Unusual Wedding Cake

I know what you're thinking but yes this is a wedding cake. This was actually the first wedding cake I was asked to make. It was for a bride that loved horses and her groom that loved cars. The colours of the wedding were actually dark red, green and blue. Although it is deffinatly not something that I would choose the couple was VERY happy with how it turned out. Everything on the cake is eatable. The grass was done with a grass icing tip and the black "gravel" is black sugar. The cake topper I made using the colour flow icing tecnique. I found it an interesting way of making a cake topper. It was pretty cool, all be it strange. The horses and the cars around the different layers turned out to be a bit of a challenge. What I ended up doing was buying some small plastic horses, a few hot wheels and some crayola clay magic. It works almost like air drying clay but it's lighter and slightly bendable when it's dried. I then took the horses and cars and pressed them into chunks of the clay magic to make a mold. After the clay magic dried I was then able to take fondant icing and press it into the molds to make the shapes I needed. I painted the black on with gel food colouring when they had dried. So although it was a strange subject matter it was an interesting way of solving my problem. This method could be used to make any sort of subject matter you would choose or if someone else wants a horse and car wedding cake...... thought so.

Happy icing!

Progress

After seeing one of my earliest cakes I thought I would jump to one of the most recent. It shows a lot of the progress I have made in cake making. The cake is Chocolate with Mint buttercream filling. I coloured the buttercream the same colour as the fondant that covers the cake as well so that when it was cut the cake was a contrast of chocolate and green as well. It looked very nice. This cake actually took a lot of planning and learning for me to put together. One problem I had was how to do the quilting on the cake. I knew the concept of how I should do it but I wasn't sure if I could get the quilting to look the same size. I then realized that it really didn't matter and gave some interest if the quilting looked different on each layer. Then the process was quite simple. I placed each cake on a cake dividing mat and mad a mark every 2 inches on the top and the bottom of each layer. Then I used the side of my spatula to connect a dot on the bottom with a dot 2 spaces over. I pressed the side in creating a line. Then I did the same thing the other direction to create the quilting effect. If it was a square cake the quilting can be done on the top of the cake as well using the same idea. I had considered putting the little silver eatable balls at the spots where the quilting lines intersected but I'm glad I didn't. I think it would have been to "busy". The other problem that took a little work to figure out was making the tulips. I found a few lists of instructions on line and also a Wilton method in their Gum paste flower kit. I did a cross between the two. At a later date I will possibly go threw the process in making each flower. For now I'll just say it was long and involved but I felt well worth it. The flowers turned out far more realistic than silk and were eatable (except for the wire inside). The leaves also looked very realistic and when you are making them yourself you have the option of making them to your colour and size preference. I think it shows how time and effort can make a beautiful outcome and you can come up with a solution to any problem you have.

Happy Icing!

Journey

I've come a long way in my journey of cake making already. I would post a picture of some of my first cakes that I had to make for Classes but frankly I'm embarrassed. I will however show one of the earlier cakes I have made. I plan to post pictures of cakes I have made and will make in the future and talk about the challenges and things I have learned from each cake. I might even be able to help some of the many other cake makers out there with a few tips and tricks. Best of luck!

This cake was I believe the first tired cake I made. It was for my daughters dedication. I didn't execute it as well as I would have liked or would do today but the trick was a cute one. I don't remember where I saw it but I took drinking glasses of different sizes (you could use cooking cutters of any shape or size as well) and pressed the glass lightly into the cake. Once the edge had a bit of icing on it (kind of like rimming a glass) I pressed it into some coloured sugar then pressed it back into the same spot on the cake so the sugar stuck. I did this in three colours actually. One was white though so it's difficult to see in the picture.

Happy Icing!

Cost of Cakes

The number of people that have taken cake decorating classes has, it seems, "flooded the market". There are so many people selling their cakes for $30 or $40 that it seems difficult to get a reasonable amount of money for making a cake. Not many people understand the amount of materials and time that go into making a cake. If I were to sell a cake for $30 I may only make $5 from it even though I would spend hours doing it. That would end up working out to a profit of about $.05 an hour. I think that even in third world countries people make more than that. People need to understand that you get what you pay for. Someone that is going to only charge that little would most likely be using sup par ingredients in the cake or may not understand the amount of work that would be involved in creating a custom piece of art. It will be a cake alright but if you want a quality piece of art you have to pay for it. I wish more people knew how much work really goes into making a beautiful cake. Take Ace of Cakes for example. Sure they make it look fast and easy but that's because they are highly trained, practiced and skilled. You would pay for that skill though. The base cost of a cake from Charm City Cakes (the name of the bakery on Ace of Cakes) is $1,000. Yes I got the coma in the right place. That's just the base cost as well. If you wanted something elaborate or involved it could be quite a bit more than that. You need to take into consideration the costs involved. Not only is there the materials for the cake there is paying the staff, rent and upkeep for the building, purchase of tools, hydro and insurance just to name a few. So next time you are thinking of getting a cake and look for the lowest possible price just remember it might just look and taste like the lowest price!

Cakes Today

It seems that cakes have come a long way in the last few years. The popularity of having a beautiful cake as a centerpiece to your party is becoming commonplace. Amazing cakes aren't just for weddings anymore. Shows like Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss are opening everyone's mind to the possibilities open to them. This I feel has also increased the number of people that think they too can do something like that. I'm not sure what inspired me to take a few small cake decorating classes at a local craft store but I did rather enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised at my ability to pick up these skills. However I was not the only one in this class. Now wherever I look there is someone else that has taken these classes and is attempting to sell them to all their friends and family. Although you can teach someone the skills involved and how to use the materials there is only so far that will take you. The rest is natural skill and ability. However if you have some artistic skill, imagination and creativity it will take you a long way into creating cakes that are actually eatable works of art! Centerpieces that people stare at and are reluctant to cut. Amazing showpieces that make people stop and stare. I believe that though I'm not the most accomplished cake maker I have come a long way and have a dream of one day being able to open my own cake shop. I thought I would create a Blog to follow my journey on the road to becoming a great cake maker!