Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
Stars, Stripes and Sugar
Well, it's a little bit past the 4th--but hopefully you were all out enjoying the fireworks and sparklers (or, for any non-USA readers, some lovely July weather). I got an unexpected long weekend, so to celebrate the last few hours of vacation time...how about some cake?
I've been seeing a couple of Jessicakes' lovely pieces popping up across the web, and they're just too lovely to not post. From elegant silver swirls and stars...
...to this super cute number whose dots and retro-style fireworks definitely remind me of summer.
Run on over to her blog here for more lovely cakes, plus a whole bunch of tutorials. It also looks like she's got some Craftsy classes going!
Speaking of tutorials, if you want to make a thoroughly patriotic cake, I'm going to have to recommend SugaryWinzy and her Fourth of July Flag Cake:
Yes, there really are thirteen stripes. Unfortunately, the stars don't come baked in, but just keep a piping bag on hand during serving, and you're all set! Find out how to make the cake on her blog, here.
Once you've got your stars and stripes down, I suppose all that's left is to top off your cake with good ol' Uncle Sam.
He's never looked cuter.
Or you could always go the buttons-and-bows route:
That all said, however, I think the grand prize for today's Independence Day cakes has to go to Amazing Grace Cakes, who eschewed the usual patterns for an incredible I-Can't-Believe-That's-Cake rendition of William Diamond's Drum, complete with writing on the top:
...then again, it might tie with this life-sized George Washington cake. I'll let you all debate about whether this surpasses "cake" and ventures into a whole new genre. Happy Independence Day!
I've been seeing a couple of Jessicakes' lovely pieces popping up across the web, and they're just too lovely to not post. From elegant silver swirls and stars...
 |
| Jessicakes |
 |
| Jessicakes |
Speaking of tutorials, if you want to make a thoroughly patriotic cake, I'm going to have to recommend SugaryWinzy and her Fourth of July Flag Cake:
 |
| SugaryWinzy |
Once you've got your stars and stripes down, I suppose all that's left is to top off your cake with good ol' Uncle Sam.
 |
| Cake Central's CakeADoodle |
Or you could always go the buttons-and-bows route:
 |
| My Cake School |
 |
| Amazing Grace Cakes |
 |
| By Roland Winbeckler |
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Game of Cakes
I know, I know--the finale. That thing that happened and no I didn't see that coming either and that person did that thing, and it's going to be a heck of a long wait for the next season. So in the meantime, why not celebrate the end of another bloody, brilliant, and mildly over-sexed season (you never fail to entertain, HBO).......with cake?
I don't know which detail I love most--the tiny dragon, or the beautifully mimicked wood carving, or the tiny crown waiting for someone to live long enough to wear it.
And you've gotta admit, those are some pretty awesome swords happening there.
Of course, with so many families busy killing each other off, it's hard to keep track of all those sigils. Fortunately, this cake is here to help:
Dat Chain Mail, too.
To be honest, it's always going to be a toss up as to whether Daenerys or Tyrion is my favorite character. I'm kind of hoping they end up as co-rulers of Westeros, slinging fire and snark at all their enemies.
Speaking of Daenerys, I really think her wedding missed on an opportunity for a thematic cake. But it probably wouldn't have been as classy as this lovely number by Sophie Taylor.
Or this one:
(Did you spot all the references?) While some of the guests might be confused by the sword, talk about an elegant nod to the series without being too overt. Here's another beautiful cake that followed the subtle theme:
I particularly love the embroidered layer, considering the sheer amount of work that goes into the costumes in the show. The embroidery is done by hand embroiderer Michele Carragher. If you haven't gotten an up-close look at what she's done, check it out at her site here, including the dress that was the inspiration for the cake layer above.
Anyways, hopefully it won't be a Red Wedding Cake...
...too soon?
Anyways, go forth and enjoy your cake, my lovelies!
 |
| Sweet Ruby Cakes |
And you've gotta admit, those are some pretty awesome swords happening there.
Of course, with so many families busy killing each other off, it's hard to keep track of all those sigils. Fortunately, this cake is here to help:
 |
| Cake Haute Couture |
To be honest, it's always going to be a toss up as to whether Daenerys or Tyrion is my favorite character. I'm kind of hoping they end up as co-rulers of Westeros, slinging fire and snark at all their enemies.
Speaking of Daenerys, I really think her wedding missed on an opportunity for a thematic cake. But it probably wouldn't have been as classy as this lovely number by Sophie Taylor.
 |
| Found here |
 |
| The Cake Zone |
 |
| Candytuft Cakes |
Anyways, hopefully it won't be a Red Wedding Cake...
 |
| Choccywoccydoodah |
Anyways, go forth and enjoy your cake, my lovelies!
Monday, May 26, 2014
Egads, we're back to May! Also, natural food dyes
My goodness, has it really been twelve months? (Eleven? I didn't double check the month on the last post.) Nevertheless, it has been a crazy crazy cake-filled year on this side of the screen. Like so many of my fresh-faced, diploma-clutching brethren, I graduated with a lovely degree that I promptly set aside in favor of the career field I could get in to: The Bakery World.
Admittedly it's been a Grocery Bakery World, but it has been a smashing time with all sorts of forays into the world of natural and organic foods. (If you can guess where, good for you. :) ) As it turns out, baking with organic flour is not much different than regular flour, although once you're in the food preparation industry, the process of maintaining the organic-ness of the product gets a lot more complicated. (If the organic apple brushes a non-organic apple, the first apple is now no longer considered organic, etc.)
What IS massively, painfully, frustratingly different is the dye one uses when artificial dyes are not permitted.
Let me say, right now, that there are no good, natural sources for blue or black. Red is tricky, but can be accomplished with the beet-based red (pro-tip, alone it'll make a gorgeous shade of pink) and a few drops of the orange (made from juniper? Carrots? I don't remember off the top of my head). So the next time you're venturing into your neighborhood Organic/Natural/Wholesome Grocery, and look to get a custom cake with Thomas the Tank Engine draw on it, know that it's going to look more than a bit different from the picture your three-year-old is accustomed to seeing onscreen.
So what are some tricks for the odder colors?
I've had a good degree of success making blue with India Tree's blue/periwinkle dye--in large quantities it tends to create a navy-type shade--blue with a grayer undertone. Depending on the dye, however, it can also appear more of a purplish-blue-gray. By adding some green I can generally get a teal shade that can be a convincing sky blue once a small quantity of dyed frosting has been remixed into a batch of plain/white frosting. (I'll need to double check the brands we use for the green, but I believe India Tree sells small quantities commercially of the periwinkle in their three-pack dye set.)
Black is more of a challenge, and so far my best solution has been to make a very, very dark chocolate frosting (keep adding in that cocoa powder), and then adding a bit of the periwinkle/blue dye to cancel out some of the reddishness of the cocoa.
The drawback is that generally there's so much cocoa powder that the frosting becomes stiff once it's allowed to sit for any period of time.
Another solution is to just use ganache--noticeably brown, but dark enough to get away with as a black-type substitute--and infinitely tastier than the chocolate/blue mix.
Anywhosies--hello again all my lovelies! Hopefully I'll be back in the groove from now on!
Admittedly it's been a Grocery Bakery World, but it has been a smashing time with all sorts of forays into the world of natural and organic foods. (If you can guess where, good for you. :) ) As it turns out, baking with organic flour is not much different than regular flour, although once you're in the food preparation industry, the process of maintaining the organic-ness of the product gets a lot more complicated. (If the organic apple brushes a non-organic apple, the first apple is now no longer considered organic, etc.)
What IS massively, painfully, frustratingly different is the dye one uses when artificial dyes are not permitted.
Let me say, right now, that there are no good, natural sources for blue or black. Red is tricky, but can be accomplished with the beet-based red (pro-tip, alone it'll make a gorgeous shade of pink) and a few drops of the orange (made from juniper? Carrots? I don't remember off the top of my head). So the next time you're venturing into your neighborhood Organic/Natural/Wholesome Grocery, and look to get a custom cake with Thomas the Tank Engine draw on it, know that it's going to look more than a bit different from the picture your three-year-old is accustomed to seeing onscreen.
So what are some tricks for the odder colors?
I've had a good degree of success making blue with India Tree's blue/periwinkle dye--in large quantities it tends to create a navy-type shade--blue with a grayer undertone. Depending on the dye, however, it can also appear more of a purplish-blue-gray. By adding some green I can generally get a teal shade that can be a convincing sky blue once a small quantity of dyed frosting has been remixed into a batch of plain/white frosting. (I'll need to double check the brands we use for the green, but I believe India Tree sells small quantities commercially of the periwinkle in their three-pack dye set.)
Black is more of a challenge, and so far my best solution has been to make a very, very dark chocolate frosting (keep adding in that cocoa powder), and then adding a bit of the periwinkle/blue dye to cancel out some of the reddishness of the cocoa.
The drawback is that generally there's so much cocoa powder that the frosting becomes stiff once it's allowed to sit for any period of time.
Another solution is to just use ganache--noticeably brown, but dark enough to get away with as a black-type substitute--and infinitely tastier than the chocolate/blue mix.
Anywhosies--hello again all my lovelies! Hopefully I'll be back in the groove from now on!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)