Connecticut Cake Competition 2013!!

Hi Everyone!  Today I want to make a fun announcement... for all my fellow cake decorators or just plain old cake enthusiasts who happen to be in the New England area. 

Now, we don't have many cake competitions in this area... so the one I look forward to every year is the Connecticut Cake Competition!  I'm a little late in letting you all know, but this years competition is coming up in just a few weeks!  The weekend of February 16th and 17th you can head over to the Hartford Marriott Downtown for this fun event!

If you would like to enter a cake, there is still time to pre-register (by February 2nd online or February 6th by mail), but entries are accepted at registration.  There are divisions for all levels from beginner to professional... there is even a youth division, if you are under 17 (or your child is) and you want to submit something! 

This years theme is "Sugar Fiesta!"  Entries are judged on there own merit, but the best of each division is awarded a trophy... and there is a $1000 value grand prize for the winner of the Wedding Cake division!

I participated in the Connecticut Cake Competition the past two years... I am very disappointed that I don't think I will be able to enter this year (I'm moving and then I have another cake event I am committed to the week before the competition).  Last year I had conflicting commitments and ended up submitting a cake that wasn't finished and that I wasn't happy with (see it here), though I still managed to earn a 3rd place ribbon.  I really don't want to enter something I wasn't able to give my best effort to, so unless I can figure out some miraculous scheduling I'll probably just attend to see everyone else's beautiful creations!

The first year I entered, CCC 2011, was the most exciting!  I had only been decorating cakes a few months and entered at the beginner level.  To my amazement, not only did they move my entry up to the Advanced Division, but I won a first place ribbon AND the Division Trophy!

This is my winning entry from my first competition, the theme was "A Touch of the South!"

Competitions are so much fun!  I highly recommend that, regardless of skill level, you enter a competition if cake decorating is a passion of yours!  Even if you are not local to New England or able to attend the Connecticut Cake Competition.  Check out what your area has to offer (cake clubs like your local ICES branch are a good place to start)!

Even if you aren't a cake decorator, or just don't want to enter you can still attend!  The Connecticut Cake Competition is open to the public.  It's fun to just go look at the entries, but they also have many events going on all weekend.  You can sign up for workshops or demonstrations, they have a live "challenge" and last year they even had the 4 finalists from TLC's "The Next Great Baker"!

Check out the Connecticut Cake Competition website for information on rules/regulations, as well as registration or admission fees!

Happy Caking :)

New Craftsy Class! Topsy-Turvy Cake Construction!

Hi Everyone!  I just wanted to quickly post about this class for anyone interested.  I recently discovered Craftsy and took the Handcrafted Sugar Flowers class with Jacqueline Butler.  I really loved the class and learned a lot.  I had signed up for Craftsy's newsletter and this morning received one that might interest you! 

They don't have a lot of cake decorating classes as of yet (2 at this point!), but seem to be building in that area.  This morning they just announced their new Topsy-Turvy Cake Construction class!  It's discounted at 50% right now, although I'm not sure how long that discount will last for.  The price right now is $29.99!

I've done topsy-turvy cakes before, but I think I might sign up for this one!

From Craftsy's website:

What You Will Learn in Topsy-Turvy Cake Construction

• How to design and create a cake based on composition, gravity and temperature considerations
• How to use equations to easily calculate the angles for each tier
• How to effectively cover cake in fondant
• How to build a structure that supports every tier
• How to transport your cake safely to its final destination

I'm particularly interested in structure and support, because I want to work at trying to create "extreme" cakes and need a better understanding of how to plan the support system.

If you are interested, you can sign up here.

Happy Caking :)

Handcrafted Sugar Flowers (with Jacqueline Butler)

I wanted to share with you all, a class I recently took...  Now, I believe I've said many times over that I am self taught at cake decorating... but, I will be the first to say that I still have so much to learn.  The fact that I have not taken any cake decorating classes yet is not so much that I don't WANT to take classes, it's that the instructors I am interested in learning from never seem to make it up my way.  I'm not sure that I would get much out of a Wilton class at my local craft store.. and even my semi-local cake supply store only offers the most basic classes.  But, I would love to learn from some of the masters!

Enter... Craftsy!  They offer online crafting courses (okay, I think that was at least partially implied by the name, haha!).  At this point they only have one cake decorating/gumpaste flower class, but hopefully it will be popular enough that they will produce more in the near future.  The class that they offer (and that I recently enrolled in and completed), is called Handcrafted Sugar Flowers and it is instructed by Jacqueline Butler!

Jacqueline, if you don't already know... is internationally known for her stunning sugar flower arrangements.  She often travels to teach her techniques, but unfortunately has only once, that I know of, made it to my area... and I didn't find out about it until a week later!!  She writes The Petalsweet Blog.  Head on over to check out her amazing work, she is one of my favorite sugar artists!

Last month, I received, in my inbox, an ad with a discount offer for the Handcrafted Sugar Flowers class (regular price is still a great deal at $59.99), so I said why not?  It's a great deal and I've been looking to take some sort of formal instruction for a while now.  This class teaches Hydrangea Petals, Buds and Leaves as well as some Filler Flowers, Buds and Leaves.  While they may seem simple, sometimes it's the simple things that are the most difficult to learn/do.  For instance, I bought the new Wilton cutter set a while ago... and while I know they cutters aren't the greatest, I was hoping to at least make some half-way decent hydrangea!  I couldn't figure out how to get the tiny little center to stay attached, it got so slippery with glue!  Well, I don't want to infringe on Jacqueline or Craftsy by mentioning about her techniques... but she teaches some basic skills that will be useful when making sugar flowers, things I never would have thought about myself!

This class definitely gets my stamp of approval!  If you are, like me, mostly self taught, I recommend trying this class!  It's interactive, so you can ask Jacqueline questions and she can respond.  It's very informative and will have you mastering these basic flowers in no time!  OK, so I know that I have not yet mastered them... but my technique has already improved and I'm confident that with a little more practice, I will master them in no time!

I hope that my flowers do this class justice!  I have not yet received my order for the cutters and veiners... so I had to make due with the Wilton ones I had!  If you want to try this with the Wilton Hydrangea cutter... I suggest cutting the petals a little to give them more separation and a little more realistic look!

Sign up at Craftsy!

Happy Caking :)

Blush and Ruffles Cake!

I was so excited, when a few weeks ago I was invited by 5th Avenue Weddings & Events to participate as the cake decorator at an intimate bridal show hosted in conjunction with Simply K Studios. This was my first ever bridal show so this setting was perfect!  I cannot wait to see the beautiful photo's that Simply K Studios took of the beautiful displays that 5th Avenue Weddings created!  I designed a cake (and tasting samples) that were featured on a gorgeous dessert table!

I promise to share the pictures from the event as soon as I have them, but for now here is the cake I designed for the show!

Meena (the creative mind behind 5th Avenue Weddings & Events) suggested ruffles because they are very "in" right now.  So ruffles ended up being the basis behind my design for this cake.  I love how the layers of fondant ruffles look like delicate fabric and give the cake a feminine and vintage-y look! 

I didn't want to overwhelm my little cake with too many ruffles, so the middle layer is simply adorned with fondant, fabric-looking flowers, gumpaste "jewelry," sugar pearls and dragees... 

That is not a real jewelry piece!  This is a gumpaste sugar broach I made!  I added sugar pearls and silver dragees for a little extra shine and sparkle.  The broach itself is dusted with edible "Platinum Dust" to give it a soft metallic look.  People could not believe it wasn't real :)

I had such a great time, met some beautiful brides and some really wonderful industry professionals.  What an honor it was to be included.  If you are in the CT/New England area check out:

5th Avenue Weddings & Events for your wedding planning needs.  Meena is amazingly talented and hands on... she will help you create your vision!
Simply K Studios Photography, these talented ladies take really, really beautiful and creative photographs!  They will perfectly capture all of the special moments of your wedding day.
Larissa Lake Make Up Artist & Co if you want to look a little extra stunning on your wedding day!  This team of artists specialize in photography make up, so your pictures will look flawless.  They also offer a full suite of pamper-you services for your wedding day!

Happy Caking :)

My Entry in the CT Cake Competition 2012

Alright, I've been posting over the past couple of days about the "mystery cake" I entered in the CT Cake Competition last weekend... time to unveil my creation!  I'm sure you will all be very underwhelmed, lol!

Now, I had very grand plans for this cake... but I simply did not have the time to pull it together due to other obligations last week... But I did win a 3rd place ribbon... so here it is (insert drum roll, please...)

So this is my little cake, sitting between two, much larger, tiered cakes at the competition with my pretty yellow ribbon :)  Let me just say that I really don't like the way I placed the flowers (Lily of the Valley) around the middle tier!  Besides just looking ridiculous, I am embarrassed that the judges though I would have put flower wires directly into the cake!  I would NEVER do that, just FYI... if the wires were to be placed into the cake, I would insert straws first, so the wires would not touch cake... OMG, I was so embarrassed!  This was a "dummy" cake, so I didn't think I needed to insert straws into the stryofoam... also... I was exhausted from lack of sleep, tired from a stressful drive to my mother's house in Connecticut and just ready to be done with the cake!  So I literally just stuck them in and went to bed, haha! 

Okay, I'm not trying to make excuses for my work... I am happy to have gotten a 3rd place ribbon... but I wanted to let everyone know why I changed the flower placement for the pictures I took!  I want to be able to add this cake to my portfolio and the way it was I just did not want photographic evidence of it, haha!  So here are some additional pictures of my cake, looking a little better!

The fondant was kind of a light lavender...

The band on the middle tier was embossed with one of those cross-stitch plastic form things!

I used brush embroidery to give a "fern" motif to the tiers

And going for a "New England wild-flower" theme, I added some stems of Lily of the Valley (they may look simple, but you have to make a lot of them!)

Overall, this cake is just not what I had intended and I think my point just did not come across... But in the end I think I have a "pretty" cake, that after making a few adjustments, I can add to my cake portfolio!

I know one thing, after seeing the amazing cakes at the show (you can see my post from yesterday if you want to see some of the pictures I got), I am excited and inspired for next years competition!

Happy Caking :)

CT Cake Competition 2012!

So, as I mentioned in my post yesterday about Icing Smiles, last weekend was also the weekend of the Connecticut Cake Competition!  I had been looking forward to it, after having entered for the first time last year, and winning a blue ribbon AND the division trophy for my Magnolia Baby Shower Cake.

(my winning entry from last years competition)

Well, because I was so busy with the Icing Smiles cake, I was not able to dedicate as much time as I would have hoped to execute my entry as I had planned.  I'm going to make a few changes to it, and I will have my pictures up soon! (you can see pictures of my entry here!)  But for now, I wanted to share a few pictures of some of the amazing cakes that were there!  I thought I had gotten more, but I was probably too busy picking my jaw up off the floor to remember to snap the shot, lol!  

This year's theme was "The Great Outdoors" and while not every entry really stuck to the theme (mine certainly got derailed, haha) take a gander of some of the works of art that were there this weekend!!

This Owl Cake was immediately one of my favorites!

Those are CAKE!  They are so cute, I just want to take them home, so they can live in my house!!

Those scuplted eagles were SO life like!!

And this was the back of that amazing Eagle Cake!

Those are NOT real turtles!  This is just amazing...

I think this one is SO pretty with the gold, ruffles and hearts!

Such beautiful colors and patters, and I live the elephants on top!

This Winter Wonderland Wedding cake was jaw dropping... This picture does NOT do it justice, but I couldn't get another because everyone wanted a closer look!

I love this cake!  The lace detail was so amazing, I think this was a "blue ribbon cake" (I later saw this cake posted on Cake Central, it was created by user goa11ie)

This was a YOUTH entry!  Who ever made this has an extraordinary career as a cake designer ahead of them

There were SO many fantastic cakes at this years competition.  This is just a small sampling of the amazing talent that was in that room.  I really wish that I had gotten more pictures!  I don't know about you, but I am totally inspired for next year!

*I won a 3rd place ribbon for my cake (which I will post pictures of as soon as I've made a few minor adjustments)... Given the fact that I had NO time to work on it, and seeing all of these amazing cakes, I am honored and flattered to have gotten that!

If you live in the Connecticut area and are interested in entering a piece for next years competition (they have entries for ALL levels!), the competitions are generally held in February in Hartford, CT.  Keep an eye on their website or Facebook page.  They usually announce the theme for the next show in the fall!

Happy Caking :)

Icing Smiles Cake!

 I posted a few months ago about Icing Smiles, a charity that provides cakes for critically/terminally ill children and their siblings.  As soon as I got my business started and all of my licensing was in place I volunteered as a baker to this wonderful charity!  I was so excited a few weeks ago to have received my "Call to Action" and last week I was working on a very special cake!

They have 2 different "levels" of cakes they offer.  The "Fun" cake or a "Dream" cake!  I created a "Fun" cake for a little boy who loves Blues Clues!

 

While I knew right away that I wanted to volunteer with Icing Smiles, I did not know how amazing it would feel to be able to make this cake!  I am lucky enough to have two healthy kids, and they can have fancy cakes whenever they want (well, within reason, lol)... So, while I LOVE to decorate and bake, we often see cakes as "just cake," a regular occurrence in our house...  But that isn't the case for the "Medical Families" that Icing Smiles serves.  To them these cakes MATTER!  They are so caught up in tending to the needs of their sick children, things like birthday parties and cake, sometimes, have to be over looked.  Knowing what goes in to these cakes I know they are expensive, and with mounting medical bills "Medical Families" sometimes can't afford the expense of a birthday cake, let alone a custom art cake...

But Icing Smiles, who delivered their first cake in January of 2010, works with their volunteers to bring a little brightness to these special and deserving children.  I am so happy to be one of their volunteers and to have made this cake for Alex, for whom this was the first year he had a birthday party because his brother has been sick.

I had agreed to take on this cake, for the same weekend of the CT Cake Competition (I'll post on that later!).  So last week I was really busy and stressed trying to get both cakes done.  My Icing Smiles cake, rightfully, took precedence and I wasn't able to spend as much time on my competition cake.  But there is NO WAY I would have turned down making the cake for Icing Smiles!  It was my honor to be chosen as the baker for this family... and the "Thank You" letter I got from the family brought tears to my eyes... it made me realize just how lucky I am, and how an act of kindness can mean so much to someone else.  It made me realize that any amount of stress I "suffered" was nothing compared to what these families live with on a daily basis.  And my "stress" suddenly didn't matter... I hope I have the opportunity to do this again!

Icing Smiles' motto is "Baking a Difference" and that is exactly what they do/provide for these families!  They rely on the kindness of others to be able to serve these children.  There are many ways to support Icing Smiles, and you don't have to be a professional baker to do so.  They accept donations as well as rely on volunteers for fundraising, deliveries, professional bakers, nonprofessional bakers, and even just getting the word out.  So, if you are so inclined, check out their website to see how you can get involved and support Icing Smiles.  "Like" them on Facebook and help get the word out!!

Happy Caking :)

Ron Ben-Israel on the next Cake Fu Webinar!

Hey everyone, just a quick post to let you all know about the next Cake Fu webinar!  I'm so excited, it's going to be Ron Ben-Israel!!  He is my cake idol, so I can't wait to see what he has to say. 

His new Food Network show "Sweet Genius" starts tonight as well... I'm some what excited to see it, although it looks like just another competition show that he will be hosting/judging... I'm more interested in seeing him work!

If you aren't familiar with the Cake Fu Webinars, it's a FREE series.  They have guests from the cake and sugar art industry share a technique or just talk about themselves.  They happen with some regularity, and you can sign up here if you want to register for the webinars!

I'm Back! Cupcakes & What I've been up to :)

Hi Everyone!  I'm so sorry about the loooong break between posts!  I have been insanely busy the past few weeks.  Here's a little of what I've been up to!

After my last post I got very busy.... making cupcakes... 210 Cupcakes for a wedding!  And we were guests at the wedding, 2 states away...  So I was also busy packing my family and packing the cupcakes, and my "emergency kit" and making Buttercream (buckets of buttercream!)...

The cupcakes were a hit, the bride and groom were incredibly grateful and the guests couldn't get enough!

This adventurous couple picked Chili Chocolate, Chai and Vanilla for their flavors.  They were all delicious, but I have to say I think the chocolate was the favorite, it certainly went the fastest!  I am not much of a "spice fan" myself, but even I thought this was a superb cupcake.  A rich chocolatey flavor with a hint of chili and at the end a kick of heat.. very exotic, very YUM!

I made the orchids using the New Wilton Gumpaste Flower Kit .  I plan on making a tutorial soon, I really love how they came out.  In fact, everyone thought they were real! 

Here is a full view of one of the stands I created (I was very proud).  It was my intention to make a photo tutorial, but it was a learning process and I didn't get pictures of all of the steps I ultimately took... Next time though, I will certainly do it!  Anyway, the stands held approximately 30 cupcakes and the catering staff kept them refreshed, but the method I used could certainly be used to make a bigger stand.

So, after a wonderful time at our friend's wedding, I was away for 2 weeks at my mother's house to babysit my nephew.  BUT, I got a lot accomplished while caring for two toddlers!  I am happy to announce I am officially the proud owner/operator of Happy Cakes by Renee, LLC!!  That's right, I finally got my business registered with my state as an LLC!  I've also gotten myself an insurance policy and one last step until I will be up and running, operating from a licensed commercial kitchen!  I can't wait, this kitchen is HUGE compared to my tiny apartment kitchen.  I am very excited to have made this progress towards growing my business.  I can't wait to make more people happy with cake!

Happy Caking :)