Topsy-Turvy

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It's All The Rage

Ombre.  It's all the rage these days.  Whether it be hair, a dress or a wedding cake ombre is the new fun trend sweeping the world.  This meticulous process of color looks harder than it is, at least for frosting a cake.  I can't speak for hair stylists.

Color gradation occurs often throughout nature and it is no wonder why we love to recreate the phenomenon.  Think of sunsets in the desert or a perfectly ripe avocado cut down the center.  The change is so minuscule, so precise that our eyes can't even determine where the change of color happens.  I think it is wonderful, though sometimes daunting, to try and achieve this precision that nature has brought to our attention.

Even though this craft seems rather new many artists have been cultivating this talent of blending colors for centuries.  There are too many throughout history for me to mention, but currently I have one favorite artist who is a master at fading one color into another.  She is Kaori Fukuyama.  A painter who creates visual experiences with color.

"Aperture No.2"
Kaori Fukuyama, 2014

Not only does her work trick the eye with undecipherable graduation of color but also by creating optical illusions using this technique.  Check her work out here.
It. Is. Amazing.

Now if I could only do that with cake!

Anything Can be Fixed, Anything!!

It finally happened.  Ohhhh…  it was awful.  And there was a brief moment when I thought nothing could be saved and there would be no wedding cake.  Can you imagine??  Your One-Big-Day never to be repeated like birthdays or graduations and the centerpiece of the cuisine ruined.

As you can see, the completed cake before the 2 mile drive to the reception was pristine and smooth.  Since it was such a short drive I was less nervous than usual about it tipping or sliding.  I had engineered a strong structure that was spill proof. What could go wrong?

Not one block away from the fridge that stored this creation the bottom tier cracked and the top two tiers went sliding into the back seat.  No matter how strong your structure is if the cake breaks tiers will roll.  Fondant was torn and frosting shmeared everywhere.

I panicked.

That's it!  The cake is ruined!!

We drive back and carry the broken mooshed cake back into the kitchen.  What do I do??  How do you fix a cake in 5 minutes?  The reception was to start in 45 minutes and the wedding coordinator was telling me that guests were already starting to arrive. Having no idea of what to do I had no idea of how much time it would take to put this cake back together.  Voice shaking I relay the last 15 minutes over the phone to the wedding coordinator and promise to deliver a cake.  I decide that no matter what, even if the clock strikes midnight, I will deliver a beautiful cake that looks as close to the original as possible.

Never give up.

Thankfully all the sugar flowers, chocolate seashells and palm trees were still intact. Carefully pulling them from the cake to be reused I assess the damage and choose what can be re-iced and what cannot.

Deep breaths.

Ferociously reshaping, re-icing and re-covering the cakes my heart rate came down.  I decide to box each tier individually and stack the cakes on-sight.  Unfortunately, the bottom tier was beyond repair but still edible and so it was boxed up too.

An hour and a half after the original delivery I return with another pristine and smooth cake decorated just the same although a little bit shorter.

A week later I find out that the bride didn't even realize the cake was missing a tier and that the cracked mooshed bottom tier was the yummiest and enjoyed the most. Thanks to the caterers that tier was sliced behind kitchen doors.  Whew!

I did it!  And I'm grateful for the experience.  Should it ever happen again (which it will NOT) I'm prepared.

Keep on truckin'!
Connie

You're Legal Now!

Dark Milk White… it's aaaall good.

And The Winner Is…

ME!!

1st Prize in the Wedding Cake Division 

at the 

Capitol Confectioner's 10th Annual Sugar Art Show and Cake Competition. 

Sugar! Sugar!

I'm getting on my soap box today.  There's a topic of discussion that has been on my mind for awhile.  I'm not a doctor or a scientist but there are a few contradictions among the discussion of healthy foods that make me contemplate the bad rap sugar is receiving.

Sugar is in practically everything.  Though minuscule, even lettuce and soybeans contain sugar.  (Side note: Kale does not.  That truly is one of the super foods.)  Too much of anything is not wise but I've been wondering, especially since I deal a lot with sugar, how special does the occasion need to be to freely enjoy a slice of flavorful sugar?

TV, magazines, news reporters on HBO that will remain nameless, and doctors are always promoting a low or no-sugar eating plan.  They demonize sugar and tuck it under the same umbrella that covers both heroin and tobacco noting its addictive characteristics.  I will agree that sugar can be addictive from personal experiences with cookie binges and reading up on the chemical reaction our brains have when we digest sugar.  But I don't think it deserves to be lumped together with addictive drugs.

There are so many shades of grey when claiming the addictive traits of sugar and in what form they come.  Remember when cutting out carbs was all the rage?  I think we are still on that bandwagon, but it has taken a backseat to straight up sugar.  We now know that some carbs are good for you and some carbs are disguised as sugars just waiting to ruin your health!  I know nutritionists don't get much credit for their knowledge, but nutrition is a complex science and they should be regarded like doctors.  So, are the sugars that come from "healthy" carbs ok for your body?  Sugar provides energy.  Like I said, I'm no scientist, but I know that many foods are broken down into sugars to give you energy such as carbs.

What about blueberries?  Considered one the best anti-oxidant foods and given the champion title for cleaning out your arteries and eliminating toxins in your cells blueberries contain a significant amount of sugar.  The most common form of table sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets.  This is also the sugar that you mix into your cake and cookie batter.  Both are plants that use the same process of photosynthesis to create sugar just like blueberries.  All three contain sucrose.  If you digested the same amount of sugar from all three of these contestants would there be a winner for health deterioration?  I'm sure a nutritionist could break it down and proclaim 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners but for me it is not worth giving up that Saturday afternoon birthday cupcake.

There is much much more to say on this topic and I'm sure it will come up again.  We didn't even get into the sugar compounds in honey or maple syrup!  Like anything sugar intake is something to be considered mindfully.  I will also say sugar is something to be enjoyed.  As an element that occurs through the most natural process connecting the sun to the soil in so many natural foods we need I can hardly believe it shouldn't be enjoyed.

Ok, slipping my soap box back under the desk.

Connie

p.s. How can kale be super if it doesn't contain any sugar?