sherribabee
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Posts posted by sherribabee
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I couldn't make it back yesterday, but I did show up first thing this morning (a little after 9 am). They posted the demo schedule for today:
1-2 pm
Chris Garza, Art Girl Cookies
Cookie icing
I just got back from Grand Central (again!) and happend to see some of the cookie icing demo. I could hardly see anything because there were about 10 people shoving themselves right up against the counter, so there really wasn't much chance for anyone else to see anything. Oh well. It was considerably more crowded today than it ws yesterday and I had a hard time getting close enough to any of the cakes to take pictures.
I did get a galss of champagne, though.
The little cake sample they were handing out weren't very tasty. 
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My goodness, chefette! It seems we were both posting photos at the same time.
Well, at least we know we got them all!
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OK, here are the images. I tried to capture the designer's name in most of the photos, but in some cases, you can't really read it or it's not visible. I will do my best to identify each cake tomorrow and post the info under each photo.
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I just got back from the cakewalk.
WOW!
I snapped a pic of each cake which I will upload as soon as I can. That's a LOT of pics, people. I didn't have enough time to note who did each cake, but I will probably go back tomorrow during lunch and take better notes to identify each cake.
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RATS! I couldn't make my escape fromt eh office in time to see Steve's demo.
I'll be going tomorrow during lunch for sure and will take lots and lots of photos.
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Colleen and I are going to show how to make those flowers during the demo and I'll try to remember to take some closeup and process shots. I found out on site last night that I can't do the demo with tempered chocolate that we had planned--turns out no approval of electricity for either a microwave or induction burner was granted--so we're going to change gears this morning and prep for modelling chocolate techniques (and just bring all the tempered elements done in advance.)
The list of "bakers" is up:
I'm going to try to make it there for Steve and Colleen's demonstration this afternoon. If I do, I'll take as many photos as I can. I hope my boss doesn't mind me taking a REALLY late lunch today.
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I can't figure out how it's humanly possible to pipe flowers like that directly onto the cake. My wrists hurt just thinking about it. I think they have a bunch of nimble, double-jointed, little elves decorating in the middle of the night.
EDIT: I think this requires an investigative field trip on my part to see if I can sneak some peaks into their kitchen. I've never been to the Cupcake Cafe before.
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Ooooo, I'll most definitely be there. And taking LOTS and LOTS of photos!
Thanks for the info., Steve.
Is there a schedule of the various demos somewhere?
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I just took a long, hot shower and that managed to wash away all the coloring.
I needed to de-stress. It was that or throw the dang cake out the window. And the only reason I DIDN'T throw it out the window is that I didn't want to attract rats.
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Gah! Never again! I hate black fondant!
I got a few little smudges of corn starch on the top, which I cannot, for the life of me, brush out or smooth off.
I hate you, black fondant! You better sleep with one eye open!
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Thanks everyone.
I FINALLY got it black enough to pass. I added nearly half of a 1 oz. jar of NY Cake & Baking Brand "Super Black." My hands have a gray tinge to them now, I can't wash it all off.
I haven't tasted it yet, and I really don't want to. Blech!
I'll warn my friend that she should have her guests peel off the fondant and enjoy the buttercream underneath.
Next time, I'll try using chocolate.
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Anyone know the best way to produce black fondant? I'm making an x-box cake for tomorrow evening and started to color my fondant with black coloring paste last night but I can't seem to get it any darker than a deep plum/gray color.
Grrrr.
Should I just keep working in the coloring in hopes that it will eventually turn black? Any other suggestions? Maybe I could paint it with black petal dust or something?Thanks!
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Sherri, you're new to the biz, right, just got out of cooking school and now you're decorating cakes as a pro? "With clear instructions, covering a cake with fondant is not difficult, especially for people who are familiar with working with dough or spent a lot of time playing with Play-dough as a kid. I managed to do it perfectly on my first try." I think you're the exception.
New to the biz, yes...very. Pro? Not quite yet.
Maybe, to some extent, I am an exception, but when I first tried my hand at fondant (before I had any sort of training) I remember thinking to myself, "so what's the big deal?" And even later in my pasty class when we first worked with fondant, even the folks with questionable kitchen skills all manged to cover their cakes without cracks or wrinkles...all on the first try, if I remember correctly. Maybe I've just been unusually lucky with my experiences, but I've never really thought of working with fondant as difficult. Getting perfectly smooth buttercream is a whole 'nother barrel of monkeys though. I guess everyone has different skills and you can't really figure out what they are until you try your hand at them.I would be interested in learning how many of these cake kits have sold and what the success/satisfaction rate has been with them.
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Thoughts running through my head......
1. I can buy a fully-decorated wedding cake for the price of the kit! I suppose her name carries a premium.
2. I'm wondering what kind of bride would be happy to say that they 'made' their own cake, when:
a. they didn't contribute design-wise,
b. they didn't even make the flowers themselves.
3. For above said brides who are happy enough to brag that they made this air-fix cake themselves, I don't think I'll be wrong to place their decorating skills at the lower end...which begs the question of, "How on earth are they going to cover the cake with rolled fondant or buttercream?", which is no easy feat for a multi-tiered cake. There are other things to think of like structures, transporting, keeping, and etc. They already have a zillion other wedding things to stress about. This might just push them over the edge.
However, this kit would work if:
1. People are happy to equate baking a cake to decorating a cake. I baked the cake, therefore I 'made' this cake.
2. The kits are bought waaaaaaaay in advance, and there is a lot of time for practice. Some where along the line, I'm thinking/hoping that the bride will want some real personal input, in which case, the kit has become an expensive practice tool. Duh.
And, so, yes, I do think it's sheer business genius to come up with a wedding cake kit which makes assembling a cake sound as easy as playing with a toy. It will sell....I just don't want to think about how many basket case brides will turn up on the wedding day.
edit: I missed the part where they said it's for the savvy baker, in which case, I agree with Josette that those with experience are not likely to use the kit, they might as well copy the cake and make it themselves.
1. I'm guessing a bride who is throwing a smaller wedding and therefore has less to worry about, or a friend or relative of the bride, not the bride herself. I know you can't get a cake like for $350 where I live, that's for sure! Or it may just be someone who is curious about making a tiered cake or playing with fondant or whatever an they just want to play around an practice with something that's more geared towards a novice. Everyone has to learn somewhere and some people don't have the luxury of having classes to take where they live.
2. I know a LOT of professional bakers who simply copy designs out of magazines. Why don't you ask them how they feel about saying they've "made" a cake. And what if they don't actually make the fondant themselves (I don't know any who do)? Or if they use a mix? Or if they have an assistant making flowers? Do you still credit them with "making" the cake?
3. With clear instructions, covering a cake with fondant is not difficult, especially for people who are familiar with working with dough or spent a lot of time playing with Play-dough as a kid. I managed to do it perfectly on my first try. I think it's the actual construction of the thing that seems most daunting. I also imagine most people aren't going to attempt to make one of these things unless they're relatively confident in their baking abilities.
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Gosh, you know, I think I could start another thread all about cake pricing! I must say, as long as I've been doing it, it's still kind of a puzzler. But I've gotten better over the years at how I price my cakes out.
I think it would be very helpful to have a thread on cake pricing. I'm just starting out and haven't figured out yet how much time certian things take, so I've had a hard time figuring out how to price things. It would help to know what all the rst of you are doing and how you calculate various things.
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Great site. The only 2 suggestions I have are 1) the window re-sizing is terribly frustrating and 2) the rapid-flash images on the splash page are annoying (I tend to dislike ANYTHING on a website that moves, blinks or flashes)
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I was so excited to try an actual Magnolia cupcake today. I mean, with all the hype and all.
*gag*
It was worse, yes WORSE, than the pre-packaged, 6-for-a dollar variety I associate with grocery store chains around the globe. And I didn't really like those, even as a kid. And I am NOT, by any means, a picky person.
Dry, stale, virtually inedible cake with a disproportionately large glob of sugared Crisco on top.
Horrid.
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I was going to suggest bienenstich also -- while it may not contain honey, it's absolutely delicious!
There is something of a classic german cake called Bienenstich kuchen that translates to bee sting cake.It is a moist cake flavored with almond. Surprisingly when I google up recipes none have honey...I just assumed it would.
Not as fun as creating a cake that looks like a beehive, though.
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After reading this thread, I went home last night and did a Google search for "adopt a soldier" and I came up with several good links. I decided to adopt a soldier through the Manhattanville College program and I should be getting my soldier's info via email in the next couple of days.
I also found a good link HERE with a long list of things that various soldiers have requested. I snagged a few frisbees and stress balls from our company's HR department, which I will be including in my package.
I think I'm going to make some oatmeal raisin cookies and maybe try the ANZAC biscuits.
Thanks for starting this topic!
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I know that I like to eat lemon bars and gingersnaps in the summer.
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I don't have a preference. My thinking is, as long as the person eating the cake is happy and gets what they want, then who cares whether it came from a box or from scratch?
Last month I did a wedding cake for a woman who wanted Duncan Hines Golden Butter cake mix. A Big. Fancy. Wedding. It was what she grew up with and what she wanted for her wedding. She searched high and low and could not find a single baker in NYC to make it for her.
I did.
And she LOVED it. Her guests LOVED it. It was what she wanted, and that's what is important to me -- giving the customer what they want. I think all the bakers out there who "refuse to compromise their reputations" by making a cake with a mix are...well...compromising their reputations. They're not serving their customers.
If someone wants a cake mix, I'll make it. If someone want a labor-intensive genoise that tastes like crap, I'll make it. If it's what they want, I'll be proud to give it to them.
While I enjoy the idea of and work involved in making things from scratch, I'm not too shy to say that I, personally, think a lot of scratch cakes out there taste like crap (even 60% of the cakes we made in pastry school). Is it a good cake when you have to disguise with syrups, fillings and flavors? I could probably dress up a kitchen sponge in much the same way and have at least a dozen people tell me it's the best cake they've ever had. Heh. A preference is a prefence and if you prefer mix cakes, it doesn't mean your pallete is any more or less refined than that of a person who enjoys scratch cakes. One isn't inherently better than the other.
It's all about the final outcome and whether people really enjoy eating it. That's what makes a cake a GOOD cake. Mix or not.
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You know, I've never in my life seen a pink pastry box. Except on TV.
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Chefette, thank you. Those tips and tricks will save me so much time! Do you happen to know what the ratio would be between gelatine sheets and powdered gelatine? I know I've read it somewhere here on the board, but for the life of me can't think where. Actually maybe it was in the marshamllow thread......
If these turn out well I will take a picture and try to post them. Thanks again for all the wonderful help!!
~~Kelli
4 sheets gelatin = 1/4 oz. powdered gelatin
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OK, here's the RecipeGullet link for TEXAS SHEET CAKE for those who would like to try it. Don't make it when you're home alone -- it's quite dangerous!
Edible paper/transfers for fondant
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
FYI, their software is not Mac compatible, but I haven't found that I even need it.