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!

Cancellation

Well, I learned my lesson. I didn't write up a wedding cake contract then the bride said she found somebody cheaper. I guess everybody has to learn the hard way sometimes. But from now on I will require a deposit for wedding cakes. It's really to protect my time and interest. I was pretty disappointed when she canceled, it was my major cake for October. So if anyone needs a special occasion cake for October, I'm probably available! I leave you with a picture of some mandarin orange cupcakes with cheesecake whipped frosting. My grandmother and I made them together. They were delicious!

Chocolate Fondant

This cake was my first experiment with chocolate fondant. I was quite pleased with the taste of it - it was a lot like fudge. I have mixed feelings about fondant. A lot of people don't like it because of its chewy texture and over-sweet taste. On the other hand, it looks phenomenal on a cake - a smooth, finished look. I think the taste of a cake is equally important to its looks. So I'm not opposed to using fondant when a customer requests it- but it's not my preference for taste. This particular cake was just for fun - three of my family members have birthdays in August so we knocked them all out with one big cake. It was a fun one to make. The next two weeks I will be doing prep work for upcoming projects including royal icing flowers.

Raspberry cake

Here's a cake that I tested on my church for a potluck. It was very much a test-cake because both the cheesecake whipped frosting and the inside raspberry cake were brand new recipes. I was pretty pleased with how it tasted, though it may need some tweeking. I have an order coming up this weekend for a 4 year old's birthday party. He wanted a starfish cake - so I'll be designing this one off the top of my head. At first the mom said she wanted a "Patrick the starfish" cake from the character on "Spongebob Squarepants" except she said she wanted him without the pants. Ok - so a naked cartoon starfish - that's a first. Then she drew up a sketch of what the cake should look like, which is basically just a star cake with eyes and a mouth. So that's what I'll be doing this weekend.

Pirate Ship

My son Andrew looked at this cake and said "Boat, boat!" It was for a pirate - themed birthday. It was a fun one to make. The sails and cannons are fondant and the cake is yellow with chocolate buttercream. This will be my last cake for a couple of weeks cause we're heading out of town. But I have two new projects each month from now through October, including one wedding cake. I'm excited for the chance to try new things. Check back soon!

First Wedding Cake

The first wedding cake came off without a hitch. I tried to offset the pressure with preparation as much as possible. But the morning of the wedding my hands were shaking... and I was only the cake baker, not the bride. It's different when people are depending on me for the most memorable cake of their lives together. My dear husband Thomas was patient with me and he even helped me set up at the reception site. That greenery garland around the bottom of the cake was all due to him. The bride and groom were very satisfied and so was I. So as one project ends another begins. You can look forward to a pirate-ship cake picture in my next post. Thanks for reading!

Countdown to a wedding cake

Several months ago a friend of mine asked if I would do her wedding cake. I was honored she asked me and said of course. I've only done birthday cakes for friends and family so this is a step outside my box here. The wedding is just under two weeks away. It's going to be a four tiered cake with two sets of pillars and pink Gerber Daisies on top. I decided to make the top two tiers ahead of time and freeze them so I'm not overwhelmed at the last minute. Goodness knows I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands with a 17 month old. So the cakes are in the oven now... there goes the timer...
The bride knows this is my first wedding cake but I'm trying to be as prepared and professional as possible. I hope to pull this first one off to pave the way for future cakes of this caliber!
The end of this week my family is having a reunion so I offered to do a cake for that. It's going to be a watermelon cake. Check back for pictures. I'll leave you with a picture of a cake I did for the bridal shower last weekend. It was white chocolate ganache with fondant roses. The inside was strawberry cake. It was highly experimental for me but I was pleased with the looks and the taste of it. I'll post soon!