I can't believe my last blog post was late Sept. Thank you Bell...for charging me monthly Internet fees and yet never giving me Internet signal! Arrgh!
I'm on my iPad which thankfully has Wifi and 3G...I pay Rogers for my monthly 3G service and they haven't let me down yet. At any rate, I've had a lot going on since September in the world of cakes, kids, teaching and training! But since this is my caking blog, I'll just talk sweet stuff if that's ok!
I need to figure out how to post pics of my latest cakes without Internet. I almost always use my camera to take cake shots, so my pics are stuck on my computer now...not accessible here on my iPad. Well, except for my weekend project which I'll post here in a bit. I was FINALLY a student and loved my day of learning all things beautiful in the cake land of Icing Inspirations in Kitchener. Thank you to Chrissie Boon (latest Cake Walk champion and owner of said shop) for hosting the course and to Susan Trianos (another Cake Walk champion!) for her Tufted Billow cake course! I was surrounded by caking geniuses and I loved it!
I had a super partner too! Amber Wills is an up and coming caked in K/W who will one day have the coolest, most unique cake and more shop you've ever seen! I can't wait! This girl is skilled...at everything!
Along with my fullest course, I had 3 cakes this week: 1 sculpted bunny rabbit (which truly deserves its own blog story...maybe later) and 2 very custom cakes requiring genius figure work (which people seem to think I have when they order from me...but which I don't!). A VP on top of the cake throwing a student in the trash (inside joke and completely NOT my idea but it went over well nonetheless) and a special baptism cross cake complete with a chocolate Jesus sitting on a boulder with the baby in his lap. Yikes! It was quite the week! A true test of time management, patience and caking skills. I'm happy to say that I survived, I'm not getting divorced, my kids are relatively clean & fed and to my knowledge, all clients were happy with their cakes.
Pics coming at some point. Very happy to say I have a cake-free week ahead...but I'm hosting a Christmas party so when I'd typically be baking and making buttercream and fondant, I'll be gutting, cleaning, Christmasifying, and perhaps even painting to prep for the party. Oh yeah, and I want to make meatball-stuffed arancini! Whew! Here we go again!
Sunday 4 December 2011
Sunday 25 September 2011
My 2nd Mater cake and I've learned that there is much to learn!!
It was a 4-cake week and from that I've learned that I JUST CAN'T DO THAT! I'm pretty sure my husband is ready to move out and my kids are going to have rotten teeth. Enough!
That being said and as awful as the pressure was this week, I think I put out some pretty decent work! My Mater cake was quite an experience...and here I was thinking "oh heck, that's easy. I've already done a Mater. I can do it in x minutes and time to spare!". NOT EXACTLY!! I've learned that the really impressive cakes out there in the world of google must be done by teams of people. Or at the very least, perhaps a mostly self-taught cake/mom like myself but with mad carpentry skills (or a husband with said skills!). I was able to improve upon my construction a wee bit from the last Mater I did...but still ended up with a droopy rearend and needed to prop up the wimpy little cake board that Mater sat on with chocolate bars covered in fondant. I was happy with my idea to use a big mass of RKT as the main support under the cake board though. Next time I know I will put Mater on a sturdier board and select something even stronger and more stable to support this board. Now if I had a handy husband, he could make me something like this structure I speak of...but alas, that's a whole other issue and not for a blog about caking!
Another little tidbit I walk away from this week with...transporting cakes is tricky and the inevitable will happen! Like Alice in Wonderland WILL lose her legs on her way to East end Hamilton! Next time - leave all fragile parts OFF of the cake while travelling and construct on-site! And always bring emergency tools!!
This week sounds a bit slower and I like that. I have a Hello Kitty cake for Saturday and potentially a 30th birthday cake for Saturday night though all details are TBD. So if you're reading this blog little sister, I'd appreicate knowing sooner than later!!
Thanks for your support! Anyone want to share any other caking secrets about fragile deliveries and creating support structures without a handy husband?
:D
That being said and as awful as the pressure was this week, I think I put out some pretty decent work! My Mater cake was quite an experience...and here I was thinking "oh heck, that's easy. I've already done a Mater. I can do it in x minutes and time to spare!". NOT EXACTLY!! I've learned that the really impressive cakes out there in the world of google must be done by teams of people. Or at the very least, perhaps a mostly self-taught cake/mom like myself but with mad carpentry skills (or a husband with said skills!). I was able to improve upon my construction a wee bit from the last Mater I did...but still ended up with a droopy rearend and needed to prop up the wimpy little cake board that Mater sat on with chocolate bars covered in fondant. I was happy with my idea to use a big mass of RKT as the main support under the cake board though. Next time I know I will put Mater on a sturdier board and select something even stronger and more stable to support this board. Now if I had a handy husband, he could make me something like this structure I speak of...but alas, that's a whole other issue and not for a blog about caking!
Another little tidbit I walk away from this week with...transporting cakes is tricky and the inevitable will happen! Like Alice in Wonderland WILL lose her legs on her way to East end Hamilton! Next time - leave all fragile parts OFF of the cake while travelling and construct on-site! And always bring emergency tools!!
This week sounds a bit slower and I like that. I have a Hello Kitty cake for Saturday and potentially a 30th birthday cake for Saturday night though all details are TBD. So if you're reading this blog little sister, I'd appreicate knowing sooner than later!!
Thanks for your support! Anyone want to share any other caking secrets about fragile deliveries and creating support structures without a handy husband?
:D
Friday 23 September 2011
Busy days of September!
Is anyone else struggling with the concept that it's officially fall? That September is almost over? That pretty soon we'll be talking about those 2 dreaded words...Christmas shopping? Yikes!!
My life has suddenly spun into fast forward and I have no remote to control it. Up early and thick into chaos as I try to get myself, my 3 children and my husband out the door for school with full tummies and clean faces! Ok, I don't really care about my husband's face!! That he can at least do right?
The life of high school teacher is never dull especially when you combine that with being a mom of 3 and one who takes on more cake orders than she can handle! I just can't say NO...but I'm learning. I actually said it today. So there!
This weekend is a nutty one and I've already completed a cake for Thursday which was a "donation" to a school fundraiser. It's the Bulldog cake (once I actually get pics loaded, you'll be able to see it) and I'm happy to say that my hours of school-night fussing were worth the fact that the School Council sold lots of tickets to raise money for a family in need AND that the winners of the cake were the Special Needs students of my school! WINNING!!
Tomorrow morning I'll be delivering 2 cakes to the same location - school! Our head secretary ordered a custom cake for her dad's 85th birthday (loves golf and lawn bowling) and a former student ordered an Alice in Wonderland theme cake for his girlfriend's 20th birthday! I'm pretty happy with my designs and have about 1.2 cakes left to do out of 2! It's going to be a late night!
Then on Sunday I had to break my "1 cake/week" rule (already had at this point) because Ty's mom emailed me and requested a special Mater cake for her boy's 2nd birthday. I made Ty's 1st birthday cake so how on Earth could I refuse? So needless to say, my Saturday will be cake-filled from morning til night with delivery and creating Mater! Whew!
How are you spending your weekend? Any other cakers out there who have a hard time saying NO? Please advise!!!
My life has suddenly spun into fast forward and I have no remote to control it. Up early and thick into chaos as I try to get myself, my 3 children and my husband out the door for school with full tummies and clean faces! Ok, I don't really care about my husband's face!! That he can at least do right?
The life of high school teacher is never dull especially when you combine that with being a mom of 3 and one who takes on more cake orders than she can handle! I just can't say NO...but I'm learning. I actually said it today. So there!
This weekend is a nutty one and I've already completed a cake for Thursday which was a "donation" to a school fundraiser. It's the Bulldog cake (once I actually get pics loaded, you'll be able to see it) and I'm happy to say that my hours of school-night fussing were worth the fact that the School Council sold lots of tickets to raise money for a family in need AND that the winners of the cake were the Special Needs students of my school! WINNING!!
Tomorrow morning I'll be delivering 2 cakes to the same location - school! Our head secretary ordered a custom cake for her dad's 85th birthday (loves golf and lawn bowling) and a former student ordered an Alice in Wonderland theme cake for his girlfriend's 20th birthday! I'm pretty happy with my designs and have about 1.2 cakes left to do out of 2! It's going to be a late night!
Then on Sunday I had to break my "1 cake/week" rule (already had at this point) because Ty's mom emailed me and requested a special Mater cake for her boy's 2nd birthday. I made Ty's 1st birthday cake so how on Earth could I refuse? So needless to say, my Saturday will be cake-filled from morning til night with delivery and creating Mater! Whew!
How are you spending your weekend? Any other cakers out there who have a hard time saying NO? Please advise!!!
Thursday 1 September 2011
Cake Flavours, Buttercreams & Fillings
Sometimes I get cake clients who are very specific about what they want and exactly how they want it. I like these but truthfully feel more pressure to meet each & every pre-conceived expectation this client has.
Then I have people who just love what I do and know that I will satisfy them no matter what happens - even when it comes to choosing the flavour of cake & buttercream they want. :) YAY!
At any rate, I thought I would post a quick note on the types of cakes that I have had experience in making (and in some ways perfecting) along with the buttercream flavours I have done and any fillings. Hopefully this will help you think up some reason (big or small) for a custom cake from me!!
CAKE FLAVOURS:
Vanilla, French Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon, Coconut Pound
Vanilla Cream Cheese Pound
Coconut Cream Cheese Pound
Chocolate Chip Pound
Decadent Chocolate
Carrot Cake
Red Velvet
BUTTERCREAM ICING FLAVOURS:
Traditional vanilla or chocolate buttercream (BC)
Vanilla bean BC
French Vanilla BC
Cream Cheese BC (can flavour orange or lemon for a twist)
Rich chocolate BC
Peanut Butter BC
Assorted flavours - cherry, raspberry, lemon, apple, coffee, bavarian, orange, lemon, bubblegum, tuttifruitti, red licorice, anise, root beer, champagne
FILLING IDEAS: (not all cakes can handle a filling due to structure)
Fresh fruit - strawberries, raspberry, blueberry coulis, etc
Lemon curd
Bavarian cream
Cannoli cream
Cookies n cream
Broken chocolate bars (like Reese PB Cups, Skor, Crispy Crunch or your FAVE)
Let me know if you think of anything else that's not on my list! I'm happy to have more ammunition to make people smile!!
Then I have people who just love what I do and know that I will satisfy them no matter what happens - even when it comes to choosing the flavour of cake & buttercream they want. :) YAY!
At any rate, I thought I would post a quick note on the types of cakes that I have had experience in making (and in some ways perfecting) along with the buttercream flavours I have done and any fillings. Hopefully this will help you think up some reason (big or small) for a custom cake from me!!
CAKE FLAVOURS:
Vanilla, French Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon, Coconut Pound
Vanilla Cream Cheese Pound
Coconut Cream Cheese Pound
Chocolate Chip Pound
Decadent Chocolate
Carrot Cake
Red Velvet
BUTTERCREAM ICING FLAVOURS:
Traditional vanilla or chocolate buttercream (BC)
Vanilla bean BC
French Vanilla BC
Cream Cheese BC (can flavour orange or lemon for a twist)
Rich chocolate BC
Peanut Butter BC
Assorted flavours - cherry, raspberry, lemon, apple, coffee, bavarian, orange, lemon, bubblegum, tuttifruitti, red licorice, anise, root beer, champagne
FILLING IDEAS: (not all cakes can handle a filling due to structure)
Fresh fruit - strawberries, raspberry, blueberry coulis, etc
Lemon curd
Bavarian cream
Cannoli cream
Cookies n cream
Broken chocolate bars (like Reese PB Cups, Skor, Crispy Crunch or your FAVE)
Let me know if you think of anything else that's not on my list! I'm happy to have more ammunition to make people smile!!
Friday 26 August 2011
My first cheesecake order and a custom 30th cake for Matt!
So it's been a slow summer on the cake-making front and I LOVED IT!! I had a super & sunny July with the kids and watched my husband almost single-handedly build us a beautiful & huge deck!! Great work honey!
Now with much of the summer behind us and "school" fast approaching, I am getting some cake orders...among other things! I had the funniest phonecall from a friend of my mother-in-law's. She is a beautiful lady named Phyllis from Jamaica and she wanted to order a cheesecake for her son's birthday. ?? Ok, I can bake a cheesecake as good as the next guy, but I was curious. Did she want it custom-decorated since that's sort of what I do. Her response (with a very thick Jamaican accent) "Oh no darlin!! Decorations would just take away from it don't you think?" So cute! So I am about to get started on a plain cheesecake. "Maybe throw some strawberries on it" she said. OK! Strawberries it is!
My other order for this weekend is a pretty special one! Matt turns 30 and his family is having a huge pig-roast/BBQ/Pool Party to celebrate! Lucky for me, they live 2 doors down so it will be a fun party & easy to find my way back home after some celebration! Matt's mom said that he loves golf, Harley motorcycles, California and Katy Perry. Hmmm...my creative juices flowed for me and I sketched out a design to encorporate all of Matt's LOVES. Hope it turns out. I'll take some pics once it's finished!
Not much more going on in cakeland for me...just a whole lot of things to do to get myself and the kids ready for school in 11 days!!
Thank you so much for your continued interest & support in my cake passion. I'm really going to attempt to stick to 1 or 2 cake orders/week this year...goodness knows I have lots of room to be a better mom/housekeeper/teacher if I had more time on my hands! So please message me sooner than later if you're thinking of a custom cake for an upcoming gathering!!
Cheers,
C
Now with much of the summer behind us and "school" fast approaching, I am getting some cake orders...among other things! I had the funniest phonecall from a friend of my mother-in-law's. She is a beautiful lady named Phyllis from Jamaica and she wanted to order a cheesecake for her son's birthday. ?? Ok, I can bake a cheesecake as good as the next guy, but I was curious. Did she want it custom-decorated since that's sort of what I do. Her response (with a very thick Jamaican accent) "Oh no darlin!! Decorations would just take away from it don't you think?" So cute! So I am about to get started on a plain cheesecake. "Maybe throw some strawberries on it" she said. OK! Strawberries it is!
My other order for this weekend is a pretty special one! Matt turns 30 and his family is having a huge pig-roast/BBQ/Pool Party to celebrate! Lucky for me, they live 2 doors down so it will be a fun party & easy to find my way back home after some celebration! Matt's mom said that he loves golf, Harley motorcycles, California and Katy Perry. Hmmm...my creative juices flowed for me and I sketched out a design to encorporate all of Matt's LOVES. Hope it turns out. I'll take some pics once it's finished!
Not much more going on in cakeland for me...just a whole lot of things to do to get myself and the kids ready for school in 11 days!!
Thank you so much for your continued interest & support in my cake passion. I'm really going to attempt to stick to 1 or 2 cake orders/week this year...goodness knows I have lots of room to be a better mom/housekeeper/teacher if I had more time on my hands! So please message me sooner than later if you're thinking of a custom cake for an upcoming gathering!!
Cheers,
C
Friday 5 August 2011
Cake firsts and the importance of getting the message straight!
Well I've had a couple caking "firsts" this week - one was my cake-designing BLAHS when trying to come up with the custom 50th for a Bruce Springsteen/Jackson Browne fan!! I was not only stumped on the design, but because it was my first cake in 3 long weeks, I wasn't even into it. At all!! But in the end, with a little kick in the butt from my friends, I was able to produce a stack of albums, the top being (of course) the very popular "Born in the USA" cover! It was tedious but fun! Then I was able to hit "the zone" when it came time to hand-painting all of the album names on all 4 sides of the record stack!! Made a gumpaste Harley logo and Bruce's very renoun yellow electric guitar and the cake was finished!! Apparently it was a huge hit at the party! Everyone took pictures and the bday boy just stood back and stared at it for 2 minutes straight. Awww...that's exactly why I LOVE doing what I do!! Thank you so very much Mo!!
My other cake "first" was a Hello Kitty cake for a 6 yr old girl's birthday! The client (my girlfriend Fiona - thank you!!) suggested HK or perhaps Tinkerbelle but I jumped at doing the Hello Kitty as I have seen many and had never made one. It was super fun and thankfully I was very much into the caking spirit of things! I sat and made colourful fondant flowers for ever!! Pictures coming!! Thank you so much to http://www.cakecental.com/ for the great cake ideas!! And thank you again Fiona!! If anyone wants to train for an Ironman triathlon, she's a pro triathlete AND a trainer in TO. Message me for her contact info!
Now, onto the importance of 'getting the message straight'...my girlfriend (and fellow YJ distributor/brand parnter) Kelly gave me the head's up that her future MIL was going to contact me for her family baby shower for newly arrived Charlie!! So I only spoke to her MIL re cake flavours and design. She said "Kelly said to do something summery". I was a bit confused since it was a baby shower cake afterall but thought, oh well, summery & baby! I can do this! Last night, while putting the final touches on my version of summery/baby shower, I called Kelly to see if she wanted "Charles or Charlie" on the cake and mentioned the "summery" thing. She says 'oh yeah, I told her something summery flavoured"...uh oh! So NOT the theme? But rather the flavour? Oops!! Anyways, final cake is a brandnew baby Charlie (complete with his signature cloth diaper) lying on a blanket (custom colour & design as his nursery bedding) on the beach with sunscreen, bottle of milk, "ghettoblaster", cooler, beach ball, sand pail & shovel, and rubber ducky floaty ring! There is sand and beautiful blue ocean with jellyfish, starfish, catfish, sea cucumbers, and underwater plants. I hope she likes it! It was quite fun!
And now I'm sitting on a 30-hour train ride from TO Ontario to Truro, Nova Scotia with my 3 kids!! I intended on bringing a custom cake with me for my Aunt's 60th birthday and had also hoped I could bring enough supplies to make another custom cake for a big family gathering to honour my uncles' and cousin's birthdays (60th, 50th and 40th all in the same year)....but alas, with only myself to "lug" stuff, we had far too many bags to add more to. So no cake or cake decorating tools!! Just plain & simple VACATION time for me!!
Thanks for checking in and I'll be back near the end of the summer with a custom 30th cake for a Katy Perry/golf/Harley/California-lover named Matt!!
Cheers,
CC
My other cake "first" was a Hello Kitty cake for a 6 yr old girl's birthday! The client (my girlfriend Fiona - thank you!!) suggested HK or perhaps Tinkerbelle but I jumped at doing the Hello Kitty as I have seen many and had never made one. It was super fun and thankfully I was very much into the caking spirit of things! I sat and made colourful fondant flowers for ever!! Pictures coming!! Thank you so much to http://www.cakecental.com/ for the great cake ideas!! And thank you again Fiona!! If anyone wants to train for an Ironman triathlon, she's a pro triathlete AND a trainer in TO. Message me for her contact info!
Now, onto the importance of 'getting the message straight'...my girlfriend (and fellow YJ distributor/brand parnter) Kelly gave me the head's up that her future MIL was going to contact me for her family baby shower for newly arrived Charlie!! So I only spoke to her MIL re cake flavours and design. She said "Kelly said to do something summery". I was a bit confused since it was a baby shower cake afterall but thought, oh well, summery & baby! I can do this! Last night, while putting the final touches on my version of summery/baby shower, I called Kelly to see if she wanted "Charles or Charlie" on the cake and mentioned the "summery" thing. She says 'oh yeah, I told her something summery flavoured"...uh oh! So NOT the theme? But rather the flavour? Oops!! Anyways, final cake is a brandnew baby Charlie (complete with his signature cloth diaper) lying on a blanket (custom colour & design as his nursery bedding) on the beach with sunscreen, bottle of milk, "ghettoblaster", cooler, beach ball, sand pail & shovel, and rubber ducky floaty ring! There is sand and beautiful blue ocean with jellyfish, starfish, catfish, sea cucumbers, and underwater plants. I hope she likes it! It was quite fun!
And now I'm sitting on a 30-hour train ride from TO Ontario to Truro, Nova Scotia with my 3 kids!! I intended on bringing a custom cake with me for my Aunt's 60th birthday and had also hoped I could bring enough supplies to make another custom cake for a big family gathering to honour my uncles' and cousin's birthdays (60th, 50th and 40th all in the same year)....but alas, with only myself to "lug" stuff, we had far too many bags to add more to. So no cake or cake decorating tools!! Just plain & simple VACATION time for me!!
Thanks for checking in and I'll be back near the end of the summer with a custom 30th cake for a Katy Perry/golf/Harley/California-lover named Matt!!
Cheers,
CC
Thursday 28 July 2011
Cake-designing Blahs!!
So I'm happy to say that I've totally been enjoying my summer!! No school or school lunches to make, no pesky teenagers, no annoying co-workers, and actually no cakes to make!! However, things are about to change as I have a cake order for tomorrow - a custom 50th for a man who LOVES Bruce Springsteen & Jackson Browne, motorcyles & guitars! Easy right? Well if any of you have a super idea for a design, please message me because I am stumped. I thought I had it figured out - I'll do a 3D electric guitar coming up out of the cake with record albums all around it to feature Bruce & Jackson. Trouble is that when I researched their album covers, I need to be a master sketch artist (which I am NOT) because every cover has their faces on them!! I can do animated characters but portraits are tough!!
I also have 2 cake requests for next week - one is a Hello Kitty cake which I am super thrilled to make!! But the other is for a friend's baby shower that is being hosted by her in-laws and I'm told it should be a "summer" theme. That's it. That's all. Ummmm....I got nothin! Well not yet, but I WILL. Kelly wants a "WOW" cake and she'll get her summery WOW cake. I hope!
I am appreciative of the first rainy day we've had since the 3rd week of June so I can get baking and creating today without feeling like I'm missing out! Thanks for allowing me to vent and stress with you. Seriously - any and all ideas are welcome!!
Cheers,
Cynthia
I also have 2 cake requests for next week - one is a Hello Kitty cake which I am super thrilled to make!! But the other is for a friend's baby shower that is being hosted by her in-laws and I'm told it should be a "summer" theme. That's it. That's all. Ummmm....I got nothin! Well not yet, but I WILL. Kelly wants a "WOW" cake and she'll get her summery WOW cake. I hope!
I am appreciative of the first rainy day we've had since the 3rd week of June so I can get baking and creating today without feeling like I'm missing out! Thanks for allowing me to vent and stress with you. Seriously - any and all ideas are welcome!!
Cheers,
Cynthia
Thursday 14 July 2011
Ahhhh 2 weeks off!
Summer is officially here! The sun is shining and HOT! The kids have been having FUN! And I have had 2 weeks off of baking cakes! : D I am just now starting to miss it a bit so I was happy to get a call for a custom Dora birthday cake for a 2 year old girl next week! Yay! Of course July birthdays in my house are numerous (mine was Monday and NO I did not make myself a cake, nor did anyone else), my son turns 7 next week and my baby girl turns 4 the week following. So there will be cakes to design and create soon enough. For now, I will enjoy the next couple of cake-free, sun-filled days!!
Yay Summer Time!!
Yay Summer Time!!
Wednesday 6 July 2011
You poor blog followers! Have I lost you?
I'm so very sorry that I haven't had any recent activity here on the cake blog! The end of the school year is always a busy time but add to that the fact that I was putting out 4 cakes/week and I hope you can understand my absence!
However, I will get at the adding picture thing here in a bit and tell you this - I LOVE SUMMER!! As of July 3rd, I am officially done with my busy cake-making and plan on enjoying every ounce of summer sun & fun with my kids & husband!! My kids have reminded me that the next cake I have to make will be for my own birthday next Monday to which I say - NO WAY!! I look forward to making my son's 7th birthday cake which I think we have finally agreed upon. It will be the purple van from Scooby Doo complete with Scooby & Shaggy!! Then a week after that I have my baby's 4th birthday and I'm not sure what she wants. When she saw the giant burger cake I did for my staff party, she said "oooh Momma, can you make that for my birthday?" which is very funny but you betcha I can!!
I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather and if you need a cake, I have some time so please message me or call!!
Thanks for checking in!
Cheers!
However, I will get at the adding picture thing here in a bit and tell you this - I LOVE SUMMER!! As of July 3rd, I am officially done with my busy cake-making and plan on enjoying every ounce of summer sun & fun with my kids & husband!! My kids have reminded me that the next cake I have to make will be for my own birthday next Monday to which I say - NO WAY!! I look forward to making my son's 7th birthday cake which I think we have finally agreed upon. It will be the purple van from Scooby Doo complete with Scooby & Shaggy!! Then a week after that I have my baby's 4th birthday and I'm not sure what she wants. When she saw the giant burger cake I did for my staff party, she said "oooh Momma, can you make that for my birthday?" which is very funny but you betcha I can!!
I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather and if you need a cake, I have some time so please message me or call!!
Thanks for checking in!
Cheers!
Thursday 23 June 2011
A few cancelled cakes...it's all good!
So I'm getting close to being finished with school...and apparently cakes!! My spring has just been insane with orders of 3-4 every week and I've actually had to turn people away! WOW!! But now that the summer is here, and I might actually have spare time to make custom-cakes, and I only have a handful of orders for July & August. That's ok though! I hope to play play play with my kiddies and enjoy the time off!!
I'll get a few pics up here in a bit of last week's cakes - but also wanted to peak your interest in my latest cake...an ode to Tim Burton for a young teenage girl who is a big fan of his work! Specifically, the Mad Hatter, Jack of NBC and Edward Scissorhands. I'm quite pleased with the outcome and I really hope she will be too!!
The other cake on the table (literally) for today/tonight is an end-of-the-year cake for our staff party tomorrow afternoon...and I'm still puzzled. In the past there has been a retirement to honour so the cake instantly had a theme. This year, there's nothing but the satisfaction that the end of June brings to teachers! I guess I should have made a big smiley face!! However, I'm working on a giant hamburger instead...who doesn't enjoy a good burger?
Check back in for pics and thanks as always for your continued interest & support!
Cheers!
I'll get a few pics up here in a bit of last week's cakes - but also wanted to peak your interest in my latest cake...an ode to Tim Burton for a young teenage girl who is a big fan of his work! Specifically, the Mad Hatter, Jack of NBC and Edward Scissorhands. I'm quite pleased with the outcome and I really hope she will be too!!
The other cake on the table (literally) for today/tonight is an end-of-the-year cake for our staff party tomorrow afternoon...and I'm still puzzled. In the past there has been a retirement to honour so the cake instantly had a theme. This year, there's nothing but the satisfaction that the end of June brings to teachers! I guess I should have made a big smiley face!! However, I'm working on a giant hamburger instead...who doesn't enjoy a good burger?
Check back in for pics and thanks as always for your continued interest & support!
Cheers!
Tuesday 21 June 2011
OMG!!
That's an Oh My Goodness for those who don't know me! My youngest of 3 (Mylana who is turning 4 in July) is a little parrot so I really try to do my best at not using God in that statement. She picks it up from all places though - which might explain her use of the "f" word a few times. I asked her why she said it and her response was "my shoe wouldn't go on". Goodness, I'm in trouble!!
Anyways, my OMG subject is relating to my life right now! It's a whirlwind to say the very least. So I haven't had a moment really to sit and write an enteraining blog entry or post new pics of recent cakes! Don't look for an update here today either as I begin final exams with 3 classes of Science kids!! However, I did want to check in and thank everyone for their interest in my caking passion!
I managed to put out 3 cakes last weekend although (as per usual critical me) I wasn't entirely pleased with any of them. I'll post pics here when I get a chance and update you on my coming orders. However, I have also turned down orders for 3 cakes in the last week. My JUNE is FULL!!!! As was my May and most of April. Yay!! I'm planning on enjoying my July & August with the kids & husband so if you are considering a custom-cake for any summer occasion, please call or message me TODAY. I hate that I have to say no to custom cakes, especially really super fun ones that I would LOVE to do otherwise....but my sanity & stability in my family requires this!
Thanks again and Happy Summer Solstice!!
Anyways, my OMG subject is relating to my life right now! It's a whirlwind to say the very least. So I haven't had a moment really to sit and write an enteraining blog entry or post new pics of recent cakes! Don't look for an update here today either as I begin final exams with 3 classes of Science kids!! However, I did want to check in and thank everyone for their interest in my caking passion!
I managed to put out 3 cakes last weekend although (as per usual critical me) I wasn't entirely pleased with any of them. I'll post pics here when I get a chance and update you on my coming orders. However, I have also turned down orders for 3 cakes in the last week. My JUNE is FULL!!!! As was my May and most of April. Yay!! I'm planning on enjoying my July & August with the kids & husband so if you are considering a custom-cake for any summer occasion, please call or message me TODAY. I hate that I have to say no to custom cakes, especially really super fun ones that I would LOVE to do otherwise....but my sanity & stability in my family requires this!
Thanks again and Happy Summer Solstice!!
Saturday 11 June 2011
Facing my custom-caking mortality!
To say it's been a painful week would be like saying our recent storm here in Hamilton was a bit windy. Gee whiz!! I'm not sure how much of my current condition can be blamed on stubborness, but no doubt, all of it!! It started a week or so ago during a workout - I felt "something"...not a new feeling but since I was super busy doing cakes, marking, being a Mom and all that jazz, I ignored that little pesky "something" and ploughed through my workout! Then the same wee tinge shouted at me a bit louder on Monday of this week and I ignored again! Wednesday during my very first exercise in Boot Camp, the shout was more like a smack upside the head (though it wasn't my head but rather the left side of my upper back - in therapy world where I used to live & work, this would be called subluxation of multiple rib heads from the Thoracic spine vertebrae!).
You can pretty much guess what happened next! I ignored the smack, really because I had no choice! I had a custom-cake to do for Thursday morning that hadn't even started yet! Grease Lightning car for a 15 yr old boy! So I sat at my table in agony for about 4 hours that night, worked through the pain and got er done! When I went to bed, I couldn't move. Literally. My husband had to physically roll me over so I could assume my side-lying sleeping position.
The next day things got progressively worse and the chiropractor not only confirmed my self-diagnosis of 2 rib subluxations (3 and 4) but also said my pelvis was "off" and my cervical spine (neck) had 3 facet joints that were locked & inflamed. Basically she asked "WTF were you doing?" though in a much more professional manner!!
I don't know what I did. I guess it's what I didn't do. I didn't slow down. I didn't stop. I couldn't. I can't!! So I took the day off on Friday and really did very little - though it's hard to keep a stubborn woman down so truthfully, I did dishes, laundry and some mild cake-creation prep work. Once the school day was over, I started work on a cake for today (because I felt guilty about being home and spending time on cake when I was clearly supposed to be resting my poor aching neck/back!). Anyways, I got through things last night with a little help from some friends (named Amaretto, Melon & Vodka with a splash of Cran) and Robax Platinum. The cake got finished and I must say, I really love it!
My recent pics will be as follows: Police cruiser with front-end damage for an accident-prone officer, Grease Lightning for 15 yr old Greg who was just in a high school production of Grease as Greaser #1, a Crossfit-inspired Bridal shower cake for Natalie (and her fiance Billy who own a Crossfit gym), and the custom-cake for a 40 yr old Chris (all things that he loves are highlighted in the cake design).
Hope you like them! Hope those who ordered them liked them. Despite the pain & suffering, I LOVE doing my cakes. I only hope that this little "something" doesn't decide to fire up again and take me away from my passion. How long can I do this before my body breaks down, I don't know. But I promise from now on to stretch & listen more attentively to the little naggy voices. I hope you can all learn from my mistakes too!
Take care of you!!
You can pretty much guess what happened next! I ignored the smack, really because I had no choice! I had a custom-cake to do for Thursday morning that hadn't even started yet! Grease Lightning car for a 15 yr old boy! So I sat at my table in agony for about 4 hours that night, worked through the pain and got er done! When I went to bed, I couldn't move. Literally. My husband had to physically roll me over so I could assume my side-lying sleeping position.
The next day things got progressively worse and the chiropractor not only confirmed my self-diagnosis of 2 rib subluxations (3 and 4) but also said my pelvis was "off" and my cervical spine (neck) had 3 facet joints that were locked & inflamed. Basically she asked "WTF were you doing?" though in a much more professional manner!!
I don't know what I did. I guess it's what I didn't do. I didn't slow down. I didn't stop. I couldn't. I can't!! So I took the day off on Friday and really did very little - though it's hard to keep a stubborn woman down so truthfully, I did dishes, laundry and some mild cake-creation prep work. Once the school day was over, I started work on a cake for today (because I felt guilty about being home and spending time on cake when I was clearly supposed to be resting my poor aching neck/back!). Anyways, I got through things last night with a little help from some friends (named Amaretto, Melon & Vodka with a splash of Cran) and Robax Platinum. The cake got finished and I must say, I really love it!
My recent pics will be as follows: Police cruiser with front-end damage for an accident-prone officer, Grease Lightning for 15 yr old Greg who was just in a high school production of Grease as Greaser #1, a Crossfit-inspired Bridal shower cake for Natalie (and her fiance Billy who own a Crossfit gym), and the custom-cake for a 40 yr old Chris (all things that he loves are highlighted in the cake design).
Hope you like them! Hope those who ordered them liked them. Despite the pain & suffering, I LOVE doing my cakes. I only hope that this little "something" doesn't decide to fire up again and take me away from my passion. How long can I do this before my body breaks down, I don't know. But I promise from now on to stretch & listen more attentively to the little naggy voices. I hope you can all learn from my mistakes too!
Take care of you!!
Sunday 5 June 2011
I really need a break!! or a kitchen babysitter!!
Ok so I pulled off a no-cake Friday & Saturday and really had a good time with my kids (well, aside from screaming like a banchee every few mintues because that's the only time they listen!) so Sunday was super busy! I made a custom Police cruiser cake with front end damage just like the client requested (it's for one of his work buddy's who apparently rear-ended someone while driving a brand new cruiser - oops!). I would do a few things differently like crank my AC!! It was hot in the kitchen and towards the end of the day, the car really did look like it had been in a crash. I guess that was the point, but I'm particular about my work so hopefully it made it to the party in the shape that it was supposed to be in!! THANK YOU Mirko! I hope your friend appreciated the joke!
And now I'm in the kitchen frantically baking for this week's cakes - one of which needs to be done for Tuesday! Yikes! I'm using my super-fabulous french vanilla pound cake recipe and thought I had everything going smoothly. Kitchen Aid doing it's thing, butter in microwave melting, pans prepped with parchment and oven pre-heated. Next thing I know, the 3 cakes are in the oven and I'm cleaning up when I notice the microwave scrolling banner that says "Enjoy your meal..." Huh? OH NO!! The melted butter!! I made this mistake once before, but prior to putting the pans in the oven so I was able to incorporate the butter into the batter. Not this time!! Here's hoping that the whipping cream and eggs in the cake will somehow provide it with enough fat that it will bind and turn out as a "light" french vanilla sponge. ????? Guess we'll see!!
So this week ahead: Tuesday is a bridal shower cake for a bride (& her fiance) who are into Crossfit (I think they might actually own a Crossfit gym) so I'm thinking kettle bells instead of wedding bells!! Thursday is a Grease Lightning car cake for Greaser #1!! Saturday is a special 40th birthday custom-made to suit the birthday boy's love of cooking, reading, fishing, Boston Bruins, Bobby Orr, WWII, hockey card collecting and being a super dad & husband! Still waiting for the vision on that one!!
If I can pull off all of this, I'd love to still make cake pops for my school's Athletic Banquet which is on Tuesday night. Here's hoping! But first I must rest!
Good night y'all!! I'll let you know how the butter-free pound cakes turn out! Geesh!!
And now I'm in the kitchen frantically baking for this week's cakes - one of which needs to be done for Tuesday! Yikes! I'm using my super-fabulous french vanilla pound cake recipe and thought I had everything going smoothly. Kitchen Aid doing it's thing, butter in microwave melting, pans prepped with parchment and oven pre-heated. Next thing I know, the 3 cakes are in the oven and I'm cleaning up when I notice the microwave scrolling banner that says "Enjoy your meal..." Huh? OH NO!! The melted butter!! I made this mistake once before, but prior to putting the pans in the oven so I was able to incorporate the butter into the batter. Not this time!! Here's hoping that the whipping cream and eggs in the cake will somehow provide it with enough fat that it will bind and turn out as a "light" french vanilla sponge. ????? Guess we'll see!!
So this week ahead: Tuesday is a bridal shower cake for a bride (& her fiance) who are into Crossfit (I think they might actually own a Crossfit gym) so I'm thinking kettle bells instead of wedding bells!! Thursday is a Grease Lightning car cake for Greaser #1!! Saturday is a special 40th birthday custom-made to suit the birthday boy's love of cooking, reading, fishing, Boston Bruins, Bobby Orr, WWII, hockey card collecting and being a super dad & husband! Still waiting for the vision on that one!!
If I can pull off all of this, I'd love to still make cake pops for my school's Athletic Banquet which is on Tuesday night. Here's hoping! But first I must rest!
Good night y'all!! I'll let you know how the butter-free pound cakes turn out! Geesh!!
Thursday 2 June 2011
Lots to do and not much time left!!
This post is about my life in cake land as well as my life as a fulltime Highschool science teacher! Wow! Can you believe that it's June already? Where did the time go? I've had such a busy spring doing cakes (2-4 per week for the past 6-7 weeks) that I am truly shocked that the end is near. I think that the crummy weather we have had during April and May really contributed to my disbelief that it's June! At any rate, this is it! Crunch time in teacher/marking/reporting land and no end in sight for cake orders!
So instead of marking, here I am procrastinating with a blog post. Why not? I am excited about my upcoming cakes and thought I'd share with you!!
Buzzlight year cake for a 2 yr old boy
Police cruiser (with front-end damage) cake for a police officer's farewell celebration
Sport cupcakes for SWC Athletic banquet (may make these cake pops - not sure yet!)
Crossfit-inspired bridal shower cake
Grease Lightning car birthday cake for teenage boy
40th birthday cake for a great dad/hubby (not mine but Julie's)
Retirement cake for a super school office secretary
Jungle theme baby shower cake
Father Curtin's Blue Jays Baseball inspired Retirement cake
Birthday cake for a teenage boy who LOVES to bake (thinking of making a Kitchen Aid stand mixer as the cake)
Birthday cake for a Tim Burton loving teenage girl
SWC Year-end staff party cake (theme to be determined!)
Highschool graduation cake(s) for my 2 nieces
30th Anniversary/Retirement cake for a PE teacher (& her hubby)
Seriously, all of those are between now and June 27th! Holy moly! If anyone wants a little side-job, contact me. I am pretty sure I have some work for you!!
Cheers!
So instead of marking, here I am procrastinating with a blog post. Why not? I am excited about my upcoming cakes and thought I'd share with you!!
Buzzlight year cake for a 2 yr old boy
Police cruiser (with front-end damage) cake for a police officer's farewell celebration
Sport cupcakes for SWC Athletic banquet (may make these cake pops - not sure yet!)
Crossfit-inspired bridal shower cake
Grease Lightning car birthday cake for teenage boy
40th birthday cake for a great dad/hubby (not mine but Julie's)
Retirement cake for a super school office secretary
Jungle theme baby shower cake
Father Curtin's Blue Jays Baseball inspired Retirement cake
Birthday cake for a teenage boy who LOVES to bake (thinking of making a Kitchen Aid stand mixer as the cake)
Birthday cake for a Tim Burton loving teenage girl
SWC Year-end staff party cake (theme to be determined!)
Highschool graduation cake(s) for my 2 nieces
30th Anniversary/Retirement cake for a PE teacher (& her hubby)
Seriously, all of those are between now and June 27th! Holy moly! If anyone wants a little side-job, contact me. I am pretty sure I have some work for you!!
Cheers!
Monday 30 May 2011
It doesn't take much!!
So I was having an informal cake consultation today at school with my VP for whom I am making 2 upcoming birthday cakes. His son is quite an interesting young man approaching 13 or 14 (guess I should confirm that before making the cake) who LOVES to bake!! Seriously - Saturday morning he gets up with great excitement and exclaims that he is going to make eclairs that day! And then procedes to make homemade eclairs! I think I should hire this kid as my first official assistant!! So the reason for my "it doesn't take much" title is because the cake was supposed to be for June 11th and it's my 2nd that day and 4th of that week...so the great news is that it is being bumped 2 weeks! YAY! I'm thinking that I need to make (somehow) a Kitchen Aid stand mixer out of cake! What do you think?
The 2nd bday cake is for his Tim Burton obsessed teenage daughter and this too is bumped by a few days so that both cakes are needed for June 24th! Perfect! I can't wait to create a wonderful Tim Burton tribute cake for her with 3 necessary characters: Jack from Nightmare before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and the Mad Hatter!!
That's all for now. Just thought I'd share some little news that made me happy today! This week's cakes - Buzz Lightyear for a 2 yr old and a very last-minute custom yet damaged police cruiser cake (order from my caramel/cabbage-roll loving police officer from last week! Too FUNNY!!) Pics of this past weekend's Garden Party cake coming soon! The wedding cake I did for Friday that kept me up til 2:30am on Thursday pissed me off so much that I didn't even take a picture! Grrr....now kicking myself because I spent so much time on it, and maybe just maybe it might have actually looked better once I had some sleep!
The 2nd bday cake is for his Tim Burton obsessed teenage daughter and this too is bumped by a few days so that both cakes are needed for June 24th! Perfect! I can't wait to create a wonderful Tim Burton tribute cake for her with 3 necessary characters: Jack from Nightmare before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and the Mad Hatter!!
That's all for now. Just thought I'd share some little news that made me happy today! This week's cakes - Buzz Lightyear for a 2 yr old and a very last-minute custom yet damaged police cruiser cake (order from my caramel/cabbage-roll loving police officer from last week! Too FUNNY!!) Pics of this past weekend's Garden Party cake coming soon! The wedding cake I did for Friday that kept me up til 2:30am on Thursday pissed me off so much that I didn't even take a picture! Grrr....now kicking myself because I spent so much time on it, and maybe just maybe it might have actually looked better once I had some sleep!
Monday 23 May 2011
Finally I can sit down & relax!! Well sort of!
I hope everyone had a super May long weekend! It was busy around here with 2 cakes going out - one Saturday afternoon and the other on Sunday. Both clients were happy which makes for a happy caker!
The "Ben 10" cake was my 2nd Omnitrix watch and also my 2nd birthday cake for Paul! Thank you Andrea!! I wanted to put a small LED light on the top in the centre of the watch, but was warned against going overboard by my ever-so-$-consciencious husband! Next time for sure and I'll be sure to include it in my quote price so I won't get into trouble with him!
The ipod touch cake might be my new fave! It was definately a labour of love - much like my Harry Potter potion's book. Since I didn't know the exact apps that the birthday boy had on his ipod, I researched a bit and was able to create a custom screen for a 14yr old. Then I thought I might hand-paint them but when I looked a bit closer, I realized that lots of the apps have dark backgrounds so painting would be difficult. So off to cutting the tiniest little bits of fondant to make every app as accurate as possible! You keen eyes will notice that I did forget one thing - when I was piping the final details on the apps (like Sunday on the calendar and Call of Duty), I forgot to paint the symbols on the calculator! Crap!! Kyle's mom LOVED the cake - he seemed as excited as a 14yr old boy is going to get over a cake! Thanks to both Kyle & Corie for letting me be a part of the day!
This week in cake: a small & low-key wedding cake for Friday and then a big celebration cake for our church's Garden party on Sunday! Trying to spend my day out of the kitchen (been cleaning since I woke up) but I might just have to bang off a few carrot cakes while the sun is NOT shining!
Thanks for looking everyone!
Cheers!
The "Ben 10" cake was my 2nd Omnitrix watch and also my 2nd birthday cake for Paul! Thank you Andrea!! I wanted to put a small LED light on the top in the centre of the watch, but was warned against going overboard by my ever-so-$-consciencious husband! Next time for sure and I'll be sure to include it in my quote price so I won't get into trouble with him!
The ipod touch cake might be my new fave! It was definately a labour of love - much like my Harry Potter potion's book. Since I didn't know the exact apps that the birthday boy had on his ipod, I researched a bit and was able to create a custom screen for a 14yr old. Then I thought I might hand-paint them but when I looked a bit closer, I realized that lots of the apps have dark backgrounds so painting would be difficult. So off to cutting the tiniest little bits of fondant to make every app as accurate as possible! You keen eyes will notice that I did forget one thing - when I was piping the final details on the apps (like Sunday on the calendar and Call of Duty), I forgot to paint the symbols on the calculator! Crap!! Kyle's mom LOVED the cake - he seemed as excited as a 14yr old boy is going to get over a cake! Thanks to both Kyle & Corie for letting me be a part of the day!
This week in cake: a small & low-key wedding cake for Friday and then a big celebration cake for our church's Garden party on Sunday! Trying to spend my day out of the kitchen (been cleaning since I woke up) but I might just have to bang off a few carrot cakes while the sun is NOT shining!
Thanks for looking everyone!
Cheers!
Saturday 21 May 2011
Hello Cake Fans!
I think I've found my perfect go-to and delicious cake recipe! It's cream cheese pound cake. I've made it before and I know it's super yummy but I forgot about how EASY it is to make! I love baking but HATE/LOATHE/DETEST finicky recipes that you have to do 4 things all at once and then spend 10 min putting them together and washing bowls, etc. This one is simple! So here ya go if you want to give it a try:
1 1/2 c butter, room temp
8oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
Mix these 2 until smooth & creamy.
3 c white sugar (it is pound cake afterall) - add to butt/cc mix and whip until light & fluffy (5min)
3 eggs, add seperately and beat until yellow gone before adding next
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla - mix well
3 c flour + 1/8 tsp salt - add to wet mixture while blending on low speed until all incorporated & smooth.
Put in prepared pan (I use PAM & parchment paper for bottom) and bake at 300 for 90min (I'll check mine in an hour and let you know if I've changed the time) - oh and IN the oven with the cake, put a oven-safe bowl of water (I used my 4c pyrex cup and half-filled it).
Pictures of the weekend's cakes are coming! Ben 10 is on its way to the party! Hope it's a hit! ipod touch is being completed tonight once I get some Vitamin D & Malibu into me!
Cheers!
1 1/2 c butter, room temp
8oz pkg cream cheese, room temp
Mix these 2 until smooth & creamy.
3 c white sugar (it is pound cake afterall) - add to butt/cc mix and whip until light & fluffy (5min)
3 eggs, add seperately and beat until yellow gone before adding next
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla - mix well
3 c flour + 1/8 tsp salt - add to wet mixture while blending on low speed until all incorporated & smooth.
Put in prepared pan (I use PAM & parchment paper for bottom) and bake at 300 for 90min (I'll check mine in an hour and let you know if I've changed the time) - oh and IN the oven with the cake, put a oven-safe bowl of water (I used my 4c pyrex cup and half-filled it).
Pictures of the weekend's cakes are coming! Ben 10 is on its way to the party! Hope it's a hit! ipod touch is being completed tonight once I get some Vitamin D & Malibu into me!
Cheers!
Thursday 19 May 2011
Making cool cakes makes people happy!
Well despite my anxiety about creating a caramel & cabbage roll-eating cop for the top of a birthday cake, IT WENT OVER VERY WELL! The client (thanks Kat) was thrilled and told me the bday boy was practically speechless!! In a good way! Yay! 3 other police officers at the party too so everyone really enjoyed my efforts! I love making cakes - but I love it even MORE when I hear that my cakes make people happy! She was so happy with the cake that she insisted on over-paying me! Another bonus! WINNING!!
So 1 cake down for this week and 2 more to go - a gluten-free "Ben 10" Birthday cake for 5 year old Paul! And a trendy iPod touch cake for Kyle's 14th! Thank you Andrea & Corie for your orders! Hope I can make your bday boys just as happy as my caramel/cabbage roll-eating cop!
Cheers!
So 1 cake down for this week and 2 more to go - a gluten-free "Ben 10" Birthday cake for 5 year old Paul! And a trendy iPod touch cake for Kyle's 14th! Thank you Andrea & Corie for your orders! Hope I can make your bday boys just as happy as my caramel/cabbage roll-eating cop!
Cheers!
Sunday 15 May 2011
First Communion Weekend!
Another crazy week of cakes in this house! After last week's 4 cakes, this weekend's 2 seems a little dull actually! LOL! But the 2 are very special First Communion cakes for some pretty special boys! Yesterday's was my BFF's son David's big day so his cake was 3-tiered silver, green & black. I'll post a pic here in a sec. Cakes were chocolate with french vanilla bean buttercream, carrot with orange cream cheese buttercream and french vanilla pound with orange ccbc. Tasty! We had more than enough cake (and food) to say the least!
Today's cake (to be finished here in a bit) is for twin boys who are also receiving their First Holy Communion! Cake is 2-tier squares, silver & slate blue (chocolate & vanilla flavours).
Stay tuned for perhaps the strangest cake order yet - coming on Wednesday this week for a caramel and cabbage roll loving policeman!
Thanks for looking & sharing! I'm full for May and June (for the most part) but summer is wide open!!
C
Today's cake (to be finished here in a bit) is for twin boys who are also receiving their First Holy Communion! Cake is 2-tier squares, silver & slate blue (chocolate & vanilla flavours).
Stay tuned for perhaps the strangest cake order yet - coming on Wednesday this week for a caramel and cabbage roll loving policeman!
Thanks for looking & sharing! I'm full for May and June (for the most part) but summer is wide open!!
C
Sunday 8 May 2011
Happy Mother's Day!!
A BIG shout out to all you mothers out there who have crazy but awesome kids, a fulltime job, a loving but flawed husband (or not) and who wouldn't change a thing!! I had my 3 kids pretty close together - not by planning of course - but because I'm so darn sexy!! LMAO!! We tried for 10 months to have Roman...so we were pretty surprised when Naia was conceived without trying (I still say I was drunk that night and he took advantage!!). So those 2 are 20 months apart which was sort of crazy but do-able! What was even crazier was Mylana coming along 15 months after Naia was born! WOW! No one can prepare you for that! But I am so very blessed to have my 3 beautiful, intelligent, comedic and LOVING children and I wouldn't change a thing! I have no cake news today - just wanted to say how grateful I am to be a mom and also to be able to do the other things I love b/c of the support of my husband & kids! I teach high school, do cakes (obvi!), sit on my church's Parish Council and kids' School Council, and workout/run on a regular basis! I'm not SUPERMOM or SUPERHOUSEWIFE but I get er' done! Just don't come round and judge me by the cobwebs in my corners! There will be time for dusting someday. Just NOT today!!
Thanks for your support & interest!
HMD!
Thanks for your support & interest!
HMD!
Saturday 7 May 2011
My unsuccessful modelling chocolate story!
So you watch the Cake Boss and maybe Ace of Cakes and you see them use modelling chocolate for almost everything. About a month ago, I decided it was time to experiment with it so I found a recipe online and guess what? It's super easy to make! 10oz of melted choc with 1/3 cup of corn syrup. Stir it well and it becomes thick like dough. Smooth it out on waxed or parchment paper to 1/2 inch thickness and let sit for 2 hours. No problem! I was able to tint it (since I chose to use white choc) and I made Ariel for Naia's cake!
Well, tinting icing or fondant is never much fun so I decided those choc wafers from Bulk Barn which come in assorted colours would be an even better choice! Easy right? Everything about making it was the same and was simple. But after a few hours, when I checked it, mine actually just felt like a 1/2 inch mass of solid chocolate. I had to "warm it" in the microwave in order to be able to have it be pliable enough to use. The first one I did, I nuked it too long and it was like trying to mold porridge. Not fun! But it hardens well so Manny's hammer friend in blue turned out ok. I won't bore you with details and I'm sure you're wondering, ok, what part of her story was unsuccessful? Here it is...
My white modelling chocolate doesn't mold. It truly is a big hunk of white chocolate. I warmed it - it turned into white sand. ?? And this was the largest amount of chocolate I used so that totally sucks! Live & learn! Next time I order a big bucket of MC from a cake decorating supplier and then I can truly be CAKE BOSS!! It's the KISS principle in effect!
Ciao!
Well, tinting icing or fondant is never much fun so I decided those choc wafers from Bulk Barn which come in assorted colours would be an even better choice! Easy right? Everything about making it was the same and was simple. But after a few hours, when I checked it, mine actually just felt like a 1/2 inch mass of solid chocolate. I had to "warm it" in the microwave in order to be able to have it be pliable enough to use. The first one I did, I nuked it too long and it was like trying to mold porridge. Not fun! But it hardens well so Manny's hammer friend in blue turned out ok. I won't bore you with details and I'm sure you're wondering, ok, what part of her story was unsuccessful? Here it is...
My white modelling chocolate doesn't mold. It truly is a big hunk of white chocolate. I warmed it - it turned into white sand. ?? And this was the largest amount of chocolate I used so that totally sucks! Live & learn! Next time I order a big bucket of MC from a cake decorating supplier and then I can truly be CAKE BOSS!! It's the KISS principle in effect!
Ciao!
Friday 6 May 2011
What a crazy week!!
Hello Cake Lovers!! I'm back to vent/celebrate about my week of caking! 4 cakes - Birthday for a New Home Owner, 1st Bday for Drake who loves Handy Manny, 1st Communion for Morgan and Baby Shower for Shannon! Whew!! My progress is slow and hampered by that dreaded thing called work...oh, and motherhood! However, despite knowing that it will be a VERY late night, I'm having fun!
My cake flavours this week, if I may so say myself, are OUTSTANDING!! I made a carrot cake with YJ n cream cheese frosting and covered with orange flavoured fondant! Delicious!! Then the rest of the cakes are french vanilla pound and I'm using french vanilla buttercream with them and lemon flavoured fondant. Handy Manny cake is also filled with fresh strawberry slices while the Baby Shower cake has 2 tiers of vanilla - one with homemade raspberry puree and the other with crumbled Reese Peanut Butter Bars. Oh my!!! So very good!! If I keep "tasting" my stuff at the same rate I'm going, I'll definately be needing more time in the day to do longer & fiercer workouts!!
Stay tuned for pics of all these creations and thanks so much for your support!! I'm slowly filling June weekends so if there's anything coming up and you need a last-minute cake, I just might have to say NO as much as this kills me. There is NO WAY I'm doing 4 cakes/week again! Well, July & August I would!! Perks of being a teacher!
Cheers!
My cake flavours this week, if I may so say myself, are OUTSTANDING!! I made a carrot cake with YJ n cream cheese frosting and covered with orange flavoured fondant! Delicious!! Then the rest of the cakes are french vanilla pound and I'm using french vanilla buttercream with them and lemon flavoured fondant. Handy Manny cake is also filled with fresh strawberry slices while the Baby Shower cake has 2 tiers of vanilla - one with homemade raspberry puree and the other with crumbled Reese Peanut Butter Bars. Oh my!!! So very good!! If I keep "tasting" my stuff at the same rate I'm going, I'll definately be needing more time in the day to do longer & fiercer workouts!!
Stay tuned for pics of all these creations and thanks so much for your support!! I'm slowly filling June weekends so if there's anything coming up and you need a last-minute cake, I just might have to say NO as much as this kills me. There is NO WAY I'm doing 4 cakes/week again! Well, July & August I would!! Perks of being a teacher!
Cheers!
Tuesday 3 May 2011
Oh blog, how I've missed thee!
Hello Cake enthusiasts!! I'm sorry I've been away from my blog for this long! Our home internet has been very fickle lately and I have also been swamped!! But happy to be back with news of my latest creations...
So I did make that cute little Easter bunny cake that I saw on Cakecentral. I'll post a pic of mine here in a bit. Then came my nephew Mason's 2nd birthday and his mommy decided Mater would be the custom cake!! It was a lot of fun to make and his reaction was priceless!! Once he was allowed to "eat" the cake, he immediately picked off Mater's tooth, and ATE it!! Then he ate the other one! Gall dang it!! So cute!! Pic coming!!
This week is a hairy one for me but everything is going ok so far. I have a Birthday/Housewarming cake for Alex, a baby shower cake for Shannon, a 1st Communion Cake for Morgan, and a special 1st Birthday Handy Manny cake!! Busy but cakes are baked and freezing. Lots of fondant & buttercream in my future!!
Thanks so very much for your continued support! I have orders coming left & right. Booked solid for the rest of May and almost can say the same for June once I firm up some graduation cakes!! Life is "Sweet" to say the very least!!
Chat soon,
Cynthia
So I did make that cute little Easter bunny cake that I saw on Cakecentral. I'll post a pic of mine here in a bit. Then came my nephew Mason's 2nd birthday and his mommy decided Mater would be the custom cake!! It was a lot of fun to make and his reaction was priceless!! Once he was allowed to "eat" the cake, he immediately picked off Mater's tooth, and ATE it!! Then he ate the other one! Gall dang it!! So cute!! Pic coming!!
This week is a hairy one for me but everything is going ok so far. I have a Birthday/Housewarming cake for Alex, a baby shower cake for Shannon, a 1st Communion Cake for Morgan, and a special 1st Birthday Handy Manny cake!! Busy but cakes are baked and freezing. Lots of fondant & buttercream in my future!!
Thanks so very much for your continued support! I have orders coming left & right. Booked solid for the rest of May and almost can say the same for June once I firm up some graduation cakes!! Life is "Sweet" to say the very least!!
Chat soon,
Cynthia
Saturday 23 April 2011
You'll never guess what I'm doing!!
I said it wasn't happening until next week...but I guess you can take the girl out of the kitchen, but you can't stop the cake ideas from happening!! So here I am making a quickie Easter cake for tomorrow's dinner at my sister's. The kids and I saw the cake idea on Cake Central actually and I figured I will use them to help make the flowers & polka dots so it won't be too much trouble. The cake is dirty iced & getting ready for fondant...it's lemon cake and is delicious!! So I'm glad I decided to do it. I'll post pics once it's finished!
Happy Happy Easter eveyone!
God bless,
Cynthia
Happy Happy Easter eveyone!
God bless,
Cynthia
Friday 22 April 2011
Happy Easter!!
I'm posting this with the slightest smile on my face right now. I, gasp, don't have any cakes to make this weekend!! A wee little WOOT!! And not because I don't enjoy doing the cake thing! You all know how I love it! But after several weeks in a row of 3+ cakes, many of which were challenging, I'm sort of ok with the down-time. That being said, hold onto your hats people! May is turning into a HUGE cake month for me!!
Enjoy the long weekend with your friends & family! I know I will make every moment count (starting today with some much over-due cleaning/painting!) and will enjoy my CHOCOLATE on Sunday!!
Chat soon,
Cynthia
Enjoy the long weekend with your friends & family! I know I will make every moment count (starting today with some much over-due cleaning/painting!) and will enjoy my CHOCOLATE on Sunday!!
Chat soon,
Cynthia
Monday 18 April 2011
Wow what a week/weekend!
It was another cake-filled week/weekend around here and I'm happy to say that all clients were pleased! The orders are coming in quite quickly for May and into June so if you're thinking about Father's Day, spring birthdays or graduation and need a cake, please message me sooner than later. I'm trying to stick to 2 cakes/week but already have gone over this every weekend for the past 3!!
So what's up this week? Report card comments & marking!! Hockey, swimming and laundry!! And Easter with my beautiful children!! My mom arrives on Monday morning so we're having a family Easter dinner on Monday. And I will NOT be making cake, but instead I think a rich, decadent chocolate/peanut butter cheesecake with chocolate ganache!! Can't wait to taste that sweet chocolate (and martini!!) after 40 days of lent!
God bless you all on this Holy weekend and thank you so very much for supporting my passion with your comments and orders for cake!!
Cheers,
Cynthia
So what's up this week? Report card comments & marking!! Hockey, swimming and laundry!! And Easter with my beautiful children!! My mom arrives on Monday morning so we're having a family Easter dinner on Monday. And I will NOT be making cake, but instead I think a rich, decadent chocolate/peanut butter cheesecake with chocolate ganache!! Can't wait to taste that sweet chocolate (and martini!!) after 40 days of lent!
God bless you all on this Holy weekend and thank you so very much for supporting my passion with your comments and orders for cake!!
Cheers,
Cynthia
Saturday 16 April 2011
Another 3-cake week PLUS a 2-hr sleep on Friday = help!
I knew I was too old for it! I volunteered to spend the night at school on Friday for the 30-hour Famine! I sort of knew that I wouldn't get a good night's rest. I also knew that I had a cake to deliver for Sat and another one for Sunday and probably wouldn't get much done. However, I not only had a good time with the 39 students that committed to fasting for 30 hours in order to raise $ and awareness for World Vision (wow - they raised over $4000), I also managed to work til the wee hours of the morning on my Super Mario cake pieces. I didn't sleep well and for only 2 hours. But Mario was delivered at noon and the birthday boy, Marshall, was SOOOOOO excited!! I was actually pretty pleased with the finished cake! It's my 2nd Mario cake and I think better than my first!
Now, I'm going to finish Toopy & Binoo (another repeat cake for me) tonight and hope to have another happy client/birthday boy tomorrow! I'm tired for sure but I KNOW that Toopy, Binoo & Patchy Patch will perk me up!! And then I can relax going into the long weekend knowing that I can enjoy Easter with my family without baking/caking/delivering!! No cakes til the following weekend! YAY!
Thanks to all of those who keep me busy!! And to those who admire my work! You continue to set my bar high and I just go for it!! Thanks!
Now, I'm going to finish Toopy & Binoo (another repeat cake for me) tonight and hope to have another happy client/birthday boy tomorrow! I'm tired for sure but I KNOW that Toopy, Binoo & Patchy Patch will perk me up!! And then I can relax going into the long weekend knowing that I can enjoy Easter with my family without baking/caking/delivering!! No cakes til the following weekend! YAY!
Thanks to all of those who keep me busy!! And to those who admire my work! You continue to set my bar high and I just go for it!! Thanks!
Monday 11 April 2011
Cakes, cakes and more cakes!!
When it rains, it pours is all I can say!! Isn't that always the way though? I had a little down-time from cakes in March and really wasn't all that booked up for April. Now, however, I find myself doing another 3-cake-week!! I LOVE it! I'm not complaining (yet!!). But I did sort of vow that since I teach fulltime, have 3 kids to somehow mother/love/teach/rear, a husband who also needs some sort of attention, a training schedule, and commitments to my church, that I'd stick to 2 cakes per week! I just can't help myself. It's so hard to say NO.
So this week looks like this: a small custom birthday cake for Wednesday (my Principal's wife so how do I possibly say no to this?), a medium birthday cake for my favourite repeat customer family (you might recall the Fireman Sam cake I did for Marshall's 4th bday last year - it's in my gallery) - this time Marshall wants Super Mario!! And finally for Sunday, a special 1st bday cake for Layne - Toopy & Binoo!! I'm actually pretty excited for all 3! And none of them involve drywall or crazy piping skills!
I made 3 more cakes and have them in the freezer, made a big batch of vanilla buttercream, and strawberry/banana marshmallow fondant! I'm ready! 1 cake dirty iced and in the cold room! Tomorrow night after swimming I'll knock off the Wed cake and then hopefully get the Mario cake started before my parish council meeting Wed night.
Ok, enough! You don't need to listen to me whine! I know that I got myself into this - and I'll enjoy every moment! Thanks so much for your support! If you do need a cake, however, please give me as much notice as possible. I really really don't want to say NO but I totally can't do more than 3 a week. :)
Enjoy your week!
Cynthia
So this week looks like this: a small custom birthday cake for Wednesday (my Principal's wife so how do I possibly say no to this?), a medium birthday cake for my favourite repeat customer family (you might recall the Fireman Sam cake I did for Marshall's 4th bday last year - it's in my gallery) - this time Marshall wants Super Mario!! And finally for Sunday, a special 1st bday cake for Layne - Toopy & Binoo!! I'm actually pretty excited for all 3! And none of them involve drywall or crazy piping skills!
I made 3 more cakes and have them in the freezer, made a big batch of vanilla buttercream, and strawberry/banana marshmallow fondant! I'm ready! 1 cake dirty iced and in the cold room! Tomorrow night after swimming I'll knock off the Wed cake and then hopefully get the Mario cake started before my parish council meeting Wed night.
Ok, enough! You don't need to listen to me whine! I know that I got myself into this - and I'll enjoy every moment! Thanks so much for your support! If you do need a cake, however, please give me as much notice as possible. I really really don't want to say NO but I totally can't do more than 3 a week. :)
Enjoy your week!
Cynthia
Sunday 10 April 2011
My week in Cake Land
Well that was a rough week!! Late nights, stresses, and some tears! But it's over and as far as I know there are at least 3 happy "clients" out there. Thursday was the CGC Sheetrock Ultralight cakes for their Miss and Oakville offices - little tricky with the travel to Burlington but according to my contact, everyone was happy and cakes were delicious!!
Next came the Retirement cake for 2 ladies- the client phoned on Monday so I had to squeeze this in between CGC and my daughter's 5th birthday. So glad I did. It was a lot of fun to make and didn't really stress me out! Cake was vanilla with vanilla buttercream - white wine glass & tumbler of rum & Coke made of gumpaste. The client was thrilled and even tipped me! YAY!!
And then my favourite cake - Ariel and friends for my beautiful Naia!! Truth be told, I procrastinated all Saturday morning on this one because I knew that I would struggle with Ariel's face/head. Sure enough - I did! But I'm glad I tried out the modelling chocolate I made. It was very easy to colour and fun to work with b/c it doesn't dry out like gumpaste. AND it tastes amazing!! I just wish I were better at sculpting faces!! Oh well - the party people loved it and most importantly Naia loved it!!
So now I rest (although I had to make a batch of cakes already for the freezer in preparation for this coming weekend). Super Mario cake for 5yr old Marshall and a Toopy & Binoo cake for 1yr old Layne! This is going to be F-U-N!!!
See ya soon and thanks for looking!
Cynthia
Next came the Retirement cake for 2 ladies- the client phoned on Monday so I had to squeeze this in between CGC and my daughter's 5th birthday. So glad I did. It was a lot of fun to make and didn't really stress me out! Cake was vanilla with vanilla buttercream - white wine glass & tumbler of rum & Coke made of gumpaste. The client was thrilled and even tipped me! YAY!!
And then my favourite cake - Ariel and friends for my beautiful Naia!! Truth be told, I procrastinated all Saturday morning on this one because I knew that I would struggle with Ariel's face/head. Sure enough - I did! But I'm glad I tried out the modelling chocolate I made. It was very easy to colour and fun to work with b/c it doesn't dry out like gumpaste. AND it tastes amazing!! I just wish I were better at sculpting faces!! Oh well - the party people loved it and most importantly Naia loved it!!
So now I rest (although I had to make a batch of cakes already for the freezer in preparation for this coming weekend). Super Mario cake for 5yr old Marshall and a Toopy & Binoo cake for 1yr old Layne! This is going to be F-U-N!!!
See ya soon and thanks for looking!
Cynthia
Tuesday 5 April 2011
Mmmm my house smells like vanilla cake!
I just got a last-minute order for a Retirement cake needed for Saturday...so my house, once again, smells like yummy baking vanilla cake!! I will have pictures up by the end of the weekend for this week's cakes - CGC cake for their new product, Sheetrock! My beautiful girl Naia's 5th birthday cake of Ariel & friends; and now this Retirement cake for 2 ladies - a white wine drinker and a rum&coke drinker! I love them both already!!
Thank you to all of my friends, family & clients for sharing my contact information! I hope my summer is as busy as my spring is shaping up to be!!
Pics soon!
Cheers!
Thank you to all of my friends, family & clients for sharing my contact information! I hope my summer is as busy as my spring is shaping up to be!!
Pics soon!
Cheers!
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Some down-time from caking...good thing!
So I haven't had a lot of caking action lately which is good timing! My middle child has acquired a silly little virus that has left her puking for going on 4 days now! Bummer! Hopefully she recovers soon and can enjoy her upcoming 5th birthday (April 7th!)
The next cakes I have actually are for that very day - April 7th. 2 corporate cakes and then of course her very special 5th birthday cake for her party on April 10th. She wants Ariel on top of the 2-tiered cake surrounded by all of her sea friends and wearing her crown! Easy-peasy baby girl! Anything for you!
I hope you are all healthy & getting ready for some much-needed spring weather! Message me if you need a cake. Things are getting busy for May and June!!
TTFN,
Cynthia
The next cakes I have actually are for that very day - April 7th. 2 corporate cakes and then of course her very special 5th birthday cake for her party on April 10th. She wants Ariel on top of the 2-tiered cake surrounded by all of her sea friends and wearing her crown! Easy-peasy baby girl! Anything for you!
I hope you are all healthy & getting ready for some much-needed spring weather! Message me if you need a cake. Things are getting busy for May and June!!
TTFN,
Cynthia
Saturday 26 March 2011
In case you want to know about Caking & $$$
The subject of $ is always tricky when it comes to cakes. I started (like many other cakers) making cakes for my own family...then some extended family cakes which led into cakes for friends and so on. Charging is tricky b/c, really, how can you charge family & friends?
But then my cakes were being ordered by friends of friends...so I charge. I have to. We have 3 kids, a big ol mortgage on a not so big house, and we're both teachers...so you know we're not ever going to make HUGE salaries. But I never knew or know for that matter, what to charge. So I checked out websites, other local bakeries who do custom-cakes, and even talked to some ladies I know who are like me, working moms who love to create custom cakes.
I look at things with 2 different perspectives - what I do (even though I love it) can't just be bought at your local Fortinos or Costco. It takes a great deal of time, patience and skill (though some could argue that I have limited amounts of this). I have no formal training aside from a couple of courses from Michael's. I have oodles of cake decorating books, check out websites constantly, and have a small fortune in tools for the task. So I charge.
My husband's perspective (which I try to share b/c he is mostly supportive of me using so much of our family time for my cake passion) is that I don't charge enough. Do I consider our additional costs on groceries for supplies, our power bill, water bill, heating bill, wear & tear on our new oven or dishwasher, etc? Nope. I never really thought about it.
So I guess I can appreicate why a business that has a storefront (such as a local bakery) would have higher prices than I would...they need to cover a lot more costs than me. That being said - I need to make sure when I fill a cake order, that I'm definately paying for the cost of creating the cake (from ingredients to electricity needs) and a little bit for my artistry.
I hate coming up with prices...but I'm starting to understand that what I do is somewhat exclusive. That being said, I did a cake topper the other day which took limited supplies and a whole lot of time. I can see how that might work better for people who want a custom-cake without the cost of doing the whole cake, stacked, tiered & filled. So, if your special occasion is limited by a budget, perhaps a special "topper" for a cake that you buy at Fortinos or Walmart might just be the right answer. Message me and we can work it out.
Why I mentioned this topic tonight on my blog is because I was looking at a course that is being offered next year in Kitchener. It's by Rick from Cake Lava and they just had a very successful course this past month. It was very well attended by some great local cakers so I considered going to the next one...until I saw that it costs $825 for the 3-day course. The projects are TBA so if you don't like them and want to back out of the course, you lose your $100 deposit. Spots are limited and the first course sold out in 48 hrs. Gee whiz!!! I want to get better at caking, but honestly, I can't spend almost a grand on a course that I am not even sure will help me with any skills I currently need given my rate of cake orders.
So for now, I'll cake b/c I LOVE it and hopefully charge my clients a fee that is reasonable but also one that my husband is "ok" with. I can't please everyone, all of the time!!
Happy Caking,
C
But then my cakes were being ordered by friends of friends...so I charge. I have to. We have 3 kids, a big ol mortgage on a not so big house, and we're both teachers...so you know we're not ever going to make HUGE salaries. But I never knew or know for that matter, what to charge. So I checked out websites, other local bakeries who do custom-cakes, and even talked to some ladies I know who are like me, working moms who love to create custom cakes.
I look at things with 2 different perspectives - what I do (even though I love it) can't just be bought at your local Fortinos or Costco. It takes a great deal of time, patience and skill (though some could argue that I have limited amounts of this). I have no formal training aside from a couple of courses from Michael's. I have oodles of cake decorating books, check out websites constantly, and have a small fortune in tools for the task. So I charge.
My husband's perspective (which I try to share b/c he is mostly supportive of me using so much of our family time for my cake passion) is that I don't charge enough. Do I consider our additional costs on groceries for supplies, our power bill, water bill, heating bill, wear & tear on our new oven or dishwasher, etc? Nope. I never really thought about it.
So I guess I can appreicate why a business that has a storefront (such as a local bakery) would have higher prices than I would...they need to cover a lot more costs than me. That being said - I need to make sure when I fill a cake order, that I'm definately paying for the cost of creating the cake (from ingredients to electricity needs) and a little bit for my artistry.
I hate coming up with prices...but I'm starting to understand that what I do is somewhat exclusive. That being said, I did a cake topper the other day which took limited supplies and a whole lot of time. I can see how that might work better for people who want a custom-cake without the cost of doing the whole cake, stacked, tiered & filled. So, if your special occasion is limited by a budget, perhaps a special "topper" for a cake that you buy at Fortinos or Walmart might just be the right answer. Message me and we can work it out.
Why I mentioned this topic tonight on my blog is because I was looking at a course that is being offered next year in Kitchener. It's by Rick from Cake Lava and they just had a very successful course this past month. It was very well attended by some great local cakers so I considered going to the next one...until I saw that it costs $825 for the 3-day course. The projects are TBA so if you don't like them and want to back out of the course, you lose your $100 deposit. Spots are limited and the first course sold out in 48 hrs. Gee whiz!!! I want to get better at caking, but honestly, I can't spend almost a grand on a course that I am not even sure will help me with any skills I currently need given my rate of cake orders.
So for now, I'll cake b/c I LOVE it and hopefully charge my clients a fee that is reasonable but also one that my husband is "ok" with. I can't please everyone, all of the time!!
Happy Caking,
C
Thursday 24 March 2011
Latest project - a cake topper!
So my neighbour & friend Brenda is a terrific baker and she's hosting a Birthday/Happy Retirement Party for her sister tomorrow! Of course, we talked cake and decided that she'd bake and ice a cake if I could make the "topper". She didn't want me to fuss, so I won't tell her how many hours I spent making it. But it was fun and very therapeutic. Also, lucky for me, yesterday was a snow day, so I had time to tinker! I'll post a pic here soon but I think it turned out ok. I wanted to incorporate some things that had meaning for her - such as she loves shopping (hence the shopping bags), likes to read (made her a gardening book & a Retirement for Dummies book), she worked for a cardiologist for 30+ yrs (so I made the stethoscope) and she's going on a cruise (bottle of sunscreen for this). The banner read "Happy Birthirement Bev". Hope she likes it! Thanks Brenda!!
Next up...2 big corporate cakes for Miss & Oakville offices! Yikes!
Next up...2 big corporate cakes for Miss & Oakville offices! Yikes!
Saturday 19 March 2011
Gotta love making people happy!!
So I managed to enjoy the March Break with my family - outings to the maple syrup farm, swimming and even Disney on Ice! I also read a book (The Secret Daughter - excellent by the way) and did numerous loads of laundry! So what does this have to do with Cake? I managed to squeeze in 2 custom cakes this week too! Some serious time management skills going on here!
I dropped the Toopy & Binoo cake off this morning to the Bielby family and was very happy to see the birthday boy's brother's expression! He loved it but wanted for it to be a surprise for his 3 yr old brother so we kept it a secret. Then he quickly mentioned that for his upcoming 5th birthday he would like a Super Mario cake! Another fave of mine! Can't wait Marshall! Thanks to the Bielby family for using BABY Cakes for every birthday during the last year (+).
Then off to deliver Harry Potter! A few notes about the creation of this cake - well, it was a labour of love for sure!! I was in the "zone" yesterday as I hand-painted 2 potions using an old style script I found on microsoft. I specifically picked the Shrinking Solution Potion b/c I wanted a mini Harry to sit on the edge of the Potions book! And then I chose the Polyjuice Potion, just because. Ironically, once I was finishing Harry's face (the last part as I created him from the legs up), it was apparent that Harry had also dipped into the Polyjuice Potion...his lips/mouth weren't working for me. But alas, I figured it was as good as this self-taught caker was going to get! I was quite pleased with the outcome in general. The wand is completely chocolate fondant with engravings to resemble Harry's real wand. The Golden Snitch is a combo of gumpaste/fondant and coloured with gold lustre dust.
This cake smelled amazing and I was working on it, it was hard not to salivate. The whole thing is chocolate - chocolate cake, chocolate ganache filling and covered in crusting chocolate buttercream!! I couldn't taste anything as I made it b/c I've given up chocolate (among other vices) for Lent...so my kids helped me out! "Mmmm, delicious Mommy" my 3 yr old proclaimed! The client requested minimal fondant as her bday boy is not a fan (though my homemade marshmallow fondant is pretty yummy) so I just topped the book with a fondant page in order to create the potions page. I used my airbrush (best Christmas present ever honey!!) to make the book edges as gold as I could.
So check out the pics and feel free to email me with any requests, questions or comments. Oh, and the delivery of the Harry Potter cake was my FAVOURITE to date. Kaden's mom Angel was in tears and said "Oh my God, Kaden is going to sh*t!!". She was so emotional and just kept imagining his expression when she presented the cake to him. I can't wait to hear about it!! Thanks so much Angel! Hope I get to make another one real soon for your family ;)
Happy Caking!!
I dropped the Toopy & Binoo cake off this morning to the Bielby family and was very happy to see the birthday boy's brother's expression! He loved it but wanted for it to be a surprise for his 3 yr old brother so we kept it a secret. Then he quickly mentioned that for his upcoming 5th birthday he would like a Super Mario cake! Another fave of mine! Can't wait Marshall! Thanks to the Bielby family for using BABY Cakes for every birthday during the last year (+).
Then off to deliver Harry Potter! A few notes about the creation of this cake - well, it was a labour of love for sure!! I was in the "zone" yesterday as I hand-painted 2 potions using an old style script I found on microsoft. I specifically picked the Shrinking Solution Potion b/c I wanted a mini Harry to sit on the edge of the Potions book! And then I chose the Polyjuice Potion, just because. Ironically, once I was finishing Harry's face (the last part as I created him from the legs up), it was apparent that Harry had also dipped into the Polyjuice Potion...his lips/mouth weren't working for me. But alas, I figured it was as good as this self-taught caker was going to get! I was quite pleased with the outcome in general. The wand is completely chocolate fondant with engravings to resemble Harry's real wand. The Golden Snitch is a combo of gumpaste/fondant and coloured with gold lustre dust.
This cake smelled amazing and I was working on it, it was hard not to salivate. The whole thing is chocolate - chocolate cake, chocolate ganache filling and covered in crusting chocolate buttercream!! I couldn't taste anything as I made it b/c I've given up chocolate (among other vices) for Lent...so my kids helped me out! "Mmmm, delicious Mommy" my 3 yr old proclaimed! The client requested minimal fondant as her bday boy is not a fan (though my homemade marshmallow fondant is pretty yummy) so I just topped the book with a fondant page in order to create the potions page. I used my airbrush (best Christmas present ever honey!!) to make the book edges as gold as I could.
So check out the pics and feel free to email me with any requests, questions or comments. Oh, and the delivery of the Harry Potter cake was my FAVOURITE to date. Kaden's mom Angel was in tears and said "Oh my God, Kaden is going to sh*t!!". She was so emotional and just kept imagining his expression when she presented the cake to him. I can't wait to hear about it!! Thanks so much Angel! Hope I get to make another one real soon for your family ;)
Happy Caking!!
Thursday 17 March 2011
My cutest cake yet!
So I am pretty sure that I made my favourite cake today...Toopy & Binoo on their blue couch, complete with colourful balloons and Patchy Patch! Since all 3 of my kids went through this stage (obsessed with T&B), I really enjoyed creating this one for Haydain's 3rd birthday. I'll get a picture up here soon enough although there is one on my facebook page that I uploaded from my cell phone.
Can't wait to get started on my Harry Potter cake, also for Saturday! I just made my first batch of modelling chocolate that I'm hoping is easy to work with. It was 11oz of chocolate (I used white chocolate wafers from Bulk Barn) melted and then mixed with 1/3 cup corn syrop. Sounds pretty simple right? Cake Boss is always using modelling chocolate so it's gotta be easier than gumpaste I figure. Gumpaste dries quickly & very hard whereas the modelling chocolate seems to be more pliable yet firm.
I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks for checking in!
Can't wait to get started on my Harry Potter cake, also for Saturday! I just made my first batch of modelling chocolate that I'm hoping is easy to work with. It was 11oz of chocolate (I used white chocolate wafers from Bulk Barn) melted and then mixed with 1/3 cup corn syrop. Sounds pretty simple right? Cake Boss is always using modelling chocolate so it's gotta be easier than gumpaste I figure. Gumpaste dries quickly & very hard whereas the modelling chocolate seems to be more pliable yet firm.
I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks for checking in!
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Toopy & Binoo today
Since I have 2 cakes due on Saturday, I thought I'd start off with the Toopy & Binoo cake today. So it's "dirty iced" and in the fridge now. I planned on doing fondant accents such as Toopy & Binoo with balloons, party hats, etc. Oh and don't forget Patchy Patch. But I just might make some homemade modelling chocolate and see what all the fuss is about. They use it a lot on Cake Boss for sculpting. If anyone knows where I can buy it, let me know. For now, it's melted chocolate & corn syrup...or at least that's what the recipe says. I'll let you know how it goes!
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Mmmmm smells good in here!
Had a good productive day of baking! Made a chocolate cake, a vanilla cake, and a batch of cinnamon rolls (my Dad's recipe)! Smells so good in this house. But almost too good - I think I need to go for a run or workout! Weekend cakes include Toopy & Binoo and Harry Potter! I'm pretty excited to do both of these!
Sunday 13 March 2011
Sigh...finally cake-free for a few days!
Don't get me wrong! I absolutely LOVE doing my cakes. Sketching them, colouring the sketch, even the baking and the making of fondant. My favourite part of all is seeing the happiness when people get what they asked for...or even more sometimes! But since I'm a fulltime highschool teacher, mother of 3 young kids, wife, and fitness enthusiast, sometimes I can get easily overwhelmed with my "to do" list when I add a few custom cakes onto it!
I just finished a very quick Montreal Canadiens jersey cake for our friend "Buddy"'s birthday and now I plan on relaxing for the rest of the day...well, once I get the risotta made for my arancini!! I saw the Cake Boss (actually the Kitchen Boss) make them on his show the other day and they looked fabulous! So, I'm going to start my arancini (Italian rice balls) while the meatballs simmer in the crock pot. Enjoy the day everyone! Kiss your kids! Life is sweet!
I just finished a very quick Montreal Canadiens jersey cake for our friend "Buddy"'s birthday and now I plan on relaxing for the rest of the day...well, once I get the risotta made for my arancini!! I saw the Cake Boss (actually the Kitchen Boss) make them on his show the other day and they looked fabulous! So, I'm going to start my arancini (Italian rice balls) while the meatballs simmer in the crock pot. Enjoy the day everyone! Kiss your kids! Life is sweet!
Saturday 12 March 2011
OOPS!
Well so much for that last comment about not having any cakes to do this weekend!! Going to my nephew's birthday party this afternoon and sort of feeling like "the bad aunt" if I show up without a cake. I wasn't asked to do the cake, but how can I not bring one? So I was puzzled as to how to pull off a quick, last-minute yet meaningful cake for a 10yr old boy! (or maybe he's 11! Good Lord, I AM the bad aunt!). Thank goodness Mylana is a 3 yr old genius...she said "Mommy do a rock & roll cake for Dante!" and inspiration struck. An electric guitar it shall be!!
And another big oops - our family best friend who the kids have endeared as "Buddy" has a birthday this weekend - tomorrow in fact. Not sure if we'll even be seeing him then but Roman wants a Canadiens Jersey for his best friend's birthday. So I'll tackle that one tomorrow after church!
Happy Saturday y'all!
And another big oops - our family best friend who the kids have endeared as "Buddy" has a birthday this weekend - tomorrow in fact. Not sure if we'll even be seeing him then but Roman wants a Canadiens Jersey for his best friend's birthday. So I'll tackle that one tomorrow after church!
Happy Saturday y'all!
Friday 11 March 2011
Teddy bear cake status
So I finished the Teddy Bear cake at around 11:30pm (which for anyone who knows me is 3 hours past my bedtime!) and I wasn't quite sure about it. Lots of issues with the arms falling off, the "fur" looking real, etc. I awoke to find the poor little guy's chin on his bowtie (head had slid forward). Seriously, everything that could go wrong with this cake went wrong. Frustrating too b/c I had made a teddy bear cake about 2 years ago and it turned out fine. If only I could remember how I did it!!
But the delivery went okay and the birthday boy's mom messaged me on facebook to say that she LOVED it!! Yay!! I'm my own worst critic, I know. I'll post pics here in a bit.
No other cakes on the plate this weekend which is awesome! March break!! I have 2 big but small one's for next Saturday though! Super excited to do Harry Potter for Kaden and Toopy & Binoo for Haydain!
Enjoy your Friday night everyone!! Thanks for checking in. Please continue to share the cake love!!
Cynthia
But the delivery went okay and the birthday boy's mom messaged me on facebook to say that she LOVED it!! Yay!! I'm my own worst critic, I know. I'll post pics here in a bit.
No other cakes on the plate this weekend which is awesome! March break!! I have 2 big but small one's for next Saturday though! Super excited to do Harry Potter for Kaden and Toopy & Binoo for Haydain!
Enjoy your Friday night everyone!! Thanks for checking in. Please continue to share the cake love!!
Cynthia
Thursday 10 March 2011
OMG!!
So I'm working on a teddy bear 1st bday cake...truth be told, I have been picking away at it all day (home with my girls b/c caregiver in Australia - but that's a whole other story!!)...Anyways, made the "present" cake and now am on the actual bear. This poor kid's bear hasn't done a lick of cardio all winter and is about 40lbs overweight. Plus, his arms won't stay on his body! This completely sucks now that it's airbrushed b/c everytime an arm falls, I need to stick it on again and then re-airbrush. FRACK!!!!!!
I'm working on glass #2 of Shiraz but so far, no edge off this cake boss! I'm losing it! What to do? Can I make the kid's bear without arms? He's only 1! What will he know? LOL!
To be continued...hopefully with a better ending!!
I'm working on glass #2 of Shiraz but so far, no edge off this cake boss! I'm losing it! What to do? Can I make the kid's bear without arms? He's only 1! What will he know? LOL!
To be continued...hopefully with a better ending!!
More BABY Cakes Photos in a gallery! Click on the link!
http://cid-cd07a0fd547aece7.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/B.A.B.Y%20Cakes
Click on the above link to take a look at a photo gallery for more BABY Cakes. They are arranged in order by date, with the most recent cakes I've made actually at the end of the gallery! Thanks for looking! More cakes available at http://www.cakecentral.com/ if you search by my username on this site (cyncamp).
Click on the above link to take a look at a photo gallery for more BABY Cakes. They are arranged in order by date, with the most recent cakes I've made actually at the end of the gallery! Thanks for looking! More cakes available at http://www.cakecentral.com/ if you search by my username on this site (cyncamp).
Working on a cake
My latest BABY Cake is for a little boy's first birthday. His mom sent me a photo of his favourite brown teddy bear and then just said "go for it"! She's giving me free reign to create something wonderful for his special day! So, I have made a present cake (colours are Sesame Street-ish; reds, blues, yellows with the bow being red) and another cake which will become his brown teddy sitting beside the present. His teddy has a big red bow! Now if I can figure out how to make this look like his actual bear...I'll be at it for a while! But don't worry, I will post a pic once I'm done!
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