21 May 2010

Delectable Dedication

 Five minutes to sit and down and give you all a quick update on 'the cake girl' world... between emails and quote requests I feel like I spend too much time on the computer of late. For a piece of technology which was created to apparently keep us all in touch and keep us up to date, the PC can feel like a cage at times - keeping us all apart -locked away in our towers and behind schedules with the amount of glitches.
  For the past few weeks, creating cakes has certainly taken a turn. I keep trying to find time to design more cakes but only seem to manage a quick sketch here and there. My mind plagues me with more and I dream of working in the kitchen continuously - or should I say I have nightmares? It never stops and I wake up feeling as if the cakes should already be made considering I was just there!
Chocolate goodies and sweets to tantalise the senses - just like "Chocolat" the movie...cones of wafer with a chocolate coating within then kirsch cherry swirl decorated with fresh strawberries and chocolate filigree. Accompanied by cones filled with gianduia cream and a candied heart make a great wedding cake with all the trimmings and best of all - your guests can help themselves!
One cupcake standing alone rather than a multitude - these cakes have become very popular of late...I wonder if the trend will stop? I've made them for young and old, male or female and everyone seems to love them. They're a classic!   There are shops and on-line places selling moulds to make these at home now - but I still enjoy making my novelty cakes from scratch. This way I can make them large or small according to the amount of guests you need to feed without constricting the serve.
For little girls, Tinkerbell is fashionable. Although her story has been around since days of Peter Pan, having her own movie I suppose has helped. The little girl whom I made this particular cake for, apparently pulled Tinkerbell straight off the cake after her exclamation of delight. It always makes this job the best in the world when stories like this come back to me.   I think I enjoyed making it as much as they enjoyed eating it.
A close-up detail of a cake for a surprise party at the races was a hit. The horses race each other around the cake on all sides with no end in sight. The horses were hand-painted with piped detail on the jockeys to add extra dimension.
  For a slight variation on the usual Dolly Varden cake, I attached a cake to look like a stepped floor in Barbie's bedroom. All dressed up after the ball, she had her change clothes in hand and make-up, hand-bags, mirror etc strewn across the floor - just like any young girls' bedroom before Mum's come in to clean.            
Down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland! With Tim Burtons' latest edition, Alice had been insppiring to say the least. This cake was a recent creation and I've posted it today to dedicate it to two of my favourite clients and family who unfortunately had a dearly loved member pass away recently. I barely knew her but of the little I spoke to her - she was a wonderful lady, taken away far too soon. I hope the rabbit hole shows her wonders she had never seen and treats her well.
And on that sad note - I bid you all farewell for another time.

10 May 2010

Crazy Cake Week

Hello All! The last few weeks have passed and the time has presented itself for me to post another item. You all have to find some time to check the following blog out: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/  I can spend hours looking at the photos on his site and feeling sick that there are people out there destroying the name of "cake decorator".
  Mind you - over the years I have seen many cakes: both by clients who have brought me their bought disasters to fix and by pastry chefs who didn't have the time or the inclination to do things right - yes...you know who you are!
  My latest edition to the cake world of note was a copy from an American bakery called: http://www.pinkcakebox.com/ - I had clients contact me to see if I could reproduce their cake design. Strangely enough it wasn't because they were Tim Burton fans or had even seen the movie "The Corpse Bride" but more because they liked the design of the cake! They told me it was down to this cake or an "Aliens" cake! Personally, I looove Burtons' work and cherish the thought that people out there are getting married to his work!
  At the moment I'm designing a Jack Skeleton birthday cake from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"...this is what makes my job all the more worthwhile!
  Even though not all cakes are this creative - there are others like this chocolate design which are pretty and have people complimenting the work when they pop by to collect their own cake orders.
The client who collected this cake had the most extraordinary reaction ever - she screamed at the top of her lungs and I was sure she saw something she detested. However it was the complete opposite - she explained how she had been worried about the cake design and this cake was perfect - everything she had wanted. This makes my day when I get feedback immediately from the customer as well as emails or cards thanking me for a job well done.

For the following cake, the customer contacted me on-line expressing her wishes to give her husband a cake relating to his love for his favourite team. She sent me the link to their website and I found the squad logo. I was impressed with the colours and the way the cake worked out as I originally wanted to applique all the items on the cake - sometimes it's good to have artistic skills and to revert to the original way I was taught to decorate a cake. Using my creativity rather than cutting and pasting or what a lot of bakeries do now with rice paper and edible inks. Personally the flavour of rice paper is equal to the 'bread' handed out during church - it sticks to the roof of your mouth and tastes gross!
  I believe the human race relies too much on quick easy fixes rather than cultivating the original methods which were used for years before technology took over.
  We've given up teaching our apprentices and work staff to use more than 100% of their imaginations and skills - to strive to be better rather than relying on computers or bought supplies to do the work. The younger generation gets lazier and has more attitude towards us than I ever remember having when I first started in the hospitality industry.
  But then do you really care about my opinions of the 'WHY' generation?
  I'll be off and post some more asap. Have a fantastic week!