of Russian dolls my whole life. I think it came from seeing that segment on Sesame Street where they kept opening the dolls and they were smaller and smaller and smaller....
My MIL got me a set for Christmas last year,and I was totally thrilled. I LOVE that you did this set of cakes-cookies.
Also, I HAVE mastered fondant (not molding figures so much as covering cakes in it) and let me say that it's highly overrated. I try to talk people out of it as much as possible. It tastes gross!! Who wants to pay a ton extra for something they just have to peel off and throw away!!
Posted by: Cookbook Queen | Nov 08, 2010 at 09:14 AM
AMAZING!!!
Posted by: Elizabeth | Nov 08, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Just beautiful! And I love that it would work for a bridal shower or baby shower :) You did a wonderful job as usual...suffice it to say - this is a design I will not be trying. Gotta start small ;)
Posted by: megan @ whatmegansmaking | Nov 08, 2010 at 12:03 PM
Stunning! Especially the cookies, so inspiring! Thank you!
Posted by: Steph | Nov 08, 2010 at 12:49 PM
So beautiful!
Posted by: Kristen | Nov 08, 2010 at 01:30 PM
AMANDA!!! (Yes, I'm yelling again!) HOW do you DO it?!? Seriously, I would have been one of those people who said, "um, no....not up for it." But, you, genius girl...you did it! Beautiful!
I hope you are charging the big bucks for these incredible creations! I see a book....a BEAUTIFUL book....in your future!
Posted by: bridget {bake at 350} | Nov 08, 2010 at 05:10 PM
They are gorgeous!!! They better like them! You are truly amazing...even if you did get the type of shower wrong. ;-) Just say it's baby brain...what can you do?? LOL!
Posted by: Maranda | Nov 08, 2010 at 07:36 PM
Wowser girl! LOVE IT!!!
This makes me think of my best friend - who did missions work in Russia as a teen and met her hubby there. I wasn't really going anywhere with that. Just writing what popped in my head. Yikes!
So incredible. That flower on top the cake is perfect in its (I can only guess) deceitful simplicity. I cannot imagine the work that went into this.
Posted by: Bethany | Nov 08, 2010 at 08:57 PM
I second the "how did you get the buttercream so smooth?"?! It's amazing! Was the doll two cakes together, or did you have a crazy mold? I really love how minimalist this turned out..
Posted by: Miss Didi | Nov 09, 2010 at 01:14 AM
I just caught up on all your recent baking and, well, it's amazing as usual! I am about to add this site to my feed so I don't miss any more. Did I ever tell you about the nice, Russian guy I was dating who asked me to marry him so that he wouldn't have to return to Russia and a mandatory military service? It's quite funny now but I was horrified then. Anyway, that's what the Russian Doll cookies and cakes reminded me of.
Posted by: Liz | Nov 09, 2010 at 06:49 AM
These (cakes AND cookies) are AMAZING. So cute. Love the color combos. Oh my gosh - just adorable. Beautiful work!
Posted by: Sally | Nov 09, 2010 at 09:32 AM
p.s. I am SO laughing at myself right now. I was totally onboard with the whole bride/russian doll idea, and all of a sudden I realized - HEY, THESE LOOK LIKE BABIES ALL BUNDLED UP IN BLANKETS! An "AHAAA!" moment for sure! LOL
Posted by: Sally | Nov 09, 2010 at 09:38 AM
Russian Doll looks like she was made using a Cricut. The cakes and cookies look just right. Fun design for a new mom.
Posted by: sg - KS | Nov 09, 2010 at 11:29 AM
The Russian Doll invites WERE made with a Cricut!
Amanda, you did a fabulous job, and THANK YOU for the edit :)
Posted by: McKenzie @ Stitch & Soiree | Nov 09, 2010 at 04:55 PM
These are the most beautiful cookies!! I love Russian stacking dolls!! Awesome Job!!
Posted by: Twyla | Nov 12, 2010 at 11:56 AM
whether the honoree was a baby or a bride, they're great designs. pat on the back for ya, amanda. :)
Posted by: grace | Nov 13, 2010 at 12:23 AM
These are so cute!! love it!
Posted by: Nuha | Nov 15, 2010 at 10:46 PM
I was showing these to my husband and he just said "is vedding."
Posted by: Taunameyer | Nov 30, 2010 at 10:20 PM
AMAZING and darling!
Posted by: Sue | May 12, 2011 at 02:08 AM