{1} “I wanted to create a unique, woodsy design,” says Janan Juliff, aka the Cake Diva. To make the cake look as tree-like as possible, Juliff started with brown fondant, impressed the sides with tree bark detailing and topped it with royal icing. Even the gumpaste shoe and bowtie are completely edible!
{2} No need to gild the lily when you have a cake this polished. Inspired by brides looking for tasteful, timeless designs, April Wysocki of Country Cake Cupboard captured the feel of fall in an understated manner. Using just a touch of the season—a crimson bow and calla lilies—this fondant-crowned stunner epitomizes simplicity with a whisper of autumn elegance.
{3} For her homage to fall and winter holidays, designer Roxanne Johnson of the Cake Box Bakery hand-brushed the second tier of her Natural Traditions cake to look like a birch tree, complete with the couple’s initials “carved” in it to symbolize eternal love.
{4} If it’s in your nature to want a natural-chic look, then you’re right on trend. For this dark chocolate ganache-covered cake, Rachel Adams, head decorator at Buttercream, took her cues from forest vines and turned up the glam. “We often have requests for simple designs and are asked to add a little glitter, just to make the whole cake pop,” Adams says.
{5} Tired of cookie-cutter cakes? Then you’ll love the creative flair of this three-tiered design from A Piece of Cake. Stucco-style frosting acts as a background for star-of-the-show succulents and pheasant feathers, and a coordinating ribbon ties the look together. Half cake decorator and half florist, the team at A Piece of Cake are pros at incorporating flora into their sweet creations.
{6} If working with fondant were an Olympic sport, Sweets would win all the gold medals. This quirky forest fantasy, dreamt up by Sweets Bakeshop cake designer Ben Courneya, was inspired by a forest floor. “There’s this whole bustling world right beneath your feet,” Courneya says. “I wanted the story of this little world to reveal itself from behind every mushroom and beneath each leaf.”
