Laced With Icing

So today my mind has all been all about the sweets.  It's my biggest vice.  Cookies.  Candy.  Ice Cream.  More Ice Cream.  Straight Sugar. Smoothies.  All of the above.  Before last year, though, I was never a fan of cakes.  Maybe it was because I would've rather had the icing?  Or maybe it was because my birthday cake was always shared with my sister (our birthdays are 10 days apart).  But with this new craze that has hit the Food Network and TLC, how can I not become a cake lover as well?  Cakes surely have come a long way since I was a kid.  And so now I've become a cake fanatic, no that's an understatement.  I've become an obsessed sugar-crazed fondant cake stalker.  I love the artistry, the detail, the creativity.  The lifelike flower petals, or the crazy cake that looks like it is depicting a scene in a movie, and of course the prim and proper wedding cakes.  My only question is: Are they even edible?  Gosh, I hope so.

What my friends don't know is that in my free time, instead of online shopping or catching up on my daily Facebook gossip, I'm researching the coolest looking cakes around.  Seriously.  I think it all started with the Cake Boss (...the only good thing that came out of watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 during their "divorce season", because Cake Boss was on right after).  I have now been fantasizing for about a year about going to Carlos's Bakery.  I actually had a dream about it once.  No lie.  I was seriously considering going to one of his motivational cake shows (whatever that means).

And I know this blog is supposed to be about class and propriety and all, but a little indulgence now and then never hurt anyone!  Right?

Here are some of my favorite finds!  And don't worry, I'm not a cake discriminator. I appreciate cakes of all icing types!

This tiered cake looks so yummy, my mouth is completely wagging.  With its Van Gogh inspired icing: I am impressed.  Maybe its a new genre of baking: Impressionist Baking.

Okay so I know the designer of both of these cakes.  He made my graduation cakes as well, and they were AMAZING!  He's really got an eye for style, and his cakes were the only cakes I would eat when I was younger because his icing was just that good.  I've even snuck into his bakery and had an icing fight with some friends.  Hopefully he doesn't read this and find out!

Now what would this blog be without a little Pittsburgh spirit?  I am absolutely in love with these cakes.  I just hope the baker ate the Cardinals one first.  Remember, always save the best for last! :)

The tallest cake imaginable!  You could feed a small army with this baby.  What is it, 7 stories high?  Why would you ever need something like this?  Maybe Princess Victoria used it to feed the media after they ruined her intimate gathering. Most likely.

And the Queen said, "Let them eat cake!"  And I say, that on my birthday, THIS is the exact cake I want!  Ah it is the perfect tea party cake as well.  I'm just in love. Major love with this cake.  

Finally, to close for tonight.  The perfect trifecta: Tiffany's, Chanel, and Gucci.  Now really, you can't go wrong.

And now that I have visually indulged you for the night, physically indulge yourself!  Go eat some cake.  Bake your own confectionary masterpiece.  Or if you burn even the pre-made cookies, do what I do, drool over Ace of Cakes and the Cake Boss.  Either one will tie you over until you can get up early, before the gym, and scurry on over to your local bakery.

And now I leave you with the best cake/dessert quote I could find:

"Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."

-Jim Davis