This next cake in my year end roundup was also created for a photo shoot. The theme this time was “winter boho glam”. I was instantly drawn to everything about this shoot – the dream team of wedding professionals, the colors, flowers, location – everything! For a better idea of what I’m talking about, here are a few pics from the shoot’s Pinterest board.

Immediately I knew that I’d be using black and gold. Both are very popular colors at the moment. Ones that are popular not just with cake designers, but in the real wedding world as well.

The planner heading up the shoot, Kate Martin of Beautiful Days, mentioned incorporating fruit. She also asked if there was anything I had been working on. It was a great question, because I had something bouncing around in my brain that was perfect for this occasion! I’d been wanting to do a cake inspired by Dutch still life paintings. I was inspired by this one in particular. 

Here’s how the finished product came together.

I used the damask wallpaper in the room as inspiration for the pattern on the cake. Not wanting to bring in another color, I hand-painted the pattern onto black fondant using black gel food coloring. The food coloring dried to a semi-gloss finish, while the fondant remained matte. I loved the effect and wish it would have come across better when photographed. The sugar flower arrangement was very loose, very stem-y, and included lots of greens and some sculpted fruit.

It is by far one of my all-time favorite cakes for a photo shoot, but it also ended up teaching a good lesson. Always photograph your cakes before they leave the shop. (Ugh, what I wouldn’t give for a time machine!) I was in a rush, behind schedule, and had my son with me on the day of the shoot. I figured I’d just shoot it myself afterwards, but things happened, and the cake didn’t end up coming back. The photographer’s images were absolutely stunning – but there was no solo cake image (besides the grainy one taken with my iPhone). All the shots were very styled, beautifully so. Perfect for an editorial wedding layout, but not so much for use in the cake world. Oh, well. Lesson learned! It’s still one of my favorites.

See more images of the shoot in the upcoming 2015 issue of Seacoast Weddings.