Learning something new the old way - cake pops

I'm a big fan of books, in fact, I've bought, traded, lost and given away more than I can remember on many different subjects, but I still have a fair few on the shelves.  I thought I'd try and be a little more consistent about blogging this year by talking about some of my favorites both new and old, as they relate to cake.

Blogs and websites are fun and DVDs are great, especially when you can't make it to a class, but sometimes books are the only way to go.  Almost all the books on my shelf are for reference, so if it helps, a defining factor is, can I keep going back to this book for ideas, for information, and for inspiration.  Sometimes you don't want to turn on the computer and curling up on the couch with a pile of books just holds a certain appeal that, for me anyway, the computer will never replace. 

You can't help but notice that cake pops seem to be everywhere these days.  I'm even seeing them on the UK cake sites, a definite change from their usual offerings.  We've been making them for our clients for a while now, even before the book came out, but we had to see what all

the fuss was about. So, while I may be considered a profession baker, this is my personal opinion on what this book contains and why you might (or might not) want to take a look!! 

I may never make anything exactly like the cake pops shown in Cake Pops by Bakerella, but it definitely inspires you to think about different ways you can "play" with cake!  So to start the new year, I'm going to start with a book that's been on my shelf for a while, but one that I seem to be looking at more often these days, Cake Pops by Bakerella. You can also find lots of information on her site, and it's well worth checking out as well, but this post is really just a quick review of the book if you're one of the few that hasn't checked it out yet.

For those not yet familiar with them, she also introduces other fun cake tools like the edible ink pens.  You can probably find them in your local cake store, or online at Wilton or Country Kitchen Sweet Arts.  Looks like Wilton has a new book out there now too!  Pops; Sweets on a Stick.  For those of you who are part of the world of cake, you know that Wilton is big name in home decorating and they always seem to introduce their own version of what's popular.  I guess I'll have to do a follow up post when I take a look at it!  But back to Bakerella. 

Easy to read and easy to follow this book covers seasonal favorites, birthday party offerings and some th 

http://www.bakerella.com/pop-star-amanda-in-pennsylvania/

at are just plain fun.  I'm a big fan of frogs, so I happen to be very partial those little guys, but there's everything from mini cupcakes on a stick to tiny popcorn bags.

There aren't really any negatives to point out in this one.  I would have liked to see more suppliers listed in the index, but all in all this has been a useful edition to my cake library.

So, that's it for now!  Oh, and just to add our own little touch, the picture below is not cake pops, but these are also pretty popular!

Next up, some of the cookie books...boy, do I have a lot of cookie books....

Happy Holidays and thanks from AFCCakes!

Happy Holidays, everyone! It's hard to believe that it's been a year already! We are very thankful for a very busy and fun 2010, filled with the world's most wonderful clients. Additionally, we're thankful to be able to give back and support the community that supports us.

  

Some of the highlights this year included a gift certificate for the Campfire Girls Silent Auction along with some nummy cupcakes, cupcakes for the Royal Family Kids Camp birthday party (I’ve never seen so many little silver crowns in my life!), more cupcakes for the Ferndale Boys and Girls club at the Under the Tent Event and another gift certificate, a life size dog for the Whatcom Humane Society’s gala earlier this year, and an enduring supply of birthday cakes and cupcakes for the children at Agape House.

We managed to participate in a couple of wedding fairs and community events, and we produced 1000 mini cupcakes for a gala event at the Mount Baker Theater. The Jump Around Fun Zone kept us busy with their great birthday parties (and I’ll be heading back there again next year for birthday number 5!), and we made a few cakes.

  

You'll find as at the Bridal Fair in January next year, and we’re already booking orders for 2011 and into 2012!! We can't wait to see what new challenges our customers bring us and what kind of cakes we’ll bake!

We thank you for being part of a very fun and creative process and for sharing with us your very special event. Thank you everyone from Vancouver, B.C. to Seattle, from overseas to right here at home. To our wonderful families for all their support and to you and yours; we wish you all the very best for the season; peace and prosperity in the new year!

Sincerely,

Debbie & Andrea

Always & Forever Custom Cakes

                

A 3D Dog - a lesson in learning!

Our contribution to the 2010 Humane Society Gala - Dessert Dash!  At 19 inches tall our 'dog' was made of crispy treats, vanilla cake and butter cream, covered in modelling chocolate and fondant!  Oh and underneath all that, safely wrapped in plastic of course, PVC pipe, plumbing attachments, screws, custom cut press board and a base that weighed almost as much as the cake!!

It seems that almost every new request brings new learning experiences.  After you've made a few, or more than a few, round wedding cakes with ribbon around the base and few flowers on top can it can really make you feel like you've got your act together.  Like you're pretty good at this cake stuff. Then someone asks for something new.  In our case, a 3D dog cake to help support the 2010 Humane Society's 2010 Gala fundraiser.  Sure, we said, we can do that! Why not! And thus the learning experience began!

Although both of us are dog owners, well, apparently we'd never really studied 'dog anatomy'!  Turns out it's harder than it looks to turn PVC, wood and metal into a real looking dog!!  But after four (yes, four!) trips to the hardware store (thank you LOWES guys for being so patient and helpful!!) we finally got the legs, the body and the head sorted out. 

We started out with 5/8th inch PVC.  I should have figured out there was a reason it was all on sale, right?  Turns out most of the joins, bends, and bits that you need to attach pieces of straight pipe to one another and make them bend at various angles are all, (or at least they were at LOWES!) at least 1/2 inch in diameter.  Figures.  So, that was trip one. 

Then we had to figure out how to attach the base to the legs and to the board that would eventually support the head and the main portion of the body which was the cake.  Back to the store for more parts. and bits that screwed into the parts.  Trip two.  Oh, and on trip one we also bought this amazing PVC pipe cutter that we're seriously considering using to cut the cake pillars...have yet to try it out but it sure beats a serrated knife all to heck! 

Trip three...apparently we can't tell our assets from our elbows as we bought bends for the joints and to 'join' or support the main portion of cake with 45 degree angles instead of ninety degree angles.  Seriously, this is way harder than it sounds. :)  Trip four.  Decided we needed a more secure way to join the base to the wood body support of the cake.  Why?  Because I accidentally screwed the base plates (that should have been screwed to the board supporting the base board) to  the body.  

Trip five and by then we knew exactly what we needed.  (OK, we bought several different options that we could return because we were tired of trying to figure out the angles and properly supporting this 50 pound dog so it wouldn't fall over the minute we moved it!!) Success!  I'm sorry I didn't remember to take pictures at this point, but I will try and set it up so you can see what it looks like for next time!

I have to say if anyone had told me when I started making cakes that I'd have to own almost as many 'harware store tools' as cake tools, I'm not sure I would have signed up!! LOL!! But it's been a lot of fun learning!!  I definitely have a much stronger appreciation for everything I see, and don't see, on the Ace of Cakes show these days!  Duff and his power tools definitely have a place in our cake world!!

Well I'm off to the hardware store to return some unused bends and bits, but we'll definitely be ready for our next 3D adventure

Candy & Dessert Bar from Always & Forever Custom Cakes

So, here it is, our first Dessert & Candy Bar. It débuted at a recent local Bellingham wedding and wow…we could barely get the items on the table!! We also dropped off a five tier wedding cake but the focus was definitely on the dessert bar time, which was a new one for us! We pretty much had full rein so of course we went to town. Cake pops, check, chocolate covered pink marsh mellows, check, chocolate covered pretzels, check. The weather did not cooperate to add in the pink macaroons (the double sided color coordinated cookies that everyone is crazy about!) or the pink meringue cookies, but maybe next time. Next one is coming up fast, next week, so that should be fun too. Hmm, purple macaroons…

I have to say the hardest part about putting this one together was balancing the display. We’ve gathered many jars, plates, bowls and various other glass and porcelain containers in our travels to try and give us plenty of options to choose from, and I’m wondering if we’ve actually gone a bit overboard. (What us, go overboard? Is it even possible to have too many options?? Naw!!) At last count we have about twenty different glass jars, vases and containers either with or without lids, five different plate options and lots and lots of cake stands. OK, maybe we did go a little overboard. What can I say, we were really psyched about getting this project going and making sure we had enough variety to keep it fun for every new customer!! See the pink and silver table runner in the right hand side? The bride’s mother in law did that one for us; that is one talented lady! Nice work!

Putting it all together

It took about three hours to go through all our jars, pull the right ribbon, set it up and figure out the right combination of containers. Luckily the color scheme was pretty straight forward, but even that still took time as we had to pull the ribbon…man, do we have a lot ribbon…but I’ll save that one for another post.

 These materials are mostly the things used to pack and store the containers, as well as a few ‘rejects’ that didn’t’ quite make the cut…Debbie said these jars on the right  reminded her of beta fish bowls…so, back in the box for you!! And the rest of it? All the stuff you need to keep all that glassware safe from point A to point B. I wish I’d taken a picture of the car with all the bins and boxes in it. Who knew a few jars could take up so much space!!

So, as you can see, we had a few different candies picked out, almost entirely based on the colors we were trying to incorporate; pink, white and silver. We even had a few pink Canada mints thrown in there…we debated quite a bit on those, but turns out it was a very good idea…several folks commented when we went back to pick up the remnants, and I do mean remnants, that they were a huge hit…wintergreen mints? When there was so much else on the table?? Two words…beer breath… ‘nuff said.  Definitely a keeper for those adult soirees.

Luckily my partner Debbie snuck in a little holiday down the coast before the event and she brought back some fabulous salt water taffy that perfectly matched our theme. The picture doesn’t do it justice but that’s about two feet of salt water taffy in the big jar on the right. Yum!

See the little plastic ladle lying on the pink table cloth above? It doesn’t really go there…or does it? Something else we learned; it’s good to provide serving method options!! Some folks just dug in with the hands, which if it’s got a nice little wrapper on it works well, but for those candies that don’t like the Good & Plenty bits, it’s always a good idea to present the guests with more, er, genteel methods of helping themselves.

So, what was the most popular item? You mean after the mints? The cake pops of course…the bride had one before the last one was on the plate. (We would have been in big trouble if these hadn’t turned out…this was one laid back bride, but on the cake pops, there was NO negotiating.) These ones are strawberry cake (pink of course!), with pink icing and white chocolate ‘almond bark’ on the outside and drizzled with a little bit of pink chocolate. Pops are definitely a popular C&DB item these days and we expect to be doing a lot more of these…in fact, I think you’ll probably see a class for them on the schedule before the end of the year…a fun holiday treat!

To the left of the pops are some little premade treat bags, so anyone who wanted a quick snack to go didn’t even have to lift a spoon. Aren’t we nice? Of course, most folks wanted to do to their own, so we left plenty of empties as well, with a few scoops thrown in for good measure.

Next on the list? Pink chocolate covered marsh mellows. Again, a huge hit. Lucky for us we made lots  because there wasn’t a stick left when we went back! All in all a very successful event. I wish I’d brought the camera for the ‘end of the evening shot’ as if there was any debate as to how successful this offering was, that would have ended it!! Nothing but empty plates, jars and crumbs!!

We have two more events already scheduled, a charity event this Saturday for a Relay for Life party (more pink!) and a purple and yellow birthday party for a 13 year old in a few weeks.

Well, it’s time to get back to the cakes, but this was a lot of fun! We hope we get to do a few more soon!

Here’s a sneak peak on some really beautiful gum paste flowers. More on those and the cake, next time!