I just wanted to share a pic of the finished cake and butterflies. An unexpected side effect of using these gelatine butterflies became apparent when the cake was at the venue (at a beach side restaurant) and a breeze came through the window - the butterflies fluttered their wings!

Made using unflavoured gelatine and a purpose made mould from cake connection.
1 tablespoon unflavoured gelatine
2 tablespoons of water
Colour of your choice
Acetate sheet or ready made moulds from cake connection
Add gelatine to water and allow to aborb for 30 minutes
Heat either in a microwave or on the stove until liquid and add colour
Use a very soft brush to paint onto acetate/mould
Wait 8 hours (it will curl off the edges when dry this may take longer on humid days)
Use a pair of scissors to neaten the shape
Paint wings using piping gel and glitter of choice. Don't use water as it will dissolve the gelatine
Make a body out of fondant or royal icing and using some piping gel or sugar glue attach to wings
Place in a 'V' shaped former to prop up wings until dry
Add to cake using piping gel, royal icing

Ever since I received a copy of the cake doctor I have been experimenting with cake mixes. The results have been amazing and delicious. By just starting with a basic vanilla cake and adding extras, you can invent a variety of flavours and textures.
Add about 150gms of white melted cooking chocolate for a white choc mud type cake
Swap some of the liquid component with alcohol for a more adult cake
Swap some of the liquid for caramel top n fill
Use 125gms butter and rub through the cake mix till breadcrumb stage add some rolled oats and you have a crumble topping
Leave out the oats and roll into balls put on a baking tray and bake and you have biscuits
Add nuts
Add fruit
Add hazelnut spread
Add peanut butter spread
Swirl some chocolate or berry sauce through cake mix before cooking

You don't have to limit yourself to just vanilla either
Take a chocolate cake mix, add some orange zest and replace some of the liquid with orange juice for a jaffa flavour
Add some raspberries
Add cherries
Add nuts

You get the idea. Because cakes mixes are designed to be 'bomb proof' you will end up with a cake/or biscuits no matter what you do.
Have fun! 

A while back I posted some pics of the blue lilies and white gumpaste roses that I made in preparation for a wedding cake that I was to make. Here are the pictures of the finished cake.
Each tier was a different flavoured mud cake. The bottom tier was marbled white and dark chocolate, the next one was caramel, then dark choc and finally white chocolate. All was covered with either white or dark chocolate ganache and then a layer of fondant.
I hadn't made a caramel mud cake before and came across a fantastic tip. Get your favourite white chocolate mud recipe and a tin of top 'n fill caramel. Replace part of the liquid from the recipe with the top 'n fill. YUMMO!

I designed this illuminated letter for my husband. This piece been done in gouache and Jo Sonja gold acrylic.

This was for a Scooby Doo fan's birthday. He's all of 9yrs old. The trees are made from chocolate; the house and ghosts are pastillage and Scooby Doo and Shaggy are gumpaste.
The cake is a chocolate mud cake.

Hurray! This is the first time I have attempted to make a realistic gumpaste rose AND IT LOOKS LIKE ONE!!
Only 20 more to make.....sigh!

The bride wants blue lilies and white roses for her wedding in April.
Firstly let me say, I'm not a flower maker. I do mainly novelty cakes and make lots of gumpaste figures.
The first flower I ever tried was a frangipanni, (plumeria) and it went well. I thought, that's it, I'll quit while I'm ahead."

Then I started to really look into flower making, and following some lessons from a retired cake maker, I have made little forays into the art of flower making.

So back to the lilies. This is the first time I have made a flower with wired petals, and I am really pleased with the results. I can improve on this, but you have to start somewhere.

This cake was a labour of love. The bride asked me to try and reproduce a similar cake she found online; ooooo...kay???
No problems about the cake - dark chocolate mud cake covered with dark chocolate ganache and a layer of fondant.
Now what about the topper? After many a fruitless search, I came to the conclusion that I would have to make the bloomin' thing! (sigh) So out came the cold porcelain and two days later I had the topper.
It all came together really well and the bride and groom were over the moon about their gothic cake.

This is a chocolate mud cake, covered with dark chocolate ganache and fondant. He was made for a 4yr old with a dragon and dinosaur obsession. Hence the name Dragosaur.