LCS

Hi Genny, I was thinking along those lines for the simple fact that if everything is poured sugar, the colors will overlap and depending on what angle you're looking from, 3 - 4 colors could overlap and it would just look muddled. But if there's an opaque piece behind it, no muddling. Then again, we'll see how fast I can get the pieces to dry. I may have no choice in the matter.

Thank you, Keith! Kinda depends on how much coloration you're willing to accept vs. how rapidly it'll get affected by humidity. 320-340 is where you want to head. Less color in the lower range, but will dissolve into a puddle quicker. ←

Uh oh... I haven't done poured sugar in a few years and I can't find my notes. Cook 'til three hundred _ _ degrees. Three hundred what? Eep! *calming down realizing it's as simple as "cook until hard crack phase"* Ok, that I can do. But just for curiosity's sake, what *is* the magical number?

I just had the balls on top and on the sides. I can't take credit for scattering the balls on the table. That was the Trevor's (the photographer) idea. It was for a shoot for Philly Style Magazine and while he was shooting the cake, I was helping the art director with another cake project so I didn't even know what Trevor was doing. When I went back into the studio and saw them scattered, I was like, "Wow! Why didn't I think of that?" If I had the money, I would make 30 dummies and have him do all the photography. His work is amazing and he's great to work with. I love your Idea of Awesomeness. Now I'm thinking: sugar 2D shapes (circles, squares, rectangles) on the top and some scattered like rather large pieces of confetti around the base. Wait, no. I can't do that. The base is going to be dark orange-y wood so being that the sugar will be transparent, the wood will show through. I was even thinking to glue sugar pieces on the cake instead of doing the shapes in fondant, but again, with blue and brown fondant, it wil show throught. DAMMIT! (Haha, boy am I going to be known as the "circles and squares" lady). Well, I am definitely using this idea on an all white cake where color showing through won't be a problem. Ok, so I am back to my original idea with just "glass" on top. Thank you for your compliment. You're seriously making me blush. I have a contact page up, but that's it for now. I'm getting my branding worked on and as soon as that's all done, my website will get worked on too (and it will be announced to the world). I've never wanted to pidgeon hole myself, but I keep coming back to pre-school basics of circles and squares. Even the cake I did for the Cakewalk was all circles and squares. Especially the latter. I love moasics, plain tiles, graph paper, the squares on sidewalks... I just love squares. Maybe b/c I am one?

Ah yes! I did this once before on a 4th of July Cake several years ago. But unfortunately, with the humidity and lack of time, I won't be able to pull it off for this Saturday. Thanks for reminding me of this. When I have some down time, I should just make a bunch and keep them on hand for last minute orders. Cheap, but striking!

Yes, I was thinking of rounds and squares/rectangles too. My husband and I just moved so I have to dig up my silicone. I was thinking to cast some molds and pouring the sugar in the molds. Yes, I will definitely post the pic (well... if it comes out ok). Hehe. *blush* I love the idea of colored sugar "glass" -- perhaps rectangular and round shards, rather than random shapes, to further tie in the design? I love the sketch and dearly hope you plan to post a picture of the finished work!! ←

There won't be any flowers on the cake. They want it to look very modern, just like the lounge it's going to be in. There won't be any flowers in the room. I had thought of boxes as well, but was afraid it may look too "baby block" looking. I guess b/c I've done little gumpaste baby blocks on cakes before so it's stuck in my head to see it that way. And yeah, tylose in fondant or gumpaste all the way! I will be adding dark chocolate fondant to all the colors to have warm hues. When chocolate isn't an option, I do the same as you and add a bit of brown in there. Thanks for your suggestions!

Oooo! I am LOVING this idea! I had to meet with the bride today and mentioned it to her and she liked it too. Thank you!

How funny that you should mention origami! I grew up in Hawaii and in kindergarten and 1st grade, I went to Japanese school after regular school. Between Japanese culture being so much a part of living there and going to Japanese school, I did quite a bit of origami. Unfortunately, all I can remember is how to make paper cranes. I'm headed to the craft store today. I'll take a peek and see if they have some books to refresh my memory. The bigger challenge will be if I can find paper in complimentary colors. Sometimes all that's available are multi-colored prints and I would be surprised if there was something using these colors! So with that in mind, if there are any other suggestions, keep em coming!

Here's a sketch of a cake I'll be making for this Saturday. This has all been last minute and with that in mind, the sketch was just approved today by the bride and she wants some kind of topper. We brainstormed and she suggested a pyramid, but if I think of something better, I have the go-ahead to make it. Everything is drawn to scale. The rectangle that's drawn around the cake is the "window" it will be sitting in. The colors in the room are brown, burnt red, and burnt orange. Very warm colors and an orange-colored wood (I am getting a cake stand to closely match the wood grain and stain). The bridesmaids are in assorted shades of blue so that's where the blues come in on the cake. All the square and round appliques will be in all of those colors (there are lots of square and round shapes in the room). The dimensions are: 4" round, 5" square, 9" round, 10" square, and 11" x 15" rectangle of varying heights. Everything covered in fondant. Any ideas for something that will fit on a 4" cake, won't take too long to dry or assemble, and goes with the theme? I was thinking to just do a bunch of spheres, but I already did that on this cake which I got pretty well known for around these parts so I don't want to seem like I'm repeating myself, especially since I'm already doing round cutouts even though the cut outs on my cake for this weekend will be in varied colors and some will be rings too, not just solid circles and not all will be textured the same way (some smocked, some smooth since there are assorted textures in the room as well).

Doesn't Albert Uster have a product like this? When I was still attending L'Academie, we went next door for a demo with Susan Notter and she used some gelatinous goop in her ganache (and some other things) to make them shiny. I think it may also have prevented cracking.

Your flowers are beautiful and wow! Doing it with a baby tugging on you. That's skill. *thumbs up*

I haven't been able to find them at any size at all! Where did you find the 15" ones? I would fold those into fours and have four 7-1/2" ones over cutting them from a roll.

Vegans don't eat honey because honey is an animal by-product. I'm a lacto-vegetarian (= vegetarian plus no eggs) due to religious reasons. I haven't known a single non-veg acquaintance to *cater* to a veg*n minority, so I'd like to know who your friends are who do and tell them to invite me over anytime! Anytime I attend a function, I tell my hosts not to go out of his/her way and I eat beforehand and ask if they'd like me to bring a dish to share. But I find they want to offer me more than a salad and cheese and crackers b/c they are being gracious hosts; they invited me into their home for a meal and therefore want me to have a whole meal like everyone else. I've been a vegetarian for 14 years that by this point, it's second nature. I know what I can and can't eat and don't expect others to memorize the list. I don't think any veg*n should. I used to make those kinds of cookies you speak of when I worked at Whole Foods b/c they wanted to kill a few birds with one stone (prune puree = reduces fat; oil instead of margarine = keeps the no trans-fat crowd happy; whole wheat flour = who the hell knows???), but what you end up with is a compromise on taste and texture. Anyway you can add margarine instead and get a better cookie? As for a vegan pudding, yes, it's possible. Some aren't bad either. ---- One thing that was touched on in this thread is "vegan sugar". All that means is that the sugar was not processed with bone-char. As far as I know, this is not a method used in the UK and Europe anymore, but about 25% of sugar manufacturers in the US still do. Beat sugar is not processed with bone-char.

Woo hoo! Thank you Keith!

I've never noticed this before so I went to look at the ones in my dry storage. They look bright green to me, but with some brown patches here and there which look like left over skin stuck on. I buy them from Indian grocery stores in the pre-packaged bulk section. The one I go to charges $4.50/pound, though if you bought it in larger quantities, I'm sure they'd cut you a deal.

Hey Manang Maria! Just wanna say hi! (It's me... Vedika!)

I was born and raised in Hawaii and our neighbor's Hayden mango tree hovered over the property line... :D The only things I really do with mangos on a regular basis are mango cheesecake and mango curd. I once made a mango/pineapple/lime sorbet from the Williams-Sonoma site and it was stellar. I ditto the mango lassi, but I also like it in milkshakes and shrikand. Even though I'm from Hawaii, I've never put it in a quickbread and didn't know anyone who did, but I'm going to try that this weekend! A pastry chef friend of mine made a mango poundcake. Richard, I'm just curious: what kind of mangos did you buy? At the Vietnamese markets here in Philly, whenever they sell mangos by the flat, they're always Champagne mangos. They sell other variaties, but never by the flat...??? Don't get me wrong, I like champagne mangos, but just for eating (not in anything baked).

Ok, I definitely tossed it out (I just organized every piece of paper on or near my desk). Here is what I can remember, but the details are a little fuzzy (and some of this is just plain common sense)... -Let the fondant harden at least a week. -Drive a dowel down the middle. -Pack in box with packing peanuts. -Put box in another box with packing peanuts (this is where it gets fuzzy, but that all seems to make sense). -Place something heavy at the bottom so the carriers are less likely to turn it upside down. -Label it "THIS SIDE UP^^^". -And while you can't buy a seat, it *can* go with your lugguage. I'm sure if you call ahead, you can make special arrangements for special handling. Hopefully someone else on here who did the Cakewalk can clarify.

BRIDES provided us with directions on how to ship the cake to the studio. I'll see if I still have mine and I'll gladly mail them to you. Though since I drove my cake, I might have thrown the directions away. I spoke to several airlines about buying a seat to ship a cake. There is a federal law that you cannot do that. Buying an additional seat is only allowed for extra large passengers or if you are transporting a large musical instrument. This was verified with Southwest Airlines, Continental, and if I'm not mistaken, United...?

Most places require about 6 weeks' notice, but reenicakes.com could probably do it in a pinch. Her topper prices are reasonable (in fact, TOO reasonable!... I've told her many times to up her prices) and they look great.

That's the same stuff I use! :)

Hi Wendy! You remember me, right? From ChefTalk? Lotus Cake Studio/Vedika. And thanks for the welcome. :)

I had a really busy weekend too, but ack! We keep ALMOST meeting! Yes, one day!

Thank you! :) Pale blue/aqua is one of my favorite colors. I saw a shirt on the Escada website that was white with pale aqua and khaki argyle and fell in love. I had to make it in cake.