Very long week!

So, It's been a very long week! I'm just so happy to have so much to show for it.

This weekend I made a red velvet superman cake for a birthday...

Then a chocolate cherry chip baby shower cake for a very good friend of mine....
And lastly, 50 cupcake favors! (double chocolate chip, red velvet, and yellow)In addition... I also made 144 chocolate cherry chip cake balls which all sold within an hour.

So it was a very long week, but soooo worth it! It's weekends like this that remind me why I love doing what I do. Seeing how much happiness these cakes bring people is really what it's all about.

NY Cake Convention!

OK, so I read about the NY Cake Convention on Twitter and had this idea... In keeping up with my cake documentary... why not see if I can get access to photograph it. Now, this was a complete shot in the dark... but why not try, right?

So I looked on the "Contact us" page and emailed every single person on it! I explained the photo/cake work I have been doing and sent a link to my photography site as well as this blog. Someone had to be interested. And someone was!

Hello Lauren,

We would love to have you participate in the NY Cake Convention as one of the event photographers. Send me your mailing information and I will have a media kit sent out to you. Included in the kit is an event pass which would give you access to all areas of the convention.

I look forward to your response.

I can't even explain how excited I am! This is going to be HUGE! I can not wait to document "Cake Culture". I already bought my tickets to get in, as well as see the cake competition, but now maybe I can actually go up on stage and photograph the competitors!

Cakeumentary

Some of my recent photo work combined with sounds of the baking and decorating process.

This is a work in progress. The finished product will be on display I believe sometime in March or April. I will update as I know more.



So here's the story behind this...

As most of you know, I am also a photographer. I have always preferred to shoot food and that is what has motivated me to start my baking business.

I have always loved to bake and have been doing so since I was about 4 years old with my aunt. She always taught me that the prettier the dessert looks, the more people will want it. We used to have an "reject" pile of cookies around the holidays just for us and we always gave all the pretty ones away.

That school of thought has stayed with me all these years. When I have company I make sure everything is plated well. When I bake a cake, I make sure it is decorated well. I pay great attention to detail because sometimes it's the smallest details that matter the most.

So I took everything I know about baking, and everything I know about photography, and put the two together, added some sound... and POOF! Magic.

Ok, maybe not "Magic", but my goal is to shed some light on the whole cake decorating process. With so many shows out there, like Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, and Amazing Wedding Cakes... a lot of viewers get to see how a cake is decorated. But what they often don't get to see, or see enough of anyway, is all the work that happens before the fondant can be applied. The hours in the kitchen to bake all the cakes and make the frosting. Especially home bakers like myself.

I feel like today, with so many cake shows out there, cake decorating is finally taking it's place in the art world. I am trying to give it a push by creating my own edible art and producing documentary photographic art combined with sounds to further enhance the viewers experience.

I am also trying to get the message out there that it is possible to create incredible cakes in your own home kitchen. I live in a small NY apartment. I only have one oven. I only have one 6 quart mixer. I only have one counter. If I can do it... anyone can.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream!

Ok, so I just got a call from my mom, who brought 20 of the cupcakes I made from the ICE class into work yesterday. She was calling to tell me that people are still talking about them! Especially the chocolate cake with the SMB frosting. So I decided it was time I posted the recipe! It's just too good to keep to myself!

Swis Meringue Buttercream (SMB)
Yield, around 4 cups, enough for 24 cupcakes

4 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 sticks (16 oz) unsalted butter, room temp.
Flavoring

1. In a mixer bowl, by hand, with a large whisk, whisk egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until foamy.

2. Over simmering water, continue to whisk egg white while slowly adding sugar. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, continute to whisk until egg mixture is hot (140ºF). Don't stop whisking while bowl is over the water. Remove to check for temp.

3. Remove from water and place bowl on stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment beat on medium high speed until the mixture is cool and looks like marshmallow fluff. Very important that it's cooled off!

4. Begin adding the butter, around 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting for each addition to be incorportated before continuing. Scrape down the bowl a few times while adding butter.

5. After the last of the butter has been incorporated, beat for a few more minutes and then add flavoring.

Flavorings:

Vanilla: The scraped out seeds from one vanilla bean, or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Coffee: 1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons dark rum of coffee liquer.

Lemon: The zest of one lemon, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons light rum.

Raspberry/Strawberry/Passion Fruit: 1 cup fruit puree reduced to 1/2 cup and cooled. 1 to 2 tablespoons framboise or light rum.

Orange: The finely grated zest of 1 orange, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons orange juice and 2 tablespoons orange liqueur.

Chocolate/Espresso: 6 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled, and 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons coffee liquer.

Almond/Praline: 1/3 cup praline paste and 1-2 tablespoons amaretto.

Cupcake class at ICE

Ok, so I took a cupcake class tonight with my aunt at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education). It was incredible! I have been on the hunt for a great yellow cake recipe and now I have finally found it! That alone was worth the price of the class. But then on top of it I finally learned how to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream! Not only did we have a great time, but we got to taste some great recipes.

Cake wise, we kinda stuck to the basics. We made a yellow cake and a double chocolate chip cake. Frosting wise, I went with stuff I have never tried before. I topped off the yellow cupcakes with a chocolate fudge frosting. Not too hard, but takes a little while to make. Then I went with a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. I have never made SMB before, so I thought, why not? Well, now I know why not. Don't get me wrong... it tastes great! It's not as sweet as american butttercream... but it's a LOT more work!

My first attempt, I got scrambled eggs. OOPS. But after tasting the instructors raspberry SMB, I was determined. I wanted to make the raspberry one, but I was running out of time so I stuck to vanilla. I really like the fact that it's not as sweet and also, it's much lighter and fluffier. I think this weekend I have to go get a huge whisk and a small thermometer so I can try this again in my kitchen. Seriously worth the trouble!

The other cupcakes that I got to try, but didn't bring any home, were also incredible! There was a peanut butter cupcake with a chocolate truffle center and a carrot cake that most people paired with a cream cheese frosting. I am so glad I took this course and I am looking forward to taking another!