Beginner

Pet Portraits


Create a beautiful portrait of your beloved pet and work with American buttercream to frost a perfectly smooth cake.


Check out more pricing options for our Advanced courses!

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$37

Single
  • Access "This Course" for life
  • Available 24/7

Save 35%

$19/ monthly

Monthly
  • Access to all "Beginner" level courses
  • Available 24/7

Best value

$15/ monthly

* $180 Billed annually

Yearly
  • Access to all "Beginner" level courses
  • Available 24/7

Pet Portraits Preview

Learn How to Create A Pet Portrait Cake!

In this course we will go through the process of creating a one tier cake decorated with a beautiful portrait of your pet! We will work with an American buttercream that is smooth like a meringue buttercream. You will learn how to carve, fill and stack a cake. We will frost our cakes to form a perfectly level top with straight sides and crisp edges. You will learn how to transform an image of your pet into a template for the cake. We will mix different shades and tones of buttercream to accurately match your pets fur. Lastly, we will pipe the buttercream onto the cake to create a lifelike portrait of your adorable pet!

This class has five lessons that will cover every step from mixing buttercream, to frosting your cake and piping a beautiful portrait of your pet for all to enjoy!

Pet Portraits

Lesson 1 – Assemble and Crumb Coat the Cakes

  • How to carve, fill and stack a cake.
  • Apply a base layer of buttercream to seal all crumbs in place.

Lesson 2 – Color the Buttercream and Frost the Cakes

  • Mix buttercream to cover the whole cake.
  • How to level the cake.
  • Using the right tools to achieve straight and even sides on your cake.

Lesson 3 – Creating Templates and Mixing the Buttercream Fur

  • Create a template of your pets face to transfer to the cake.
  • Simplify the pets photo to breakdown the colors and shapes.
  • Mix different colors and shades of buttercream to match the animals fur.

Lesson 4 and 5- Piping the Dog and Cat Portrait on the Cake

  • Transfer the templates to the cake.
  • How to pipe the buttercream to form the animals portrait.
  • Looking at different shades and shapes on each face to create an accurate image of your animals face.


 

Your Instructor


Melissa Alt
Melissa Alt

Melissa's passion for creating cakes began early on when she was just a teen. She would watch cake shows on TV and thought, "I want to try that!". Instantly she spent all of her free time reading books and searching the web to learn anything she could about cake decorating. She was always an artist, working with paint, clay and fashion design, but when she discovered the art of cake, it became her all time favorite medium to work with.

In 2010, Melissa landed an internship with the Cake Boss, where she learnt the fundamentals of cake decoration. While attending college at Pratt Institute, Melissa studied painting and sculpture; incorporating edible materials into any project she could. After college Melissa turned her passion for cakes into a career, launching Melissa Alt Cakes in 2015.

Since the start of her business Melissa's cakes have been featured in numerous magazines and reached international recognition. She's created cakes for Google, Time Out NYC and Harper’s Bazaar. She won the award for Best Show Cake at the 2017 NY Cake Show. In the spring/summer of 2018 Melissa worked as the Culinary producer for Reality Bites Cupcakes on Food Network. Melissa is also the exclusive cake decorator for Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC.

Melissa's cakes are her art. She strives to create one of a kind artistic creations that form an experience of joy and beauty. When she is not making cakes you can find Melissa cuddling her dog, camping, watching a horror movie or drinking delicious IPA on a rooftop. She is constantly inspired by her surrounding environments and adventures. Each cake Melissa makes is an expression of herself. Extreme passion, dedication and numerous hours are put into every piece of work Melissa creates. Her favorite moment is when the creation is cut and her art becomes delicious cake!

To Melissa there is nothing she loves more than the art of cake and being able to share it with the world :)



Course Curriculum


  Introduction
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Class Materials
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Lesson 2: Color the Buttercream and Frost the Cakes
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Finale of Safari Animal Cake Toppers
Available in days
days after you enroll

Check out more pricing options for our Advanced courses!

Home

$37

Single
  • Access "This Course" for life
  • Available 24/7

Save 35%

$19/ monthly

Monthly
  • Access to all "Beginner" level courses
  • Available 24/7

Best value

$15/ monthly

* $180 Billed annually

Yearly
  • Access to all "Beginner" level courses
  • Available 24/7

Frequently Asked Questions


What are your purchasing options for courses?
Caking Art has three options for purchasing our beginner courses:

Each course can be bought individually with the price listed by the course description. When you purchase an individual course you will have access to it forever!

Our second option is to become a Monthly member. No commitment, cancel when you want and get a big discount on your courses!

Thirdly, you can become a Yearly member. Pay for the year upfront and get an even bigger discount on your courses!

See our course pricing below:
  • Beginner Membership- *includes access to all beginner courses:
  • One time purchase: $37
  • *Monthly price: $19/m
  • *Yearly price: $180/yr

  • All Access Membership - $39/month, includes access to ALL courses We currently offer our advanced courses for individual purchase!
    How does the membership work?
    With our monthly membership you will receive: Full access to all of the courses we offer within that membership tier Pre access to all new monthly videos Discounts in our merchandise store Access to our facebook group community where you can ask questions, share your work and receive new content posted every month Monthly membership can be cancelled anytime, no contract required.
    Can I see what content I will receive, before I become a member?
    Yes! Our library shows a full list of all the courses we offer. Click Here
    Are your courses suitable for everyone?
    Yes! We offer courses at every level whether you are at a beginner, intermediate or Expert level, you can start and work your way up. We also make every course easy to follow with step by step instructions, so you can work at your speed to create even the most intricate of cakes.
    What is included in a cake course?
    With each course you purchase you will receive in depth video instruction on how to create the cake offered. Along with the video you will receive a supply list for each lesson as well as recipes and any templates required to create the cake.
    How can I access a course I purchased individually?
    Once you’ve Purchase a Course , you’ll need to log in to your school or myTeachable account in order to access your course. When you enroll in a course, you’ll receive an email confirmation that contains a link to the course. You can use this link to open your course, or you can type the school or course page URL into the address bar of your web browser. If you experience issues logging in or accessing your course, refer to Login Issues or Contact the school owner
    Where can I find receipts or invoices for my payments?
    You can view your receipts and invoices in your Teachable account back end. Learn More
    I want a refund.
    Teachable’s refund policy for students makes it mandatory for school owners to fulfill refund requests within the first 30 days of purchase if using the Teachable platform to handle payments. Learn More.