Planning a 'Maui'd' Elopement Cake

So maybe not your oh so traditional wedding, but it's right up my alley so of course I love it! Who doesn't want to skip all the craziness of a traditional wedding and hop right to the honeymoon phase and get married in Maui instead?! I think it's a brilliant idea!

Anyhow, I was asked to do an elopement cake with a modern-Hawaiian theme. Of course this sent me over the moon, especially because I have the liberty to do what I want. What?! So exciting!

Whenever I'm first asked to do a cake, I get all the nitty gritty details taken care of first...how many servings, flavors, size, etc. If there is a theme in mind or color scheme, I usually start to research pertinent cakes, colors, shapes, pinterest, my favorite cake blogs, etc. I like to look at other cakes, specifically, because I see what worked well and what didn't, techniques I liked, color combos, etc. I use this research as a jumping off point which then sparks my own ideas.

Here are some of the inspiration cakes I'm looking at...

From there, I start to do some sketching either of the whole cake, a component of the cake or even my cake shopping list, just to get the creative juices flowing


I really didn't want a cheesy Hawaii cake with cascading flowers. Not my thing. I like my cakes simple and elegant. I've finally settled on an abstract wave out of fondant and a beautiful Hawaiian poppy flower made from gumpaste. The cake will be lemon with a lemon-champagne buttercream and a lemon filling (the bride loves lemon). My mouth is drooling now. Mmmmmm.

I was also asked to do a giveaway for a local golf tournament, Associated Builders and Contractors Golf Tournament, this Friday too. I may have lost my mind when I agreed to it! But I'm making it easier on myself and am just making an extra batch while I do the cake so I can have a dozen cupcakes for the giveaway. I'll also be giving out a gift certificate for some more goodies. This will be a great marketing opportunity for me so of course I couldn't turn it down!

I've got an extra busy week ahead! I'm looking forward to the final product of the cake and cupcakes. Stay tuned for final pictures later this week! Happy Monday!