Red Velvet Awesomeness

This just might be the shortest blog I write, it is the shortest to date. :D So today, my roommate had one of the best days I have witness her have in a long time. She got the internship of her dreams and asked me to bake a cake for her. Of course I didn't say NO... After asking what flavor she wanted we realized that Red Velvet was the one. She pulled out her recipe box and handed me a recipe for red velvet and accompanying frosting. 

I quickly got to work making my first red velvet cake and even better it was from scratch!!!!!! I then placed it in my brand new 6-8" round silicone pans. :D (thanks mom) and put it in the oven.... Like all cakes I had to wait for them to bake and eventually they were done.

I quickly got busy icing the cake. I have to admit I did not give it my best job, and nothing fancy was done to decorate it. But in the end it looked just about as good as it tasted.

                                                                                                                                                            

The two things I love about doing this cake aside from the fact that I did it LOL... Is that ONE) I succeeded in making yet another cake from scratch with a very delectable frosting (also from scratch and my new favorite since its not sickly sweet and can be very versatile) and TWO) I was able to bake it, frost it, and eat it in just about 3 hours. This is a huge thing for me, now granted I should have allowed the frosting to set up a little longer between the crumb coating and final frosting and I should have let the cake cool a bit longer and taken my time and put more pride in my work. But with all this aside, I have to give myself a big high five and a pat on the back. Thanks for following, I am one cake closer to achieving my dreams. So what will be the next cake?! Let me practice by doing a cake for YOU!!!!!

YaY for Dreams and new equipment....

I am not sure why, but it never crossed my mind that people would donate the kinda of bake ware I would be interested in purchasing to second hand stores or sell them at their garage sales. I have no issue buying anything else at the second hand stores so I am not sure where this mentality came from.

Recently, I have been a little bit of a downer. I have felt like very few of my loved ones are honestly and truthfully supporting me in  my passion to become a professional cake decorator. Comments will be made like "sure you could do it", but I wouldn't buy a cake from a stranger off the streets or an advertisement in the laundry mat" or "yeah I know you would be good, but don't make a cake for this or that it will be too hard to eat it or transport it." With all this negativity and the fact that I don't have much else to do in my day with my current injury, I am even more determined to play in frosting and get better at cake decorating. Maybe it's to prove them all wrong or maybe it's because I want to prove to myself that I can do it.

None the less, I went shopping with my mom to the local second hand stores. We had time to kill and she only was out to look for some miscellaneous things so up and down the isles we went. I ventured off down the dishes isle, not expecting to find baking pans or anything of use to me now. Honestly it was one of those days where I would see things that would be great to have once I have my own kitchen to stock or things that looked cool but I would never spend the money on them. Almost immediately I found baking pans in sets of 2 or more; loaf pans, round pans, square pans etc. All of them in great condition and because they had a perfect pair I was more intrigued /interested in buying them.

After showing my mom what "treasures" I had found, she quickly started pointing out other pieces that were around the corner. Only these were better, they were made of silicone. I love silicone and vow to one day complete my kitchen bake ware line with silicone bake ware, utensils, and anything else I can get my hands on that is made and is useful in silicone.

I managed to get out of the store with a set of 6" round silicone, 8" square, deep loaf, and a single 8" round silicone pans and other misc. things for about $20. To me this is a big deal, yeah they may not be purple or not all of them are  silicone, but they will help me to achieve other sizes of cakes. This is key to building my inventory and also to allowing me to have a variety of sizes/shapes to work with.

So not only have I increased my inventory of pans, I also managed to pick up a cupcake stand that sells for about $30 new for about $2.50 (once I am done buying the extra part that I need it will be about $10 total). This is super exciting as now, not only do I have a fantastic way of caring my cupcakes around with my new 36/3 tier cupcake carrier that I got for Christmas, I now have a really cool way of displaying them. This specific stand I have wanted for a long time, but again it wasn't a necessity so I had to wait until the right time to get it. With this latest investment piece, I really hope that I can start finding reasons to make and display cupcakes and cakes. I know I am not the best, but I can only hope that people will start to see me as good enough to decorate their special occasion cake or cupcakes.

One a final note; I know my passion is increasing because I am now dreaming, and not just day dreaming, about building cakes and making them look fantastic. The other night I had a dream that I constructed a odd shaped building located near the Tacoma Art Museum out of cake. I have to admit this dream was the same night as I watched Ace of Cakes on the food network. After watching the show it got me to thinking how cool it would be to not only master "simple" layer cakes but also how much fun it would be to master shaped or "carved" cakes. In the near future I really want to make a monster truck cake that is 3D. So unless I get a better cake idea or a special reason to make a certain type of cake, my monster truck will be the next one coming out of my oven. :D

Thanks for reading my little tirade. God Bless

No cake, no new equipment, nothing but a realization...

What I have to say tonight is mearly a realization at how much the good Lord has been telling me to kick it in gear and get serious about decorating cakes.

A month ago, maybe even two months ago the sermon at Church was about how fear is the opposite of faith. I walked away with a fresh attitude towards my faith. It wasn't clear at the time what I was fearful of, and honestly didn't become clear until just recently. All I knew was that I had been impacted and knew that one day the new information and scripture I had heard would come in handy.

On Christmas Eve I was not able to sleep, I felt like a little child anticipating the arrival of Santa Clause. No matter what I did I could not sleep, so after fighting it for a few hours I finished my current novel that I had been reading and still I was awake. I finally got up, tired of lying in bed wide awake, and pulled out all my decorating supplies. For the next 4 hours, I played in frosting attempting to create wonderful works of art on my practice board.

As I finally get tired, I realize that I have put off my dream of being a cake decorator for the past two years. Making excuses for not practicing left and right. When telling a friend (Latasha Haynes of Latasha Haynes Photography, check out her blog/ work at http://www.photomelatashablog.com) about my Christmas Eve she gave me kind encouraging words and told me of her own day of realization. In just one year she has made her dream a reality, starting with very little and creating a business from the ground up all with the grace of God and the love and support of her friends and family. Now I know that photography and cake decorating is entirely two different things. However, she provided the mental jolt I needed to open my eyes and realize that everyone has to start somewhere for their dreams to become a reality.

It was then that I decided that I needed to start following my dreams and kick it into gear and what better time then the present to do just that. It was then that I set a goal for myself and my 2011 New Years resolution. With all this I knew that God has been whispering in my ear telling me I need to pick up my piping bag, and follow my dreams but that I need to rely on Him to guide the way. Don't get me wrong I knew this all along, but my New Years adventure reaffirmed this as I forgot to put him first and my cake was not a smooth process.

Well tonight I was a little down on myself, struggling with the fact that I have no money to purchase new equipment with and I have all these big ideas that frankly I won't be able to try out until I can start bringing in a revenue to pay for this dream. Honestly, I should really perfect my other skills first and not get a head of myself. Deep down I know that this is God once again keeping me in check and I appreciate that. After all He created our timeline and only He has the book that contains it. We all just have to go with the flow of it and know that He will only do things that make us stronger.

So while checking my facebook I was reminded of the sermon a while back about fear being the opposite of faith by Isaiah Haynes (the other half of Latasha Haynes Photography) in his note ( http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/latasha-haynes-photography/just-a-lil-something-i-wanted-to-share/485778681558) to the followers of their website. Now hearing the same words just a few short months apart, by two different people with no connection to each other really got me thinking "what am I afraid of"?

 I am afraid that I will never be good enough to sell my cakes and will never graduate to more challenging cakes like the ones I am in awe of. Those cakes that make it into magazines, are at the fancy weddings across the United States and are entered into contests on the food network or TLC. Multiple tiers, with fancy piping, amazing colors, and the potential for special effects. So yeah, I am afraid of failure, but I know and have to remember Philippians 4:13 " For ALL all things are possible through Christ" and trust that my dreams are in line with Christ's plan for my life.

A New Years adventure

This adventure started a few days prior to the end of 2010 while shopping at Michaels with my little sister (Melina) and her boyfriend. We had planned on going to the movies and had extra time to waste before the show started so we stopped off at the local Michaels to browse the isles. Dylan went to the painters and clay sections, Melina to the giant posters and me to the cross stichers/needle point section. I have some extra time on my hands these days since I can't work due to a back injury and wanted something fun to work on that didn't require alot of thought. Somehow the three of us ended up meeting right next to the cake/candy decorating isles. Now don't get me wrong, I can spend hours dreaming about all the differnt things I would love to add to my growing tool kit, but I try to avoid this section unless I have extra money to spend. Today was not one of those days. :( Melina's attention was caught at a display at the begining of the isle with discounted items that she wanted to buy for a friend. So I walked down the same isle with her, and my attention was quickly drawn to Duff Goldmans' Cake Tattoos. Now I have scene these before, and thought that they were really cool looking but I never paid them much attention. But this one (Happy Birthday with Stars in multiple vibrant colors on a black background) really struck me as super cool and the perfect one for a New Years cake (I didn't know at the time it said Happy Birthday on the top). I told Melina, "man I wish I was doing something for New Years and wasn't going to be alone, otherwise I'd make a cake and give this a shot." she agreed, but being my little sister I don't think she would ever dissagree with me LOL

Lets just say a few days later I was kicking myself for not getting it while I was there as I later got invited to a pot luck/candle light service at my Church in Yakima. I was very excited and even though I only had a few hours notice, I knew just what I wanted to make; A Happy New Year's Cake and invisioned just how I was going to pull it off with the time constraint!!!! I keep a tub of various cake mixes and frostings for "EMERGANCYS" and this was a cake emergancy. To be very honest, I hate making them from  a box, I feel like I am cheeting my skills and cheeting my consumers. Seriously, anyone can make a cake from a box and throw some icing on it out of a tub and its pretty no foul. Unless of course you burn it/under bake it. Besides there is no real challange and I love challenges. One day when I am really good, I would love to partake in TLC's Ultimet Cake Off or another cake decorating challenge type show.

I whipped up a Funfetti box mix and baked them to perfection using my silicone 10 inch round pans. After they cooled down a bit, I loosly wrapped them in plastic wrap and put a towl over each one to keep them protected form the drying out or getting dust and such on them. I then placed them on top of my chest freezer in my kitchen and went to bed.

Let me pause and give you a little history about the cat that lives at  my place. His name is twitch and he can be a super cute, loveable kitty. Or he can be the spawn of the devil. Usually he is devilish if he needs to be fed. Let me also say that he demands to be fed his wet food at 5:30 am and 4:30 pm; You could set a clock by him. Should he not be fed on time, he will chew on/attack anything in his path, and dose laps around the house demanding to be heard.

So Thursday night before New Years 2011 (the night the cake was cooling) I was the only one home for the night so I set my alarm for 5:30 am to get up and feed the cat not wanting to face the devil. Once I get downstairs I notice that he has destroyed the place. End tables have been emptied of their contents, blankets were strewn everywhere, Christmas decorations were taken off the walls and drug around the living room, and the worst of it all the little shit attacked my cake. He managed to pull the towle off the cake and chew through the plastic wrap and devour about 1/3 of the top layer of the cake. Not to mention that where he didnt eat, he had a blast dancing on the rest of it. There was paw prints all over the cake.  I was ready to kill him, the mess I could handle but my cake! I ignored the mess and went back to bed very angry at the cat.

Once I got up for the day, I quickly went to the local grocery store and bought a new cake mix. I didn't want to have to change my vison for the cake by changing the flavors and didn't have another box on hand. :( After I returned home, I knew I only had a short window of time to re-bake it, let it cool, crumb coat it and fill it, allow it to set up, and frost it before the potluck, so I quickly got to work. While the cake was re-baking and cooling, I managed to get the kitchen cleaned and shower and put my hair up in hot rollers. While my hair was setting I started in on crumb coating and filling the cake. I am sure I looked like a crazy woman if not an alien. While the cake was setting up, I did my hair and make up and made a batch of frosting that would later be dyed Yellow and Orange to complement the cake tattoos I was going to oick up on the way to the pot luck. I knew this was a risky move but was confidant that I had plenty of time. Until I hit a road block. In the middle of all this I realize that the wahermachine wasn't filling like it should have been so I go in contact with the landlord to get it fixed. Our pipes had frozen again in the laundry room. Once I got the base of icing down it was ready to hit the road, I was only 1.5 hour behind schedule.

 I called Michaels on the road and realized that they closed in 25 minutes. I was a good 40 minutes away. So I called my friend who lives in Yakima and explained the situation, she was kind enough to jump in her van and get to Michaels. Problem was she didn't know exactly where the store was and had no idea what it was I wanted and she was a good 15 minutes away. Ended up calling Michaels pretty much begging to be let in, should she make it right at closing,  and allowed to purchase the cake tattoos. The first lady was rude and told me she a a bunch of customers in line that needed her assistance. I'm thinking great, this will be my window and it will be a miracle. Thank you Jesus. Then a manager gets on the line and he too is very rude with me, I explain the situation again and he says nothing we can do for you , we close at 6 so unless you here in the next minute not getting in. I look at my clock and see that its 5:56, so that means she has four minutes right?! Then he says sorry, were closed now I've already locked the doors... Frustrated that hes locking the doors early I hang up and call her back ask her where shes at. She tells me she just around the corner, she pulls into the parking lot and is walking to the door at 6:01. She gets to the doors and the guy rudely tells her that their closed. Now I understand that it was a Friday night and a holiday, but really couldn't you have just let her in for 2 minutes, since others were still inside to grab the one thing I needed and be done. It was money in the door after all.

So I didn't get the tattoos and now had to quickly think of how to decorate the cake using only two colors of  icing. I rushed to decorate the cake and actually was semi impressed with it. First I started with the yellow, and frosted a drum like patten around the edges, then in orange I piped a straight line around the top of the sides where the top of the cake (iced in Chocolate fudge) met the side of the cake (Iced in Vanilla). Then I took a tip I had no idea what shape it created and piped squares inbetween the zig zag pattern on the sides also in orange. For the top I chose to keep it simle and just write "Happy New Year 2011" on half and "Farewell Mareah we will miss you" on the second half using both Yellow and Orange. I then seperated them with  an overlaping zig zag and put dots on the lines.

The cake turned out to be pretty cool, despite the challenges and everyone really enjoyed it. The standard has been set and I will raise the bar with the next one. :D I wouldn't have changed the way I spent my New Years for anything. Who knows when I will end up using the cake tattoos, but I am determind to give them a shot.

Happy New Year and may all my Resoultions and yours come to flourish this year. :D