Bling in the New Year!

Photo courtesy of member Jenny Ma, owner Jenny Cakes NYC

Why not ring in the New Year with a bling cupcake? Delish bling cupcakes are just one of the treats at Jenny Cakes NYC. Jennifer Ma was trained at the  Culinary Institute of America  and has done work for Nickelodeon.

Happy NewYear!

This festive tired cake was made by Megumi Suzuki, one of our international members in Japan. Check out her awesome cakes at her website Yonoji + Cakes, Custom Cake Designs. I would just love a slice of this cake.

FREE CLASS GIVEAWAY & Icing Smiles Fundraiser at Pink Cake Box!

Those of you who know me well, know that I am committed to support any worthy organization that helps children in need.

Chef Anne Heap, Pink Cake Box, is partnering with Icing Smiles again and hosting a Fundraiser. Go to Pink Cake Box's website, vote for your favorite cake posted for  chance at winning a free class. For every vote they receive, Pink Cake Box will donate $1 dollar to Icing Smiles with a maximum of $1,000 dollars! Volunteer to bake for Icing Smiles, donate some of your cake cash, or VOTE for free by clicking this link.

Extreme Sugar Art Workshops with Kaysie Lackey!

Kaysie Lackey is the queen of  gravity defying cakes. Having won numerous cake challenges and being renowned for her artistry and originality. The talented cake artist is teaching her techniques in structure, painting and modeling chocolate.

 

January 14 - 15, 2012: "The Butler" workshop is an excellent way for you to learn how to use modeling chocolate to make vivid, exciting characters and combine them with armature design to create jaw dropping works of art. You will learn methods for carving cake into unusual shapes, sculpting features into characters and micro-painting.

Kaysie Lackey winner of Food Network Challenges: Extreme Villain Cakes Paranomal Cakes and Smurf Cakes in 2011.

January 17-19, 2012- Learn how to construct gravity defying cakes. You will use fondant, gumpaste and marzipan for this cake design. You will paint on your fondant creation and walk away with a completed cake after 3 days. You will be able to re-use the internal structure and will also have the necessary skill set to make your own gravity defying cake structure again.

If you've seen it on television and wanted to learn the do's and don'ts then Kaysie is probably the best person to teach you. With her expertise in gravity defying cakes and structures you'll be able to learn the A-Z of Cake construction.


The Kaysie Lackey Workshops will take place at Mother of Cakes Sugar and Cake Academy in PA. Host/Owner Tanveer Walli can be contacted at Mother of Cakes or Facebook [Cake Mechanic] for further information.

Season's Greetings!

Photo courtesy of Rafael 

This adorable snowman with presents cake was designed and decorated by member Rafael.  This talented teen is so passionate about cake decorating that he started his own custom cake business in PA!

Ho Ho Ho! SugarVeil's Gingerbread Recipe and Templates!

I received a really cool gingerbread recipe and templates from SugarVeil and thought I would pass it along to my readers.

Julie Bashore visited NYC Cake Decorators and gave a spectacular workshop on SugarVeil (R).  If you haven't tried sugarveil, you don't know what you're missing! Let me know if you tried the gingerbread recipe or either of the projects.  Happy Holidays!

Spicy SugarVeil(R) Gingerbread People
(Makes a Family of About 20 - 8" People)

Download the pattern for the Gingerbread People and the 3-D Trees here.
Mix spices & sugars: 

• 1 Tbl. ginger
• 1 Tbl. mace
• 1 Tbl. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1 tsp. anise
• 1 tsp. cloves
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dk. brown sugar, packed

Cream: 

• 1 cup softened butter with the above on medium speed until fluffy

Add: 

• 2 tsp. baking soda, dissolved into 2 Tbl. water
• 1 cup light molasses

Beat until smooth. Mix in gradually: 

• 4 1/2 cups flour

Divide dough into thirds. Placing a sheet of wax paper over dough, roll dough 1/8" thick directly onto parchment sheets. Place pattern onto dough and cut along outside of pattern with sharp, narrow knife tip, taking care not to cut thru parchment sheet. Move pattern and repeat until entire dough sheet is cut. "Weed" scraps of dough around shapes.

Continue rolling dough/scraps as above until all the dough is used. Allow cut shapes to rest (room temperature is fine) overnight.

The next day, place parchment sheet with cut shapes onto baking tray. Bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool on tray.

Cupcake Ornament Class at NY Cake!

NY Cake Academy will hold a 2 hr. cupcake ornament class at NY Cake on December 10th and December 24th. The cupcakes, fondant, and gumpaste will be provided in the class. Students will make 6 different cupcake ornaments in class!  NY Cake is located at 56 W. 22nd Street [between 5th and 6th Avenues], New York NY 10021, 212-675-2253.

Sweet Fashion: Clothes Made from Chocolate and Royal Icing

You heard about the annual Chocolate Show in Manhattan but have your heard about pastry Chef Christos Vergados' Sweet Fashion Show? The exhibition took place in Greece earlier this year. The edible clothes and accessories are made of chocolate, candy, sugar, bread, and royal icing.

December 2011 Cake of the Month - Reader Showcase!

Photo courtesy of cake designer Roxanne Hernandez.

This stunning gumpaste shoe and shoebox cake was made by one of my readers, cake designer Roxanne Hernandez.  Roxanne is a self taught cake artist, having only taken a few sugar flower classes.  Her custom designed Christian Louboutin crystal pump is extremely detailed along with the hand painted logo on the shoe box cake.

Although the pump is made from gumpaste it is not edible as the sugar paste pump is decorated with real Swarovksi crystals. Roxanne created the mold/shoe design and placed every single crystal on the shoe one-by-one to give it the realism of the real shoe. Check out Roxanne's other amazing cakes at her website, Amazingly Delicious Desserts.

Roxanne grew up in Brooklyn and is proud of her Dominican heritage.  I look forward to sharing her recipe for Dominican Cake in the near future. If you would like to submit a cake or sugar art related article or digital photo for Cake of the Month, please contact me.

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

This sweet turkey cake was made by member Janet Ben-Ami.  Janet is a master 3D cake sculptor.

Eiffel Tower Cake Workshop with Mike McCarey!

The 4-Day Workshop with Mike McCarey and Lauren Kitchens was FABULOUS! 100% of those attending loved, loved, loved the worshops: Mike McCarey was truly amazing as he explained in fine detail the thinking process involved with planning a 3D cake.  Here is a peek of an Eiffel Tower cake being made during class.

Special thanks again to Mike McCarey and Buddy Valastro for making the venue (Buddy's Lackawanna Center) possible.

Character Sculpting 101 with Lauren Kitchens and Mike McCarey!

Character Sculpting 101 with Lauren Kitchens and Mike McCarey was BIG fun! Members were overwhelmed with the spectacular kitchen space at Buddy Valestro's ("Cake Boss") Lackawanna Center facility where all Meetups with Mike and Lauren are being held. I heard nothing but accolades about the focused and thorough instruction by Mike and Lauren, and as an extra special treat, members were able to chat and take photos with Mauro Castano, Carlos Bakery ("Cake Boss").

Lauren Kitchens and Mike McCarey headline NYC Cake Decorators first 4-Day hands-on workshops. Registrants came as far as Washington DC and Tennessee,  and Zacharoula Christou, owner of Sugar Designs, flew from Greece to take today's class! Now that's someone crazy about cake!

Our sincerest thanks to Mike and Buddy for the availability of the Lackawana Center, and to Assistant Organizers Ayana Brantley  and Marisol Cuevas for their outstanding coordination of this event!

Deli Garage Edible Food Finish Spray

German based company Deli Garage has come up with a bunch of new edible products. Their edible food finish spray lets you coat your cookies, cupcakes, and, yes, chicken in a coat of red, blue, silver, or gold. Now you can have your golden goose and eat it too! Check out the original post at Gizmag for more information.