is called to order.

Who's up?
Whatcha workin' on?

I cleaning up the kitchen and putting a bottom border on a cake. Only 2 this week, and I'm enjoying it sooooo much more than last week when I had 5 weddings/8 cakes and no sleep at all on Friday night. I'll get to go to bed very soon!

I'm not taking 5 in one weekend ever again!

Last cake in the oven- yay! I am taking a class tomorrow- cake carving. My son is taking class with me, so I had to make 6 cakes (persian cake-white cake with lemon zest and juice, cardamom seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, and rosewater). I made 2 batches of Indydebi's buttercream, and 2 batches of marshmallow fondant.

Leah you are my cake idol! I don't know HOW you could do 5 wedding cakes all in one weekend! You amaze me!

Just finished up a tutu ballerina cake for tomorrow. Now I just to get off of the computer and finish cleaning

Did two cakes yesterday and today FINALLY!!!! finished a 125 cupcake wedding order, each with its own fondant animal figure on the top. Been working on them since last week. Have to deliver tomorrow...but so glad its DONE.

Four cakes next week...ugh...then I think it should slow down in July a tad.

Slow week for me too! Nice change from a crazy chaotic week last weekend! Baby shower cake cooling and volleyball cookies drying.

Went out to buy an iPad today, thinking it would be great for business needs on the go, only to find that they are sold out everywhere I'm hella impatient, so I went to Best Buy and bought a little tablet PC. I think this may end up working out better- and it was half the price!! Playing with it now- The keyboard will take some getting used to, and it definitely won't replace my home computer, but it's small (less than 2 lbs) capable.

I don't usually post on this I am not sure what you all do...

I am finally able to sit back and breath I have had a heck of a busy week or shall I say last 3 days. I baked and decorated a combined 4 cakes and 78 cupcakes and my body can feel it! This may not be much for most of you and I envy you but holy smokes it is new to me. I have two orders to do next week and had to turn another down didn't like that much but what was I to do.

So I just got out of the bath now to curl up with a good book or movie... life is good

The only thing I did was make a fresh batch of buttercream frosting. I made two cakes for yesterday, and have NO cake sitting on my counter at the moment! I'm debating what cake I'll do next. Since I'm a newbie, I need to keep making them and then give away to a good home. I'm hoping to find time to practice (my lack of) piping skills this weekend.

I just finished a music-themed cake in honor of my granddaughter's piano recital, in which she performed admirably! I'm now trying to screw up my courage to start carving a vintage Mustang cake for Father's Day (for my son-in-law). I've never done a car before, and I find the amount of detail and the proportions daunting. But I've made a whole bunch of red ganache-like crumb coating for under my fondant. The car is going to be red (of course), so I thought I could put my red imitation-chocolate mini-chips to good use. Sorry if I'm making some of you shudder out there: the "faux" ganache is very tasty and is a great undercoating for fondant in the overly humid climate I live in. My one true worry about this project is not that the cake won't look like a 1963 Mustang, but that it won't even look like a car! Oh, well... Any words of advice and cakely wisdom would be welcome! Happy you're having a calmer weekend this time around, Leah.

I just finished up a raspberry/lemon cake for tomorrow. And I made the mousseline buttercream with raspberry puree for the first time.
I ended up buying the kitchenaid attachment- fruit and vegetable grinder to get the seeds out of those darn raspberries....it worked like a dream! Do any of you ladies use this attachment?

I have 2 dozen cupcakes and a hummingbird cake for monday.

Im a newbie here....so Im learning as I go along.

simplehappy, you'd be even more (insert something) to find out that one of the four cakes that we delivered last Saturday was completely destroyed during delivery. DH decided for whatever crazy reason to try to beat a bus through an intersection, and not only zoomed, took a turn way too sharp, went up over a high curb and bounced the SUV back onto the pavement. It was the kind of bounce that you wonder if the sidewalls of the tires are gonna blow out.

So the second cake of the day was not salvageable, although the groom's cake was. That thing went straight up and came down sideways. I will say the the SPS was still holding it together - sideways.

So, we raced home, I scraped and reiced the groom's cake, while DH made icing, as I called out ingredients and method. I pulled cakes from the freezer, filled, iced, decorated a three tier cake and redelivered in an hour and forty five minutes and of course gave the couple a full refund per my contract. And I'd had no sleep at all the previous night.

We delivered the next two, although the fourth cake was finished and we were leaving about a half hour before the guests were expected. Way too close for me.

So, never again will I take 5 wedding cakes + 3 groom's cakes in the same weekend. Unless I have some staff to help of course. But then if I had payroll to make, I'd HAVE to take 5 cakes every weekend.

Working on a grad cake for my future (7 weeks!) daughter-in-law's sisters party tomorrow. She wants the Dark Deep Chocolate Cake I made her sister 2 years ago. I don't recall it being a problem but I've tried making it recently and again tonight and the darn thing is flat and not tall like it should be! I am doubling the recipe and using a 16" squre cake. Two weeks ago I doubled it and used a half-sheet cake pan. The original recipe is for a single 9 x 13" pan, hence my doubling it

Worse yet, my son and his fiance want this cake for their wedding cake!

All my ingredients are new and I proofed them just to make sure (the bkg. soda, bkg. powder), etc.

I went through all my cookbooks but I can't find a Deep Dark Chocolate Cake. I'm not a happy camper and didn't want an all-nighter since my allergies and asthma are acting up and I have bronchitis!

ooooo chefjulie, a netbook? I want one!!

hi all

I am multi-tasking tonight. I am canning blueberry jam, which just like the stawberry will end up mostly in cakes.

And I am trying to practice a model of a hand giving the peace sign. for those who dont know, I have a sweet sixteen cake due next month. and it is going to be a 60's tye-dye cake with peace signs and a hand bursting through the top giving the peace sign. I AM HATING THIS HAND!!! But I am glad to have the time to keep practicing. It looks kind of morbid in my dinning room with these warped looking hands sitting on the table.

oh no leah, I am so sorry to hear about you cake. I would have cried.

Didn't have time to cry.

I took this weekend off - it's my first Fathers Day home with my family in *thinks* 13 years, so no bookings for me so I can spend some time with my Grandpa.
I'm making him a big batch of homemade lower-fat ice cream with coconut, orange, pineapple, and almonds (he looooooves ice cream!) and I'm also making a simple pineapple upside-down cake with brown sugar glaze. The family is having a nice cookout and it looks like the weather will be perfect for it on Sunday!

working steady on a large grad cap with tappits lettering & 25 cupcakes with individual little grad caps on each.. yeah...
gotta have my music to keep me going! a cocktail wouldn't be bad either..

I'm working on a three tier square wedding cake. I'm so pleased because I used Tonedna's buttercream recipe and it's a dream! I used Sharon Zambito's technique for icing a square cake and I have nice sharp corners. So far, so good!

Almost done with a 6/9 for a baby shower tomorrow. Just needs the borders. I made a baby carriage cookie that matches the invite for the topper- will put that on after delivering. Made Sugarshack's chocolate buttercream for first time, it worked well!

Waiting for the icing to crust on the matching sheet cake- dog got the first cake this morning!! The fondant decs are all ready, then just words and borders.

Maybe midnight?

Tesso, lime all the way!!

I was wondering the same thing Tesso! Sometimes my DH goes with me on deliveries -- but I'm driving -- that way if a cake gets messed up on the way (which thank goodness has not happened!) -- he gets to live another day!LOL!!

And even though I live a very, very, very rural area and it can be the pits when trying to shop for cake decorating supplies, finding something different to do, etc -- the upside is I never have to beat a bus through a light!!

Fairly easy week for me - just finished up 2 sheetcakes and 4 dzn cuppies; 2 more little cakes for tomorrow to finish and thats it. Next week is he**week though!

Good night friends

Suze

Tessa, I'm ordering up a margarita, please! No salt!

Leah_S, I can't believe your husband is still alive to tell the story! You were a real trooper to pull it together like you did, but geesh! You must have been furious!!!

Hello everyone! Can I hang out here, even if I'm not a professional? lol. I don't sell cakes, but I've been gettin orders like I do.

For me, I've got a stacked birthday cake due tomorrow for my BIL's friend's 28th birthday party. Both cakes are sittin on the counter. One is ready to be decorated. The other is going to sit tonite to settle and decorated tomorrow morning (lucky 4 me, he doesn't need it till tomorrow night! lol). I finally got the letters of her name out in fondant, and I still haven't figured out if I'm piping the happy birthday or using the cricut (I'm kinda scared of it. lol)

I've got to bake another cake tonite, because my FIL decided to call me at 7 pm this evening and ask me to make a small cake for his dad for father's day. And he needs it in the morning on Sunday. UGH. lol I told him it was really last minute, but his excuse was he just wanted something simple. So I guess I'm doin it.

And I would LOVE a margarita right now! lol.

Wow Leah- I would have crumbled like the cake! You are just amazing!
I love this site because I have just learned SO much here. And people like you are really inspiring that someday I too will be able to escape my "real" job and be my own boss. I have found a commercial kitchen to work in, and the owner (a caterer) likes my work and wants to use me for his weddings. I am looking forward to trying out SPS very soon!!

Thanks for the good wishes, Cat. Actually, I'm surprised: it seems like it might actually be recognizable as a Mustang. It's taken me a few hours last night and all day today to get to the point where I could put my ganache crumb coat on. I'm nothing if not SLOW! But I drew patterns, made the elevated base, ganached and covered 4 RKT tires in black fondant, cut the basic shape of the cake, sculpted it down and put a coat of red (obviously "faux") ganache on it. I just turned the AC way down so it would harden enough to put the fondant on without squishing around in this climate. I'm a long way from the end, but it's been entertaining the whole time, and this kind of project always teaches you a lot. But if anybody ever wants to buy one from me, it's going to set them back more or less what a real Mustang would!

LOL...yeah...I have a client who wants a car cake for her boyfriends 21st...a copy of his car...and I will be charging accordingly...for my pain and suffering! LOL!