Geese with a bow, and a ring of pink candles

Two small cakes, both done in the old-fashioned piped style, and both a lot of fun to make.

The geese

A pair of white geese walk round the side of the cake, piped in buttercream with orange beaks and feet and a tiny dot of an eye. Between them runs a thin pink ribbon looped into a bow, drawn in one continuous line the whole way round.

The borders are the vintage part: fat teardrop shells round the top, a heavier shell border round the base, and a fine pink ruffle tucked underneath it so there is a line of colour where the cake meets the board.

White on white again — the geese only read because of the shadow in the piping, not because of any colour.

The candles

The second one is candles, and every one of them is buttercream. They stand upright round the whole cake in different pinks, and each is piped with a different tip, so one is a rope, one is a ruffle, one is a smooth column, one is a row of stars. Each gets a little orange and yellow flame at the top.

The top edge is finished with a ring of ivory stars and the sides are dotted with tiny white pearls. No wax, nothing to pull out — the candles are part of the cake.

What's inside

Cakes were vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Both of these were a pleasure

From sweet little geese with bows to pretty pink birthday candles — I loved bringing these designs to life.