The sea, the sun, the wind, and a small gathering of friends were the perfect combination for my unforgettable boating birthday party this summer aboard the beautiful Yacht Kelpie in Sag Harbor. This year, I had the most beautiful (and thoughtful) birthday cake I have ever seen which had fondant flower copies of actual blooms in my parterre garden at Maple Shade. Designed by baking queen Jeanne Purpura of Sugar Rush Bake Shop, it was a decadent vanilla cake with dark chocolate ganache, covered with fondant and a Bas Relief design. Check out my cake REEL here.

Jeanne said she tried to recreate one of my floral arrangements in a pretty white porcelain container filled with my roses, peonies, foxglove, and hydrangea blooms. She used these photos of the real flowers in my garden to make the exact copies in fondant. Bet you can’t tell the difference between the real and the faux in my photos below? 

FIRST UP…HERE ARE THE REAL FLOWERS BLOOMING IN MY GARDENS

“I call it a garden symphony of flowers,” says Jeanne. All the flowers are handmade, each petal and leaf made individually and  assembled together with floral wires and floral tape. All the flowers are made with a sugar paste mix which is made of raw egg whites, confectioner sugar and a binding agent call ty-Tex gum. The flowers are extremely fragile, but if you keep them out of sunlight and water, they will last a long time as showpieces.”

NOW HAVE A LOOK AT THE FONDANT FLOWERS…EXACT COPIES WOW!

A few jaws dropped when the cake took center stern aboard Yacht Kelpie, served with white glove service. My guests could not believe the flowers on top of the cake were not the real thing!

*Be sure to follow Jeanne on Instagram to order her incredible desserts and stay tuned for her exciting bake shop news that’s coming soon. Photos in this feature by Kelli Delaney Kot as well as by @miaisabellaweddings. See more pix and details below and in my new “Delaney’s Dossier” column out now in Hamptons magazine.