Tessa's Cakes

‼️I’m BACK with a big steezing bang 💣 , Fam‼️

Moment of transparency (Umm though I’m always transparent on these IG streets…).

🔺I’ve been feeling lost as a cake artist… feeling stagnant, bored with my designs, unmotivated and no longer sure of my ‘why’…

🔺See fam, my ‘why’ for caking has always been my mom… wanting to make her proud and caking for me started as a therapeutic outlet grieving her loss.

🔺So, does that mean, I’m done grieving her? Is that even possible? What if my ‘why’ has changed? Who have I evolved into or have I even evolved as a caker? Maybe I’m not good enough… These are some of the many thoughts swirling in my head.

🔺 I haven’t figured out all the answers but I decided to dig deep into what brings me joy. Creating cake designs that I connect to, that excite me to bring to life and this one did just that! 💃🏾

💃🏾It has all my signature elements-fondant, glam, structure but in an upscale and elevated look.

😮Y’all won’t believe the inspo behind this cake!!! I’ll share that with you soon.😃

So, if you’ve been struggling like me, doubting yourself and feeling stuck, hang in there. You’ll bounce back. Trust me! Love, your cake sis, Kemi ❤️

So I heard it’s 💄😂 I guess there’s a day to celebrate just about errythang now. Lol. I’m not mad at that though.

Circa 2021 when your cake sis still made buttercream cake designs. Yes, just cos I don’t make them now doesn’t mean I can’t😜 It’s just a preference.

Knowing and practicing different cake techniques and styles gives you more FREEDOM to niche down (if you choose to do so).

I look back at how much I’ve evolved as a caker in the 3 years since I made this makeup themed cake. From the picture taking, the floral arrangement, finish down to even the type of content I used to make then. Thankful for the growth. 🙏🏾

Which do you prefer? Cake Jar 🫙 or Cake Slice🍰

Hmm, I think I prefer a regular ol’ cake slice but there was no way I wasn’t going to dust my rusty cake jar making days for my .woods.616

All she asked for was a chocolate on chocolate cake jar for her birthday and so I had to oblige.

This is my super yummy and decadent chocolate cake with some silky dark chocolate ganache filling. A chocolate lovers dream ❤️❤️

So yummy that these jars would certainly make you do the Tshwala bam dance while eating 🤣 I can neither confirm nor deny that this happened to me🤐

🍫 ❤️

Question: Is this grad cap cake topper real cake or is it fake? Whatcha think? Vote 🗳️

Couldn’t let the 1,005 cake pics from every angle that I captured of this lovely 2 tier textured fondant graduation cake go to waste😂

Happy Sunday, cake fam❤️

This textured fondant cake showed me pepper🌶️ and I showed it shege in return. It was gbas gbos cake edition with this Luigi-Mario themed cake😂

Translation: the cake gave your cake sis a tough time and I didn’t back down from the fight 🤺

If you’re lost and wondering what I’m talking about, check out my previous post on some of the trials and tribulations I experienced while decorating this character cake for my nephew.

It was a labor of love but his reaction was well worth every minute I spent on it.

Happy Easter weekend fam❤️



And yes, I have the right Mario playing in the background 😂

After the “gbas gbos this Luigi-Mario themed cake and I showed each other eh😭

💙🫐 Thoughts on the combo of the blue textured fondant and berries? Yay or Nay?

This “blue berried” cake design is the combo I never knew I’d been missing.

I never use(d) fresh fruit on my cakes as part of the decorations. But the inspiration pic that the client sent me for this order had blue and blackberries and I thought to myself “why not”?

And fam! Lemme tell you! I’m totally here for the combo🙌🏾🙌🏾

Do you use fresh fruit or do you like seeing fresh fruit as part of your cake toppers? I think there’s a way to add them and still keep the cake design looking upscale and classy.

Oh and this totally works on cakes for men as you can see here. Whoever told you cake for men are boring totally LIED!!

Happy new week, fam! ❤️ your cake sis, Kemi

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🔊 Audio ON while you pick your fave boss lady cake in honor of women’s day. Is it 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ or 4️⃣❓

The face liner topper is a sure decorative cake item or piece when designing a unique cake for women and ladies.

I use them on fondant cake designs (cos ofcourse😁) but they also work perfectly on buttercream cakes.

Pic 1️⃣ 2️⃣ or 3️⃣❔ What’s your pick?

So….. candidly, I love both tiers of this cake…but separately! I don’t particularly like them together but I’m not sure why. It has the textures (which I love), gold and black is such a classy color combo, lovely stripes and overall it should work together, right?

I created this 2 tier fondant cake for my uncle a few hours before we met up for his birthday lunch 🙈 I know, I always say to stay away from last minute orders and not rush the cake decorating process😩

If you could re-design this cake, what would you change?

For me, I’d make the top tier straight with sharp edges (no wrap) and have any toppers on the top tier and not the middle.

‼️Listen‼️If you order this cake design for Valentine’s Day, be prepared to either propose or if married, present your spouse with an upgraded bling cos I mean darnnnnn!!!!!🔥🔥🔥

This 2 tiered fondant cake to me embodies love ❤️ day! It has the hearts, the vibrant red color, swirl texture, florals and is just so sexy😁

Happy Valentine’s Day my lovely cake fam!

What’s your preference? With or Without the gold acrylic face?😁 That was so not the plan but a last second decision and I absolutely love it.

Shout out to my amazing client who always trusts me to my thing! She said this cake made her feel like a bride!! Lol. It’s feedback like that which makes caking so worthwhile.

Sending extra love to all of you who trust your cake designers to do their thing!! You rock ❤️❤️

How many tiers of REAL cake here? 1, 2 or 3?

Here’s the full look of this 3 tier/tiered fondant beauty. If you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember that I’ve shared how I feel stagnant as a cake artist and that my designs and content have felt uninspired and that I’m bored.

This cake right here is the direction I’ll like to develop in terms of my design aesthetic. Bold, textured, and of course fondant😁 I’m not a minimalist cake designer and that’s okay. The goal is to be authentic to me and this cake does just that!

Fondant mat and stencil:
Fondant: .ice

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If you guessed ballerina theme for what the blank canvas for this fondant cake was yesterday, then you’re 💯right!

Ballerina, rainbow, fondant, texture and ruffles are a few of my favorite cake decorating designs and themes and I was not at all upset to be making this birthday girl’s cake.

Here’s a lil sneak peek 👀 Stay tuned for the final look. I bet you’ll love it as much as I do😁

For Christmas this year, my family had not 1 but 2 cakes! Why??

Well, one cake had some booze (baileys to be precise) in it for the adults and the other cake was for my son whose birthday is December 25.

Shout out to my amazing cake fam for supporting me through my crazy last minute decision to decorate not one but two cakes less than 24 hours before Christmas!

❤️

1 or 2? Which Arsenal FC cake design do you prefer?

I see many, many more Arsenal themed cake designs in my future😩 cos my husband and brother-in-love are both ardent fans!!

It’s going to be a challenge to keep looking for new decorating ideas in this same theme. But then again I’m always up for a good fondant cake decorating challenge😁

For pic 1, I used frosting sheets to create the Arsenal logo and played around with isomalt for some texture.

For pic 2, I used wafer paper ruffles with the logo but still wanted to keep it masculine. Yes! Wafer paper works on cakes for men too!

Save this for inspiration and follow for more fondant cake design ideas.

Happy 7th birthday to my fondant eating baby, Teju😂

Like for real, he loves to eat fondant! A true son of his momma who loves to make fondant cakes. I actually don’t care too much for fondant or buttercream. I just want the plain cake🤷🏽‍♀️

He asked for a Deku themed cake and so I had to go research😑 Kids cake ideas and designs make cakers turn to research majors I tell ya😂

This cake had plenty twists and turns and was nothing like I had planned. It had a mind of its own for sure. But birthday boy loves it and that’s what counts.

🎉

With or without the green 🟢 ribbon? Which look do you prefer?

Either way, this textured fondant top forward purse and money cake is giving EVERYTHANG there is to give!!

I’ve never made a purse bag and so trust and believe when I try something new, I’ll do it MY way even if that means daring to be different.

The dollar bills are wafer paper ruffles. I got the lovely emerald cake jewel from .kimble a while back and have been looking for a cake ‘worthy’ to use it on (plus this cake was for my cousin so I’m getting my cake jewel back😝).

Creating this design gave me so much joy and I love how it all came together.

Happy Money Making Monday, Fam!

Now, go on and spend that plenty money on a custom cake cos they ain’t cheap. 😝

This is a sneak peek of my interpretation of a purse cake design and I must say, I absolutely love everything about it from the color, to the textured fondant, to the jeweled detail to the wafer paper money. It’s an entire vibe!

Stay tuned for the full look😃

Have an awesome new week, fam. ❤️ your cake sis, Kemi

How would you re-design this cake? What would you take out and what might you add?

I’ll go first! 🙋🏾‍♀️ I’d take out the wafer paper detail on the bottom cos that had no business being on this top forward fondant cake😩🙈

To keep it 💯 with you, I had wanted to try out this wafer paper decorating technique for a while and ‘forced’ it on the cake design.

This is a prime example of decorating for yourself and not the client. Thankfully this cake was for family and they loved it even though they were puzzled with the design.

A good cake designer maintains a balance between meeting the clients’ preferences without compromising your design aesthetic as a caker. I ask for inspiration cake pictures and 2-3 must have design elements to ensure this.

So, my fellow cakers: do you design solely for your client (even if it’s not a design you like), design solely for yourself or are you able to maintain that good balance? A lil food for thought this Monday….

What event would you order this 2 tier textured faultline fondant cake for?
A. Bridal Shower
B. Birthday

Birthday girl, Oge, picked the design herself from a previous cake I made. I love a girl who knows what she wants!

The challenge for me was to honor her preferences and find a way to make it more age appropriate. Her must-have design element was the rosette texture😍

Check out my story for the Inspo design.

Lemme know in the comments if you have questions about this design.

Ruffles ➕ Texture! The lil not so lil details make the entire cake design 😍

Fam, this 2 tier textured fondant cake with the side wafer paper ruffles is EVERYTHANG and more! Here’s a sneak peek 👀

Stay tuned for the full look dropping on your IG feed 🔜 (inserts Nollywood movie trailer voice🤣).

What’s your favorite detail on this 2 tiered textured fondant cake?

A. The texture.
B. The heart 💓and round⚪️ tier combo.
C. The cascading ball toppers.
D. The gymnast detail.
E. Errythang!

And guess what? I got a ton of supplies for this cake from Check out my Amazon store for the items I used. Link in bio.

I think I’m getting my creative mojo back, fam! I had been really bored with my cake designs lately and decided to do something different-ish 😁

Kicking off the new week with a new cake design in my grid and a special message for anyone else in a creative rut.

Challenge yourself with a cake design that’ll excite you and stir something in you. ❤️ from your cake sis, Kemi.

Confession: 🟡yellow cake designs used to terrify me 😱

What colors do you find challenging or uncomfortable working with for cake designs?

Now, go challenge yourself and decorate an amazing and 🔥cake design reflecting that very color!! We’re overcoming all those holds and limits we put on ourselves now!!

I pulled this one from the archives. Creating the frills on this fondant cake with the sprinkle texture showed me 🌶️ eh😂 (ask your African friends what this means if you dunno).

I finally gave in to creating one of these amalfi coast themed cakes and I LOVE it!!!

How did I do fam?😁

You can’t really see the texture in the fondant in the pictures but trust me, it’s textured with a capital T!

I used frosting sheets by to create the tiled pattern.

I enjoyed every minute decorating this cake. And now I can check it off my cake design wish list 💃🏾

With or Without the side crown 👑

I decorated this faux/fake/dummy cake along with you all last month on an impromptu IG live. Check out the live if you missed it. It’s packed with fondant paneling gems💎 😁

And I absolutely love how this texture works perfectly on the pink and blue fondant. The little not so little details came together perfectly on this simple yet super elegant design.

Fondant: .ice
Texture Mat:

If you’re a beginner and interested in textured cake designs, this post is for YOU!

You can find most of these texture tools on Amazon. You can also check with your local cake supplier/store such as if you’re in Nigeria😁

Or you can get creative and use whatever is available to you to create a lovely textured fondant or buttercream cake. You don’t need to rush out spending a ton of money on supplies you might not really use.

This list is not exhaustive. These are just the most common ways that I add texture to my cakes.

Comment with a ❤️ if you found this helpful.

Huh?? That was my reaction when I received an inquiry to make a themed cake.

So I did my research and found that it is an educational cartoon teaching kids about African history and culture through adventure and songs. So cool👏🏽👏🏽

I also looked at the colors associated with the show and created this 2 tiered textured fondant cake design.

For kids cakes (and I was excited to create this one😁) I love the cakes to be colorful, playful and age appropriate. I used edible images for the map of Africa, characters and name.

Researching cake themes/designs and interpreting them uniquely for each client is a task that can take a bit of time. Many clients are not aware of this.

Do you think time spent on researching themes should be factored into the price of a cake? Comment ‘yes’ or ‘no’

Frosting Sheets:
Fondant: .ice
Acrylic Topper:

It’s still grad season, right? Oh well, even if it isn’t here’s one marbled fondant graduation cake I made under duress 😂

Why under duress? My cousin placed the order and she ALWAYS wants to by pass my policies😡 such as not using my order form and paying into my personal account instead of business account.

So let’s talk about family and business. Do you set boundaries? Do you think family should order cakes as would any other client?

What are your thoughts 💭 on this? Let’s discuss in the comments.

How would YOU decorate this cake and for what event? Pick A, B or C👇🏾
A. Boho wedding cake with flowers
B. Boho baby shower with ball toppers
C. Boho birthday with flowers and ball toppers.

No wrong answer-just preferences cos this 2 tiered white and beige textured fondant blank canvas is so versatile!! The design options are endless, I tell ya😁

It’s a new week, and like this blank cake canvas full of new opportunities and chances. Have a fantastic week, fam! ❤️ from your cake sis, Kemi

A. With the bottom flower🌹OR B. Without? What’s your pick?

This textured fondant floral beauty was created using two molds. My favorite part is the tri-colored floral appliqué at the bottom.

This was for a bridal shower. I can’t remember the cake flavor🙈

Barbie Domination!!!

Yes, another Barbie themed item on your feed this new week cos I just had to grab a still photo of this textured fondant Barbie beauty.

I’ll leave y’all to go see the movie though😂

Have a week as vibrant and fun as this Barbie cake. ❤️ from your cake sis, Kemi

Fondant: .ice
Textured Mold:
Gingko fan & Flowers:

💞💖Sneak Peek 👁️

We already know what theme this is, right?

Full look dropping 🔜

❤️