The Wedding Cake

I can finally say I made my first wedding cake.  Here it is.....

I know it isn't too elaborate or anything, but I like to think it is pretty good.

I made this cake for a co-worker.  She just got married on December 10th.  She decided to have a very small intimate wedding.  She had no plans of having a cake at the reception.  I, of course, could not let that happen.  Every woman needs a cake at he wedding.  So, I decided to make her her cake anyway.

With getting married a few weeks before Christmas, she was having a Christmas/Winter themed wedding.  With that in mind, I started thinking of winter type things to decorate with.  I really wanted to make snowflakes, but was unable to find a snowflake cutter or anything that looked like one on such short noticed.  So, I thought stars was the next best things.  This was my inspiration.  It was from Wilton.com ......

I know, it isn't exactly the same, but that I wasn't trying for that.  I just wanted an idea.  The inspiration cake is done completely in fondant, where I iced the cake in buttercream and only the stars are made from fondant. I covered the stars in a blue and silver pearl dust. (This was actually very fun to do).  It was also my first time working with fondant.  After getting over my initial fear of it, I really like working with it and can really see the potential of using it.  I hope to get the chance to use it again.

I had real fun making this cake and it was great seeing J's face when she saw it.  She was happy and I was glad to bring a little extra happiness to her on her special day.

I know I have bee talking about doing a few different with my blog and haven't done anything.  But, I finally have what I want to do, so look for some new fun things after the New Year.  

Until next time....... Happy Baking!

An Even Newer Adventure

About two weeks ago, my sister-in-law made a very interesting Facebook status update.  I had known she was working with a some people on a collaboration for a website.  What I didn't know was there had been some creative differences and the founders parted ways.  Well,  that didn't stop my spunky sister-in-law and her cohorts.  They decided to start a new collaboration.  And by some strange stroke of luck, I am now a part of this brain child.  Today is the official launch date of Off The Deep End. I think it is a perfect name.  I don't know all of my co-workers as of yet.  (I guess you can call us that.)  But, I know that will change very soon.  We all come from different walks of life and have different views on the world.

I hope you will come check us out over at www.off-the-deep-end.net. I will be making my first post over there next Monday.  I will have a post there every week. So, please stop by, roam around, take a look at things, sit for a spell, and enjoy yourself!  You won't be disappointed!

Until next time..... Happy Baking!

Cake Pops? Is this a possible avenue?

This is a book I have seen at several times over the last few weeks.  It is titled "Cake Pops: Tips,Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Different Mini Treats", by Bakerella also known as Angie Dudley.  

I walked by it many times a night.  It would call to me... "Come look at me.  You know want to".  I resisted for many many days before I even picked up the book.  Well, I finally did look at it.  All I have to say is..... OMG!

The pictures on the cover hardly scratch the surface.  They had general ideas and also holiday specific ones.  There may only be 40 ideas in the book, but I already had many others going through my head.  I never thought that cake pops like this was even possible.  I had always thought the best I could do was dipped the cake into chocolate or candy coating and then sprinkles with nuts/ sugar candies...etc.

Now, I can't help but think is this something I can do?  Is is as labor intensive as it looks?  Is there an untapped market for these things?  If I am capable of this could I make money doing this?  Of course there are many more questions running through my head.

I am crazy, right?  Please tell me I am crazy.  I know I must be crazy.  I must be to be writing a blog about cake pops.  Then again.....

Until next time..... Happy Baking!

New Idea

With not having any baking projects to do this week, I have had a lot of time to brainstorm. I had gotten this idea a little while ago when I was thinking of a way to send a friend his favorite dessert, a red velvet cake. Of course, the easiest would be to go there and just make it, but doubt people would want to pay the price to fly me there just to bake a cake. So, thr first thing I thought was it would be easier to sent cupcakes instead of a whole cake. My next problem was the frosting. To me the frosting is just as important as the cake. I would like it to be just as pretty when they get as it was sitting in my kitchen. But, anyone who has shipped anything, there are no guarantees. My initial solution was to use a stiffer frosting, one the would get hard but still be ok to eat. I still didn't like that idea. I have received too many complements on my frosting to change it. I didn't actively think about it for a few weeks, but it was always in the back of my mind. Then just the other night, I was talking with my husband about what I needed to do this weekend and he mentioned cupcakes. He then asked if I had thought of shipping them. I told him I had, but had my concerns. Then we both almost came up with the same idea of Create Your Own Cupcakes.

The idea is simple. You choose everything that you want from the kind of cake to the toppings. You would have the same variety in the cakes and frosting as you would if you were a local order. The topping could be seasonal or just everyday things. I would bake the cupcakes and make the frosting. All the items would be shipped together, but separate. After you received the package all you would need to do it decorate how you want. I know you mightbe thinking, "What is the point?". The point would be several things. You may not have the time to do everything, but the the time to decorate. Or it could be a family fun thing. Or it could event be a thing to do with a group if kids as a fun art project. I think the list could go on. Please tell me I am not crazy.

Until next time....... Happy Baking!