Tour Treats
November 26, 2011 I really dropped the ball on keeping you guys updated on all our adventures on the book tour. Sorry about that! So, just to catch you up: nobody died, and we're really happy about that.
Now, on to the part you all want to see: THE CAKES!
I've posted the first five show cakes already, so let's pick up in Philadelphia, where Stacey of Truly Custom Cakery made us this beauty:
I can't get over those tiny little wrecks ringing the top tier. (And we got to keep them! Woot!)
Plus, John and I have never looked so tasty:
We also got to keep this topper. It's in my office now. :)
In Hartford, Hope of A Little Imagination Cakes made sure our little carrot jockey got into the spirit of the season:
Each of the tombstones had a famous wreck homage on it. Fun!
In Boston, Jeanne of The Well Dressed Cake made a jaw-dropping homage to all our "Missed Marks" wedding wrecks. You know, the what-they-wanted versus what-they-got ones? So, here's one side of her cake:
Ooooh. Aaaaah.
And here's the other side of her cake:
BWAHAHAA!!
Notice how there are gorgeous gumpaste flowers on the good side, and silk flowers just jammed into the icing on the wrecked side. [snicker] And I know I'm not supposed to pick favorites, but this chocolate cake with cookes & cream filling was one the best tasting cakes I've ever had, ever. I literally took a slice over the border into Canada just so I could have it for breakfast the next day.
(Oh, and have I mentioned that John and I both gained like five pounds on the tour? Apparently sitting in a car all day and eating cake almost every night is bad for you. Or something.)
Moving on, in Ottawa Jenny of Geek Sweets managed to make the most adorable poop cupcakes I have ever seen:
The little flies! Ack!
She also made these great tour logo cupcakes:
In Toronto we had a tag-team of bakers. Melissa of Wild Cakes made the Jockey:
And Michelle of Tierful Designs made the...uh...carrot?
Let's stick with carrot.
The Jockey cake got progressively more disturbing as it was cut and served throughout the night, culminating in this hilariously morbid tableau:
So wrong. And so funny.
In Pittsburgh, Tamara of Faithfully Cakes made us not one, not two, but FOUR separate cakes! Here's the main showpiece:
Note the real lightbulbs stuck into the topper - an homage to the lightbulb wreck in the book. All the figures are wreck homages, too!
Tamara also recreated the "alien ribcage" menorah:
The "goosed" turkey cake:
PLUS a cupcake cake (ptooie!) for the Pittsburgh Steelers:
;)
Go, Go, Super Bowel!
In Chicago, Gena of I Heart Cakes gave us the world:
;)
Not only that, the globe (which was all cake) was motorized!
;)
Our flying carrot jockey actually flew in circles!
Here's a quick cellphone video of it in action:
(Yes, I'm the one giggling like a crazy person.)
Linet Navarro of Linet's Cakes made us a couple of real turkeys in Oklahoma City:
For some reason John insisted we take the turkey's head home with us, which was on a convenient plastic pike. It made for a rather startling discovery in our box of tour goodies once we got home again. (Not to mention a great photo prop.)
We got even more seasonally appropriate goodies in Dallas:
We were there on Veteran's Day - can you tell? :)
And once again, we had a full spread of cakey goodness:
Gretchen of Savor the Moment bakery made us *three* amazing cakes, PLUS banana caramel cupcakes, PLUS pumpkin pie cake pops. Here's her third cake:
Gretchen told me it was physically painful to write "Wreck them halls" - and that was the full extent of the wrecking she could bring herself to do. Ha!
In Houston, John got his very own self-portrait courtesy of It's A Piece of Cake:
{evil grin}
In Austin, Blue Note Bakery brought in these fun "cake bars:"
I've never seen anything like these, but I like 'em! The little slices are MUCH better than cupcake cakes (pthooie!) and even cleaner besides - a true finger-food cake! (They also had rainbow swirled batter. Preeetty.)
For our final show in our hometown of Orlando, Cut the Cake rocked the house with this awesome book & jockey combo:
Check out the book's spine! In fact, I think their cover looks better than the real thing:
;)
That's not an edible photo; it was completely recreated by hand! And note the lack of any "prefessional" spelling errors.
Well, there you have it: all the treats John and I had the honor of stuffing our faces with for the entire book tour! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the shows and made us laugh and cry and squeal with delight with your fabulous geeky t-shirts and costumes and gifts. It was a surreal, humbling, and breath-takingly fun experience, and I owe you all one big time. Thanks.
Check back tomorrow to see Sweets from *all* of our fabulous tour bakers, and have a wreck-less weekend, everyone!
Reader Comments (30)
OMG those are hysterical XD glad you are having fun. For the charity marathon PLEASE use the Wounded Warrior project or Saluteheroes.org, thousands of vets will be coming home and they need help
Congratulations on completing the tour in one piece! What an odd and wonderful fandom you have -- your blog obviously gives a lot of people (including myself) a lot of joy each day. That so many wreckies come together to commune over carrot jockies wherever you go is a testament to your wonderful senses of humor, and your dedication. You give a giggle everyday. Relax and enjoy! You don't owe nobody nuthin'. :D
' Hay Sexy "Lady In Red" ' ?? Who made that cake-- a near-sighted (or far-sighted) descendant of John Dillinger?
And didn't anyone want to find out if there was chocolate in the Jockey's diaper???
Those cake bars *are* pretty cute. I think they are like petit fours, though, left in long form. Still, very cool idea.
I got a special warm fuzzy from the "Wreck Them Halls" sign.. Reminded me of my dear ol' Dad, who used to have a "Deck Them Halls" sign that he put up every Christmas. I squeed a little over the teeny pumpkins on that cake too.
Sacramento is a nice place to visit.. Put it on your list for next year, please. :)
That turkey looks like it's plugged into the wall. It makes me wonder what it does.
what a great tour you had, it was so great to see you in Toronto!
Pardon me for the fleeting thought that the Boston cake went wrong in the decorating and inspiration saved the day.
All just lovely. Glad you're home safe.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing these - it's almost like I was there! Almost. (Next time, California, please - we have Disneyland!)
Best wishes and happy napping! :)
The detail in the afghan on the "John and Jen" cake is fabulous. Bravo, Truly Custom Cakery!
What, no photo of the Steelers cake?!?!
OMG!!!! PITTSBURGH STEELERS CAKE!!!! WHERE IS IT!?!?!? *ahem* Can you tell I'm a little fanatical?
Given the name of the bakery (Blue Note), I just figured those cake bars were harmonicas.
Thanks for the update and the pictures! So glad you and John made it in one (healthy!) piece!
Did anyone else notice there are now 666 pages? *snicker*
I followed the tour on Facebook (just incidentally, mind) and did not feel that any ball was dropped. Except for the tour not extending about 1800 miles further west, that is. Maybe next year. Of course, next year is 2012. Not that that means anything; just be sure to wrap up the tour before December.
Since Jen is now an established author, the publisher ought to spring for a chartered bus, private jet, stretch SUV, chauffeur-driven motorhome, etc. That would make visiting other states (such as California, to pick one at random) easier than ever.
Here's a question: were you guys ever recognized at incidental stops (restaurants, hotel check-in, etc)? I can't decide if that would feel creepy or cool. Mostly cool, I guess -- unless I saw the same person at three consecutive stops.
wow, people who can decorate cakes like the ones you show just amaze me. Great work, cake artists!
Carrot Jockey skeleton = hilarious!
Eating cake all day..sitting on the computer and getting paid for it. give me your job
OMG Pumpkin Pie Cake Pops?!? I think I would die of happiness (or diabetic shock... one of the two)...
Congrats on the tour and the cakes look marvelous.
(Inquiring minds want to know why is a carrot jockey skeleton okay, when slicing into a cake that just happens to be in the shape of a baby isn't?)
I'm afraid to ask, but what about my home town of St. Louis? Did the bakers let you down? I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to the event myself. If I could have come I would have brought a cake from a baker in my new home in small town Illinois. I'm so ashamed to be from somewhere that couldn't produce for you. Head hanging...
Ottawa enjoyed your visit. I hope the boarder guards didn't give you too much trouble getting back into the United States. Now that you have ventured over the boarder, hopefully Canada will be part of your next tour. It was great to meet you.
Veterans'. Veterans'. Veterans'. Thank you.
I love seeing all of these cakes together! Maybe you could add a link to the first five cakes? It's great to see the creativity and diversity of designs!
I've baked and decorated with Jeanne from "the Well-Dressed Cake"; she's fabulous!!...and talented besides. My hats off to her amazing wreck.
Come to Denver next time! <3
You only gained 5 pounds? I would gain 5 pounds a night because I would have to try everything, and try it again just to be sure. Those are some beautiful/hilarious/awesome cakes. Maybe the next tour could be a small city tour and you could hit more of "fly-over" country here in the Midwest.
hahaha!!! LOL i love cake wrecks!
it is absolutely hilarious to see all these "unprofessional" professional cakes.
Some people just have no idea!
keep on wrecking-
lauren :)
Why does the mutilated carrot jockey remind me of "Wallace and Gromit"?