April Finished with a BANG!

This week was our last class in the Decorating Basics course.

To finish up the course we learned printing and writing, and the Wilton ribbon rose.

Now, I may be biased... but I have to say, these cakes were AHH-mazing!

We had roses!

  

And shaggy mums!

And sunflowers!

And balloons!

And stars!

And more roses!

You guys did an awesome job and you should be proud of your cakes!  I know I am!!

Cupcakes... cupcakes... and more cupcakes!

Can you ever really have too many cupcakes?  Really?  I think not...

In Decorating Basics class we learned about cupcakes.

We learned how to do the infamous cupcake swirl!

We even added a few flowers to our decorating repertoire!

 pom poms!! 

shaggy mums!!

There's one in every class...

Jumbo Cupcakes!!

Chocolate too!

May Classes!

April showers bring May CLASSES!

May will be here before you know it!  And that means more Wilton classes!

  Sign up as soon as you can!  Space is limited!

 

Flowers and Cake Design

Tuesdays 6:00pm - 8:00pm

May 3, 10, 17, 24

Registration Fee: $45

May Special: 40% off your registration fee!

I can't wait to see you in class!!

America's Next Great Baker - Watch Out!

This week in Decorating Basics we decorated our first cakes!  

We practice transfer patterns, stars, dots... and of course getting our buttercream smooth.  I think there was a little competitiveness coming out.  

Check out these amazing cakes!

Yes... elongated dots made into a cupcake!!

 Is that fondant... or buttercream?

I can't tell!!

Cake Boss, I think we have some competition for your contestants!

Next week... cupcakes!!  

The Dangers of Cake Decorating

A little "sna-phoo" happened to me recently.  I won't get into the details but it really put some things about cake decorating into perspective for me.

Things that I take for granted when decorating.

Things that can be dangerous if one isn't careful and takes the proper precautions.

Or if you are just prone to accidents like me.

Most people have never considered that there dangerous things involved in cake decorating.

From leveling a cake (with this amazing AGBAY by the way)

To carving a 3D cake with a serrated knife!

If you cut your own cake bases...

foam core with a hot knife!
(This was the culprit.)

wood bases with a hand saw!

If you use PVC pipe to create a base structure for 3D cakes!

If you use poured sugar that gets up to 338* and can burn the begeezes of you!

Not to mention the basics of baking & handling hot pans!

Don't get me started on all the motorized and pyrotechnics that some cake decorators use!

A dedicated cake decorator will put blood, sweat, & tears into decorating a cake... LITERALLY!

Be careful out there cake decorators!

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Happy Anniversary Busy Bee!

Busy Bee celebrated their two year anniversary yesterday! 

Two years ago David Woody Lockwood and Chris Powers opened Busy Bee Cafe and The Hive on April 6, 2008.

The Busy Bee originally opened in 1913, serving breakfast and lunch to Raleigh’s downtown crowd. The café had a varied menu, including fish, oyster and steak. There was also a private dining room for women, hence the “Ladies Invited” signage on the original storefront (see picture). After the café closed in 1925, the space was occupied by a number of businesses, including an auto parts store (Advance), a hardware store (Carolina Hardware), a furniture and appliance store, and most recently a hip-hop fashion outfitter (Capital Clothing). It was also rumored to have been a strip club in the late 1960s. The building was condemned after the entire storefront fell into Wilmington Street in the late 90s, you can still see where the original brick of the wall and the newer brick of the storefront meet. After purchase in the summer of 2008, the building underwent an extensive renovation, reopening as Busy Bee Café and The Hive on April 6, 2009.

I had the honor of creating a cake for them to celebrate!

The theme was barrel-aged beer.

I started off with a rough sketch of my idea....

Piece... 

by piece... 

It turned into this!

Happy Anniversary Busy Bee!