Going to the chapel

Gonna get married? Apparently there is a surge of winter weddings. I've done one real wedding cake before. That was fun. So I've been waiting to be asked to do more since August. Well when it rains it pours. I've been planning for a couple months for a large wedding cake for January 3rd. But this last week I got a request from a desperate bride whose cake lady had cancelled - three weeks before her wedding! So since it was a small wedding cake I agreed to help them out. It's going to be on the Tuesday before I have to do the big cake. So I've got my work cut out for me the week after Christmas. Oh - does anyone know what a paisley is? I didn't before this week. The bride wants a cake covered in paisleys - which, as I understand, are little bent teardrop shapes with dots around them. Should be interesting.

Taking care of business

This month I've been busy every Thursday afternoon finishing up my official cake education. This last class is the Wilton fondant and gumpaste course. I thought that after learning gumpaste flowers I'd use them a lot on my cakes, but after tasting gumpaste, I think I've changed my mind. Although gumpaste is foodsafe, it's actually not meant to be eaten. Which is the most nonsensical thing I can think of to put on a cake. I know there are great cake artists out there who spend hours making gumpaste flowers, but I think you might as well use real flowers if you can't eat them. My favorite thing I've learned in this course is the calla lilies. They are actually made out of fondant which is meant to be eaten, so I can justify that. But the lilies look so realistic, is amazing.
Oh and here's an announcement: if you like handmade crafts and free cake please consider coming to our craft fair at the Brooks Avenue Church of Christ on December the 6th from 10am - 12pm. It's in Raleigh near NC State campus. There'll be many booths with familiar vendors and well as handmade crafts and light refreshments. Hope to see many familiar faces there!

Cake Crisis

Don't let the picture fool you... this cake was nearly a disaster! The idea seemed pretty simple. I baked four layers of an 8 inch square cake. I stacked them up and then carved each panel inward to make it look like a cardboard take out box. Unfortunately this caused the whole cake to become unbalanced and lean to one side. It was around 11pm and I was scraping the frosting off of half the cake and trimming sides. After much trimming and balancing, it seemed stable enough. It survived the transport thankfully. But this was harder to make than I anticipated.

Keeping Busy

Well I just looked at my calendar and realized I've had a cake to do each week since September 5th. And I have at least one cake per week on my calendar through November the 14th. I am so thankful for the referrals. It's really a blessing to be able to stay at home with my son (my full time job) then do cakes on the side while he sleeps. The truth is, I'd continue to make cakes even if I never sold another one because I enjoy it so much. I've found the best advertising is by word of mouth. There's another wedding cake on the books for January, so the weekend of the 3rd is booked. But if you or someone you know needs a cake, the earlier you call, the better! Thanks for the continued interest and support.

Carolina Cake Show

Last weekend I went with my Mom to the Carolina Cake Show in Charlotte. I submitted a cake in the intermediate novelty cake category. The theme was an underwater carousel. But we were in such a hurry to get home that I forgot part of the cake at home in Durham! I realized once we checked into the hotel that my 'horses' - which were really seahorses made from royal icing attached to candy sticks - were still sitting on my kitchen counter. Mom and I went to the Carolina Place Mall and tried to find a substitute in the short time we had. We found gummy sharks -a good substitute that fit with the underwater theme. To attach them to the candy sticks we actually took super-glue! It was the best we could do with our time and resources. I was just laughing by this point. And they actually turned out great! My cake got 2nd place in my division. I was so excited! My husband thinks a shark carousel is sadistic. But I loved how it turned out.
I feel like I'm running a cake marathon this week and next week. I've never had so many to make - that's 9 cakes in a two week span. I'm very thankful. I just finished three cakes for a friend's rehearsal dinner, she wanted one Carolina theme, one musical theme, and one monogram cake. I was very pleased overall with how they turned out. I took some flack from my husband over the UNC themed cake - he's a big NC State fan. Well this busy baker is going to get some rest. Thanks for reading!