Spring Cake Designs

The wine and fruit basket cake was designed and decorated by Helen, Helen's Cakes, LLC.

This stunning wine and fruit basket cake is the perfect dessert for your spring event.

More Easter Cake Ideas

Egg cake designed and decorated by Grace.

Easter Bonnet Hat Cake designed and decorated by Yvette

Stumped for a message for your holiday cakes? Here are some ideas:

Egg-cited for Easter
Happy Springtime
Bunny Love
Ears to You
A Very Bunny Day

Cake Decorating Time and Cost-Saving Tips

This beautiful baby cake was decorated by Shauna.

Let's face it, times are rough--even for us cake designers. Our members are great at sharing ways to save money with sugar art:

1. Use a cheap kitchen cabinet space saver to dry gumpaste flowers. - Dina
2. Wet and wring clean old towels and use in place of store bought baking strips. - Jessie
3. Make your own cake release by mixing equal parts of flour, shortening, and vegetable oil. - Jessie.
   
4. Fondant rolling pins are often expensive and are too small for large jobs. Take a trip to Home Depot or Lowe's plumbing aisle and pick up a piece of PVC pipe long enough to cover a large cake.- Dianna L.
   
5. Pick up a piece of clear vinyl from a fabric store to cover your working surface. You can use this to help pick up a large piece of fondant to drape your cake without sticking your fingers through it. Another thing is if you fold it in half and roll out your fondant in between it - it helps keep your fondant from drying as you roll it out. - Dianna
   
6. When not in use, a long bread tin can be used as a flower former. - Lynn
7. During your downtime, makes lots of buds and flowers in one color (such as white or light pastel). When you need to decorate a cake, airbrush or dust those stored flowers with color to suit the occasion. - Jessie
   

Gumpaste Peony Class with Chef Ruth Drennan

Members proudly showing off their gumpaste peonies with Chef Ruth Drennan (back row R), Ruth Drennan Cakes

Iva's gumpaste peony

The Gumpaste Peony Class with Chef Ruth Drennan, Ruth Drennan Cakes, was a lot of fun! Ruth is a very patient instructor with a relaxed style that made it easy to learn the flower. She graciously shared behind the scenes information about her experiences on "Amazing Wedding Cakes" with former Cake Atelier partner, Lauri Ditunno, and tips and hints to improve our gumpaste work. One helpful tip is to purchase a cheap white knee-high stocking and use it to hold cornstarch. Works like a charm! Why not join us at our future meetups? For more information, contact Dina, NYC Cake Decorators Meetup.

See you there!

Dina

Easter Cake Ideas

Easter Egg Cake created by member Dianna Lopez

The sweet little egg-shaped cake and tiered cake would be appreciated at any Easter or spring celebration. Hand painted fondant and airbrushed accents make both cakes quite special.

Toba Garrett to Conduct Workshop June 2009!

We are honored to announce that Chef Toba Garrett has agreed to conduct a Brush Embroidery Workshop with NYC Cake Decorators in June 2009. Anyone who is passionate about cake decorating knows that Chef Toba is a master cake designer and sugar artist and instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City. During her remarkable career, Chef Toba's works have appeared in In Style, Gourmet, Essence, and Sugarcraft Magazines, and her works have appeared in several books. She has also appeared on "Emeril Live!", "B. Smith with Style" and was one of eighteen master chefs chosen to create a showpiece for the 150th birthday celebration of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Chef Toba has also won many international awards, eight gold medals, three bronze medals, and is the author of several books, including but not limited to one of my personal favorites, The Well-Decorated Cake. The book is chock full of hints and tips which elevate cake decorating, and precise piping in particular, to an art. Toba also has quite a few recipes in the book. To get a sneak peak, the following is one of the fabulous recipes for Dominican Cake. To find out how to make the delish meringue icing that tops the cake--you'll just have to purchase your own copy!

Dominican Cake

Courtesy of Toba Garrett, The Well-Decorated Cake

Ingredients
1 lb unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sufar, less 3 Tbsp to use later
4 cups cake flour
12 extra large egg yolks and 4 extra large egg whites (Put aside the 8 extra large whites for the icing)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp light rum
1 Tbsp Dominican vanilla, Bourbon, or Madagascar vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk or pineapple juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two 10-inch pans, brushed with butter and lined with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter on LOW speed (2 minutes). Add the sugar and cream for 3 minutes. Stop, scrape the bow, and cream for an additional 2 minutes. The mixture should be light and creamy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Sift the mixture twice. Meanwhile in another separate bowl, mix milk (or juice), rum, and vanilla together and hold it aside.
4. On LOW speed, add yolks one at a time to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Mix until the yolks disappear. Alternatively, add the flour and the liquid mixture in three turns, starting with the flour. Add lemon zest and mix an additional 30 seconds.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the 4-extra large egg whites until stiff (but not too dry) about 3 minutes on HIGH speed. At the end of 2 minutes of beating, add the 3 tablesppons of sugar. Beat for an additional 60 seconds.
6. Carefully fold whites into the cake batter. Pour the batter into prepared pans (two-thirds full). Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 50 minuts, or until the cake slightly shrinks from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Dominican cake will last up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Dina

April 2009 Cake of The Month

Cake created by member Mary Lazarides

Mary Lazarides became obsessed with cake decorating last April and it's amazing what she has accomplished in such a short time! Mary owes her success to mastering all the Wilton Cake Decorating courses, classes with Colette Peters, Chef Lauri Ditunno at the French Culinary Institute, and Scott Clark Woolley. She plans to open her own custom cake business in the near future.

Sid Chidiac, Edible Chocolate Artist to Exhibit in Soho May 2009

Sid Chidiac, internationally known fine artist and painter of edible chocolate will have an exhibit of his chocolate works in Soho at 155 Sullivan Street corner Houston, New York NY on May 6, 2009 from 5:30pm until 8:30pm. Admisson is $10.00 and will include one of Sid's signed limited edition prints.

Gumpaste Hydrangeas - A Perfect Flower for Any Season

Gumpaste Hydrangeas created by Dina, Sugar Designs NYC

Hydrangeas are my favorite flower and in my opinion gumpaste hydrangeas, like roses, are the perfect flower for any season and color palette. I was trained by Scott Clark Woolley who is a genious at fashioning works of art from sugar. Scott's book, Cakes By Design, has a wealth of information about creating gumpaste flowers but also has helpful hints and recipes. If you haven't purchased Scott's book, I recommend it highly. To get a sneak peak, the following is one of Scott's signature cake recipes.

Enjoy!

Dina
Organizer

Carrot Raisin Walnut Cake
Courtesy Scott Clark Woolley

Preheat oven to 300F

Grate: 3/4 pound raw carrots

Place dry ingredients in mixer bowl and stir evenly:
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Turn off mixer. Add:

4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 of the grated carrots
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins

Mix at low speed, then beat for 2 minutes. Fold in remaining carrots. Pour into pans and bake for about 1 hours or until cake recedes from pan and is firm to the touch.

Mommy To Be Cake Ideas

Cake created by member Shameeka Silver-Berry, Berry Good Cakes

Spring is a time of new beginnings and a time for thinking about those cute little baby shower cakes. This mommy-to-be cake is a bright and sunny take on the baby shower cake and is created by Shameeka Berry.

Shameeka Silver-Berry, a loving wife and mother of 2, decided to become a cake decorator after her wedding five years ago when she was designing her own wedding cake . Her wedding was the spark that began her own love affair with cake decorating. Needless to say, Shameeka quickly began baking and decorating cakes for people in her neighborhood. To enhance her skills, Shameeka enrolled in the Wilton Method Cake Decorating classes and eventually started her part-time business, Berry Good Cakes. Her clientele ranges from large weddings, church events, and social gatherings. Specializing in fondant and gumpaste, her greatest enjoyment is when she creates custom shaped characters, baby and bridal showers, and birthday cakes. Shameeka is a member of the NYC Cake Decorators Meetup. If you wish to contact Shameeka, please contact Dina, Organizer.

Confetti Cakes Gift Box Cake Class

This sweet little cake box was created by member Yumi Lee

Members had a blast at Confetti Cakes Gift Box Class! Elisa is so patient and such a good teacher that members were able to duplicate her design with ease. The gift box cake is a very versatile design suitable for all types of celebrations.

Cake designed by member Natalie Johnson, owner, A World of Cakes, LLC

Colette's Chocolate Cake
courtesy Colette's Wedding Cakes

Colette's Wedding Cakes is a fabulous idea book and this is Colette's most popular cake.

Yields 6 cups of batter, enough to serve 20.

2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 cup milk, room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening 1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup hot, strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the sides and bottom of two 9-inch pans with shortening, then dust with flour. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the coffee. Mix at slow speed until blended, scraping the sides occasionally with a rubber spatula. Slowly add the coffee while mixing on low. Mix for about 1 minute, or until smooth. Do not overbeat. Place in the prepared pans. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on wire racks for about 20 minutes, then invert onto racks and remove pans. Cool completely.

Colette Peters travels thoughout the country giving classes in various techniques. To view her upcoming schedule of classes, visit Colette's Cakes.

Confetti Cakes - Carved Handbag Workshop

Elisa Strauss showing how to carve the handbag cake. Photo courtesy of Yumi Lee.

Members raved about Elisa's Create a Handbag Workshop and request NYC Cake Decorators to continue to book her classes. Even members with little experience in cake carving and fondant left Elisa's class with great results. This cute little purse is the perfect gift for Mother's Day, birthdays, or bridal shower favors.