Piece of cake… almost! August 5, 2009

piece of cake...

Oh my!  I almost didn’t have a picture of this lemon cake with silky French buttercream because it nearly disappeared.  I do have to say, this cake being instantly devoured came to me as a surprise because I almost didn’t serve it after having to deal with quite a few unexpected errors.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that I claim to make no mistakes when I bake.  Believe me, I’m no pastry chef but I try!  I will begin by telling you that the recipe I followed was titled “light and airy cake” from one of my favorite baking books, CakeLove.  However, my cake turned out to be more dense like a pound cake.  Nonetheless, the lemon taste tingled pleasantly on your tongue as the texture of the cake melted nicely to wash it down.  Yes, it surprised me when I cheated by doing a taste test myself by cutting slivers off the edges.  I always have to taste it for myself when trying a new recipe.

Now came the the French buttercream that was supposed to have a hazelnut flavor.  After experiencing a very wet, limp buttercream, I was reluctant to add any more liqueur to give it a hazelnut flavor.  I felt that it was too runny to put in between the layers of the lemon cake.  So I let it set for 10 minutes and drained out the remaining liquid.  I don’t know if it this was the correct solution but I had guests coming over so I had to get this cake together.

As you can see, it came together nicely.  Although, I am curious to find out what went wrong with my buttercream.  I guess that would be a perfect topic to discuss for August’s Method of the Month!

Self taught to career changing bakers July 16, 2009

Lately, I’ve been hanging out at bookstores scoping out all the books about making cakes.  There are a lot of great books out there written by such wonderful and passionate people.  I would like to share a few of the many that I find inspirational.

The story of Warren Brown will blow you away!  Author of Cake Love, lawyer turned baker, and successful owner of a several bakeries and cafes in DC, MD, VA, are just a few of his accomplishments.  I find his story very intriguing because I would love to follow his path.  His passion and entrepreneurial spirit for baking are motivational factors that I would like to possess.

Another book that I adore for its cute and quirky cake decorating and designs is Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse.  The book caught my attention but the story about the authors is what really drew me in.  First, they are a mother and daughter team who own and operate the Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley, NY.  Let me just say that I admire family owned businesses.  My mom is the reason why I started baking and it would be a dream come true to work together!  Secondly, I love the fact that Kaye Hansen, the mother, is a self taught baker and her daughter, Liv, trained as a painter before honing her creative ability into decorating sweet treats to awe and devour.

And last but not least, Martha Stewart.  Growing up, she was an icon for entertaining and home crafts.  Quite frankly, she epitomized domesticity.  “Eww, that’s not me,” initially what I thought of her as a teen.  Now as an adult, I’ve come to appreciate her natural abilities for all things creative and even more so, her entrepreneurial strength and influence as a woman.  There is an older book (2005) that she wrote called The Martha Rules and it explains her journey and belief with trying “different things before your passion becomes clear”.  From modeling, to Wall Street to real estate, Martha found a valuable lesson in everything she tried and applied it to her true passion.

I love great stories, don’t you?  I hope to be just as inspiring to others as they have been to me.  Maybe that is why I love this craft so much.  It’s finally something that I can never get enough of and hopefully pass on what I learn along the way.