Charmaine's Pastry Blog

Crowning glory

2011-10-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have only 45 minutes to complete this blog post as my life is now measured in brief spans of uninterrupted time. B is supposed to be down for her second nap of the day and will only give me 45 minutes on a typical day. That is how I made Cade's birthday cake, in many micro-stages of work scattered over two weeks. First I made the crown and then the fondant covered Rice Krispie head and torso. Eventually, all decorative parts were made and only the actual cake was left to finish.

The design was chosen by mom, based on the beautiful cakes by Betty's Sugar Dreams. Cade must have liked the first cake he tasted in utero because I made mom's baby shower cake too! The 10" round chocolate cake was layered with strawberry mousseline and fresh strawberries. My favourite detail has to be the gold crown. I usually pipe my own lettering but my new habit post-partum is to shop online so I bought the FMM Funky Alphabet Tappits that I have wanted for a while. Happy 1st Birthday Cade!

The bun in my oven

2011-07-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've missed you. But I have a good reason why this blog has been dormant since December.

A little bun was in my oven and the oven decided to start overheating at 19 weeks, you could say. And so, I was off my feet since January, out of the kitchen entirely to avoid strenuous activity as well as any adverse odours which aggravated my morning (& afternoon & night) sickness. Although frustrating to be on bedrest for so long, it was ultimately worth it to avoid having my little bun be half-baked.

My creative pursuits are temporarily on hiatus as I figure out this new creature in my life and cope with sleep deprivation which accompanies such mysterious beings. Hopefully, in the weeks and months to come, our lives will develop a new normal which includes diapers, playtime, sleeping, and artistic endeavours in my food, photography, and writing.

Framed

2010-12-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

During my years in medical school, our Associate Dean for Student Affairs was Dr. Andrew Seal, a general surgeon by trade who is considered by many to be quite a Renaissance man, with diverse interests ranging from the history of medicine to music and to painting. In fact, if you lurk around the ground floor of UBC Hospital, one of his canvases might still be gracing the hallways.

My fondest memories of Dr. Seal involve his role as patron of the arts at UBC Medicine. At a time when I was suppressing my creative tendencies in order to concentrate all my energy on scholarly pursuits, participating in the UBC Medical School Choir, Jazz Band, and Spring Gala concerts was a true highlight of my four years (admittedly, I am just a band geek at heart). Without Dr. Seal's influence, I doubt that the arts would have flourished as they did at UBC Medicine.

And so, to be asked to create Dr. Seal's retirement cake was a huge honour and conceptual challenge. Much time was spent brainstorming how to combine general surgery with painting in cake form without being too literal. The challenge was even greater because it has been over 10 years since I have been in a non-ophthalmic OR using those gigantic needle drivers and 1-0 sutures. Congratulation Dr. Seal on your well-deserved retirement!

Still here

2010-11-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

Although it has been eons since my last post, I am still alive but have been greatly distracted by some personal matters during the last few months. My poor little blog has suffered from negligence but alas, an infusion of some creative juice will hopefully rescue it from complete dissolution.

Let me show you a few cakes that I did manage to do during this hiatus. This surfing Hello Kitty cake was from the end of September for a young-at-heart 40 year old. Blue buttercream scares me a little but what else is Hello Kitty going to surf on?

Then, in early November, my niece Caitlin turned six. You may remember her past cake requests involved turtles, rainbows, and planets. This year, she wanted a flower cake. Rather than your typical big fat daisy cake, I remembered seeing Penny Porschen's posy mini-cakes in a book and decided to re-create it in larger form. Two 6 inch round tiers were stacked and then topped with a 6 inch half-dome. At first, I thought that this cake would be quick and easy but it was actually fairly time-consuming to roll out all those thin stems!

Collaboration

2010-09-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Back in July, during pleasant dinner conversation with my friend Chris, the seeds were sown for this special 60th birthday cake for his mum, Margaret. Apparently, Chris has unique gustatory abilities and had been dreaming up cake flavour combinations in his spare time. Pairing vanilla and black currant was his original idea but I felt the need for nuttiness, which would give warmth and texture. We ultimately decided on pistachio as the last component of this elegant flavour trio.

The cake design was less definitive. Margaret loves her Boston Terrier and enjoys the music of Tony Bennett but I could not imagine the likenesses of Mr. Bennett and a dog on the same cake without appearing comical. And so, her favourite song "Fly Me to the Moon" provided the design inspiration for this sophisticated cake, worthy of celebrating six decades of memories.

The Boston Terriers led me to choose a black and white colour scheme for this sleek and modern design, accented by one single pop of colour in the form of a sugar pink peony, Margaret's favourite flower. The subtleness of the white on white lettering, moon and stars allowed the dogs and birthday inscription to stand out.

My favourite elements of this cake are impossible to choose. I love everything on it, from the dogs, to the hand-cut stars, to the gumpaste peony (the first one I've made), and even the lettering which is based on a font called Sparkly! Interestingly, I have now made cakes for three generations of this cake-loving family which is certainly a great privilege and the biggest compliment. Happy Birthday Margaret!

Expectations

2010-09-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

When it comes to cake design, there are some situations which give me more stress than others. The perfect cake request for me is from someone who knows me well, gives me specific thematic elements as inspiration, and then trusts me completely in the ultimate creative process. Of course, this does not always happen but when it does, it yields my best work and is the most enjoyable experience, often filled with hours of brainstorming and research prior to cracking an egg or rolling out fondant.

Another similar lower-stress scenario is the opposite situation, when someone asks me to reproduce an existing design. I do not get the same creative satisfaction but there is some degree of challenge in the exact replication of a cake. The obsessive-compulsive part of me even tries to make my version of the cake better, tweaking a little here and there, trying to make it cleaner or more refined.

Such was the case with this baby shower cake, based on this cake by Pink Cake Box. The mom-to-be knew almost exactly what she wanted and besides some minor changes like the addition of ducks and making the pregnant lady Asian, this cake was virtually identical to the original. The pregnant lady was quite challenging to make since I am no dressmaker and rarely make humans. Have you noticed this is the first human I have ever featured on a cake?

When life gives you apricots...

2010-08-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Kelowna, my main focus was not on wine, but rather on the bountiful fruit which the Okanagan Valley offers. We brought home almost 20 pounds of cherries and more importantly, 10 pounds of apricots. They were the most perfect apricots, found at Gatzke Farm Market in Oyama, on a 34 degree Celsius Sunday afternoon on our way to lunch at Gray Monk Winery.

Unfortunately, I was so dazzled by the beauty of these perfectly ripe apricots that I failed to consider the heat and 36 additional hours which the apricots would be enduring before arriving back home in Vancouver. These blushing orbs of apricot perfection became dented weeping lumps over the next few days, still delicious to eat, dripping down my elbow over the kitchen sink, but too unsightly to photograph for your viewing pleasure.

Not surprisingly, we could not eat them fast enough and so I cooked them down to a puree and made apricot pâte de fruit and apricot ice cream. The pâte de fruit was slightly thinner than I had wanted so I added a second layer of strawberry pâte de fruit. On my first trip to Pierre Hermé, I remember marveling at the bejeweled two-toned pâtes de fruits. In retrospect, adding a second layer and thus flavour is so easy and elementary. In fact, if you have made Rainbow Jell-O before, the concept is identical!

Coiffed

2010-08-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have only had one haircut in my life when I went home and cried. It was in high school, during my short-hair perming years, when the nape of my neck was shaved into the shape of a V. Being much too edgy for my taste, I immediately got my mom to buzz off the point and make a nice straight line instead. Oh, what I rebel I am.

Aside from growing out my bangs and vowing never to get a perm again at age 20, my hair has simply been varying lengths of the same style. It has been as long as my waist and as short as my chin. I had a version of the Rachel at one point and it took so much work to hot-roller every day but I did it anyways. Wearing a ponytail is always a challenge because it is too thick for the average hair elastic and the weight gives me a headache. These days, the increasing prevalence of white hairs is my biggest concern.

And so, this cake really does speak for itself. Akemi loves pandas, is a hairstylist, and is delighted by the comic nature of screaming monkeys. It took extensive brainstorming to marry these three personal elements into one coherent design, but I think it worked. The hairstylist panda is made from Rice Krispies internally and everything else is fondant with royal icing details. An 8" square chocolate cake with mango mousseline is hiding underneath. You could say it is Act 2 to Akemi's previous cake in 2008!

The doors

2010-07-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

In Grade 4, I watched Poltergeist at a birthday party and could not sleep for three nights, convinced that trees and clowns would attack me. What followed was a solid avoidance of scary movies (as well as TV commercials for scary movies) for many years, until it became my spousal obligation to view The Shining, the 1980 classic directed by Stanley Kubrick.

As a result, I was actually quite prepared when asked to create a cake for a major fan of The Shining. I even do a great imitation of Shelley Duvall waving her knife around in a deadly panic. Thankfully, I was essentially given carte blanche in the design and after some reflection, I realized that there were many doors of significance throughout the movie. And what better way to feature doors than on a "cube"-like cake (get it, KUBRICK?)?

One of the most memorable scenes is when Jack violently axes his way through the bathroom door. This is actually the same door on which Danny wrote REDRUM in lipstick. I can still hear that freaky growly voice echoing in my head. Behind the doors of Room 237, some of the most disturbing scenes of the movie occurred, reminding us all to never approach strange naked women in bathtubs. Finally, the most vivid image of the movie for me was the torrent of blood rushing out of the distinctive red elevator. I gave the birthday boy a bag of bloody piping gel to squeeze onto the cake right before serving so unfortunately, none is shown in my photos.

This proved to be a project where the beauty was in the details. Much time was spent reviewing images in order to perfectly match each door knob, door molding, and wall pattern. Serendipitously, the movie was actually on TV the night before the cake was to be ready, and I realized that the apartment wall was actually pink, not white. My favourite item was the top of the cake, representing the memorable bold pattern of the hotel hallway carpet, which was made by piping and flooding royal icing onto a dried fondant square.

Here are the technical details: the cake was 4" x 4" x 6", layers of espresso chocolate cake, dark chocolate mousse, and hazelnut crunch. Every panel was made of dried fondant, later decorated with tiny fondant bits and royal icing details. It was intentionally constructed like this in hopes that the "box" created by the five panels would be lifted off the cake intact and potentially saved for future admiration! I have no clue if this happened but I certainly know that this cake was much loved by both its creator and its recipient.

All aboard

2010-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

I seem to learn new things every time someone asks me to make a cake. The world of children's television is a mystery to me but with my introduction to the PBS show Dinosaur Train, I can see why kids these days are so enthralled with such captivating edutainment. Except for Sesame Street and 3-2-1 Contact (remember the Bloodhound Gang?), which I remember watching in the afternoons with my sister right after Three's Company re-runs, there was little else which was both fun and educational.

A relatively simple buttercream-covered cake inspired by Dinosaur Train was requested so I decided to make fondant elements which could be removed easily before consumption. Tiny is a Pteranodon who is spreading her wings in the sky above the Dinosaur Train, manned by the Conductor, a Troodon with great knowledge of the dinosaur world. Seriously, I have never heard of these dinosaurs. I barely remember what a Stegosaurus looks like.

I used royal icing on dried fondant shapes to create the train. Flourescent green Tiny was the most challenging to make, as those skinny arms, legs and neck made me extra cautious; however, the Conductor was my favourite since I can't resist animals that wear clothes! The cake itself was simple, just chocolate cake and dark chocolate mousse, masked in buttercream with piped italian meringue clouds. Because the train was too short to wrap around the entire 8" round cake, some prehistoric decor was added at the rear to fill things out. Who doesn't love a little lava? I heard that the cake was met with a chorus of squeals which is music to my ears! Happy Birthday Alex!

A tale of two lobsters

2010-06-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you who watched Friends, you will recognize that this cake refers to Phoebe's theory that Rachel is Ross' lobster. In this case, Lynn is Kelly's lobster and vice versa, and I was trusted with creating their unconventional wedding cake featuring two lobsters. Because lobsters are actually fairly ugly creatures, I had to undertake serious artistic research by purchasing, cooking, and eating a lobster myself in order to meet my rigorous standards of authenticity and realism (and yes, the lobster omelette with shallots and basil was delicious).

Every element on the cake was a reflection of their personalities and favourite things, including the Vancouver Canucks, red wine, dark beer, Craig Ferguson, and their two Labrador retrievers. In particular, the bride has a very fair complexion and so I gave her some SPF 2500 sunscreen, along with her calla lily bouquet. They are heading off to Italy for their honeymoon! So jealous...

There were 10" and 8" round tiers, each about 4" high, with lemon, white chocolate, and vanilla flavours on the bottom and mocha, chocolate, and hazelnut flavours on top. After covering with fondant, toasted leftover cake crumbs were used to create the sandy look. Black rock sugar was broken into chunks and piled up into a cliff formation. The lobster torso and front claws were Rice Krispie treats internally and covered with fondant before airbrushing to a perfect orange-red hue.

This was a cake where truly, the sum was greater than its parts, although making the parts were very satisfying, especially the wine and beer bottles and Craig Ferguson book. Assembling all the parts together was the most challenging; in particular, the lobster claws were heavier than anticipated and were stubbornly refusing to defy gravity. Also, the two ringbearing dogs were originally supposed to be frolicking on the rocks, but in order to save space and maintain proper relative scale in terms of size of the objects, they both became swimming dogs!

Thankfully, I did not have to deliver this cake to Furry Creek, which is a beautiful place about an hour outside Vancouver on the way to Whistler. Reportedly, the cake made it there safely and was "a big hit". And so I can let out a big sigh of relief! Congratulations Lynn & Kelly!

Driven

2010-06-12T13:22:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking of buying a new car lately. Although I am fiercely loyal to my 1995 Honda Civic, the muffler is dying again and little rust spots are beginning to show up. My love of this car, however, is not proportional to my love of driving. In fact, I hate driving, especially in Vancouver, and as a result, my odometer has barely cracked 90,000 kms after 15 years, despite following me to Edmonton and Michigan and back. Maybe I don't even need a car?

I'll leave it to others to appreciate fancy cars and such, especially Ferrari Formula 1 racing cars which I knew nothing about until several weeks ago. This cake was for a big fan of F1 racing and Michael Schumacher, created from chocolate cake, raspberry and vanilla mousseline. The car was built and carved from an 8" x 8" x 2.5" cake but since 30 servings were needed, I added a short 10" x 15" slab for the car to sit on.

I used this photo as the model for this cake and was soon overwhelmed by the number of corporate logos which emblazen the car. It was impossible to replicate the exact number due to scale but at last count, there were 40 hand-piped signs, not to mention the four chunky tires which were Rice Krispie treats inside.

My favourites had to be the miniature Ferrari emblems with the tiny black stallion which forced me to acknowledge that presbyopia is fast approaching. The little Shell signs were also very cute. The driver is the White Stig, a character from a British TV show called Top Gear which I know absolutely nothing about. All I know is that, I can list all of Michael Schumacher's corporate sponsors by heart and that there is a general surgeon in Vancouver lovingly nicknamed Cocoa Stig.

Refreshed

2010-05-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

From start to finish, this elegant wedding cake was pure enjoyment to make, primarily because I myself love the design and would have it as my own wedding cake in a heartbeat (if I did it all again, that is!). Jennifer and Sergio knew exactly what they wanted, a variation of this magnificent cake featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, but instead, with four square tiers in a refreshing apple/celery green and white colour palette.

And because I am a self-described piping fiend, who loves nothing more than to sit for hours piping anything, having the entire cake covered with piped scrollwork and pattern was a challenge which proved to be more like fun than work. For the green tiers, I used a pin to mark each line before piping the grid and flower pattern whereas for the white tiers, the scrollwork was piped freehand.

Even the flavour of cake is something I myself love! Sergio loves raspberry and Jennifer loves lemon so I decided to combine raspberry mousse, lemon curd, and charlotte sponge conveniently into slab form. As you may know, I am a big advocate of display cakes because of the many logistical advantages they offer without compromising on quality and aesthetics.

All this cake needed were three gorgeous hydrangeas to complete the bride and groom's vision. I was honestly so pleased with the final result that I couldn't stop smiling and taking photos of it. Congratulations Jennifer and Sergio! It was truly a pleasure!

Good times

2010-05-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Olympics may be over but last week, I was indundated with Vancouver 2010 memories. We went to the "Olympic asset recovery" sales warehouse just to poke around and came home with a snow shovel, tarp, clothing rack, two ice packs, two storage bins, and two items of clothing! There were odds and ends for sale ranging from plasma TVs to rubberbands, all of which were once used for the Winter Games.

More importantly, Miga was reincarnated in cake form for a Miga-loving hockey/figure skating enthusiast named Kara. You may recall her Nemo cake from last year. As one of the Vancouver 2010 mascots, Miga is part orca (killer whale) and part Kermode bear who is depicted wearing Kara's pink figure skates while waving her Canadian flag. My favourite detail was the gold medal, which I wanted to be as authentic as possible in its undulating surface and First Nations Raven design. Since I was crazy enough to wait over three hours in line to see and touch the medals, authenticity was a priority!

Miga was constructed from two half-domes and rested on a low 10" x 15" slab of cake. Alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla cake were filled with mango mousseline. Miga's three fins and skates were Rice Krispie treats. Cherry blossoms and snowflakes were added because, despite their seemingly contradictory pairing, cherry trees in Vancouver did begin to bloom during the Winter Games in February and everyone joked that it was indeed the Spring Olympics!

Today, we might go and check out the former Olympic athletes village which is now on sale as luxury condos. Although marred with significant controversy, this waterfront residential development called Millenium Water is surrounded by new green space and is close to a great gelato shop which would make the perfect Sunday afternoon snack!

So cute

2010-05-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

I grew up with Sesame Street during the 1970's, part of the generation who knew who Mr. Hooper, Bob, and Gordon were. Tunes like "Ladybug Picnic" still occasionally get hummed and I have been known to count like The Count at times. Ah ah ah ah...

So when Winnifred asked me to make Sesame Street themed cupcakes for the children at the baby shower, I was excited even though in general, I am not a fan of cupcakes. Maybe it's because there are so many disgusting cupcakes sold everywhere everyday which turn me off, along with the routine massive buttercream tumour which some people love.

We picked four popular hairy/feathery characters, Elmo, Oscar, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird in order to take advantage of the convenient star piping tip and colour combination. The face details were made from fondant and I admit that I spent an unnecessary amount of time focusing on their ocular appearance. Oscar has the most healthy eyes while Cookie Monster has a severe skew deviation which he does not seemed too concerned about.

These goodies, including the macarons and cake shown in my previous post, were all for a guest who has yet to arrive named Reagan. She will be here soon and hopefully she will love beautiful sweet things just like her Auntie Winnifred.

So chic

2010-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

There is something about a cake with a door on it that is particularly inviting, I think. This precious pink creation was commissioned by my Haligonian friend Winnifred as a baby shower gift for her brother and sister-in-law. The yummy mummy-to-be is a fervent pastry enthusiast and Winnifred had seen this silly old blog post of a greeting card which served as the inspiration for this little cake.

By little, I mean that this cake was only 5 inches in diameter and 4 inches high, meaning that all the details in each of the three scenes were tiny, the perfect challenge for an ex-ophthalmologist. At one point, I considered wearing my old pair of surgical loupes for more magnification. The chic mommy strolling along with pink pumps and matching purse was the most satisfying to make, especially because she was a mere 2 inches tall, excluding her hat.

Next, the inset window showcased four petits gateaux with rows and rows of macarons in the background. This scene, plus having a co-worker just return from vacation in Europe, has made me think it is time to return to Paris for some major rejuvenation. Meanwhile, the actual cake was chocolate cake and chocolate mousseline with a crunchy hazelnut feuilletine layer.

In addition to the gift of cake, Winnifred wanted to provide party favours for all the shower guests in the form of pink, brown, and tan macarons, packaged in sacs of three, filled with dark chocolate raspberry, milk chocolate hazelnut, and gingerbread spiced ganaches, respectively. Eighteen dozen macarons later, I decided that I really need a bigger kitchen, bigger oven, and bigger refrigerator. This was especially because there was a third part to Winnifred's order, which I will write about in my next post...

A sweet Simian

2010-04-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest. Monkeys scare me a little. No traumatic childhood ape encounters come to mind, but I have never been keen on our evolutionary cousins. Even those Monsheshe dolls which were hugely popular in the early 1980's had the opposite effect on me. Very creepy.

But everything in cake form seems cuter, doesn't it? Elizabeth, whose term of endearment is "Monkey", was turning one, and to celebrate, a chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse in the form of a 5" cube gift box was created. The cheeky monkey hiding in the box was constructed from Rice Krispie treat and chocolate modelling paste. White chocolate curls were the finishing touch.

The gumpaste panels turned out quite well this time, nice and flush (I'll never be a carpenter). The hands and tail were my favourite details. If anyone happened to check, each hand was marked with a single palmar crease in homage to the simians. Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Just ducky

2010-04-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

With all the wind and the rain in Vancouver lately, I feel a bit like a duck. These decorations for a baby shower cake certainly brought some colour into my kitchen this week! Because the mom-to-be does not know whether it's a girl or a boy, a bright cheerful crayon colour palette was chosen.

In fact, rubber ducks were not in my initial design plan but having some leftover yellow fondant from the Princess' gown, they were a natural addition to the gender-neutral baby paraphernalia. The bottle and pacifier were also very cute.

The actual cake went to a shower full of dental care providers so I hope that their sweet teeths were satisfied! Congratulations!

The Princess

2010-04-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a beautiful Princess who had a very big oven in a very small castle. She had been warned by the previous owner of the big oven, a wicked witch, to bake only gingerbread men at 375F for 15 minutes, otherwise a terrible curse would befall anyone who dared to bake differently. Being very obedient and frightened of the curse, the Princess mixed the dough, rolled the dough, and baked the dough into dozens and dozens of gingerbread men every day.

She became extremely efficient in her small kitchen and locally famous for her delicious gingerbread men but longed to try other recipes, oven temperatures, and baking times. There was no joy in making gingerbread men and the Princess grew forlorn and disheartened. One day, a frequent customer, Goldilocks, came by for a snack but complained, "Your gingerbread men are too big, Princess. You should make them half the size. That is what the bakers in Wonderland are doing.".

Being eager to please, the Princess decided to make her gingerbread men smaller, convinced that she would not be cursed since technically, she was still baking gingerbread men at 375F for 15 minutes. Into the big oven, trays of small gingerbread men went and as the Princess cleaned her dishes and waited for the kitchen timer to ring, she began to notice a terrible smell and gasped at the thick black smoke rising from the charred small gingerbread men. The fire alarm began to blare and out from the small castle, the Princess ran, weeping softly as she thought, "The curse has befallen me!".

Although the small castle and the big oven were destroyed by the fire, the Princess, having an excellent home insurance policy, received enough funds to purchase another small castle with a small oven in a much nicer neighbourhood. There, she slowly realized that indeed, the fire had not been the terrible curse which she had feared. On the contrary, her obedience to the strict rules of the big oven gave her what she ultimately wanted, the freedom and happiness to bake whatever she wished, at whatever temperature, for however long in her small but shiny new oven. And so, the Princess lived happily ever after baking pies, croissants, macarons and every sweet treat imaginable. The End.

Hello again

2010-03-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

Like many women my age, I grew up with Hello Kitty. Somewhere in a drawer or on a shelf in my parents' house, a large collection of stickers, pencil cases, erasers, and note pads, is hiding out, waiting to see daylight again. They are all unmarked, unused, and unpeeled, making me wonder today whether their pristine nature is more a sign of childhood restraint or of deference.

It doesn't matter. Although Hello Kitty now belongs to a whole new generation where she can be a blinged out, luxury brand, pop culture icon in her own right, it is nice to know that to a four year old girl like Simone, she is still just Hello Kitty, that wide-eyed, big headed, cute but mute (no mouth?) cat that is every bow-loving girly girl's cartoon dream.

Fondant Hello Kitty adorns a 9" round chocolate cake with layers of chocolate and raspberry mousse, glazed with a shiny chocolate glaze. She is surrounded by colourful fondant daisies and was easily removed before cutting and serving because no one wants to dismember Hello Kitty and eat her left paw. Meanwhile, here is a photo of the real Hello Kitty who keeps me company...

Humming along

2010-02-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

If you are Canadian and enjoy listening to Bach, then you know who Glenn Gould is. My first encounter with Glenn Gould was watching him on TV as a child and wondering why that strange man was so close to the piano keys and why he was humming so loudly as he played. As my musical education continued, I realized that Mr. Gould was so good he could do whatever he wanted, unlike me, who would never excel at playing Bach no matter how loud I hummed (I'm more of a Debussy person anyways).

Originally, Patricia asked me to combine Chris' two major likes, Glenn Gould and NFL football into a birthday cake which caused me to scratch my head repeatedly in artistic bewilderment for several weeks. Luckily, his Minnesota Vikings were defeated and that allowed me to concentrate solely on Mr. Gould. Using books as the main structural elements of cake allowed for easy construction which gave me more time to focus on the decorative elements which showcased the piano virtuoso and his most famous recording, the Goldberg Variations. The cake flavours were identical to their wedding cake, vanilla cake, lemon curd, and white chocolate lemon mousseline.

Two thin sheets of gumpaste were dried out for a week, one flat and the other curved like an overturned page. Using my calligraphy tools and edible colouring mixed with vodka as ink, the first 16 bars of the Aria from the Goldberg Variations were carefully inscribed. The last two bars were a little squishy but otherwise, the sheet music was quite beautiful to look at. Glenn Gould's portrait was reproduced from an original work by artist Drew Hewitt using a brush and edible colour marker.

Personally, I love working with dried gumpaste as a medium because it allows me to finish major components ahead of time with very little assembly needed on the day of delivery. Plus, these elements can be easily removed before cutting and serving the cake, which means it never has to be eaten and potentially, it could be kept intact for years. Undoubtedly, buying an edible ink printing system would be the less labourious choice, but what would be the fun in that?!

Go Canada!

2010-02-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

The world has come to Vancouver and I am proud to say that I have Olympic fever. I have been febrile since receiving my tickets to three events in the mail back in December! Despite the ups and downs of life which has curtailed my blogging spirit lately, the Vancouver 2010 Games have boosted my creative juices, producing a chocolate Mukmuk constructed from mostly chocolate and some chocolate modeling paste. For those uninitiated to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascots, Mukmuk is technically an Olympic "sidekick", who is an endangered Vancouver Island marmot. Because Mukmuk is Eric's favourite, this chocolate version was his Valentine's Day gift! I doubt Mukmuk will be eaten any time soon. Don't you love his chest hair?

Yesterday, we waited over three hours in line to touch the Olympic medals (while wearing special gloves) and as I write this, thank God, the Canadian Men's Hockey team finally beat Switzerland in a shoot-out! Go Canada go!!!

Project gingerbread

2009-12-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

I finally got my Christmas act together over the past few days and decided to do gingerbread three ways. It seemed appropriate since there was an ancient carton of molasses hiding in my pantry that was begging to be used. Lacking an actual gingerbread man cookie cutter, I instead decided to use my alphabet cutters to spread some edible peace and joy.

Then, in reaction to my recent Costco macaron encounter, chocolate gingerbread macarons were created. I wanted them to taste identical to gingerbread but with the exact opposite texture, soft and rich. This was achieved by halving the amount of cocoa powder I usually use in my chocolate macaron recipe and adding powdered ginger, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg along with a sprinkle of gingerbread crumbs. For extra punch, the ganache included molasses and the same four spices.

Having leftover yolks and cream always makes me think of ice cream, even in winter, and so gingerbread-spiced caramel ice cream was born. Although the ice cream is just for us to enjoy, the rest will be given away to the usual suspects. You know who you are. Have a happy and healthy holiday season everyone!

Good or bad?

2009-12-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

My absence is reflective of my recent bout of the blahs, an uninspired gray cloud which has hovered over me, resulting in stagnation. Usually at this time of year, I am already deep in my personal Christmas production and worrying about how to package bon bons and such. This year, however, I have been dragging my feet and making excuses, reluctant to even acknowledge that Christmas is just 9 days away.

But hopefully, the page has turned. Receiving a lovely gift of J. P. Hevin macarons, direct from Hong Kong, has rekindled some spirit. Admittedly, the time and distance travelled took some toll on their delicate dispositions. Yet, their mere presence was uplifting to my morale which has been weighed down by the mundanity and irritations of my current station in life.

The irony is that I went to Costco on the day after receiving these lovely macarons and discovered boxes of frozen Parisian macarons for sale. They were nestled beside the frozen petits-fours and hors d'oeuvres. I was so tempted to spend the $4.97 to purchase and try the 32 macarons (vanilla, coffee, and pistachio) out of sheer curiosity but refrained. Thus I have absolutely no opinion about their quality.

Honestly, my first reaction was born from shades of food snobbery that I try to avoid. But after more thought, I realized that Costco was smart to provide relatively inaccessible but desirable high-end items to the average consumer. This has prompted me to get my Christmas act together and erase any dreary thoughts dancing in my head. If Costco can provide macarons, then I am obligated to produce something 100x better. I am lucky to know how to make a decent macaron and it is a privilege to make delicious things that people enjoy, whether they know the difference between a baked good and a baked bad.

Mixed media

2009-11-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

The endless rain has started in Vancouver, and while I do love cozy days listening to the pitter-patter, walking to and from the bus stop is somewhat soggier than usual with wet autumn leaves still lining the streets. I tend to hibernate during the cold months but when asked to create a wine bottle themed birthday cake this week, the artistic challenge was quite invigorating!

I had a bit of déjà vu because this cake was for another 60 year old who lives far away, just like the Tree cake. In order to make life easier, the more elements which I can create ahead of time, the better and so, the fondant grapes, gumpaste wine label and bottle cap, white chocolate scrolls, and faux-wood chocolate box panels were all done in advance.

The most rewarding but time-consuming element was undoubtedly, the wine label. Having recently attended a Compressed Italics calligraphy workshop by Martin Jackson (who I secretly wish I could be), I was eager to practice this hand and experiment with my calligraphic tools on dried gumpaste. Using Wilton colour paste mixed with vodka for ink, my Speedball C2 nib flowed quite nicely whereas the pointed nib was more tricky since it tended to scrape into the gumpaste and get clogged.

The cake itself was built from a 10 x 15 x 3 inch slab of chocolate cake layered with whipped dark chocolate raspberry ganache. This was divided into the 6 x 15 x 3 inch box and the remaining section was carved into the life-sized wine bottle which was covered with black rolled fondant and stacked on top of the box. I never think of myself as particularly skilled at doing highly realistic cakes but this was quite a lovely outcome!