Welcome to the brand new website of Consider a Cake! Thanks for stopping by. New gallery images and posts will be added shortly. Feel free to send along any questions or comments!
Thanks,
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
This past weekend, I got to celebrate my friends Kristy and Ryan as they prepare for their very first baby! I made their wedding cake a few years back, so it was especially fun for me to make this cake for their baby shower.
The cake is sour cream vanilla, with fresh strawberry mousse and vanilla buttercream. Kristy is one of the only people I know who actually loves the taste of fondant, so I knew I just had to incorporate fondant polka dots and ribbons on the cake for her baby. And the frosting “stitches” add to the playfulness.
It’s difficult to tell from the photo, but the cake is small–the top tier is only four inches in diameter. Small tiers are great when you would like the tiered cake look but don’t need that many servings.
Congratulations, Kristy and Ryan! So excited to meet your baby boy!
Check out my first UFC (that’s right, Ultimate Fighting Championship) cake! It’s espresso cake with milk chocolate ganache. And the boxing gloves are made from rice krispy bars and then covered in fondant. When I was first asked to make it, I thought, “Hmm. I make cakes with flowers.” But I tried my best on this one, and left the flowers for another time. It was a fun new challenge!
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
P.S. The matching cupcakes have chocolate and fondant covered espresso beans.
These are an experiment with cake balls, or cake crumbs mixed with frosting or ganache, rolled into balls, and then dipped in chocolate. I decided to call them cake truffles, because they are extreme chocolate and very rich! I dusted them with three colors of luster dust, to make them a bit more special.
These are chocolate and espresso, but they could be made with practically any flavor of cake and filling.
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
I’ve had several people ask me about cakes for those with special diets. I haven’t branched too much into this, but I tried my first dairy free/vegan recipe this week, in honor of my good friend’s birthday. It’s a chocolate cake, with a dense texture and a mild flavor. The frosting has butter (which I have heard most people who are allergic to dairy can handle), but I could substitute it for vegan ingredients easily. This particular cake has a dark chocolate pomegranate buttercream. The rope border, roses, and disks are all made from neon-colored fondant, which is also vegan.
Looking for a gluten free cake? I haven’t yet experimented with this, but I’m certain I won’t be able to produce anything better than what Bittersweet Bakery in Eagan makes. Everything I have tasted there is delicious, and the family that owns the bakery is delightful!
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
In honor of the AMAZING season our Minnesota Twins are having, my housemate and I put together these Twins cupcakes. They are red velvet cake with my new favorite frosting recipe, which is actually an old recipe for buttercream, from my grandma, that starts with a white roux.
We had fun decorating the cupcakes to look like the Twins’ throwback jerseys, complete with each player’s number and roster photo. Go Twins!
P.S. We are planning something much bigger when they make the playoffs!
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
Thanks to hours devoted to watching the Food Network this weekend, I was inspired to post some new cake combinations to my Flavors page! I love brainstorming new options, and I love to hear your ideas too! Feel free to email me for custom flavors.
My newest flavors include:
- Chocolate espresso cake with white chocolate buttercream and crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans
- Lemon sponge cake with honey basil whipped cream and lemon buttercream
- Pecan Pie: Butter cake with pecan pie filling, cinnamon graham whipped cream, and toasted pecans
- Spice cake with fresh pear compote and vanilla buttercream
- Sour cream chocolate cake with dark chocolate chili pepper ganache
- Sour cream vanilla cake with apple butter and honey graham whipped cream
- Sour cream vanilla cake with caramel mousse and vanilla bean buttercream
- Tiramisu: Espresso cake with milk chocolate rum cream cheese frosting
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
Cupcakes are a great and popular option for weddings right now. They eliminate the mess of cake cutting and the need for plates and silverware. And cupcakes are so fun to decorate and personalize (each individual cake can even have its own, unique design!). These cupcakes were created with a playful theme to match the feel of my good friend Kelsey’s wedding reception. We brainstormed five different flavors and made sure there were enough for guests to try multiple cupcakes. And she created these adorable signs in picture frames to place next to the cupcakes with descriptions of the flavors:
- Lemon Butter Cake with Blackberry Mousse and Lemon Buttercream
- Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Dark and White Chocolate Ganache
- Snickerdoodle (Vanilla Bean Butter Cake with Cinnamon Frosting)
- S’more (Vanilla Sponge Cake with Marshmallow and Graham Cracker Filling and Milk Chocolate Ganache)
- Funfetti Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream
To decorate these in the photo, I piped their monogram letter onto royal icing disks. Check out my Gallery page for photos of a few of the other cupcakes, too.
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
It’s wedding season! This weekend marked my first cake of the season–an almond butter cake with almond whipped buttercream. I thought I would share a bit about the design (and be sure to check out my Gallery page for a few other cake photos!).
The bride and groom opted to forget the fondant, so the cake has the homemade feel that buttercream provides, a look that I love. I used royal icing to create the gray grid pieces, which I then painted with edible silver luster dust to give them a slight sheen. Then I used gum paste, a pliable sugar dough that hardens when dried, to form the pink roses. Gum paste can be used to make beautifully realistic flowers, but I love that the bride and groom chose these flowers, with a stylized, vintage feel. I finished the flowers with a touch of pearl luster dust and completed the cake with simple white pearl borders.
I also wanted to point out the cake stand because I think it highlights how a display stand can be created to match the cake, at a very low cost. I took a candlestick holder for the base and superglued it to a dinner plate (both found at a dollar store!). After painting them silver, I took a piece of scrapbook paper, in the colors and style of the cake, and cut a circle to cover the top of the stand. To make the paper “grease-proof,” I covered it in Press N Seal wrap. The paper added a bit of character to the cake stand, and it solved the challenge of making sure the silver paint was not in direct contact with the cake. Total cost? Only $8!
Hope you like it!
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake
It’s getting cold in Minnesota, but at least we get to enjoy so many delicious Fall flavors. There’s just nothing like baked apples with raisins, walnuts, and lots (and lots!) of cinnamon. Or butternut squash with a bit of brown sugar. Or mashed pumpkin with butter and a hint of cayenne pepper. Fall flavors are so wonderfully comforting and cozy!
I have several Autumn-inspired cake ideas on my Flavors page. My current favorite is the vanilla butter cake with fresh apple filling and cinnamon frosting. It’s a dense vanilla bean cake, with fluffy buttercream and a filling from baked Pink Lady apples, nutmeg, and just a touch of vanilla-infused cream.
And check out the almond sponge cake with cranberry mousse and white chocolate buttercream, which is perfect for holiday celebrations. The tartness of the cranberrries is set off by the rich white chocolate of the frosting and the sweet nuttiness of the sponge cake.
Happy Fall!
Megan Greulich
Consider a Cake