Ocassionally there's a cake made here!

It seems like lately I've been so busy with things other than actual cakes. I'll go so far as to tell you I've actually been asked recently if I still make them! Of course I do! Here's a little peek at a cake from Halloween weekend for a surprise birthday party at the Red Mill Inn in Baldwinsville. The guest of honor's wife and MIL asked for a MacKenzie Childs-ish cake in square with fall colored sugar flowers and a hand cut guitar topper out of gum paste. I think we delivered. Hope you all had a great time, thanks again for your order Roxanne and Danielle, it was a pleasure!

Positively Pink Truffle Trees!

This past weekend I had the honor and pleasure of creating my yummy truffle trees for Bubbles and Baubles; a benefit event put on by Positively Pink Packages to provide continued funding for much needed care packages to recently diagnosed breast cancer patients. Founder and survivor Jennifer Tom hosted a fabulous champagne and dessert event at the Holiday Inn at Carrier Circle with a silent auction and this year there was also a casino room! I do wish we could have stayed to enjoy the event but it was a super busy weekend for us and it just wasn't in the cards.

Next year I hope to donate a cake or other wonderfully pink creation! So many wonderful items were donated by other businesses in and around the CNY area, show them your support! For more information about Positively Pink Packages, contact Jennifer Tom at Jenniferatom@aol.com.

Every girl's first cupcake should be this grand...

I had so much fun creating this little cutie, it was a real joy to design this cake for one of my favorite families (between mom and daughter #1 they've become welcomed regulars). The cake for Audrey's first birthday was based on a handful of photos that were sent to me and a copy of the invite - with a cupcake on it of course. We needed to pump up the colors just a tiny bit, and make the cupcake the focal point. I love that Audrey's mom let me sort of do my own thing with the cake within the idea range she sent me. They loved it!

Birthday girl was napping at delivery time so I'll have to wait to see her reaction in photos; I especially hope to see her with her very own little coordinating "smash cake" sitting to the side of the cake. I make those for every first birthday cake I do as my little gift - hey...gotta get 'em hooked young! ;-)

The bottom cake is a 4 layer 10" round Caramel Apple cake (one of my signature flavors) and the cupcake was made using a couple 6" layers, a 7", and half of a ball pan. No giant cupcake pan here, just a little carving and voila! Add some delicious butter cream, made from scratch fondant and a chocolate #1 and there you have it - a first birthday cupcake fit for a princess!

After delivering the cake, I took my own little cupcakes out for a great day of some very last minute back to school shopping. It was a terrific day all around!

Cheers!

Or should I say, "have a frosty one on me"?

A fun little cake for today's pick up. This little bugger(er...mugger?) is on it's way to a surprise party for the client's 80 year old mother.

I typically find out what the client or recipient likes to do for a hobby, or maybe even their occupation, or I'll ask for favorite colors or flowers, etc. We didn't really know what direction we were headed with this order, those questions were met with little response. When I asked what does she like to do..."she loves beer" was the response.

With a little laugh I suggested a big ol' beer mug and boy was I surprised when that comical idea was met with an overwhelming YES! Of course I wondered if this was the most tasteful way to go and the response was a very clear "have you met my mother?!"

Indeed I have...we think she'll like her cake. I hear it's been fun keeping the party a surprise. The countdown has started, we'll see if she is blown away by the effort her family made to make today special.

Of course she'll love it, who wouldn't? I love it when I can be part of such a terrific event, comical or sober (bad pun sorry). Clients who work hard to make an awesome surprise party for their mom....hey, I'll drink to that!

jackson + gwen = FUN CAKE

Just winding up some Gwen and just having fun with a cake this morning. The bride, an art teacher, sent me her color swatches and at one point a description of some splashes of color. Immediately I asked if she meant Jackson Pollock and she said yes! She gave me artistic freedom for how far to go.

Most of the time, I really like what I do. This morning, I loved it! I hope she loves it too, I'll find out when I deliver it.

This is my fist attempt at a video, so be kind. It's just a quickie fun look at my world;-)

Wearin' my baker's pride...

Hey check this out!
Recently I purchased and now am the proud owner of several concerned looks of passersby when they see me at first glance in my new tshirt from bakelove. It's comfy and wicked cute! And I just love it, but I guess I'll reserve wearing it for baking or other cake related events, since the moms at the park didn't quite share the love. LOL

I also recently had a tshirt or two of my own made up to display my affection for a certain well known baker...or rather the persona that millions of fans have grown to love. (And shhhh, don't tell anyone but quite a few cake artists have grown to love to hate. Okay, that's a strong word...we've grown tired of hearing "oooh, your cakes are like that guy on tv...you must watch the show!" ugh.) Yep. You know who I mean. Love him, love the show, love-love-love his staff; I am a fan, but come on, for every Food Network Ace, I could name hundreds just as talented but undiscovered artists. Frankly, I'd love my own Mary Alice...but that ain't gonna happen. LOL
So with much admiration and hilarity I debut for you my own little tshirt that I secretly wear under my hot pink hoodie on deliveries. And hey if I run into an irate fan...well I can just say I'm a bad golfer or lost a distant relative to a bad coal mining incident. (hey look it up, I did).

And then there's a tshirt next on my wish list; a tasteful word play on the milkshake line from that song LOL. When discussing this shirt recently, my 9 year old overheard the conversation and said I should go ahead and get it. Under my breath I muttered that I'd rather not have to explain the meaning of the phrase till she piped up with "but it's true Mommy and you should get it!" She's right, my cupcakes do bring all the boys to my yard...at least it brings the two little twins from down the street to my studio door on a weekly basis asking for scraps. I swear those two are like stray cats outside the fish monger's place! Add the twins (the boys...) to the other neighborhood kids and I'd have some serious truth in advertising with that shirt! So, maybe I will have to enlarge my tshirt collection. I see a habit forming, if I buy more, I'll blog it - you know, just to keep you abreast of the situation. This lovely shirt came from sugadeaux, you can get yours there.

That stand is the Boss, man!

So I finally did it...bought an awesome cupcake stand instead of making them all the time. Because let's face it, at some point one really just needs to eliminate unnecessary work and make things just a tiny bit easier. Picture me, planning and baking, baking and creating; wondering just how in the heck am I going to get that stand made for a last minute order when I am already neck high in sugar and butter?

Boss Manufacturing to the rescue!! I'd had them in the back of my mind for some time, but just put off buying anything in the past. I am so totally at the point where saving a buck does NOT always overrule my own time and effort. And really, sometimes it's ok to just buy it elsewhere...not to mention one tiny little detail...this stand is AWESOME!

I looked them up online at www.bossmanufacturing.com, I gave them a call very early in the morning expecting a machine to answer and low and behold I got a live person and Julie helped me place my order for this stand in silver powdercoat. I was done in less than 10 minutes and because I needed the stand right away we went with 3 day shipping...can I just tell you I got it in 2 days!

For the cupcake tree pictured above, I removed one of the plates, so they are slightly versatile in that way. The event planners that ordered the cupcakes loved the display and the stand itself. it's easy enough to dress it up just a bit if you like that sort of thing, but really it can totally stand on it's own.

So thanks Boss...your customer service and your stands rock!

This stand is now in my arsenal of items you can use with your cake orders or rent when it's available.

The evolution of a cake bite...

We've all seen them now; this once obscure little taste of ultimate cake and chocolaty goodness. We've even seen them take many a form.

From the fancy schmancy truffes de gateaux to the too cute for words cupcake pops from bakerella.

How about a butterfly? Why? Because I can silly! And so can you.

Make your favorite recipe of cake bite dough, but instead of rolling it in a ball use your rolling pin to make sheets of the dough about 3/8" thick (or more if your mouth is on the side of large). Then just use your favorite little butterfly cutter and cut your sheet of cake bite dough, chill, then dip. But...ahhh, the finishing touch...cut up some of your favorite chocolate transfer sheets to fit and lay your bite to set on the transfer. This lovely baroque sheet from Fancy Flours was perfect - couldn't you already see the butterfly in there? I did.

Have fun!

~ then have a bite or two!

My favorite cake bites are made with blackberry infused ganache and my chocolate chambord cake, but you can make them however you like.

You can't get there from here...

Or perhaps we should have named it "She's in the boonies but Takes Your Cake anywhere you want".

In an effort to help out my prospective brides, and at the risk of unannounced visitors, we've finally done a map of our location in reference to Syracuse NY. It will be linked to the website for easy access. Please note; as always has been the case with Jen's datebook...you must have a prepaid appointment for a consult OR be picking up a cake when you visit. Please, do not just show up to try some samples...it's not gonna happen. Things are baked fresh...no frozen cake, no case full of goodies, no samples on a whim! Got it? Good!
So, there you have it, directions to my little slice of heaven. It's gorgeous here - just ask anyone who has made the trip and thought they were lost. I always tell my brides to just hang in there for about 5 more minutes if they think they made a wrong turn, and it works every time.

And hey...where'd we get that cool map?! Well, I made it. Kicking and screaming and swearing along the route I made it. But I totally followed the tips and directions over at wedding mapper to figure it out. I had a little trouble, but admittedly didn't follow their map to a "T", mostly because I was impatient, but hey...I suggest you do it their way. I also didn't have a whole wedding party to design invites and maps for, I recommend this site for those couples that do. And if you can't figure it out or want them to do it for you, they will!

Enjoy the ride! Oh and by the way...we make the trip ALL THE TIME, so I don't want to hear any of those lame-o "we're choosing a bakery closer to our venue" excuses ;-) Besides, didn't you hear, it's totally worth the trip!

Head on back to my partners page on the She Takes The Cake website if you weren't done browsing the site. Thanks!

Attention Please...Not All Fondant Tastes Like Crap...

There! I've said it. And it's true dang it!

Here are a few other little bridal cake bubbles I'd like to burst for you.

• The "Get a fake cake and serve a few sheets" thing the magazines perpetuate to frugal brides...not liking that little myth at all. In an effort to debunk this little beauty, I will elaborate later, but the long and short of this one is that in an effort to save a few bucks all you will probably up with is cheap. There are of course exceptions, but I can count them on one hand. And you might not save any money either; no really, it's true.
  
• "Nobody eats cake anyway, don't waste your money". Nobody eats BAD cake and BAD cake gets left on a plate. GOOD cake doesn't go uneaten. And not all wedding cake is bad.
  
• "Don't use the W word, it will cost extra". Contrary to popular belief one will find in chat rooms and magazines, not all wedding cake vendors are out to rip you off. Most professional, experienced designers will take our years of experience and talent into full consideration and ADD those elements to our cost and overhead when we dictate our pricing structures.
• "It's just flour, sugar, and eggs...anyone can DIY a wedding cake". Yep, and anyone can spend the last two days before your wedding day chained to a kitchen covered in said flour, sugar, and eggs. Do you really want it to be you and yo' momma? (and two days is IF you've already done a practice run or two...or four...)
• "Let them compete for your order". Ok, who started this little bit of rudeness? Sending a mass email without the benefit of blind cc to every cake vendor in your area asking for our best price is not going to get us to compete for your business. It may however get your contact info quickly thrown into the trash.
• "Butter cream is better. Fondant tastes like crap". Nope, not always, and like I said...Not All Fondant Tastes Like Crap. And while we're on the subject; some fondant designs can be done in butter cream, but some can't. You better check the portfolio of whoever promises you that they can to see if they can put their dough where their mouth is.

Look for a future post with my take on cake...I'll give you the run down on some things to expect and what to look for when cake shopping. Just think of it as one more piece of advice from one little cake designer to help you make your choices a bit easier. Everyone is different but having some basic info should prove helpful to your planning. The biggest tip I can give is to pick your priorities and do your research. You know...cake research...the kind of research where homework is doing a taste test! But really people, every wedding may need a cake, but not every wedding needs the most expensive cake. Find what you're comfortable with in your budget range, but know your range before you shop and know what your priorities really are.

Your guests will remember if you had a drop dead gorgeous cake that tasted like crap. They'll remember if you had an amazingly delicious cake that looked like crap. They'll remember an amazing cake that tasted as good as it looked every time but what you WANT them to remember is that the day was amazing and the food, including the cake, and company was great.

PS...my fondant is yummy.

Some clients really pull it off!

This adorable yet bold, black/white/pink cake was made for a favorite customer of mine for a bridal shower she was hosting. She lets me just do whatever I want for her cakes but usually has it based on the invites or decor she's using at the parties. Upon delivery to the venue, we see she has the place fully decked out in coordinating and complimenting party ware. It looked great. Apparently she hosts quite often and has become very good at it. She finds it very rewarding and enjoys the fun part...but from the twinkle in her eye I can see she enjoys the DIY Party Planner thing too.

For this particular party, she used these cute bridal invites from PeekABooPumpkin. She sent me a sample set of what she received so I could use it for cake ideas. As you see, I went pretty literal with it, but we love how it turned out. The ribbon roses at the bottom of the heart cake were so cute! Oh wait, we're talking about my client's skills...she also used some paper products and decor ideas from a site I hadn't heard of; Rosemary Company to pull the decor together a bit more.

Using your invitation as inspiration is always a great idea and one that always works. It allows you to really pull elements together at the party, no matter how small or big your budget. Hmmm, I think they used to call that a "theme"? didn't they? wink* Hey, it also comes in handy for when you attend an event at a venue with more than one party going on...just go to the recognizable decorations! LOL

Now, we all know I'm a big fan of incorporating design elements from invites. I've been doing it with my partner in crime, Erin of Bride Design, for a few years now. We're like super heroes...fighting bad themes and promoting great taste in Syracuse - get it...great TASTE! sigh, sorry. So Erin and I provide what we consider to be the best of the best in our local area, custom cakes, custom invites and coordinating stationery, a great team for helping you pull it together.

But my favorite client whom this post originated about proves every time she calls with an order, that if you can choose only one area to splurge, you can do the rest of the event beautifully with a bit of research, a bit of planning, a bit of online ordering...but always with taste. Pick your priorities people! If you can't afford an elaborately expensive cake, don't get one! Dare I say...it's just cake! If you want the cake to shine (I<3U) reserve some funds elsewhere by purchasing something other than custom, hand made products. If you do want the best of the best for your paper products then go to my friend Erin and cut your corners elsewhere.

It just goes to show, you can have great taste and share it with your guests no matter what the budget or style. And hey...if you're driven by that DIY Party Planner bug that my client has - go for it! You can do it! Great job Carolyn, and thanks again for having me do your cake!

Eat Art in Syracuse?!

Hey, check it out! We're headed to The Delavan Gallery to install the grid work for my interactive cupcake mural! Yep...cupcakes...hanging in a grid...on the wall...interactive (as in you get to eat it!!) How cool is that?!

The installation along with a cookie mosaic (pictured above) also being installed are part of the kick off for monthly drawings at The Syracuse Th3 Coalition events across Syracuse. Not familiar with Th3? Th3 is a citywide art open in Syracuse, New York, that takes place on the third Thursday of each month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. This ambitious project, initiated by the Everson Museum of Art and the Delavan Art Gallery, is joined by the most distinctive venues in the city in a grand event to bring the artistic experience to the public. Th3 establishes Syracuse as a city for the arts in this initiative to reach out its local and regional communities. (taken from Th3 website)

For more info you can go to their website of course, and for sure head over to the Th3 blog for a run down of tomorrow's events!

There will be a second cupcake mural at one of the other locations...I guess you'll just have to check 'em all out if you want to find it. And don't forget to enter the drawing for this month's raffle. It's a She Takes The Cake cake of course! Inspired by the sunflower paintings of Van Gogh, Monet, O'Keeffe, and Caillebotte; I've done a small sunflower rendition of my own. You'll be able to see it at each location and then I'll recreate it in delicious cake for the winner! Art never tasted so good!

Hope to see you there!

Once you've had a peek at the cookie mosaic and cupcake murals you're gonna want one...you know where to find me!

Ruffles and rucching and ribbons, oh my!

Ahhhh, another dress cake. I love those. I don't think I'll ever tire of them. There's just something about trying to duplicate the movement and fluidity of fabric. Bridgette's cake of soft pink and chocolate brown did just that. Her dress had the most beautiful rucching, the bridesmaids dresses the most delicious pick ups and, the cake had it all. And oh my did it smell good!

A monogram is always a nice touch and can be used quite easily on a cake. Sugar flowers adorn the top layer and I devilishly added an unexpected sparkle with some crystal initials as well as a gift for the bride and groom. And can I just say that they chose an absolutely beautiful venue; Bellevue Country Club in Syracuse.

Thanks to you both, glad you enjoyed your cake as much as I enjoyed making it!