Online Classes

As always there is a wealth of info available on the web for newbie and professional bakers and decorators; some really good, some...... One of the best resources out right now, especially for those of us on a budget, is Craftsy.com.

Craftsy is an interactive online crafting community where you can buy video classes and photo workshops covering a variety of crafting genres for $10-$40. After your onetime payment the class is yours forever and can be viewed from any Internet enabled device. I LOVE their iPad app! It makes viewing the videos crisp and easy.

They are currently offering about a dozen cake decorating classes from cake royalty such as Colette Peters, Marina Souza, James Rosselle, Lauren Kitchens, Richard Ruskell and Joshua John Russell. Most classes cost $39.99 but they often run sales and discounts making them as low as $19.99. Occasionally they'll even offer a free mini class.

For people looking for stellar instruction within an affordable budget this is definitely the way to go.

www.craftsy.com

Bronwen Webber Comes to NYC!!

Have I told you how much I LOVE Meetup? Well the New York Cake Decorators gave me two more reasons this past Sunday when they brought Bronwen Webber and her husband Francois Long all the way from their shop Frosted Art in Dallas, TX for a full day workshop.


The topic of this 8 HOUR extravaganza was airbrushing and cake carving and who better to learn from than two of the best doing it? Exactly....

After some extensive discussion and practice on the art of airbrushing we started carving our cakes into Geishas. Yes, I said it CARVING A CAKE INTO A GEISHA!!!! C'mon how difficult could it be? (Insert dripping sarcasm here). As if we didn't already know, this is where the class discovered just how SICK this woman is when it comes to caking. She was able to do hers in like 30 minutes while the rest of us cried, threw temper tantrums or just stood there dumbfounded. I'm pretty sure I performed some strange combination of the three.

We were all so into our cakes that the majority of us ran out of time before we could finish. Bronwen's was GORGEOUS of course. Mine, not so much.

To me it ended up looking more like an angry samurai than a demure Geisha. (Remember that whole PRACTICE thing I talked about earlier? Yea, gotta do that.) It's a work in progress....



At the end of it all it was well worth fighting the ridiculous NYC traffic (stupid street fair) and the heat and parking in a pile of glass so I didn't have to spend more money for a garage (in Jersey we have these things called parking lots and they're FREE. Somebody wanna break the news to New York?) to learn from these great artists. And yes, I'd do it all over again if they decided to come back hint, hint...


Obviously this was pre meltdown lol. Ok, it was more like a very frustrated drip.


Anyway, follow Bronwen on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/FROSTED-ART-BAKERY-STUDIO/164192857668?ref=ts&v=wall

Or visit her website at http://www.frostedart.com/


Stay Cakin'

CAKE! Loves the Kids

On Friday June 4th Julius Bellamy, co-owner of CAKE!DDS spoke to 2nd graders from Lincoln Elementary School for their annual career day. According to the teachers the purpose of career day is to give the students a chance to familiarize themselves with various career and begin to think about what they would want their ideal career to be in the future.

Mr Bellamy spoke about the art of cake baking, design, and the fun of being your own boss. The kids were more than ready for him with questions ranging from food allergies to what's the craziest cakes to his marital status. The presentation finished up with a mini slideshow of some of CAKE!s favorite creations and cookie samples for everyone.

Rumor has it the kids voted it as their favorite presentation!

Cakin' Comes to Harlem

Danielle Moore, Founder of NYC Cake Decorators Meetup, and owner of Annie Mae's Cheesecakes, is planning to produce a Cake Show in Harlem this fall, "Dreams are Baked in Harlem".

" Dreams Are Baked In Harlem is a competition being held at the Hip Hop Culture Center located inside the Magic Johnson Movie Theater in the heart of Harlem, NY on October 23, 2010. It invites the best bakers to compete for cash and prizes in various categories.

Pastry Chef Danielle Moore is creating a platform for cake Designers/Decorators to display their skills for bragging rights and a chance to win $5000 in the following categories: Wedding, Birthday, Children's Cake, Baby Shower, Bridal Shower Cakes, Cupcake, Sports Themed Cake, and a Celebrity Cookie Bake Off for Charity. There will also be a special Teen Cupcake category that will highlight talented teen bakers who will compete for $1,000 business startup account at a participating bank partner to help them with school or business expenses.
Each category will have up to 12 and not less than 5 participants.

Money will be donated to the Hip Hop Culture Center, Cancer Care & scholarships will be created for the winner of the Youth category.

The Winner in each category will win $1,000 in cash with the over all best baker winning an additional $3,000 in cash and a special trophy. In addition to the winning bakers, Dreams Are Baked In Harlem will award $2,500 in college scholarships to 3 dynamic youth that live in Harlem. There will be a special raffle of a trip for 4 to a location TBA for all who attend the event. Contestants will pay a $125 tax deductible entry fee to the Hip Hop Culture Center in Harlem.

Event Schedule:
10am – Viewing of all entries
12noon – Judges score on presentation
2pm – Judges score on taste
3pm - public tasting
6pm – Judges Decision
Winner and Prizes Awarded
7pm – House is cleared
9pm – Celebrity Performance

Judges will consist of Celebrity, Local and Media people.

Admission to the event is $10
Admission to event and benefit concert is $50
Registration is $125 per category and you can enter as many as you like.

For any questions go to their Facebook fan page: Dreams Are Baked In Harlem or contact Danielle Moore at 646-326-8999. Email Allaboutanniemae@aol.com

Registration begins Monday May 17, 2010.

CakeWatch 2010: Maryland Cake Convention May 1-2

So.....
I know it's almost May and 2010 is reaching the halfway mark and I should've BEEN talking about the cake shows but better late than never. Besides, cake season is just picking up with wedding season kickin' into gear, graduations and all of the summer's many reasons to celebrate. So MAYBE I'm right on time lol!

The Maryland chapter of ICES - International Cake Explorers Societe (more about them tomorrow) is hosting its annual Great American Cake Show & Wedding Competition at the Shipley Arena of the Carroll County Agricultural Center, Westminster, MD. Formerly the Mid-Atlantic Cake Show, this event will consist of classes, demos, and competitions from cake greats such as Colette Peters and Silvina Barboza (she taught me how to scuplt!). There are also competition categories open to the public. They even have a teen division! I wish I had started that young lol. Well, it wasn't THAT long ago....I digress.

The event runs from 9am-5pm on both May 1 & 2 and is open to the public. Admission is more than reasonable:

$8 ages 12 and up
$5 ages 11 to 4
Children 3 and under are FREE (one of my favorite words)
$14 for a 2 day pass

Stop by if you're in the area or go make a mini vaca out of it. Either way I'm sure you'll learn a lot and have a great time.

Stay Cakin'!

CakeDDS Cake Contest!

CAKE! Dessert Design Studio is running a logo design contest!

Now through July 1st enter your logo design or sketch for a chance to win the grand prize of a custom designed novelty cake (valued at $400 USD) from our studio! Take a look at our work at CAKE! A Dessert Design Stdio on Facebook. All entries must be received by 12pm July 1, 2010.

1. About CAKE! :
We are a new design studio intent on taking standard cakes to the next level. Our company prides itself on delivering awesome cakes that look amazing and taste even better. All of our cakes and products are handmade from scratch and finished pieces nearly 100% edible. Our company’s primary colors of purple, black and silver must be incorporated into the design. THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX!!!!! Please note that we are a boutique, not your typical Main St USA bakery. We deal exclusively with custom cake and dessert orders and like to challenge preconceived ideas of food in our designs. We pride ourselves on being innovative and we want our logo or symbol to reflect that as well as have a sense of youth, individuality, style and swagger.
DO NOT CALL US A BAKERY……we’re a DESIGN STUDIO.

2. How to enter:
To be eligible to win, contestants must submit their design or design sketch no later than 12:00 pm July 1, 2010.

3. What to submit:

You must submit a finished logo design or concept along with your name, email address and telephone number via the internet to CAKEDDS@GMAIL.COM or by mail to:

CAKE! Dessert Design Studio
370 W Pleasantview Ave Suite 2281
Hackensack, NJ 07601.

All computer generated entries must be submitted in one of the following formats: Photoshop, .jpg, .tiff, .png, .pct, .bmp, or .pdf.
Hard copies submitted by mail may be no larger than 8.5x11.

Entries MAY NOT include:
• Quotes or other plagiarized elements
• Previously copyrighted text or artwork
• False and/or deceptive entries that are not the original work of the contestant
• 3rd party stock photography or video elements, aside from what is provided on the CAKE! Facebook page.


To be eligible for selection as the final logo designs may not refer to any of the following:
weapons/guns; offensive language and/or gestures; drugs or drug paraphernalia; mutilations; depictions offensive to ethnic, minority, or religious groups; child abuse; violence; animal cruelty; bodily functions; venereal diseases; physical handicaps; cadavers; rape or molestations; lavatory or lavatory jokes; nudity; threats to national security; defamation of character; any illegal, indecent, or obscene activity.

CAKE! will be the final judge for all content. Anything deemed indecent as judged by community standards will be immediately disqualified.

The grand prize winner will be announced via our Facebook page and notified by email on August 1, 2010.

4. Legal Stuff:
* No purchase necessary.
* All entries become the sole property of CAKE! and will not be returned.
* There will be only one grand prize winner.
* Only the winning contestant may accept the grand prize as stated in contest rules. No other substitutions allowed. Failure to comply with this provision will result in forfeiture of the grand prize by the winner.
* The grand prize is non- transferable and not redeemable for cash.
* The grand prize winner must agree to all terms and meet all requirements stated in these rules or forfeit the grand prize.
* The grand prize winner must sign and return to CAKE! a release waiving any rights to further compensation prior to delivery of the grand prize.
* All other entries and entrants are not entitled to any compensation whatsoever.
* CAKE! Dessert Design Studio reserves the right to use any entries as it deems fit.

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Stay Cakin’!

The Dark Side of Cakery

As much as I love cakin' and designin' I find myself among those falling prey to its dark secret. Have you ever noticed that the vast majority of great caketicians seem to be carrying a bit more "love" than the average consumer? As with everything there are of course exceptions, however it seems that "quality control" amidst our search for confectionary perfection is doing cake artists and desert designers everywhere a bit of a disservice.

I know that being in the celebration business can be time consuming, hectic and at times draining but a persons health and body images is one of their greatest and most lasting masterpieces. So on that note I am issuing a challenge for myself and anyone else who would like to be involved. I've gotta wise up and EXERCISE some control over my cake addiction. My aim is to strike a balance between what makes me happiest (cakin') and what is going to allow me to keep it up (my health).

To start I am enlisting the help of a personal trainer to get me off my cake lovin' butt and keep me on my toes. This guy is AMAZING! He's young, fun, affordable and HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT!!!!

You can chck out Bron Schuler and his blog at www.absinfitness.blogspot.com. You won't be disappointed.

As for me, I'll keep you posted.

TTFN - Stay Cakin'!

Just A Quickie

Hello All!

Just wanted to pop by with an informative tidbit. Cakin' will begin its tutorials very soon; the first one mostly likely to be the shoebox cake I just finished up. And there are lots more planned to follow so stay tuned.

On a side note:

This blog is in definite need of some feedback! Let me know what you want to know. Whether it's tutorials and educational info, upcoming events, more photos or just random cakery tell me what you want and I'll try my best to give it to you.

Well let me go before this turns into a full blown session! I'll be back but TTFN.

Bonus Footage.....

I know I said I was done but here's a side note with regard to classes.

Cake decorating is on the upswing right now but finding good classes can be both pricey and difficult. A great resource that is gaining popularity is Meetup.com. They have groups for everything you can think of and most of them offer MAJOR classes/workshops at discounted prices. And cake is no exception.

Go to www.meetup.com, put in your interests and where you're from. You'll be amazed what you'll find.

And just an FYI:

CakeDDS may be offering classes of its own soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Soaking It All In

Ok first let me apologize. I know my sporadic posting is annoying and it kinda defeats the whole purpose. It annoys me too! But now that I've caught up to the rest of the planet and figured out how to post from my phone I'll do better. I promise.

Now where have I been this last month? Cakin' of course lol. I've been taking as many classes as possible to keep the skills up and learn some new ones. Even the art of kitchen chemistry (ooh I like the way that sounds lol)takes practice.

I was fortunate to recently learn from some of the best doing it; Ms Colette Peters and Ms Charmaine Jones (DIVA! LOVE IT!) And even got into some airbrushing. I told you I've been busy.

Not only did I learn some amazing cakery from these ladies but they really teach you how to survive in all this yummy nonsense. That alone was worth the price of admission!

Since this is getting kinda long I'll go into all of the pretty details later. But in the meantime check out their stuff if you're not already a fan.

Ms Peters:
www.colettescakes.com

Ms Jones:
www.cakediva.com

If I Were An Elf Santa would SO Hire Me!

It's been a busy few days for CakeDDS. In the last 3 days we made 6 full cakes, 52 mini cakes and some other misc treats. Now, I'm not complaining in the least, cakin' is something I love. It was a lot of work though. Here's some of the Valentine's Day treats we came up with:


Zebras & Hearts
The "zebra" cakes are chocolate cake with oreo frosting covered in chocolate ganache and white chocolate drizzle.
The "hearts" are chocolate cake with fresh strawberry filling covered in chocolate ganache and eventually topped with a pink champagne heart.




Here are just some of the mini cakes we made. Carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting covered in white chocolate ganache.


An overview of some of the finished products from this marathon baking session. A little of this, a little of that....


A cake "candy box" made of red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting. 100% edible including the lid and the candies inside.

All the single ladies! All the single ladies!
Everything you need for VDay night and then some. Chocolate cake with strawberry filling, dressed in pink champagne frosting & MMF.

Today's Debate: Store Bought Fondant vs MMF

For those of you that don't know MMF stands for Marshmallow Fondant. There seems to be a bit of a debate in the cake community regarding the use of store bought fondant vs marshmallow fondant. They both obviously have their pros and cons: Store bought is easily accessible and immediately useable yet usually tastes pretty horrible. On the other hand MMF is far less expensive and can be flavored to compliment the cake it is being used on but can be a bit time consuming to make.

I have used both and I can say that I've been won over by the MMF hands down!

The texture of MMF is smooth and elastic like store bought but it tastes SO much better. Not to mention that it takes about $3 to make compared to the $15+ for the store bought stuff. Plus the MMF because a part of the cake, not just some gross covering that everyone pulls off before they eat their slice. It colors and flavors easily and is easy to work with. Not to mention the recipe is incredibly easy.

The recipe that I use can be found at

http://candy.about.com/od/fondantcandyrecipes/r/mm_fondant.htm

Try it out and enjoy!

Capoeira

For those of you who were chomping at the bit to catch a glimpse of the capoeira cake here it is.

The top layer is chocolate cake with oreo frosting and the bottom layer is yellow cake with strawberry filling and vanilla icing. And of course we make everything from scratch.

Ok, so it didn't turn out as amazing as I had hoped due to some unforseen circumstances but hey it happens. And it still tasted great.

My kids better never say I don't love them lol. There's photographic proof.

A Random Interjection

Yes this blog is about cake....
But it's also about the million and a half other things that in some way, shape or form can be related to cake. Food (of course), art, creativity, parties, celebrations....the list could go on forever.

I fully intend to reign in my randomness but only as much as is needed to make some sort of sense so do not be surprised is something not 100% directly related to cake appears here. Feel free to just change the channel for that day.

I'm Back....

I apologize for the hiatus but we've been in cake overdrive since the holidays. Santa brought me a BEAUTIFUL stand mixer to replace its fallen comrades so it's been all about focusing on the cakes and expanding flavors and ideas....visualize the full length lab coat, bolts of lightening, evil cackle, the whole bit lol. I love it though and wouldn't change a thing.

Here's a few photos of what Cake DDS has been up to lately. If I can ever get around to figuring out my video camera (also a gift from Santa) I plan on putting up some videos and tutorial too. That should be interesting.

Technical Difficulties.....

This post was supposed to be about the AMAZING tiered Capoeira cake I did for my daughters' Batizado. However, due to the fact that I managed to burn out 2 mixers in two days and couldn't finish the thing that will have to wait until another time.

A moment of silence please.....

Rest In Peace Oster & Proctor.

I guess they just couldn't handle the pressure....

Wanna Hear It, Here It Goes.....

Where to begin.....

I am NOT a culinary student, chef, professional pastry chef or any other formally trained food manipulator.

Now that that's out of the way.

I am a die hard, live it, love it, learn it foodie! I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to bake. I love to eat lol. I can't draw or paint but food is my art. The kitchen, both my studio and my laboratory. The home to my creativity. To me food is the expression of the most intimate and inate parts of a person. You create with as much of your soul as you do your hands and your senses. If you don't love what you're cooking or who you're cooking it for you will definitely know it, and chances are whomever you cooked it for will let you know your food sucks. Baking is the same way. If you don't feel like baking that cake, don't touch the mixer! Forcing it tends to lead to horrible food and overall culinary disaster...

How does any of that relate to this blog? Well, Cakin' & Designin' is about cakes (obviously!) and the fun and failure that goes with them. I've learned (and am still learning) to decorate thanks to a few craft store classes and something internal that makes this while thing click. Growing up surounded by food thanks to both parents being able to throw down in the kitchen (my house is affectionately known as the Food Palace) is making this experience a pretty smooth transition for me. One minute I'm working in an evil law office cubicle and the next I'm an event planner and cake designer doing quite well. I guess it goes back to that inate/natural thing I was talking about. Seems my dad teaching me to make biscuits from scratch when I was little wasn't a waste of time, just the beginning of a skill that would develop into something bigger down the line.

So.....that's the short version. Food is awesome. I like to make it look and taste great. Read my blog.