Crazy Cake Week

Hello All! The last few weeks have passed and the time has presented itself for me to post another item. You all have to find some time to check the following blog out: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/  I can spend hours looking at the photos on his site and feeling sick that there are people out there destroying the name of "cake decorator".
  Mind you - over the years I have seen many cakes: both by clients who have brought me their bought disasters to fix and by pastry chefs who didn't have the time or the inclination to do things right - yes...you know who you are!

  My latest edition to the cake world of note was a copy from an American bakery called: http://www.pinkcakebox.com/ - I had clients contact me to see if I could reproduce their cake design. Strangely enough it wasn't because they were Tim Burton fans or had even seen the movie "The Corpse Bride" but more because they liked the design of the cake! They told me it was down to this cake or an "Aliens" cake! Personally, I looove Burtons' work and cherish the thought that people out there are getting married to his work!
  At the moment I'm designing a Jack Skeleton birthday cake from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"...this is what makes my job all the more worthwhile!
  Even though not all cakes are this creative - there are others like this chocolate design which are pretty and have people complimenting the work when they pop by to collect their own cake orders.

The client who collected this cake had the most extraordinary reaction ever - she screamed at the top of her lungs and I was sure she saw something she detested. However it was the complete opposite - she explained how she had been worried about the cake design and this cake was perfect - everything she had wanted. This makes my day when I get feedback immediately from the customer as well as emails or cards thanking me for a job well done.

For the following cake, the customer contacted me on-line expressing her wishes to give her husband a cake relating to his love for his favourite team. She sent me the link to their website and I found the squad logo. I was impressed with the colours and the way the cake worked out as I originally wanted to applique all the items on the cake - sometimes it's good to have artistic skills and to revert to the original way I was taught to decorate a cake. Using my creativity rather than cutting and pasting or what a lot of bakeries do now with rice paper and edible inks. Personally the flavour of rice paper is equal to the 'bread' handed out during church - it sticks to the roof of your mouth and tastes gross!

  I believe the human race relies too much on quick easy fixes rather than cultivating the original methods which were used for years before technology took over.
  We've given up teaching our apprentices and work staff to use more than 100% of their imaginations and skills - to strive to be better rather than relying on computers or bought supplies to do the work. The younger generation gets lazier and has more attitude towards us than I ever remember having when I first started in the hospitality industry.
  But then do you really care about my opinions of the 'WHY' generation?
  I'll be off and post some more asap. Have a fantastic week!

An Egg-cellent Easter

Another Easter has come and gone...it feels quicker every year. This year was filled with Wedding cakes and Chocolate wonders. Even R2D2 made an appearance!

  With the economic crisis slowly disappearing, customers are merging out of the woodwork and buying up for their special occasions. But the money situation has definitely made them more discerning. No longer will they just dish out money for their local bakery or chain store if they can get personal service and value from elsewhere.

  Please forgive any blunders made on this blog - I'm still getting a feel for it and how it all works.