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Mother's Day Cakes


Tepee

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Would love to see your Mother's Day cake, whether it's for your mom, yourself, storebought, buttercream, fondant or dessert cake.

Did this little 2 1/4-inch cake for my mother. She doesn't like cakes, but I'm sure she won't mind something pretty. The colors are a bit weird (and what's the huge flower doing there?) but I wanted to reflect a bygone era. Rich fruit cake inside.

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Will be doing a few more in this teapot series next week....

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Tepee that is a beautiful cake. I think the colours are just right. I can't wait to see your other teapots.

Unfortunately, my mother is in the US, so I won't be able to make her a cake.

Edited by Swisskaese (log)
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Tepee, that is beautiful and so dainty tiny at two & a quarter inches. That beautiful flower is there to take a gorgeous presentation over the top -- beautiful heartfelt work!!! Artistry that exquisitely depicts Mother's Day's sentiments/nostalgia.

You're awesome and your Mom is blessed.

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I was really pressed for time this year. I had only had this week to prepare for 500 brunch guests...........while I was accomplishing my regular duties. I didn't do any fancy decorated cakes, at all. I pulled some royal icing flowers out of my cabinet and slapped them on my cakes helter skelter. I had to round out the rest of my buffet with easy fast items, like cookies and cookie bars. Oh, I also do coffee cakes and such.......but thats just normal stuff.

My chef had requested (months ago) I do a shoe themed table..........I sweaked out just enough time to make some rough shoes this week, but I never found time to make something to place them on. I almost forgot to put them out this morning and just stuck them on my shelf as is.

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Earily on, my manager asks me if so-and-so can have one of my chocolate plastic shoes after the party. Fine. Then less then an hour later she comes back to me to tell me some older women actually took a shoe on her plate and took a bite out of it. Then about another hour later the second shoe of that set disapeared............... What's with these people.............sheesh, you don't eat the flowers on your table do you? We hovered over the second pair of shoes for the rest of the event so I'd have something left of my display and to give to the women who politely asked for them.

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After you shared your blog with us, Wendy, I can certainly appreciate how tight your schedule is. Don't blame the ladies eyeing your shoes...they certainly look good (and pretty) enough to eat!

Thanks, Michelle and Kate, for your very kind words. My mother loved it so much, she didn't have the heart to eat it. She says she'll bring it to her mahjong session next week to show her friends. :rolleyes:

Now, where are the Mother's Day cakes? :huh:

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Earily on, my manager asks me if so-and-so can have one of my chocolate plastic shoes after the party. Fine. Then less then an hour later she comes back to me to tell me some older women actually took a shoe on her plate and took a bite out of it. Then about another hour later the second shoe of that set disapeared............... What's with these people.............sheesh, you don't eat the flowers on your table do you? We hovered over the second pair of shoes for the rest of the event so I'd have something left of my display and to give to the women who politely asked for them

Gosh, can I get a pair of the pink stripey ones in a 10?????? Way awesome so cool!! Beautiful work--may I ask do have anything in there for support?? And you might wanna consider moonlighting in shoe design when we get 32 hour days.

Wendy, I'm so sorry those ladies ate your beautiful work--But at the same time I'm irreverently laughing my head off because that is too funny. I can just picture this lady who is in turn envisioning her last corn, picking it up gingerly, turning it back and forth questioningly and then zealously biting the toe off :laugh: Next time, consider maybe setting your work on plates turned upside down to avoid any further confushoe-on... :rolleyes:

Great stuff, Wendy, beautiful work--(insert clapping hands smilie faces here)

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Wendy, the shoes look fantastic, I have an old story that is pretty similar. I had made a basket and fake breads from salt dough for a buffet. The next week I went in the chef's office and saw a croissant from the display in there, I asked the chef why it was there. He was French so imagine his thick accent saying this to me. "Some old fool took it and tried to eat it, then complained that our breads were stale." That croissant must have weighed five pounds, when the chef gave it back to me it had two little teeth marks on it. It's hard to believe how silly people can be. Thanks for sharing your talent with us. I would post photos but don't have a scanner or digital, maybe soon.

check out my baking and pastry books at the Pastrymama1 shop on www.Half.ebay.com

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Here's mine. Sorry for the crappy photo:

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My niece was born on Mother's Day 16 years ago (ugh - where does the time go?), so we do a dual celebration every year. My family understands that they're more than likely going to be guinea pigs for some experiment, and this year was no exception.

3 layers of Wendy's banana cake alternating with 2 disks of hazelnut meringue, lightly sprayed with chocolate to keep it crisp. All sandwiched with a cream cheese buttercream to which I added some passionfruit puree at the last minute. With the extra bits left over after assembly, I made a smaller, non-decorated version of the same to take to a stitch-n-bitch last night, and the "yum" sentiment was unanimous.

For the exterior, I'm supposed to be leading an informal workshop on rolled buttercream next week, and I hadn't touched the stuff in years. Figured I'd get a little practice in so that I'm at least 1/2 step ahead of the folks I'm supposedly leading. ;) Covered the cake, did some crimping, embossing, and painting (it's hard to see, but I painted a lot of lustery effects -- very Colette-ish). The stuff works ok, but I won't be switching from fondant any time soon.

I'm fairly sure that none of the flowers on the cake is less than 4 years old. :wink: ;) I dug through the "extras" box, and those are what I came up with.

B. Keith Ryder

BCakes by BKeith

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Well, my daughters turned 5 and had their party this weekend so anniversary and Mother's Day simply don't rate! But here is what I made them...

This is my slumping chocolate frosting problem cake!!

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Some mother at one of the other two parties going on said this cake made her feel quite inadequate. Oops.

And here is another one that I did that sort of rates as a Mother's Day cake... I was practicing roses, bows, colored fondant, etc. So I made this 6" present.

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I'm getting there but I realize I have a long way to go yet!

Josette

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Love the teapot cake, the shoes and the niece's birthday cakes! I bet that 2" cake is something to see in scale. And who would have the nerve to eat a shoe???? How gauche :biggrin:

And what the heck is rolled buttercream? I've seen references to it but have no idea how that would actually work. Lucky niece to have you experimenting on her! My family gets that too....

Josette

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Wow, Josette, your cakes are beautiful! (Even with the slumping problem). You don't give yourself nearly enough credit.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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And what the heck is rolled buttercream? I've seen references to it but have no idea how that would actually work.

Essentially, equal parts shortening and corn syrup, a little flavoring, and enough sugar to make a consistency stiffer than a spreading buttercream but softer than rolled fondant. The recipe I have calls for 1 cup corn syrup, 1 cup Crisco, 2 lbs powdered sugar, plus a little lemon and orange oil and a touch of salt. I went half-and-half Crisco and butter, and the additional water from the butter didn't seem to bother it too much.

To roll it, you sandwich it between two sheets of heavy upholstery plastic. Roll it to size, crumbcoat the cake, peel off one sheet of plastic, ivert the plastic with the rolled buttercream adhering over the cake, peel off the plastic, and smooth it down with your hands. I believe my batch may have been just a tad too soft, as I had to fight with it a bit to get the second piece of plastic off, and had to dust it with powdered sugar in order to smooth it without sticking to it. The consistency coming out of the mixer seemed to fit the description in the recipe, but a little more powdered sugar kneaded in wouldn't have hurt.

My problems with it:

. Even half-and-half, there was too much Crisco. It felt greasy in the mouth

. All that corn syrup made it kind of chewy

. Harder to work with than fondant. I probably rolled it thinner than most practioners of rolled buttercream do. The recipe said it would cover a 9" cake with a little left over. I covered an 8" cake and had at least half the batch left.

The stuff is billed as having the best aspects of both rolled fondant and shortening-based buttercream, but I found it had the negative aspects people associate with both with no real benefits over either. But that's just my humble opinion. :wink:

B. Keith Ryder

BCakes by BKeith

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Beautiful cakes everyone!! Tepee, the teapot is just adorable- well the whole setting is too. Wonderful work as always! Wendy, the shoes are just incredible! Wow! What a site it must have been to see all those beautifully created chocolate shoes! Incredible to think someone would take a bite from one! JSkilling, both of your cakes are just lovely! Your daughter must have been thrilled with the castle and the present cake, and flowers are simply elegant! BKeith- beautiful cake as always, and it sounds delicious!

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Thanks, Sharon. (((Hugs)))

Thanks, BKeith, for all the details on rolled BC. Don't think I should try it in humid Msia. Despite its tricky texture, you've managed to do very ornate details on your cake. Wow, your flowers certainly retained its color intensity even after 4 years!

Josette, it hasn't been too long since you dove into cake-decorating and, from your beautiful cakes, you've really shot up the learning curve. Great job!

Would anyone else treat us to more eye candies? :smile:

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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May I make a request?:

Can we have a sticky at the top of the forums page, with a tutorial on posting pictures?

I know you recently instructed someone on how to do that, but I have no clue what thread it was in. Thanks, Wendy. I'd love to share a picture or two.

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I didn't bake this one, we got this from a local French patissier here in New Jersey:

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It is a light almond sponge with orange syrup, champagne mousse and orange coulis. You could really taste the champagne in this one.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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Beautiful work, Josette. You should be proud! My 6-year old would love that castle-looking cake. Bkeith, your cake rocks too!

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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Jgarner, thanks! I meant that there is so much to it that I still have to learn. As an artist, the design part is coming quickly and the sugar work is getting easier to figure out. The cakes taste awesome from my baking experience - and all the great recipes learned here - but the structure and architecture of making tiered things work well is where I need to learn the ropes. Thanks for the kind words!

Teepee, yes I did just dive in in my typical way. These were my 4th and 5th cakes so I'm happy with the way things are looking. This is very fun but very, very time consuming so I intend to stay very high end. Once I figure out my architectural problems I'm going to be doing wedding samples. Fun!

Patrick, I was heavily influenced by our trip to Disney - aka Princess Heaven - this week. The girls had asked for a castle cake so we had Tinker Bell party supplies in pink and purple with castle shaped cookie favors. This was a little girl's delight but you know the funniest thing is the 16 year olds who worked the gym party wanted me to make one for their sweet sixteen! So these castles may have more appeal to them than I imagined! I will have to figure out how to properly support them!

Josette

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Thanks, Jason, for posting that scrumptious-looking cake and describing the components. As usual, it's food porn. Yum!!!! I love the rose abstract on white chocolate hearts. Cool idea.

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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My mother loved it so much, she didn't have the heart to eat it. She says she'll bring it to her mahjong session next week to show her friends. :rolleyes:

That's really cool, I think you need to make the ladies a cake to eat at that viewing too (so when Mom is bragging they can swoon over the taste too). It's a beautiful cake Tepee! I wish I could have seen it in person too. You just can't appreciate the difficulty of the scale of your cake in a photo. I also like your color choices...........very modern yet traditional. By the way, what exactly does your lettering say? Is that happy mothers day or something else?

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tepee,

your teapot is beautiful! how ironic, i'm making a teapot tonight for a customer, hope it turns out half as nice as yours!

wendy, your shoes are amazing! i made a shoebox/shoe for my grandmother out of fondant with a pound cake underneath it, i wanted to put a "back" on the shoe but couldn't figure out how to do it. i especially love the pink shoes! care to explain how you did it? :smile:

here is my picture :biggrin:

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i'm new at posting pictures, thanks grub and tepee, so i haven't figured out how to post more than one at a time yet! anyways, this is the LV purse i made for my mom for mother's day.

btw, love all your cakes, look great! :biggrin:

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Wendy, did you use an actual shoe to form the curve of your shoes?  Very clever.

You can see what I used and details about it here.

To post photos, check this out. The one thing that stumped me about posting photos was that the size of the photo must be at or under 640 pixels. I didn't have or know how to use any of my software on my computor to change my image sizes. I wound up installing a more sophisicated photo editing program then what came with my camera. But I know there are free software downloads you can use on the net, which you may have to download to edit your photos. Our Technical Support Forum contains alot of info. on this topic. That forum is on our main page lower then our Pastry & Baking Forum.

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Oh my gosh...........here they come Tepee, everyone just needed a little rest before they posted.

So much to say............Keith............you did that in rolled buttercream! Unless they've tried it, no one can appreciate how well done your cake is. I couldn't even get it on a cake with-out leaving horrible imprints.

I like your shoes better then mine Dailey......and you have to share how you did your striping on your shoe box? and did you stencil on your purse cake pattern after the fondant was applied to the cake or before?........is that silver dust painted on? The stripes/pattern on my shoes are just strips of different colored chocolate plastic laided next to each other then rolled out to become one sheet.

Jason, I want a taste of that cake! .......does that bakery have a website?

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