What loyal lovies you are!

I just wanted to come back and visit my old cake stomping grounds! I just recently celebrated my 1-year graduation anniversary! Can I just tell you how FAST that went?? So fast I feel like it could have been TWO years! *checks calendar to make sure*

I've made some lovely friends, international and otherwise through FCI and of course my loyal and supportive readers.  I recently launched my personal cake site and wanted to throw a link to it, so that if you feel like keeping in touch, I'm likely to be more active at the new one!

Rereading through my Cake Pilot blog, I am SO nostalgic for cake school, for my cake friends, and for my favorite cake master, Chef RBI.  Can I tell you something magical? (but sorta sad?) I applied for, auditioned for and was AWARDED a coveted space in Ron Ben-Israel's cake studio, ONLY to be laid-off from my job and thusly unable to afford the very pricey commute fees for the three+ months it would have cost me.  To say I was (and STILL am) heartbroken is a complete and total understatement.  And Chef Ron, if you still follow my silly blog, please know how excited and honored I was to get the seat! *le sigh*

IRONically <- didn't intentionally do that until now, now I have the money, but alas...no seat.  *again..le sigh*

That being said, I've taken to try my hand at private cake chef-ing for the many friends and family members that sort of come out of the woodwork once they know you went to FCI.  So if you feel like it, please do follow me: cheekycakery.com  and on Facebook!


And thank you so much again for all your connections, support and cake-love!
xo
m

the grand finale...

so suffice to say i'm still amazed that it's october 3rd. as in a new month, and the end of my cakesperience in my cake design and technique program.

let me first start by describing the final project. as a class, we selected the theme of enchantment. the reason why i liked the theme of enchantment was because of the many ways it could be interpreted. enchantment evokes thoughts of magical incantation, mystery, all that is unusual and unexpected, of being under a spell, and all that is wonderful and made of magic. there were SO many ways to take that theme and apply it to cake. that is also one of the things i always loved about our class: the many ways we interpreted themes and assignments. it was a lot of fun to work with such an interesting collection of talents. the ideas that everyone came up with were spectacular and each one, seriously unique!

so obviously it was exciting for me to see how (and if) i was able to take my concept and bring it to life. i wanted to design something that i had never seen done before. i wanted to challenge myself and be as ambitious as i could fathom, without sacrificing execution, because let's face it, it's not great if you can't finish it in time. and when i tell you that i worked as fast as i possibly could, as hard as i know how to, for every single second we were allowed to work, you bet i did!

i had a vision of this cake one night while eating dinner out with the family and this idea came to me and the second we, as a class, selected "enchantment" i just KNEW this was going to be my cake. i had to do it, and it's what motivated me to lug a pasta machine all the way to school just so i could cut down on my flower production time and not have to hand roll all the petals. that little machine SAVED me!!! can i just tell you how difficult it is to jog up and down three flights of stairs with a full backpack AND a duffel bag with a heavy Italian-made electric pasta machine and pair of chef clogs? i mean, TIRED and SORE doesn't begin to cover it!!

i guess that's the funny thing about cake. at least for me. it's all about having a place to put my heart and soul. i just adore the creative process. for me, it's like breathing. it's necessary, like air. i need it. and it makes me happy. not many people understand that about me.

SO, my design is something i'm very proud to share with my little world - just think: metamorphosis. when someone looked at my cake, i hoped that they would feel magic, lightness and a lift of spirit. that was what i was hoping to achieve.

i employed lots of techniques including fondant overlay, tinting, embellishment and sugar paste work. but mostly i wanted pay homage to my journey through cake school and as a way of honoring all the beautiful lessons i have learned from my teachers. and you KNOW i wanted to use my cake to practice all that i have learned from my cake guru, the sweet genius himself, Chef Ron Ben-Israel. [you ARE watching the new show i hope!!] he has taught me so much in the few days i got to spend learning from him. it was such a dream come true for me. [sappy or not, i don't care. i've literally talked about wanting that for YEARS!] i continue to practice, pouring over his lessons through my notes and drawings and diagrams. i sincerely love the time i got to spend there! AND sugar paste flowers?? that is something i want to continue to develop. it's the obvious next step! practice, practice, practice! if only i can plot out the next few experiences and challenges!

my french is quite rusty - despite the fact that i used to teach it, and despite the fact that i still occasionally dream and think in french, but the title of my cake is 'mes fleurs sont des papillons' which is rough french for 'my flowers are butterflies.'

a surprising twist to our final evaluation was that we were surprised with some amazing artists who would be critiquing our cakes and offering their feedback and knowledge. i was honored to have Anne Heap (of Pink Cake Box), alumnus of FCI and someone i've admired for quite some time be the juror to evaluate my work. it was pretty fabulous! and it felt really good to hear some great thoughts about my cake! it was such a pleasure to meet her!! yay!

we had a wonderful graduation ceremony the next day. even Chef Ron was there to impart a few words of wisdom and i guess probably see our finished work too! i laugh at myself at what an excitable cake-geek i can be. even now, having met and talked with Chef Ron before, i still get excited for the opportunities afforded to me through this "cakesperience." my husband says i'm 'adorkable.' [shrugs] i guess that's probably about the truest thing ever said about me *smile* and i'm sure Chef Ron is probably used to it.

so i also included a link to a little musical montage [LINK] that i made for some far away family and friends so they could see how i spent my graduation day - it basically features my day from beginning to end, as well as shows some of my classmates and even some of their impressive work as well. it's mostly just a slide show, but the background music really quite sums up this whole thing pretty nicely :o) and i have always loved the line: "...every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." and that's what it always is. over and again, you have to embrace life and the changes you're given, and the chances you take as well. just turning pages in a book. [and writing it as you go...] i have to say i'm going to miss this experience, miss some of the friends i made and will miss the city, the energy... the running through the nighttime subrails, the train rides, the chaos, the cake school.

mark twain said: 'twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. so throw off the bowlines. sail away from the safe harbor. catch the trade winds in your sails. explore. dream. discover.'

and that's exactly what i plan to do.

thank you so much for reading!

and as always, more to come.

so much more!

xo

m

photos:

graduate.

to say i'm exhausted and going immediately [IMMEDIATELY] to bed would be the understatement of the century. however, prior to doing so, i wanted to post one of my favorite pics from my day and make a promise that i will be blogging tomorrow to tell you ALL about the finale!! super happy fun day!

more (MUCH) to come!

xo

m

final final friday...

so i'm getting ready for my last day at school. part of me can't believe it, part of me is really happy, and part of me is exhausted!!! it's a bunch of mixed feelings, really. BUT one thing i do know is that i have to go into class and finish this cake!!!!! it's been a lot of work, and i still have a lot to do, so i sincerely need good wishes and LUCK!! haha!! i designed a cake to capture our class' theme of "enchantment" and i'm hoping i will pull it off successfully! anyway, this just a mini-update BUT just wanted tovisit the blog and send a little good wish to my classmates, if any of them read this... it's been great getting to know so many kind, talented and interesting artists and i have been lucky to work with such a creative collection of energies in the class. can't wait to see everyone and their finished beautiful cakes! we all work REALLY hard and it shows!

on a recent walk-about the city, i stopped nearby RBI cakes and took a photo so i can remember city-me and the cakesperience -and to think, 6 months ago meeting chef RBI and going to cake school was all i thought and wondered about...and i woke up one day and i did it :o) with a little [a lot of!!] help from some of my biggest, most lovable fans in the universe. here's me with one of them. they broke the cake ring when they baked you b. xo

and next thing you know, it'll be graduation and brunch tomorrow! yay! exciting!

more to come!

xo

m

HOT DOG!

okay, so first of all i had a BLAST making this cake. our class was assigned "fun food items" and we each selected a food that would make a good groom's cake. my husband was my groom-inspiration. when we got married, i couldn't afford to surprise him with a groom's cake, despite the fact that i had desperately wanted one. so, i took this opportunity to make it up to him and made him a groom's cake. in short, i made him a GIANT hotdog on a bun. i LOVED making it. it was a lot of fun to conceptualize, carve and decorate.

on a side note: i submit this video, because every time i look at this cake i hear this play in my mind!

bahahahahahaha!!!!

the hotdog itself was made out of rice krispy treats and was covered in fondant. the cake was that orange, vanilla pound cake and it was filled with a luscious vanilla butter cream. i used several techniques in decorating this one including: airbrush, carving, sugar paste decor, tinting and royal icing.

behold: my favorite picture of this cake!!

now a little back story here: the hotdog is wearing a beret and there IS a little word bubble that has the hotdog exclaiming, "OUI!" [which i'm assuming you know means "yes" en francais...] how to explain this... well, i adore my husband's family. and ONE of the things i love about them is how they french everything up! specific to this story is the sabrett hotdog. pronounced "sah-brett" with emphasis on the fact that there is an 'ah' sound [like 'ah-choo'] and the word is broken into TWO syllables. BUT not in my husband's family. they call it "sa-bah-ray" and so... you probably don't truly understand the humor here, but it's a little private, inside joke between me and my husband and so yes, that's why the hotdog is wearing a beret.

serendipity would have it that the creation of this cake coincided with my husband's grandfather's birthday! (POPPY!) love him. and he loves my cakes! so it was a win-win-win!

when i asked him how the cake tasted, he replied, "beautiful!" he's a man of few words but he doesn't waste them! :o) he might be one of my biggest fans. and what i mostly love about this photo, is that it shows just how big the cake was! i wasn't kidding when i said it was huge!

anyway, i can hardly believe it but the next time i post will be the post that sums up the culminating experience and my final cake. is it the end already?!

i wonder what the future holds?... but until the next post...

more to come!

xo

m

a nod to a coco chanel wedding in cake and farewell to plasti-dome.

so we were assigned a wedding dress cake. we were tasked with finding a wedding dress and creating a cake around that. having recently planned a wedding (2 years is recent isn't it??) that is exactly what i had asked my cake designer to do. design a cake that payed homage to my beloved gown and to please please please give it an elegant, yet whimsical vibe by pulling in breezy and hues of blue. i LOVE my wedding cake. LOVED. loved. with that in mind, i did the same thing for my imaginary bride. i selected an entire wedding as my inspiration. her hair, her dress, her pink, girlish flower wall art, her ruffles, the pearls. everything. by the way, to see the wedding itself, please head over to styleunveiled and you'll see how i got the cake design i did. they have stunning taste. and i often visit there to daydream. i adore weddings.

here's the one picture that i borrowed from the site:

the cake i designed included ruffles, fantasy, anemone-inspired flowers with chanel-inspired black pearl centers, swiss dot pearls and a stark contrast black belt. it was also dusted with a diamond pearl dust, just to luster it up and make it sparkle. i don't have any white-box photos of it as of yet. it is still at school, wrapped in plastic, waiting for me to lug it home. (it's a dummy cake: ie. made of styrofoam so it's got some really good shelf-life...assuming it can survive the shelf in class and the long trip home)

here are some photos i took in class:

i hope to take more once i get it home and tweak it a touch. but all in all, i wanted to challenge myself and do a white on white cake with a few touches of black and pink. working with black on white presents its share of challenges and using all white afforded me the opportunity to play with texture and patterns. all in all, i loved how it came out and i see the wedding in my cake. it's fun, youthful, playful and pretty. now, to get it home in one piece!!

speaking of trips home, i have to update you on some somber news. remember my sidekick, plasti-dome??? i'm so sad and sorry to report that i left it on the train a few weeks ago. i had fallen asleep and awoke in penn and scrambled to get to class. you know how you wake up sometimes and you're all thrown off like, "OH, i'm here!!" and off i went and it's the saddest of partings. plasti-dome has been with me since day one, and now, alas, i know not of his whereabouts. i just know i am actually a bit bummed. i'm oddly sentimental and we found each other on ebay years ago. he was a bit of a gift and was the perfect, retro-style cake dome that i had searched and searched for. we were a perfect pair.

and now i've lost my sidekick. *wah*

either way, i'll be on the lookout for a new plasti-dome. this baker of cakes needs a good sidekick!

by the way, i graduate this week!....EEK!

more to come!

xo

michael kors rocks my socks

it may have been a while, yes! but i've had a whole bunch of things to do... it all started with Irene and a power outage and the crash of my beloved mac. BUT all bits are restored and i'm back to finishing some MUCH needed updates!

next up on the menu is carved cakes. if you haven't carved a cake yet, might i suggest that you do indeed stack yourself up some cake and butter cream filling, put it in the fridge so it gets nice and set and then grab your favorite sharp, serrated knives and get to carving. umm, but first, you need a plan!

in class, we were making purse cakes. though, i don't call them purses. or pocketbooks. i think i probably just call them bags. but not just any bags. designer bags!! (one of my favorite things to do is go to stores and flounce around with the newest, prettiest, largest bag i can find, with all its shiny, gold or silvery accoutrement. it's tassels and grommets and zippers and pockets.) err, umm. *clears throat* anyway, i selected my personal favorite michael kors. i modeled mine after the astor grab bag.

it's a velvety-soft, purple-gray leather bag with silver grommets and great thick strap handles. the only changes i made to the bag was to give it one, slightly longer handle instead of two shorter ones, attach the handle to the sides rather than the front and back of the bag and make the grommets a wee bit larger... often in class we don't have a LOT of time and for me, it's important to finish the cake. IF i had my druthers, i'd've made two handles and tinier little grommets, but part of our grade is to finish within the time constraints so you must plan accordingly. so i took a LITTLE artistic license due to time constraints... but BY FAR, the most difficult thing about this bag was tinting the fondant and sugar paste to the correct hue. NOT EASY...but it can be done!! :o)

to carve a cake, i suggest the following:

1. do NOT be afraid to carve your cake. do not be intimidated by your baked goods!

2. VISUALIZE your finished product at all times, because it helps to secure that your vision will become a reality.

3. have measurements, and templates, accurate and created to the appropriate size. PLAN PLAN PLAN! don't just got at it. hacking and sawing away and expect good things. i mean, expect good things, but plan for them too!

4. step away every once in a while and look at it from all angles. give your eyes and brain a chance to see what you're doing. don't try to do it in one shot, because if you carve too much, well... you'll spend a lot more time fixing it. that will be frustrating. and you're dealing with cake... it's supposed to make you smile.

5. have fun with it. it's cake!

6. ** important to remember: make a delicious, carve-able cake - in this case a orange-vanilla pound cake with vanilla butter cream. a cake can look good, but if it tastes like sawdust...well...**

anyway, here is my cake.

now if only i could eat my cake, and have the bag too...[i have a bag problem...and his name, is michael kors]

more to come

xo

m