Designer cakes for special events

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And now for something completely different… My family and I recently went to visit my brother’s family in Maryland. We happened to go to their local supermarket which, it turns out, sold quite a variety of interesting and hard-to-find produce. Sour oranges, Thai eggplant, Jack fruit and…. durian! If you are not familiar with the name of this fruit, you might actually have seen it and not known what the heck it was. I personally, had seen them a number of times being sold down in Chinatown by the food stand vendors. They are large and melon-like with many spikes (they look ouch) and are sold usually in plastic meshes for easy carrying. read more »

This Hermes gift box cake I recently made is a nice combination of fashion and celebration. Gift box cakes are great, because they are so easily customizable. It’s also a lot more affordable. A great alternative to a sneaker or stiletto cake, or a handbag. read more »

Here’s a little ensemble put together. Toy Story is quite the popular theme these days ever since Toy Story 3 was released.  Adding cupcakes as extra decorations to a simple cake can dress up your cake presentation for any birthday, whether kids or adults.

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Hi, everyone! In the coming months, I will be releasing a line of cakes that you can order from. Up until now, I just had a portfolio displaying my skill. While I do have people now and then base their choices on my other creations, I have not officially had a line of products that customers could just choose from. Starting with the spring flower cake, I will be putting up new cakes by season. You will be able to choose your cake by the number of servings and tiers. The colors will also be costumizable as with any tweaks in design. Recommended flavors will be listed for your convenience. I will also mention that these cakes will also be more budget-conscious as this is on most people’s minds these days.

Inspiration

The first thing most people do when they are looking for a cake but don’t know what they want, is look at other cakes. While this is an easy way to see something you like, it doesn’t always end with something very original. If you want something different and unique, don’t draw your inspiration from other cakes. Instead draw them from things! I often will find plenty of  ideas from interesting textiles and fabric or an article of clothing. Art, architecture, jewelry, tiles, art periods (e.g. baroque, art nouveau, bauhaus, etc.), stationery and pieces of furniture can also be wonderful starting points for design. Items in nature, of course, are always a huge draw and can help you plan that cake for your outdoor or seasonal wedding. Get inspired not just by the designs or colors, but also textures. read more »

That is… on the environment. In light of the “No Impact Man” documentary coming out this month, I have been taking the time to reflect on my own personal impact on the environment. I have always tried to take an eco-friendly approach to my lifestyle, though I must admit, it is not always easy or possible. I’m an avid recycler, support organic or earth-friendly products, use my reusable shopping bags, take public transportation or walk, etc. But mostly, convenience wins. As far as the cake business goes, I always felt that I didn’t have much choice in the way I did things. After all, certain things are “industry standard” or not available in organic form, etc. There were always excuses to be made. However, as I consider more and more, while not practical to put up solar panels on a rental unit, there are other possibilities of decreasing my (and your) impact on the earth as far as this cake thing is concerned. read more »

I admit, unlike most bakers out there, I really don’t like working with parchment as far as my baking pans go. With jelly rolls and anything on my baking sheets, I do prefer parchment. However, for regular cakes, normally I don’t want to be bothered with cutting, shaping, etc. The dilemma is how to get all the crumbs off without damaging the shape. For this, parchment works fairly well. It’s handsdown the better method compared to the usual, buttering the pan and dusting with flour. I once tried that Cake Release stuff. It worked well. As a matter of fact, better than well. It got more cake off the pan than parchment. You don’t want to keep on buying it though as it can get costly. I studied the texture. Here is a mixture that I came up with that works just as well as Cake Release. The best part is that I don’t have to worry about parchment. read more »

After testing a few methods, I have a few pieces of good advice on making macarons. There are many good recipes out there, but that is not going to be my main concern here. These are just a few things you can do to ensure you come out with good batches.

Blackberry Macarons

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I’m starting to develop my line of french macaron cookies that I will start to offer as wedding/party favors. First, I’m trying to develop a solid recipe so that my production can be more streamlined when I do get orders. I’m finding that the recipe using Italian meringue is a bit too sweet for ay taste, but maybe that’s good. However, the upside is, it is a much more forgiving recipe than the classic. Macarons are notoriously one of the most troublesome recipes. It seems that the stars need to be aligned exactly so for these delectables to come out perfect. Although, the mistakes are just as delicious! We, Americans, do have the trouble of finding pure powdered sugar (sans cornstarch). King Arthur Flour is one of the few brands out there that does – Check out there other products! They are an amazing company and a true source for the baker.

Will publish photos when I have put this whole thing together!