My chiropractor (hi Michelle!) got on my case the other day about not having blogged in a while, so here a quick post to say...
...I miss baking! WAHHHHHHHHH!
We haven't started renovating the kitchen yet, but the renovations in the rest of the house having taken over every space, and it's just not logistically possible at this point to bake anything. I've had to turn down a wedding gig--which I don't ever want to do--and I'm missing it so much. I keep thinking of amazing flavour combinations that I want to try, and coming across recipes that I have to bookmark rather than run home and whip together immediately.
This is particularly frustrating for me because PUMPKIN SEASON is upon us, and every fiber of my being loves pumpkin. I've never had a pumpkin-flavoured ANYTHING that I didn't like. Not being able to bake pumpkin goodies is like being stripped of a super-power!
That said, I am currently dieting, and perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
My Second Wedding Cake
Baking the first wedding cake was an incredibly challenging and stressful msadventure but despite that, it went well and I learned so many invaluable lessons. I'm not saying that the second cake went without issue, but it went much more smoothly than the first, lemme tell you! And, thank goodness for that, because this cake was for my dear friend Laura.
I'm not arrogant enough in my novice wedding cake standing to assume I know all the ins and outs, but I will share a few knowledge nuggets to hopefully make your first wedding cake a smashing success.
Lesson #1: However much time you think you will need, tack on an extra day if at all possible. Life has this way of throwing you spectacularly-timed curve balls that will stress you out immensely if you let them interfere with your plan.
Lesson #2: If you're making home made marshmallow fondant like I did, dust your surface with cornstarch instead of icing/confectioner's sugar, as sugar makes your fondant a little too dry. That means when you cover your cake, the edges will crack slightly and not look as great as you'd like.
Lesson #3: If you're deciding to use a recipe that is unfamiliar to you, do a test bake WELL in advance. That will give you time to taste it to ensure that the recipe yields the taste, texture, colour, etc. that you were aiming for.
Lesson #4: Document, document, document! Take photos along the way, and make notes in your recipe books for things that you learn while baking, or adjustments that you make to the recipe. Trust me, you'll want this info later.
Lesson #5: Italian Meringue Buttercream is a real pain in the patoot, but it's SOOO worth the aggravation of learning how to do it correctly. You may think it has flopped, but if you keep throwing butter into it, it will come together and me the most amazing buttercream you've ever had. Personally, I have found that carton egg whites do not work for this recipe, so I only use fresh cracked whites, but others have claimed to use carton whites with success. All I know is, I have wasted dozens of eggs and several pounds of butter trying to master this IMBC, and will never use carton eggs for IMBC again.
Lesson #6: Be diligent about getting your stuff back! Even if your cake drum/pillars/stand/etc. are labeled, the kitchen is a bustling organism geared toward efficiency and will throw out things that aren't claimed by the end of the night.
Now for the cake!
A friend of the bride--a librarian by trade and thus a huge owl lover--gifted her a custom wedding cake topper from Etsy. It's made of Cloud Clay and weighs practically nothing, and was an amazingly cute topper for a whimsical yet elegant design.
I'm not arrogant enough in my novice wedding cake standing to assume I know all the ins and outs, but I will share a few knowledge nuggets to hopefully make your first wedding cake a smashing success.
Lesson #1: However much time you think you will need, tack on an extra day if at all possible. Life has this way of throwing you spectacularly-timed curve balls that will stress you out immensely if you let them interfere with your plan.
Lesson #2: If you're making home made marshmallow fondant like I did, dust your surface with cornstarch instead of icing/confectioner's sugar, as sugar makes your fondant a little too dry. That means when you cover your cake, the edges will crack slightly and not look as great as you'd like.
Lesson #3: If you're deciding to use a recipe that is unfamiliar to you, do a test bake WELL in advance. That will give you time to taste it to ensure that the recipe yields the taste, texture, colour, etc. that you were aiming for.
Lesson #4: Document, document, document! Take photos along the way, and make notes in your recipe books for things that you learn while baking, or adjustments that you make to the recipe. Trust me, you'll want this info later.
Lesson #5: Italian Meringue Buttercream is a real pain in the patoot, but it's SOOO worth the aggravation of learning how to do it correctly. You may think it has flopped, but if you keep throwing butter into it, it will come together and me the most amazing buttercream you've ever had. Personally, I have found that carton egg whites do not work for this recipe, so I only use fresh cracked whites, but others have claimed to use carton whites with success. All I know is, I have wasted dozens of eggs and several pounds of butter trying to master this IMBC, and will never use carton eggs for IMBC again.
Lesson #6: Be diligent about getting your stuff back! Even if your cake drum/pillars/stand/etc. are labeled, the kitchen is a bustling organism geared toward efficiency and will throw out things that aren't claimed by the end of the night.
Now for the cake!
A friend of the bride--a librarian by trade and thus a huge owl lover--gifted her a custom wedding cake topper from Etsy. It's made of Cloud Clay and weighs practically nothing, and was an amazingly cute topper for a whimsical yet elegant design.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Gum Paste Letters
With this spare few minutes I have at work, I thought I'd post the results of my cupcake blitz this weekend. My friend Monica referred a friend of hers to me, who wanted cupcakes made for a pre-wedding party. His only request was "Maybe a good flavour (not chocolate) with G & B's or something on them?"
That's when my brain kicked into creative overdrive. G and B? Gold and Blue! Lucky for me, blue was one of the wedding colours. What flavour would go with gold and blue? Why, Lemon and Blueberry, of course!
I had some Wilton Pre-Made gum paste on hand from the Gum Paste course that I've enrolled in but has been canceled twice (*shakes fist in the air*), so I dyed some gold and blue, and added some cocoa to the gum paste to make a truer black. Using the Fox Run Mini Alphabet cutters I picked up from Golda's Kitchen, my helpers and I cut out Bs and Gs, and little triangles to make bow ties. Then the letters were painted with a little vodka (some for us, some for the letters!) to make the sparkles stick.
Voila!
A HUGE thank you to Laura and Victoria--fellow Pavlov's Dogs--for the extra hands. These gals earned the heck out of their brunch of Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread Pudding and Mimosas!
That's when my brain kicked into creative overdrive. G and B? Gold and Blue! Lucky for me, blue was one of the wedding colours. What flavour would go with gold and blue? Why, Lemon and Blueberry, of course!
I had some Wilton Pre-Made gum paste on hand from the Gum Paste course that I've enrolled in but has been canceled twice (*shakes fist in the air*), so I dyed some gold and blue, and added some cocoa to the gum paste to make a truer black. Using the Fox Run Mini Alphabet cutters I picked up from Golda's Kitchen, my helpers and I cut out Bs and Gs, and little triangles to make bow ties. Then the letters were painted with a little vodka (some for us, some for the letters!) to make the sparkles stick.
Voila!
A HUGE thank you to Laura and Victoria--fellow Pavlov's Dogs--for the extra hands. These gals earned the heck out of their brunch of Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread Pudding and Mimosas!
Monday, May 16, 2011
My First Wedding Cake!
I really should have done this months ago, but with all the renos and selling the house I just couldn't.
However, I managed to post the few photos I was able to take, and here they are! Sorry for the poor photo quality; I was unable to locate my SLR amidst the renovation rubble, and all I had was my point and shoot camera that didn't handle the dim lighting in the venue very well.
Top Tier: White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Italian Meringue Buttercream
Middle Tier: Vanilla Cake moistened with Maple Ice Wine syrup, with Maple IMBC
Bottom Tier: Dutch Chocolate cake moistened with Raspberry syrup, with Fresh Raspberry IMBC
All covered with home-made marshmallow fondant, and topped with a LEGO cake topper that I made for the Engineer newlyweds!
However, I managed to post the few photos I was able to take, and here they are! Sorry for the poor photo quality; I was unable to locate my SLR amidst the renovation rubble, and all I had was my point and shoot camera that didn't handle the dim lighting in the venue very well.
Top Tier: White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Italian Meringue Buttercream
Middle Tier: Vanilla Cake moistened with Maple Ice Wine syrup, with Maple IMBC
Bottom Tier: Dutch Chocolate cake moistened with Raspberry syrup, with Fresh Raspberry IMBC
All covered with home-made marshmallow fondant, and topped with a LEGO cake topper that I made for the Engineer newlyweds!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I'm baaaAAAAaaack....
The house has been renovated, and has even been sold. I have my life back, and more importantly, my kitchen!
As soon as I find the energy, I will start baking again. First though, I need to update this blog to include a major accomplishment; my first wedding cake.
It's been a long road folks. Hope I haven't lost too many of you along the way.
As soon as I find the energy, I will start baking again. First though, I need to update this blog to include a major accomplishment; my first wedding cake.
It's been a long road folks. Hope I haven't lost too many of you along the way.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
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