REAL Cake Pops

A big boom in the baking and pastry world is the making of these tiny little balls of cake.. cake pops of course. Now if you have seen my past postings, you know that I have my fair share of experience with cake pops. I love making them actually. They are small and individual sized, which people love these days. All about portion control of course. But what makes these great treats extra special are the decorations and uniqueness that one can add to each pop. A great cake pop starts with a strong base first though right? So this is what gets me. These new little inventions, called "cake pop makers". Those are not how to make cake pops. It's a fraud... At least I think so. For the holidays, my sister bought me one of these so called "cake pop makers", which she knew I would not use for cake pops. But it gave me a chance to look it over and compare it to the actual way of making them. Now, I might just be old fashioned but I think machinery can be a great asset to have at times and useless inventions at other times. This cake pop maker- useless invention. So I decided to clear it up and teach everyone the way to make a REAL cake pop and show how it is OBVIOUSLY different from these new machines.

First. You make a cake. If you aren't skilled, you can use a boxed cake or make your own. Just pour the batter into a big 9x13 pan and don't worry about spreading it perfectly.

Second. The KEY part and biggest difference between this machine and a true cake pop. After the cake cools, you crumble the cake by hand and add a scoop or two of frosting into the crumbs. You then mix by hand until it becomes a workable dough, sticking together and shapeable but not overly wet.

Third. Roll the cake dough into equal sized balls. Freeze them and dip a lollipop into chocolate and then into the cake ball so it holds the cake on securely. At this point, you can dip the cake pop into melted chocolate and decorate however you please.

Now, reviewing this simple easy peasy way of making cake pops, why would you even bother using the maker? Most people would probably spend double the time just scooping perfect amounts of cake batter into the little machines to get even sized cake balls. On top of that. Theres that main ingredient missing. WHERE'S THE FROSTING??? Yes. As you can see, this agitates me the most. How can a cake pop be classified as a cake pop unless it has the frosting to glue it together into little moist cake spheres? What will end up happening to those "cake balls on a stick" is that they will taste like dried out cake cooked differently throughout the ball and will not hold onto the stick when dipped in chocolate. Obviously, if these inventors put thought into it, they would realize that the "cake balls on a stick" are less dense than the chocolate dipped into it probably. Which will cause the cake to fall into the chocolate. See? Problem.

    

                                   


So moral of the story. Do not waste your time or money on making these "cake balls on a stick". Inventions these days are not always the most useful. Instead, be lazy. Go throw together some cake batter and stick it in the oven all at once, crumble it up real quick and put the darn frosting in with the crumbs. Save the time to put the effort into decorating these tiny treats and feel free to laugh at the people who can't figure out why their "cake balls on a stick" won't stay on the said stick. Finally, savor all the great compliments you will receive from making a REAL cake pop.

2012- So Trendy

Happy New Year everyone! As I sit in bed with my tea and try to recover from a hectic weekend and a lovely cold to start up the year, I thought it would be a perfect time to keep up with one of my new years resolutions..this blog of course.

So I thought to relate to the new year, I would touch upon the new trends in culinary that are supposedly coming about in the upcoming year.

There was an article I read from one of my chefs that stated a BIG trend happening in the future is the spread of healthy choice foods for kids. Now, I already thought that was a big theme going on? No? All I hear about in schools and restaurants are the portion control and healthy options for children to eat. New trend? I don't think so.

Second would be using sustainable and homegrown veggies and ingredients in restaurants. Now, I do believe this will be a big trend starting up for all levels of food industries, not just the more expensive cuisine settings.I already heard of restaurants with their own gardens attached to the restaurant with fresh vegetables and herbs grown right there. It seems all about the generation of fresh choices in food. I totally agree and support this trend if it becomes big because I think using foods that are pesticide free and safe from added chemicals and handling are the best for our bodies. What really weighs my decision to go into a nutrition degree in school would be the fact that I think nutrition is the new idea that our population is slowly embracing and becoming supporters of. I am excited to see the new changes to food options with this trend.

Another trend.. a ridiculous one I heard actually.. would be comfort food. THATS A TREND? I'm sorry, but no. Comfort food is like a staple in our society. Let's get real. If anything, comfort food is being replaced by new unique foods like Asian and Peruvian inspired foods.

Jewish Cuisine. A trend predicted in the upcoming year. Who woulda thunk? Now, I like my Jewish food like latkes and matzoh balls but for some reason, I really don't see gafilta fish making a big hit on menus. Ever. But we shall see.

Lastly, the one which makes me laugh, is the trend of... grilled cheese. Yes. I didn't see that one coming either. Crazy right? I always think of "trends" as general ideas for the future. I did read some trends about specific foods like burgers, pizza, pickles. Yupp, all trends. But the grilled cheese one made me laugh. So simple but so trendy! Who knew?

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!