Kakes with Kelda's new specialty!

I know, I know... It has been way too long. I have plenty of cakes that I did, but I've been neglecting updating this. Mainly because I've been neglecting taking pictures. I don't have a decent camera, so I always feel my pictures never really do justice. Once I get a few decent pictures, I promise, you'll see all the cakes that I've done. But for now, I have a new announcement!

It all starts with a normal boring Wednesday. My roommate Kenlynn and I were watching the travel channel (yes, we were really that bored). All of a sudden, Kenlynn comes running in the room, grabs her computer, and with much more excitement than I expected exclaimed, "I know what I can do! I'm going to make waffles from cake batter!'

Now, being the baking person that I am, I perked up. Cake batter? Waffles? Should those even be mixed? Well, it turns out that yes. Yes they should. Kenlynn quickly mixed up a box cake mix (Don't judge. Even I cut corners sometimes.) And we pulled out the waffle iron. We put the first scoop of batter in and weren't quite sure what to expect. See... we've had many a waffle making extravaganza, but cake batter just seemed strange. The first waffle wouldn't come out of the iron. It was too soft and crumbly. So, the second one we left in a little longer. This worked much better. It was the perfect balance of crispy waffle outside, and soft moist cake inside.

It was at this moment that I started wishing for raspberry syrup. And, although I didn't have any of that, I did have vanilla bean ice cream. I pulled it out and quickly decided that this was how waffle cakes must be eaten.  Then I remembered some cherry syrup I had in the fridge (not as tasty, and I certainly don't want to use it again, but it worked for the experiment).

Now, here comes the sad news. I took pictures. None of them do it justice. But, I will show you one. Please don't judge too harshly. They were much tastier looking in real life.

And now for the exciting part! This is going to be the house specialty when I open my bakery. Waffle cakes. I'm excited to try it out with different flavors of cake, ice cream, and syrups. And, to give credit where credit is due, the idea was Kenlynn's who heard from someone else that it was tasty. 

Again, sorry for the wait, and I promise to update with wedding cakes and party cakes soon.

-Kelda-

The Finished Project :)

I'm so sorry this took so long. I promised these pictures a long time ago, and it just hasn't happened. Anyways, to tell the tale, I delivered the cake, and what an ordeal that was. I had planned on assembling the cake on sight, but I really wanted to do the decorating before so that I would be able to do it in the comfort of my own kitchen. What a mistake that was! I didn't get to take it apart again. It was definitely staying the way it was. Anyways, I had it all assembled, but I wasn't sure how I would be able to carry the cake on my own. It was soooooo heavy.

Luckily, my roommates were there to help me. They sat in my car and held it to make sure it would get there safely. And then they carried it across a gravel road leading to the park. I will forever be in their debt. I don't know what I would have done without them.

So, here's a picture before I delivered it:

This is a picture of the topper. It's so gorgeous. I could not have picked a better one:

This is a close up of the flowers. I made so many of them. They are made of royal icing, so that I could make them in advance, and just worry about placing them the day of.

This is a picture once it was set up at the sight. The venue was one of the most gorgeous I had ever seen. It is a little park in Orem, but it is tree lined with latices and vines. And then there is a great big fountain in the middle. It was divine. But, all you get to see is the cake on the table. Don't you just wish you had been there? :-p

Now to complete the picture, we have the lovely bride and groom cutting the cake. Everyone asked me if it was hard to see that happened. I just laughed and tried to explain that the joy of people enjoying my works of art, is just as wonderful as seeing the work of art. So, no, it wasn't hard. It was quite fun.

This was such an amazing experience. I can't wait to do something like it again. As for now, have a great day! 

-Kelda-

A Cake Disaster

This week has been an adventure. Usually, my cakes come out of the oven without a hitch. This last cake however, was not so easy. I had two cakes fall in the middle, two cakes stick to the pans and crumble and two over cooked a little. It was a disaster in the kitchen, and I was close to giving up. This is what I salvaged from the wreckage:

I personally think that it's one of my best cakes yet. I'm quite proud of the end results. Who knew that failed baking equaled great decorating? :)

This is the back view. The front looked pretty and I loved the bow, but every time I moved the cake and saw the back, I thought it looked really bare... so it got it's own bow. :)

The cake topper I bought at Wal-mart. I figured it would be a cheep investment that I could use again and again to demonstrate what the cake would look like with a topper. I chose blue because I felt like it matched the silver the best. :)

You remember how I mentioned cakes that fell in the middle? Well... I managed make something of that too. For Easter I really wanted to make a basket weave frosted cake, but I never got around to it. So, I cut the middle out of the fallen cakes, stacked them and put flowers in the middle. This is the end product:

It was great practice and I learned that the basket weave looks a lot harder than it really is. Until next time, happy days! All is swell! :)

Fondant Roses

Two goals accomplished in one day. I wanted to learn how to make homemade fondant. I also wanted to learn how to make roses from it. First, I still haven't learned exactly how to make the fondant that I want, but I did get an excellent recipe from a friend. It's made from marshmallows and powered sugar. It's very easy to work with but I would love to learn how to make fondant with glycerin and gelatin.

That being said, because it's easy to work with I decided to make roses. I made a total of six from one fondant recipe. One I gave away without taking a picture. These five were made and then painted with food coloring. I like how they turned out, but I still have lots of room for improvement.

Boredom and Cheap Flowers

So, this weekend I was planning on learning how to make gum paste and then sculpt flowers from it. However... while at the store buying unflavored gelatin, I saw discounted flowers. And of course, my first thought is, " Those would make a really pretty cake."

So, here it is, the cake I made this weekend. :)

There are some imperfections, but I like it.

Valentine's Cake

So. I did it. I sold my first cake and delivered it. It was amazing. Here's some pictures of what I did:

This is the chocolate that my boss so graciously gave me to dip my pecans in.

The chocolate melted down.

Getting started...

All 99 or them. :)

Top view of the cake.

The front view.

I delivered it on Saturday February 13, 2010. When I arrived the cutest little girl ever answered the door and got her mom for me. The mom was so surprised and excited. She said that she had never had a surprise like this before, and then she said that she had never seen a cake like this before. It made me smile. It was such and adventure. I hope that I get to do it again sometime.

This cake was $45. I hope that it was a reasonable price. I'm just making this stuff up as I go. Well... I'll see y'all at my next project. :)

First Client! :)

One of my goals is to create a business that I can run from my home. It gives me a reason to do all of this which I love. I'm still learning things, and I don't really do that much, but I will forever be grateful to my favorite professor. Before he had even seen any of my cakes, he asked me if I would do one for him. It quite literally made my day. He has asked for a chocolate cake with coconut pecan frosting. I have great plans for this cake.

This cake is for Valentine's day, so the first criteria I have it that it much be heart shaped. I have the pans and I'm so excited. It will be two tiered with about a 9 in bottom layer and a 6 in top layer. It will then be covered and filled with the coconut pecan frosting. Around the sides will be cake crumbs creating a nice colored look. On the top will be a chocolate drizzle. Outlining the edges will be dipped whole pecans. I'm so excited. Pictures will definitely be up.