Contest Flaws

Venting Time.

So I was on this website the other day. It was for a baking show and they had a contest to enter your cakes and cookies and whatnot into a raffle to win prizes. You just upload a picture and then people vote which ones they like. It sounds easy right?

Now heres the problem.

MEAN people can vote your cake DOWN to lower the scores. So, say, if they want their cake to win, they can go and vote everyone else's down around them. Now is that fair? No. I didn't think so either. Now, I was watching this voting process and I could tell which people were cheating. Yes, I call this cheating. Because their cakes would go up rapidly in high votes while everyone around them went down.

And why is it based on talent either? This is a darn raffle for crying out loud! To be fair, if this thirteen year old enters her cake to be in the raffle, she should have a fair shot to win! Instead, her basic flower cake gets horrible scores cause these other people decide their cake is SO much better than a thirteen year old's creation and they deserve it more. Again, not fair.

The general public these days can just be mean. And if you are going to have a contest online to win a TSHIRT, let it be fair. Because what are you teaching these young kids who are inspired to participate? That theirs is not good enough to win a raffle because the general pubic is in it for themselves and a kid's creation is not deserving. That is just wrong.

And let me just say, I gave that girl's cake the highest score. It was great cake and showed lots of talent. That young girl could have a great future in the pastry world and she deserves a chance among everyone else to win a darn tshirt for crying out loud!

Okay. Venting done.

Rumor Has It

So I was going through my update before going into college. And I found it very funny to think I actually ever imagined that dorm living would be a fabulous, spacious place.. Being that I am paying a fortune to go there. So in some reflection of my pure naivety, I thought I would clear up some myths for future college goers.

1. Dorm living is not spacious. At all. Whatsoever. Cherish your room at home- your own bed, dresser, desk, alone time, door to slam in anger, and quiet area. In college, this doesn't exist. Me and my roommates have moved our room around, I would say, 5 gazillion times, hoping that our room will grow by MAYBE an inch or two. It doesn't happen. So enjoy your space while you can.

2. Community bathrooms are not that scary... unless you forget your flip flops. NEVER go barefoot in bathrooms.. or halls.. or even your own room sometimes. You just don't take the chance.

3. Be wary of dining halls. Yes, some are buffet style. Yes, there is an amazing array of food to try. and YES, you will gain weight if you eat five plates a day. Sadly, this is not the magical land of food that keeps you skinny. I'm still waiting for a culinary student to come up with that one!

4. College kids do sleep. A lot. Before I left for school, I really imagined getting no sleep all the time due to roommates and noisy halls and no quiet time. Now, I admit I go to sleep pretty late sometimes. But during the day, it is like naps are a required class for us kids. I will always nap at least once a day and look forward to my 3 hour snoozes.

5. Money does not grow on trees. Or in your parent's wallets. So don't over due it. Around my school, theres a lot of nice places to because it is in a city environment. However, money goes quickly. So be careful and limit yourself to only spending money on what you need. Mind you, a meal plan isn't there for nothing.

6. Go to class. SO many students slack in college due to the thought of freedom and pure laziness. Keep in mind, you pay a heck of a lot of money for those classes. If you don't go to class, don't expect a good grade. Simple as that.

7. College does not stand for party 24/7.. unless you really want it too. I am not a huge party goer myself and there are a ton of other kids just like me, who would rather stay in and play food scrabble (keep in mind, culinary college) than go out and get crazy every night.

8. Lastly, as much advice as a person, book, or other source gives you about college, you will never know the true experience until you are there yourself. So don't get caught up in other people's horror stories or crazy advice. Cause even though I have had my crazy (horror) stories too, it won't happen to everyone. Be grateful for that and go in with an open mind.

Thats it guys. All the basic rumors that I remember fearing in college. Before I left, I would spend days flipping through college guides from random writers who went to college probably a decade ago and then try to tell you advice from what they remember. Some of it was totally false. And a majority was common sense. I just remember fearing the worst and freaking myself out for no reason. At the end of the day, college is awesome.

Neglect

This is a sincere, heartfelt apology for my total neglect of my wonderful child of a blog. So I am really sorry I haven't updated this blog in.. forever. I promised myself I would keep up with this while I underwent a huge change in my life.. a.k.a college. But of course, I got caught up in my new lifestyle and the next thing ya know.. its December! So. Update on my life from.. oh lets say 4 months ago (again, so sorry). When I left my town and moved 5 hours away to culinary school, I thought I would be a total wreck. I would miss my family, friends, and of course my cute lil dogs at home. Now, not saying that I didn't miss them, but.. well I adjusted pretty easily to life at college. Maybe I don't have the usual college experience as most kids due to the crazy schedule of culinary school, but I still enjoy it the same. Mostly, I love the FREEDOM from home. I love to live on my own, learn to deal with my own drama, and grow through experiences away from my parents. I've learned to find myself and who I want to be and really be able to embrace my future career, being surrounded by people with the same passion and dreams as I do. So children out there, my wise elderly college advice, go away to school. Learn to live. Be your own person. And have fun. But mostly learn to be responsible and be smart. Or you will end up right back in your parents house. Now on to the more entertaining things in my life. I had a pretty boring first trimester of school. I took my lively academics of math, english, and all that fun stuff. I just started my actual baking labs and it. is. AMAZING. I love it and reminds me I made the right choice. So far, my skills in the kitchen have soared and I have not burnt a SINGLE thing since starting... okay maybe one or two.. that's our secret though. Besides those hiccups, I have been very successful and am starting to think of what I could possibly do in the future. I would love to work somewhere like Hershey Park or Disney. Or a grand hotel. like the Mohegan Sun. Or a little bakeshop in the city. Or a famous bakeshop in the city. Or go to Florida and work at a resort. Or a cruise. Or go far away to Hawaii and work there! OH THE POSSIBILITIES. It makes my head spin. As you can see, I have NO clue what the heck I want to do with my future. Great. Now I'm all worried. Well, as I think over all my possibilities in life, I will leave you guys with some lovely creations I have made while I fell off the face of the earth.. or at least the face of my blog. I will post them under the pictures tab.. go look there! :]

What's College?

So I've been doing some thinking. During my last year of high school, I was able to have the time to run my business from home, decorating cakes and baking pastries and treats for local customers. However, I am now "entering a new chapter of my life", as some people like to say, and I will not be home to continue with my business. Therefore, I will not have any pictures to post of my cakes...SO. I decided to expand my blog as not just a business blog anymore but a blog into my experience at baking and pastry school! Exciting right? Yeah, im sure you're all ecstatic. But if I didn't expand, then this blog would be totally neglected and that's kind of pointless. So to keep everyone up to date with my life...

1. I graduated high school! YAY! ( note the previous post of my graduation cap cake).

2. I got into my college of choice for baking and pastry! Yay again!

3. I have done practically NOTHING excitable or crazy this summer. But that's predictable. I always want crazy plans and then waste my summer away.. sleeping usually. But this summer was different. I wasted it away working AND sleeping.

4. I went to my orientation and met my awesome roommates and got pumped for living away from home for a year.

5. I came home and decided I didn't want to leave actually. I missed my dogs too much. Oh, and my family of course.

6. I started buying all the STUFF that goes along with college because even though I will miss my dogs tremendously, I can not hold myself back from life experiences because of my love for animals.. or my comfy bed.

7. This is where I leave off now. At the moment, I'm working my butt off to save up for the crazy expenses of college (which I am assuming they are just not telling me the truth at the moment and I am actually living in a beautiful mansion which is why it is so expensive to go there. Yepp, that explains it.) I am also slowly planning my hang outs with friends and family before I leave since it will probably be the last time I will see my friends until at least winter break. And I thought saying goodbye at graduation was tough. HA.  But don't worry, I'll make sure to bake some brownies this week as I de-stress myself. I might not have family, hometown friends, or my dogs up at college but at least I have my one last love with me ... baking :)

GRADUATION!

So, I officially graduated this year and in honor of mine as well as my sister's graduation, my mom put together a party to celebrate. I decided to make the cakes for the event and wanted to have them reflect my sister and I together but seperate. I made two cakes in a soccer pan from Wilton ( which can i say was the WORST pan I ever bought. When the pan was washed the coating fully came off and it dulled and tarnished immediately. If anyone plans to make a cake like this, I would not use this one in particular) I cooked two seperate halves of the soccer ball and covered each in fondant. I then took cardboard as the top of the hat and cut it to fit and covered it in hand colored fondant. Afterwards I hand decorated the tops of the hats and finished them off by making edible tassles in the school colors out of fondant. Happy graduation to the class of 2011!

T-Rex Cake

So I know I've been behind with my updates.. but school and works been in my way and I haven't been able to make or take pics of my projects! SO. I was asked to make a T-Rex cake for a customer's son's five year old birthday. They pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. I haven't been making cakes as much since I'm not in classes anymore, so I really wanted to bring back some of my skills and make an awesome cake. I made a double layer chocolate cake with homemade chocolate frosting in between and on the sides of the cake. I then colored some vanilla buttercream into the various colors and made a desert background. The  T-Rex itself is hand drawn and piped in with a star tip. I think the cake really did come out as good as I hoped. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have some updates on graduation cakes I will be doing!

Dora The Explorer Cake

This cake was an order made for a customer's daughter who loves Dora The Explorer. I made a chocolate cake with a thin chocolate frosting layer and then topped with a vanilla cake with sprinkles baked in and covered in vanilla buttercream. I then made a buttercream transfer of Dora and decorated the borders in blue, purple, and green designs.

Pina Colada Cupcakes!

For my sister's 21st birthday, I made her booze cupcakes! I started with a pineapple and coconut cupcake infused with coconut rum as well as fresh pineapple pieces baked in. The cupcakes were then topped with a Malibu frosting, consisting of a basic buttercream and Malibu Coconut Rum. They are topped off with a bit of toasted coconut and an umbrella!

Blueberry Muffins

So my favorite muffin of all time is.. you guessed it.. blueberry muffins. I have made muffins before and have the hardest time finding the perfect recipe.This muffin recipe came from an online source that I tweaked a bit. It wasn't too sweet, which a lot of muffins can be, and came out soft and fluffy inside with a crisp outside dome top. I also topped the muffins with some course sugar crystals although some people like to use a cinnamon sugar topping as well. Too bad I forgot about the holiday and made these the morning before Passover.. muffins anyone?

Bridal Shower Cake Pops

I recieved this order from the mother of the bride who was looking to get cake pops as party favours for her daughter's surprise bridal shower. I made a red velvet cake mixed with buttercream because the daughter preferred buttercream over cream cheese frosting. It really didn't alter the taste of the cake pop and was still very rich of a cake. I then dipped them in dark chocolate and drizzled them with hand colored white chocolate to match the olive green party bag favours at the shower. They came out very pretty and I was glad to hear they were a hit at the party. I only had a few left over to take pictures of before they were all eaten up!

Basket Weave Cake

Hey everyone! So I haven't updated my blog in a while but I have been baking and decorating a few things here and there. The cake here is a cake I made for the official last class of the Wilton Cake Decorating classes that was for royal icing designs specifically. If anyone is into decorating and wants to try a class out, I definitely recommend taking the Wilton classes. I had a great time and learned a ton of different skills for decorating, ranging from basic decorating to fondant and royal icing designs. It's a good class for all levels of decorating and the instructors are really great too.

But anyway, back to the cake..this cake is a dark chocolate cake with a homemade mocha coffee frosting. The frosting was a little soft so the basket weave wasn't as defined as I would have liked but it is noticeable going around the sides of the cake. This cake was a kind of last minute thing for me to make and I didn't get to make royal icing flowers but I did top the cake with fondant pansy flowers in orange, yellow, and purple.

Spring is coming!

For a customer order, I was asked to make a springtime tiered cake. The first tier is made up of a layer of yellow cake and red velvet cake, filled and covered with homemade buttercream. The second tier is two layer of red velvet cake also filled and covered in vanilla buttercream. They were then covered with handcolored fondant and decorated with royal icing that I colored green and used to make grass and grass blades on the cake. I also used about 25 sugar roses in red, dark pink, yellow and light pink, all colored and hand-made out of gumpaste. To top the cake off, I made a few butterflies in light blue and purple out of gumpaste. This is definitely one of my favorite cakes so far!

New York Yankees Cake

For a friend's birthday, I was asked to make a birthday cake inspired by the New York Yankees. This cake is a vanilla cake covered in homemade buttercream. I handcolored the blue and red buttercream and drew the infamous logo on top.

Rainbow Cookies

I've always wanted to learn how to make "rainbow" or tricolored cookies and finally had some time to search for a recipe and actually make these small treats! I made three almond cake layers hand colored with pink green and yellow food dye. I then filled the cakes with a raspberry jam and topped with a chocolate ganache and chocolate sprinkles.

Fondant Calla Lillies Cake

I completed my fondant and gum paste course and took pictures of my completed fondant covered cake. I made a chocolate cake, filled and covered it in homemade oreo buttercream. I then covered my cake board in yellow fondant and used blue hand colored fondant for the cake itself. All flowers were hand made and decorated out of gum paste.