The Cake Experiment

Mocha... so close to heaven

2009-10-24T10:35:00.008-05:00

The Mocha cupcakes were a success. :-) And oh so delicious! I just LOVE Mocha!! It is so very high on the list of flavors that I adore. Mocha, Mocha, Mocha, Mocha, Mocha.... one can NEVER have enough!!! Well, I had about a dozen extra, so I took them over to my parent's house for everyone to enjoy. :-)

I love cupcakes. They are fun. They are cute. They are tasty. They are fast. And best of all, making them offers an interesting source of stress relief for me... Well anyway, I just love them! And I can't wait to make my next batch. Hummmm maybe Red Velvet with a creamy dark dark chocolate frosting... or maybe banana with a vanilla frosting... They both sound like winners! :-)

Blue Elephant Bakery.... I am 93.25% sure this is what I want to name my business. The 6.75% of doubt is as to whether I should use bakery or use Cakes, as in Blue Elephant Cakes. Does "Blue Elephant Cakes" break it up into more of a "Elephant Cakes" aspect, and not as I mean it, for the emphasis to be on the "Blue Elephant" aspect?? God! This is difficult!! Or I am being picky and ridiculous?But soo much stands on the name of a person, place, or thing... *long drawn out sigh* Yes, I know, I posted ages ago about how I was trying to come up with a name for the venture of mine. But hey, nobody said I wanted things to happen over night. :-p Okay that is a lie... the little voice in my head does. Every day. It says, "Faster, faster, get this business rolling girl!!" And I have to say in response, "Sloooowwww down! Rome wasn't built in a day!" And then I breath, think over ideas, and make plans. Just to do the exact same thing the next day! :-p I think all of this prep work is a great lesson for a girl like me. Another great lesson in patience....

Hummm....

2009-10-19T13:41:00.005-05:00

My mother in law ordered a dozen and a half cupcakes for a bake sale at her job on Wednesday. :-D Yippie! She paid me already by taking me on a shopping trip to Ross. :-) So tomorrow I am going to make dark chocolate cupcakes with a dark chocolate mocha frosting. :-) Yummy, they should be tasty. :-) I will of course post pics when I finish.

I am doing more research on cake ideas. the more I think about it, the more ideas I get for mama's birthday cake!! I was so sure that I wanted the oh-so-beautiful ivory cake that I talked about earlier, but then I kind of would like to try something with color! Silly me! :-) I am thinking maybe a cake covered in white fondant, then decorated with various colored fondant polka-dots. Or maybe even the base fondant one color, then the polka-dots another color.... hummm.... So much to decide! Or even perhaps one of the popular "circle" themed cakes. Those are always very pretty.

Also, I have it in my head to try a Van Gogh inspired cake.... I am thinking this... A two tiered round cake covered in Fondant. Then on this cake, I will attempt to paint Van Gogh's "Starry Night". I think that would be BEAUTIFUL!!! And what practice it would give me! :-) I think I will do it! When though I am not sure. Probably soon after I am finished with mama's birthday cake. :-) I have no idea how it will turn out, but the more i think about it, the more excited I get! I think that would be a most beautiful cake!! :-D

Cookies... the ficklest food ever...

2009-10-16T14:14:00.002-05:00

I baked some chocolate chip cookies today. I would have to say that it has been probably two good years since the last time I did that! Funny... I like backing cakes, but I don't really like making cookies... I remember now why. They are so darn fickle! The ficklest food ever, in my opinion!! I am always so happy to finish the batch, and I also always wonder why I started in the first place... :-S

Early next week, I want to try and make my first batch of homemade marshmallow fondant. I am really excited. :-D I want to try my first fondant cake soon, because I want to see how marshmallow fondant tastes. :-) I hope it works out well! I am not sure if I want to try coloring it or maybe to make some pretty fondant roses... The main point is, I just want to give it a try and get some experience working with the stuff. It looks like it will be fun. So I need to keep my eye out for some coupons so I can go to Joann's and get a fondant smoother, mat, and rolling pin. :-) Fun, fun, fun! :-) Hopefully.... :-p

Happy Anniversary!

2009-10-15T11:16:00.005-05:00

Today is Shawn and my Anniversary! We are celebrating 9 months of marriage! :-D I just LOVE being married! It is all that I hoped for. :-) Now, that is not to say that these last nine months have been a cake walk, we have had our share of ups and downs. But through and through, it was worth it!! I LOVE that Man.

Also, today Shawn and I worked more on the business plan. He writes sooo well! I am amazed at how eloquently he puts words together! I have always thought that writing came easy for me... but to him, it seems as easy as breathing... Well, you see, we are trying to get our business plan done soon. We are both getting more anxious to get the wheels moving, and dive into the process of turning this from an idea, to something real. :-) However, I know that it doesn't hurt to take my time. But I can be ever so impatient sometimes....

I found a beautiful cake on Cake Central that has inspired me. It was a round white fondant round cake, with large black Art Deco initials on it. It was simple, elegant, and so very beautiful!! I want to make something along the same line for papa's birthday in December. However, the problem is that I can't find the picture again!!! So I will have to search and search until I find it again. I hate when that happens... :-p wish me luck!

Ahhh yes, I just wanted to say this, I think that the brush embroidery technique is so amazingly beautiful! It looks so fancy and elegant! I can't wait to try it!! :-)

Thinking...

2009-10-13T02:35:00.007-05:00

There is so much inspiration for cakes out there!! The more I think about cake, the more I see that can be transformed into a cake design. :-) This is a good thing. For example, our shower curtain. Every time I see it, I think how nice a cake would look covered in that pattern! It is a simple pattern, the curtain itself is brown, and on this brown, there are blue-ish circles going out in a spiral pattern to make bigger circles. I think it would be perfect for a fondant covered cake. :-)

I have been spending more and more time on the Global Sugar Art website. I think I am addicted. :-) Well, you see, I am trying to make a detailed list of items that I need... or is want a better word? ;-) It is for the financial side of my business plan. I have a simple list already, but I am trying to be more detailed and itemize everything better. It is coming along good... a little slow, but good. For the items that you can find easily, I will try to buy from Joann's Fabric or Michael's. That way, I will save a lot of money, certainly with the use of those wonderful, magical, fascinating 40% off coupons!! I LOVE coupons!!! ohh yes! :-D

So much of my time is spent thinking about this business... I am still so excited! :-)

I know this has nothing to do with cake, but I HAD to spread the word anyhow. "Female Self-Esteem"... is there such a thing anymore or is it all killed by the media nowadays? I think it is a topic that is very sad, (I know, I deal myself with it on a DAILY basis... "onslaught" almost made me cry...), and so, I think, these videos are very important for everyone to see! Please watch....

Cupcakes!!

2009-10-10T22:25:00.004-05:00

A couple of days ago I baked up a batch of spice cake cupcakes that I frosted with cream cheese icing. I wanted to do something interesting, so I decided to grab some gel colors. :-) With them, I colored the icing a nice shade of blue, and a wild shade of pink! Let me just say that one has to be careful when using the gel colorants! A little goes a looong way! :-) I accidentally "globbed" way too much pink into my icing. :-) However, the cupcakes were good, but I prefer the chocolate ones I made a little while back... I don't know what it was, but I did not think that the frosting flavor matched that well. Or maybe it was the oh-so-bright colors that just did not go with the more sober spice cake flavor... and therefore, threw the whole concept off kilt. I think that was it... But hey, they still looked pretty! So that at least counts for something! :-D

I have been checking craigslist now and again for a good 5 or 6 quart Kitchenaid stand mixer, possibly with a splash guard. I have seen some for as little as $100 and up to $300. I would really like to get one soon. It would be wonderful to have when making fondant, larger batches of icing, and also simply to make mixing the cake batter easier. :-)

Birthday Cakes and Cake Dummies

2009-10-07T19:20:00.006-05:00

I have decided that I am going to make a cake for Mama's Birthday this month. It will not be just any cake, but a big beautiful fondant covered cake! It will be an ivory color with fondant folds, silver bead trim, and gum paste roses. I have a picture of EXACTLY what I want it to look like.
I copied this picture off of a website, but can not remember for my life where. Sorry!! :-( I wish I did so I could rave about the artist that created this beautiful cake!!! Well anyway, This is what I want to make for Mama, except with only three tiers instead of four. I think the color and details are just sooo gorgeous. So my next step is to learn how to make the gum paste roses. I have watched quite a few tutorials on Youtube, and I feel pretty confidant in my abilities. Now I need to find a 40% off coupon, and buy my supplies from Joann's or Michaels. :-)

Also, when looking at this picture, I am wondering what exactly is the shape of the fondant folds that are laid on the cake. They fit so perfectly that I am wondering how they are cut so precise. Or do they maybe "stretch" and "ease" them into place? I have no idea! I guess I will have to just give it a go, and learn myself. :-)

I found a great place that makes cake dummies. :-D They are extremely reasonably priced, and so very close, so the shipping won't cost me an arm and a leg! I am soooo excited! I want to order both round and square in 6, 8, 10, 12, 14" sizes. That way, I can practice with them and work on building a portfolio, so I can have some nice pictures to post when I am ready to set up a website! :-) Yippie! I really can not wait until the day Shawn and I can work on a website! That will rock!

I was browsing on cakecentral and got a revelation. Bachelor and bachelorette cakes! Why have I NEVER thought of that?! Some of the cakes that many people choose are pretty wild! whole-body-nude cakes, certain-body-part cakes, etc. I was reading about it, and I was wondering how many people would want a cake for their party?? Even if it is not one that falls under the X-rated category, but just a cake to celebrate... I wonder....

The Little Things

2009-10-05T23:22:00.001-05:00

Blue Elephant Cakes...
Red Door Cakes...
Cake Allure...
Timeless Cakes...

God! I am still so stuck in the naming of my business! :( It is getting kind of depressing actually. :p Well, other than that, everything is going smoothly. My dear Husband agreed to help me work on writing up my business plan. So I have been scouring the internet for business plan templates that I can use to guide me. I am excited about getting it finally all on paper so I will have a tangible guide, and not just all this info and ideas floating around in my head! :-)

I used that white chocolate frosting. Instead of cupcakes, I made Shawn a dark chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting. :) It was delicious! I really like that chocolate cake recipe! It is so simple, yet soooo moist and rich. :) Yum, yum, yum....

I am really getting a lot out of reading through cake forums. I am learning soooo much! It is like having hundreds of instructors right at your finger tip. I think I am becoming addicted. :-D I have been reading on them for a couple of months now, but I just recently signed up so I can post. :-) I love books, don't get me wrong, but it can be soo much easier to log on Youtube and watch someone making buttercream roses. You "get it" so much faster, and without having to try it right off. I just love the internet!

Ok, let's see, I am also a little frustrated. I know I really shouldn't be, but I want to move a bit faster with getting this business started!! :) That is "me" for you. I can be sooo impatient! Also, I am frustrated about renting a commercial kitchen. I can only find one that seems like it will work, and it is going to cut into profits badly. I don't expect to pay the rent with this business for a while, but I would like to be able to put more back into the business instead of paying up to $23 an hour to rent a kitchen almost an hour away.... I wish Texas had a cottage food law.... :'(

I am a Lucky Girl!

2009-10-03T17:04:00.000-05:00

Today is not the best day of my life; woke up late with one of my headaches. So I crawled back into bed, and stayed there until 3:30 in the afternoon. So you may be wondering, WHAT exactly about all of this day's disaster make me lucky??

I am lucky because I have family that cares! My dearest husband was so sweet, he stayed sooo quiet so I could sleep late, and then when I got back in bed, he came to cuddle with me the whole time. Also, to help me feel better, my mother-in-law came over and to my surprise, brought along two books that she bought for me! Sweet and Simple Party Cakes by May Clee-Cadman, and Thunder Bay Press' The Essential Cake Decorating Guide. :-) These books are great! I can look through them over and over again! And talk about inspiration! I think I may have a solid idea for my first fondant cake!! :-)

This morning, with a headache and half delirious, I was lying in bed thinking of a name for this business, and I came up with this idea... Blue Feather Cakes. It is not set or anything, but at the moment it sounds good and it sticks with my adjective-verb naming scheme. However, I am still thinking of other options... hummmm.....

I have some white chocolate cream cheese icing in the fridge that I need to use soon; before it gets old. So I was thinking of whipping up a batch of chocolate cupcakes tomorrow to accompany it. :-) We'll see.....

My Fondant Future

2009-10-02T14:54:00.000-05:00

Hummmmm.....

I just finished my online defensive driving course, ( I know, I know...), so now I can get back to my cake obsession. :-)

A little while back, I found a wonderfully simple and inexpensive recipe for marshmallow fondant. I am excited... really excited! So now I am trying to decide what I want to do first with my new-found wisdom. I know I want to try my hand at a tiered cake, but not sure whether to try two or three tiers. Also, I am trying to decide on the design involved. This is where I can let my imagination go wild! There are oh-sooo-many different things I can do for my first fondant cake! I am so excited, but I already know I will have to keep reminding myself, that this cake, this adventure, is just the first of many fondant covered cakes that I will make. So it need not be perfect... at least not totally. :-p

I do know that the cake will be round since I have a set of round pans. I also know that I want to color the fondant. But that is about all I am curtain of. I do not know what color, nor do I know what style I want. Flowers maybe? Ribbon maybe? Fondant cut-outs maybe? I am not yet sure!! I have been thinking, it would look nice to make a cake based on the design off of our shower curtain. It is brown with darkish turquoise circles spiraling around and around... I think it would be nice to try! Or maybe start off with something simple yet elegant, or bold and bright... I will just have to do more research to help get my creative juices flowing. :-)

Decorating tips.... that is next on my "to-buy" list. I want to get the master set so I can also start to practice my piping techniques. :-)

A Cake by Any Other Name...

2009-09-29T04:56:00.001-05:00

Another cake came out of the oven this evening (early morning actually... another late late night). :-) A super moist vanilla cake, which will, in the morning, be covered in a rich white chocolate icing. I love making this cake because Shawn loves eating it! I am also glad to get the practice. It makes perfect you know! :-D And that thought brings me to another important decision, one I have to make before my cake business can become more than just a dream. A Name...

At this moment I have no earthly idea what I should name my future company! Still, after much thinking and thinking, nothing sounds good enough to me. What I have noticed, most people use their names in the possessive form, (e.g. "Betty's, Susie's, etc.), and then add "Cakes". I don't want to do that. I want something catchy... something memorable. Something that will stick in my future clients' heads, and roll off their tongues with ease. So what I have come up with is this... I want an Adjective then a Verb then the word "Cake" for my set up... But finding these types of words, that fit together in a way that I find pleasant enough to consider putting on my business cards, is tough work! So I am still thinking!

post scriptum--Also I learned something new today!! Steam makes fondant shiny!!! Wow! I would have never thought of that. Thank you Internet for your infinite wisdom! :-)

Cakes, cakes, cakes...

2009-09-25T22:14:00.000-05:00

Cakes, cakes, cakes...

Lately that is all I think about. I do research about cakes. I google "wedding cakes" to look at all of the beautiful pictures of cakes. I read recipes and think how each little difference could add to the taste of my cakes. When I am at the gym, it is cake-thoughts that get me past my many, "I can't cycle one more mile!" moments. I guess you can call it an obsession... I call it preparation.

This time is my learning period. I am learning more and more about the beautiful art of sugar crafting. But there is more to my research than just pretty cakes. I am learning about starting a business and what it all takes. Licenses, LLC or Corporation, commercial kitchens, supplies, accounting software, marketing, taxes.... these are all things that have been running through my head-all things we have to do, and decisions we have to make, in order to start this business off right, and not to mention, legal. My parents have a business, and my husbands parents also have a business. So honestly, it seems only natural that my husband and I start one. However, for a while we had no clue as to what sort of business we could start, until one day we decided, "why not cakes?!".

And so here I am, starting a blog to try and keep up with, and journal, the process from occasional home baker, to professional cake designer.

Wish us luck!