Thursday, March 18, 2010

Cake Class...the saga continues




So last week's class was a huge improvement over week #1. She did make a decent attempt to show us how to make boarders and such using tip #18. Tonight was a bit disappointing however. She showed us how to ice the cake so it looked halfways decent. Then we practiced our techniques from last week and were told when we felt ready, to pick a design and decorate our cakes. This is my cake from tonight.
Here's where things go bad. The icing we used was the same icing we used last week....all 7 of us used one bucket of icing, over and over to practice, then scraped it all back in. She saved that and had us use it tonight. Such a shame to throw cake in the trash and so GROSS!


Monday, March 15, 2010

Cake Disaster




So I thought to myself, I think I will try a new recipe today. Well either I can't read directions or the directions were not good. About 15 minutes into the cooking time, I smelled something a bit off. Of course I ignored it for a few minutes but then had to look. As I opened the oven, smoke billowed out. The cake was overflowing everywhere.




This is what they looked like when they were cooked. I briefly considered throwing them away, thinking they would simply taste like smoke. Instead I decided to salvage them as best I could. I made some filling, which didn't turn out. I covered it in fondant, which was wrinkly and when the intended decorations didn't happen I iced on some clovers....poorly.

It was a bit lopsided but tasted ok. Not my proudest cake moment for sure.



Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Like mother like son.



After I finished the cupcakes, Hayden thought he would take a turn. Of course I had to clean up the mess when he was done.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

My first attempt at Red Velvet. I think they turned out pretty good. Had some fun with some fondant and an embosser on some of them. I think the kids will like the blue caterpillars. Red velvet seems to be pretty popular these days, so thought I should give it a go.





Friday, March 5, 2010

Ah, the Cake 'class'

Well yesterday was the big day, after being postponed a week the class started last night. The course guide said 'Learn to make professional looking cakes'. What a joke! For an hour and half we 'learned' to use a pastry bag with a hole cut in the end to print letters, make lines and blobs with tails. Blobs with tails seem to be very importand so I am not sure why they don't have a real name. When the instructor, and I use that term very lightly, asked if there was anything specific we wanted to learn, I said "Can you just show us some cool tricks?". Her reply was 'Like what?'. Apparently I can only learn new tricks if they are something I already know about. WTF? The lady beside me a while later asked what we should do next and the 'instructor' said, just do whatever you want. So I paid money to sit in a room and play with icing, doing whatever I want, and that is a class. I could have done that at home for free. Seriously, what was I thinking. I phoned this morning to complain but they don't do refunds unless it is a medical reason. I suspect I am going to be the biggest pain in the ass of a 'student' she has ever had.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A few other creations







I missed a few interesting creations along the way. So here are the others I am fond of.



Fairy Dust and Magic Mushrooms


This by far is my best creation so far. It is also the cake that has made that decision in my mind that maybe I can do this and make money at it. This was a huge hit with all that saw it, and the birthday girl was so happy. Her parents asked me to do her cake after the robot cupcakes were such a hit at my son's party. I finally bought some proper tools for working with icing and fondant too....that makes a huge difference.

More McQueen fun


My best friend liked the Dora cake so much she requested some cupcakes for her son's 4th birthday. It was a McQueen theme so I did 4 different kinds just for fun.

Mommy, I want a Robot Party!

The request this time was different. At the ripe age of 3 you just know you want cupcakes, not cake. So as to not be outdone by myself, the handcraften mini robot loot boxes and giant robot were fun additions to this party. As you can see, he is a happy, happy boy.









A Mighty birthday request.


By now my son has figured out that I will do just about anything to accomodate his birthday wishes. This time he wanted a Mighty Knight party. A caslte was the obvious choice. The castle itself is made of rice krispies. In hindsight I wish I woul dhave used fondant on the cake and really done up the lanscaping, but he was very pleased with it.




Something girly this time...


My best friend asked if I could make Dora for her daughter's 2nd birthday. Altho it is just a formed pan, she still turned out great. I wish I had taken a picture of the cupcakes that went with it. The stars on it were very cute and the kids loved them.

Aaarghhh fellow Potato Heads


When you are turning 2 it is hard to decide which is your real passion....potato heads or pirates. So if you are lucky your mom combines the two for a crazy pirate potato head cake. I made the mistake of buying pre-colored fondant for this cake. A mistake I will not make again. Not only did it taste terrible, it was pretty hard to work with.....a lesson learned.

Autobots engage for some Birthday fun.


What is more fun that a Bumblebee cake when you turn 3? I was getting much wiser with this cake and had a much nicer finish with the fondant that the Thomas cake. It was a huge hit for my Transformer loving boy.

Attempt #2



For my youngest son's first birthday, McQueen was all the rage. The cake disn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but events of the week lead us to being stressed, sleep deprived and staying with family after a house fire. Given the 3 hours of sleep in 2 days, it worked out pretty well. It was planned to be covered in fondant, but settled for icing. The kids loved it either way.

My first attempt at a 3D cake covered in fondant. Oh what I have learned since then. I almost want to make another Thomas now to see what I could really do with it.

A cake obsession.....

Mostly, I have always just loved to eat cake. Since I had kids my passion has turned to making cakes. Each birthday brings a new challenge to outdo the previous cake. Friends and family have definitely taken notice and have started requesting cakes for their events too. I've recently been giving a lot of thought to trying to make a living at this, and after a very successful cake for a friend's daughter, everyone I know has been encouraging me to do the same. So hear I am, the start of a new journey in my life. One that is about me, what I enjoy and what I am passionate about. It is exciting to have something new to focus on.

Years ago I got a degree in Interior Design. I thought that would be my creative outlet, but I was never truly passionate about it. Who knew I should have been in culinary school instead.

Now I am online looking at cakes all the time. Looking for inspiration for my next great cake. And the journey begins.....