Cake Day and the naked wedding cake

As Jesse can tell anyone who's ever asked, 'Cake Day' is a horribly stressful and emotionally straining day. I am notoriously awful. I don't say this lightly. I'm completely stressed out and usually unable to do the simplest of thought processes beyond cake planning. I even forget to eat. Jesse has more than once held a sandwich to my face and reminded me to take a bite, while I grumbled and growled at the inconvenience of food.

All this was before I took a job as a cake decorator. At that time, every cake was overwhelming and I wasn't as in control of my time management. Yes, every cake was easier and I got faster but cakes were few and far between. It's not easy getting better when you don't practice. Now, I decorate a few cakes every week. We like it simple at the bakery so we don't get crazy with fondant or too many details but the cakes always look beautiful. My crumb coating is pretty awesome, if I must say so myself. I've gotten faster and I am much more aware of how much time each step takes.

So 'Cake Day' approached and I began setting myself up for it. And guess what? It was so much easier and stress free. Probably the nicest 'Cake Day' we've ever had.

I say, "we" because it really is a joint effort and Jesse puts up with a lot from me. I can be very mean and unapologetic. It's true. I'm asked simple questions like, 'Are you hungry?' or 'What would you like to eat?' And, all I can do is growl out an irritated retort. Usually something completely unhelpful and unnecessarily short.

'Cake Day' is not necessarily a one day event. I use the term 'Cake Day' to refer to the series of days that are needed to complete a commission. It includes the day of delivery, especially if any set up is required.

This 'Cake Day' was not like the others. I had set myself up very well. I'd made the cakes on my previous day off and froze them. 'Cake Day' officially started Friday night after I got home from work. I came home and made a list of needed groceries then I ran to the store to gather supplies. Saturday would be my big work day.

I expected Saturday to be overwhelming. Surprise! I put off assembly and decorating until the evening because, you know, procrastination. It went smoothly and quickly and before I knew it, the cake was ready to go. Jesse and I talked about it and he pointed out that I had been very nice all day.... I guess that's a good thing...

Sunday was almost as pleasant. There was the added stress of getting to the wedding site on time, and having our dress up clothes ready to go as well. We chose to wear working clothes to the site and for the cake set up, and to bring our party outfits with us and change immediately after setup.

Set up also went crazy smooth. When we arrived I had to search out the bridal party and find someone to direct me. Jesse waited in the car with the ac running with the cakes. As soon as I knew where I was going, I got Jesse and had him help me carry the boxes up to the reception room. We set the cake up and added the flowers and berries. We were joined by another pastry chef who had made the some delicious looking fresh fruit tarts, lemon bars, and s'mores bars. Jesse helped her set up her treats while I finished up on the cake.

 A Victoria sponge inspired cake.
Vanilla butter cake with raspberry jam filling and vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. We added as many berries (strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries) as we could fit on each tier.

After asking for flowers to add to the cake, I watched the mother of the bride literally steal from a few centerpieces because they'd forgotten to retain flowers for the cake. Haha. It worked out perfectly, just a few flowers brought the whole cake together and matched the wedding theme beautifully.

The entire wedding was amazing. The happy couple looked beautiful and so in love.The cake went over very well. I had a few people come up and tell me how delicious it was, which was awesome but I can't help blushing every time that happens.

All in all, this was my favorite cake experience to date. The cake went wonderfully, it came out delicious, and the event was one of the funnest weddings I've been to. And, as much as I love how the cake looked fully assembled, this is my favorite picture of it.

A call, a request, a plan, and a tasting

Not too long ago a friend called me up and asked me to make her wedding cake. I haven't done a wedding cake for a few years. It used to be because I was afraid I'd muck it all up, again. (Though the bride was more than happy with the cake, I was not...) Lately, it's been more along the lines of no one needing one. I've also been very busy with work and the move, and that hasn't left much time for commissions. So, when I received that fateful call, it was with much happiness and excitement I accepted the responsibility and honor.

I am a very low maintenance free-lance contractor. You call me and ask me for something, I will be more than happy to tell you what I can do and for how much. I ask you where and when you need it and we set up a meeting for the trade. That's pretty much my level of involvement with my clients. I prefer emails because then I have something to refer to and I LOVE pictures. Pictures of colors, textures, anything that inspires you. A wedding? A bride? That's a whole 'nother story.

Since a wedding is a very big deal, it requires much more involvement. Communication must be open and available. Another reason emails are so awesome. I may be at work but I am more able to answer an email or a text than a phone call.

My friend sent me some inspiration photos through email and we discussed our options. Her taste ran from the rustically classic or a stained glass inspired design. Fondant was necessary to do the stained glass style and her fiance is not a fan, so that was nixed. Classic, rustic, and beautiful. Done.

After a few back and forths with design, we discussed flavors. Originally she was looking for something interesting, kind of unique. Nothing crazy but something tasty and not quite traditional. Honey, lavender, spices, and mint were all on the table. I told her let's do a cake tasting with 4 flavors. We didn't set up a date at the time because I though it prudent to wait until closer to the big day, give them more time to find things that caught their eyes or taste buds. She didn't think she'd change her mind....

So a couple months go by, and she keeps me updated on her ideas and I follow her pinterest to keep an eye on her taste. About a month before the big day, we set the tasting appointment. The taste profiles we decided on are (clockwise in top photo):

• A Victoria sponge inspired cake: Vanilla butter cake with raspberry jam filling and a cream cheese frosting.

• A cheesecake inspired cake: Graham cracker butter cake with a cheesecake cream cheese frosting.

• A spiced apple cake: Spiced butter cake with a honey buttercream. Fresh apple slices for decoration but if chosen, also to be within the layers of cake. 

• A pink champagne cake: Pink champagne sponge cake with a cream cheese frosting.
 

 Well, there was a paragraph here about 'Cake Day' but for some reason it got deleted.... So yeah. I don't remember what I wrote so I'll just leave this here....

It's been over a year, how about an update?

So what do you do when you fall off the attempted blog bandwagon? You forget about it and move on. Here's to another attempt at updating this thing regularly. I have a computer that works, access to the internet, and a kitchen that I should really make use of.

So... Here it goes again...

Well, except I need to actually cook or bake something. So I guess I should get on that. In the mean time, here's some of the things that have kept me busy:

Mucha Lucha birthday cake. Side project.

 Retirement cake. Side Project.

 Super Mario Bros. birthday cake. Work done for Rising Hearts Bakery.

 Wedding tasting sample cupcakes. Clockwise on round plate: 1)Vanilla Butter Cake, Raspberry Jam, Cream Cheese Frosting, Raspberry Jam Drop. 2) Graham Cracker Cake, Cheesecake Frosting, Fresh Berries. 3) Spiced Butter Cake, Honey Buttercream, Apple Slices with a drizzle of Honey. 4) Pink Champagne Cake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Pink and White Pearl Sugars. Side Project.

 Cloud Baby Boy Baby Shower. Vanilla and Chocolate Butter Cake, Sky Blue Vanilla Frosting with White frosting clouds. Side Project.

 Under the Sea Birthday Cake. Work for Rising Hearts Bakery.

 Monkey Birthday Cake. Work for Rising Hearts Bakery.

 Portal Themed Birthday Cake. Black Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Comic Book Birthday Cake. Work for Rising Hearts Bakery.

Dead Computer Blues

My computer crashed and burned last year. We have an iPad but as awesome as it can be, it's no match for a full functioning computer. I asked my mom if I could use her computer to update the iPad but as it is a new computer linked to the itunes it only gives me the option of wiping my entire memory on the iPad. Seriously, WTF? So right now I don't know what to do. The iPad needs a serious update since it's been months and it does appear to be running a little wonky. Butttttt, if I do that then I will lose all of my music, some of it that I can not replace as I have long ago lost the cds. So frustrating!
And, as I have been without a computer, I have not been able to update this thingy. I couldn't find an app for it on the ipad and the website didn't appear to be compatible with the iPad. Hooray.

Attempt #XYZ

I have seriously sat down at least times today to post something. I wrote a sentence, drew a blank, then closed the window so I wouldn't have to look at the offensively empty post. Sooo.... Here I am.

It would appear that I will be going into the restaurant Friday for sure but maybe tomorrow. Finally. It's weird having so much time off. At first you think, 'Ah man! I am gonna get so much stuff done, it will be amazing!' You're looking up craft projects and recipes and party planning tips and pre-pregnancy advice and then BAM! You realize everything you're thinking about doing today can be done tomorrow... And then the cycle begins. You sleep in later, which in turn makes you stay up later. You're watching 3 episodes of Charmed a night after playing Sims for 5 hours. Your husband is waking up for work as you're snuggling into sleep... Not the most fun in the world... You start to miss seeing daylight and people. My whole plan of getting a holiday menu up and running totally crashed and burned because I'm lazy and a major procrastinator... Now I'm going back to work and I'll probably find more time to take care of business than I ever did while unemployed... Damn you, Sagittarius nature! You're ability to juggle when busy but become despondent when not hath caused me grief yet again!

Anyways, J and I are doing immensely well with our running. I did the week 1 schedule for two weeks instead of one because I wasn't there yet. I had pulled a thigh muscle on day 2 of week 1 so it threw me off. Luckily some swimming seemed to stretch it completely out and I was able to get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. This week is our 3rd week doing it. J is on the week 3 schedule (1.5 min jog/1.5 min walk/3 min jog/3 min walk }x2) and he is doing so well. I'm so proud of him. And I started the week 2 schedule (1.5 min jog/2 min walk }x6) and was able to do it all on Day 1 without too much struggle. Yay! We're both dealing with soreness because 1)we both lead pretty sedate lifestyles (heeeellllooooo, videogames are my love) and 2)we're doing barefoot running on concrete.

Attempted Fitness

J and I started running/walking. It's harder/not as hard as I thought it would be. Harder because it doesn't seem so bad when it says 1 minute run and 1.5 minute walk. Then you start and you realize a minute is a lot longer than you remember it being. Not as hard because I'm actually enjoying it. The soreness sucks and I'm hobbling around like an old lady....Buuuuttt, it's worth it for so many reasons.

J needs to get into shape for his prospective job interview. He needs a lot of work (we both do but my job doesn't depend on it) but we're working on it. I'm finding being the motivator is way better for me than being motivated. Pushing him, pushes me without the angry backlash I normally get from people trying to push me.

I want to run. Not necessarily a marathon or anything. Maybe one day but right now, my goal is to reach a point where I don't need to count down. Where I can comfortably run without thinking, 'is it almost over, I can't do this anymore.' Blagh. I'm tired of that.

So we're working on it. We were both too sore to actually run today but we power-walked for like 45 minutes. Shows how much I've changed since the last attempt. Before I would've said, 'screw it, I'm resting.' This time I want to do it and J doesn't really have the time to spare. It may not have been running but it was still something. We'll see how tomorrow feels.

Meatloaf Part Dos

The meatloaf came out really good and Jesse loved it.

I had to ask Jesse to pick up some spinach so we could have a salad with it and the domesticity of it all made me laugh. So, I put on a skirt and did my make up and even put on my mom's pearl necklace and greeted him with a cocktail when he came home. Oh, and his sandals since we live in southern california and it's too hot for slippers. haha. He thought it was hilarious and appreciated the cocktail.

I had to make a few changes to the recipe for size and some additions for flavor. Ultimately this is the recipe I ended up with:

1 1/2 cups of onion, rough chopped, whatever kind I already had
8 - 10 cloves of garlic, also rough chopped
2 tbl olive oil (really whatever amount the pan needed to cook the vegetables in)
2 tsp salt \ (I used 3 tsp of a salt and pepper mixture I always have on hand)
1 tsp pepper /
1 tsp dried thyme
a little less than 1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce (technically 1/2 of 1/3 of a cup)
1/2 cup chicken stock (although it occurred to me beef stock might pack a better punch)
1 tsp tomato paste
about 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (because I have it and it's delicious)
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 lb lean ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
about a 1 cup of ketchup

This is in no way exactly half of the original recipe but I made changes as I went through it in ways I thought made sense or to make my life a little easier.

I did also make some changes to the directions as she wants you to add the salt and pepper to the onions and cook but that'll make the pepper become bitter so I added it to the meat mixture instead.

The directions are pretty basic:
*Preheat the oven to 325oF

*Cook the onions and garlic and thyme in olive oil over med heat till the onions are translucent but not browned, and fragrant. Add the chicken stock, Worcestershire Sauce, and tomato paste and mix together. Set aside and let cool.

*Mix the meat together. Add the salt and pepper, breadcrumbs, beaten eggs, chopped basil, and cool onion mixture. Mix and smoosh together until evenly distributed and what not.

*Divide into two loaf pans. Spread a layer of ketchup over the tops and pop them into the oven. (Or in my case, fight with the oven door until it finally squeaks open.) Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes until internal temperature is 160oF. Fight with the door again then, Eat!

Mashed Potatoes would be delicious but I made Mac and Cheese instead... with cream instead of milk.... yum.... And spinach salads. That hopefully combats the cream... but probably not.

Altogether dinner was a hit and really didn't take much more time than any other dinner so it'll be happening again, no doubt. Maybe next time I'll take some pictures....