Jessica's Sweet Side

REAL Cake Pops

2012-01-01T19:37:00.001-08:00

A big boom in the baking and pastry world is the making of these tiny little balls of cake.. cake pops of course. Now if you have seen my past postings, you know that I have my fair share of experience with cake pops. I love making them actually. They are small and individual sized, which people love these days. All about portion control of course. But what makes these great treats extra special are the decorations and uniqueness that one can add to each pop. A great cake pop starts with a strong base first though right? So this is what gets me. These new little inventions, called "cake pop makers". Those are not how to make cake pops. It's a fraud... At least I think so. For the holidays, my sister bought me one of these so called "cake pop makers", which she knew I would not use for cake pops. But it gave me a chance to look it over and compare it to the actual way of making them. Now, I might just be old fashioned but I think machinery can be a great asset to have at times and useless inventions at other times. This cake pop maker- useless invention. So I decided to clear it up and teach everyone the way to make a REAL cake pop and show how it is OBVIOUSLY different from these new machines.

First. You make a cake. If you aren't skilled, you can use a boxed cake or make your own. Just pour the batter into a big 9x13 pan and don't worry about spreading it perfectly.

Second. The KEY part and biggest difference between this machine and a true cake pop. After the cake cools, you crumble the cake by hand and add a scoop or two of frosting into the crumbs. You then mix by hand until it becomes a workable dough, sticking together and shapeable but not overly wet.

Third. Roll the cake dough into equal sized balls. Freeze them and dip a lollipop into chocolate and then into the cake ball so it holds the cake on securely. At this point, you can dip the cake pop into melted chocolate and decorate however you please.

Now, reviewing this simple easy peasy way of making cake pops, why would you even bother using the maker? Most people would probably spend double the time just scooping perfect amounts of cake batter into the little machines to get even sized cake balls. On top of that. Theres that main ingredient missing. WHERE'S THE FROSTING??? Yes. As you can see, this agitates me the most. How can a cake pop be classified as a cake pop unless it has the frosting to glue it together into little moist cake spheres? What will end up happening to those "cake balls on a stick" is that they will taste like dried out cake cooked differently throughout the ball and will not hold onto the stick when dipped in chocolate. Obviously, if these inventors put thought into it, they would realize that the "cake balls on a stick" are less dense than the chocolate dipped into it probably. Which will cause the cake to fall into the chocolate. See? Problem.

So moral of the story. Do not waste your time or money on making these "cake balls on a stick". Inventions these days are not always the most useful. Instead, be lazy. Go throw together some cake batter and stick it in the oven all at once, crumble it up real quick and put the darn frosting in with the crumbs. Save the time to put the effort into decorating these tiny treats and feel free to laugh at the people who can't figure out why their "cake balls on a stick" won't stay on the said stick. Finally, savor all the great compliments you will receive from making a REAL cake pop.

2012- So Trendy

2012-01-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! As I sit in bed with my tea and try to recover from a hectic weekend and a lovely cold to start up the year, I thought it would be a perfect time to keep up with one of my new years resolutions..this blog of course.

So I thought to relate to the new year, I would touch upon the new trends in culinary that are supposedly coming about in the upcoming year.

There was an article I read from one of my chefs that stated a BIG trend happening in the future is the spread of healthy choice foods for kids. Now, I already thought that was a big theme going on? No? All I hear about in schools and restaurants are the portion control and healthy options for children to eat. New trend? I don't think so.

Second would be using sustainable and homegrown veggies and ingredients in restaurants. Now, I do believe this will be a big trend starting up for all levels of food industries, not just the more expensive cuisine settings.I already heard of restaurants with their own gardens attached to the restaurant with fresh vegetables and herbs grown right there. It seems all about the generation of fresh choices in food. I totally agree and support this trend if it becomes big because I think using foods that are pesticide free and safe from added chemicals and handling are the best for our bodies. What really weighs my decision to go into a nutrition degree in school would be the fact that I think nutrition is the new idea that our population is slowly embracing and becoming supporters of. I am excited to see the new changes to food options with this trend.

Another trend.. a ridiculous one I heard actually.. would be comfort food. THATS A TREND? I'm sorry, but no. Comfort food is like a staple in our society. Let's get real. If anything, comfort food is being replaced by new unique foods like Asian and Peruvian inspired foods.

Jewish Cuisine. A trend predicted in the upcoming year. Who woulda thunk? Now, I like my Jewish food like latkes and matzoh balls but for some reason, I really don't see gafilta fish making a big hit on menus. Ever. But we shall see.

Lastly, the one which makes me laugh, is the trend of... grilled cheese. Yes. I didn't see that one coming either. Crazy right? I always think of "trends" as general ideas for the future. I did read some trends about specific foods like burgers, pizza, pickles. Yupp, all trends. But the grilled cheese one made me laugh. So simple but so trendy! Who knew?

Contest Flaws

2011-12-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

Venting Time.

So I was on this website the other day. It was for a baking show and they had a contest to enter your cakes and cookies and whatnot into a raffle to win prizes. You just upload a picture and then people vote which ones they like. It sounds easy right?

Now heres the problem.

MEAN people can vote your cake DOWN to lower the scores. So, say, if they want their cake to win, they can go and vote everyone else's down around them. Now is that fair? No. I didn't think so either. Now, I was watching this voting process and I could tell which people were cheating. Yes, I call this cheating. Because their cakes would go up rapidly in high votes while everyone around them went down.

And why is it based on talent either? This is a darn raffle for crying out loud! To be fair, if this thirteen year old enters her cake to be in the raffle, she should have a fair shot to win! Instead, her basic flower cake gets horrible scores cause these other people decide their cake is SO much better than a thirteen year old's creation and they deserve it more. Again, not fair.

The general public these days can just be mean. And if you are going to have a contest online to win a TSHIRT, let it be fair. Because what are you teaching these young kids who are inspired to participate? That theirs is not good enough to win a raffle because the general pubic is in it for themselves and a kid's creation is not deserving. That is just wrong.

And let me just say, I gave that girl's cake the highest score. It was great cake and showed lots of talent. That young girl could have a great future in the pastry world and she deserves a chance among everyone else to win a darn tshirt for crying out loud!

Okay. Venting done.

Rumor Has It

2011-12-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

So I was going through my update before going into college. And I found it very funny to think I actually ever imagined that dorm living would be a fabulous, spacious place.. Being that I am paying a fortune to go there. So in some reflection of my pure naivety, I thought I would clear up some myths for future college goers.

1. Dorm living is not spacious. At all. Whatsoever. Cherish your room at home- your own bed, dresser, desk, alone time, door to slam in anger, and quiet area. In college, this doesn't exist. Me and my roommates have moved our room around, I would say, 5 gazillion times, hoping that our room will grow by MAYBE an inch or two. It doesn't happen. So enjoy your space while you can.

2. Community bathrooms are not that scary... unless you forget your flip flops. NEVER go barefoot in bathrooms.. or halls.. or even your own room sometimes. You just don't take the chance.

3. Be wary of dining halls. Yes, some are buffet style. Yes, there is an amazing array of food to try. and YES, you will gain weight if you eat five plates a day. Sadly, this is not the magical land of food that keeps you skinny. I'm still waiting for a culinary student to come up with that one!

4. College kids do sleep. A lot. Before I left for school, I really imagined getting no sleep all the time due to roommates and noisy halls and no quiet time. Now, I admit I go to sleep pretty late sometimes. But during the day, it is like naps are a required class for us kids. I will always nap at least once a day and look forward to my 3 hour snoozes.

5. Money does not grow on trees. Or in your parent's wallets. So don't over due it. Around my school, theres a lot of nice places to because it is in a city environment. However, money goes quickly. So be careful and limit yourself to only spending money on what you need. Mind you, a meal plan isn't there for nothing.

6. Go to class. SO many students slack in college due to the thought of freedom and pure laziness. Keep in mind, you pay a heck of a lot of money for those classes. If you don't go to class, don't expect a good grade. Simple as that.

7. College does not stand for party 24/7.. unless you really want it too. I am not a huge party goer myself and there are a ton of other kids just like me, who would rather stay in and play food scrabble (keep in mind, culinary college) than go out and get crazy every night.

8. Lastly, as much advice as a person, book, or other source gives you about college, you will never know the true experience until you are there yourself. So don't get caught up in other people's horror stories or crazy advice. Cause even though I have had my crazy (horror) stories too, it won't happen to everyone. Be grateful for that and go in with an open mind.

Thats it guys. All the basic rumors that I remember fearing in college. Before I left, I would spend days flipping through college guides from random writers who went to college probably a decade ago and then try to tell you advice from what they remember. Some of it was totally false. And a majority was common sense. I just remember fearing the worst and freaking myself out for no reason. At the end of the day, college is awesome.

Neglect

2011-12-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

This is a sincere, heartfelt apology for my total neglect of my wonderful child of a blog. So I am really sorry I haven't updated this blog in.. forever. I promised myself I would keep up with this while I underwent a huge change in my life.. a.k.a college. But of course, I got caught up in my new lifestyle and the next thing ya know.. its December! So. Update on my life from.. oh lets say 4 months ago (again, so sorry). When I left my town and moved 5 hours away to culinary school, I thought I would be a total wreck. I would miss my family, friends, and of course my cute lil dogs at home. Now, not saying that I didn't miss them, but.. well I adjusted pretty easily to life at college. Maybe I don't have the usual college experience as most kids due to the crazy schedule of culinary school, but I still enjoy it the same. Mostly, I love the FREEDOM from home. I love to live on my own, learn to deal with my own drama, and grow through experiences away from my parents. I've learned to find myself and who I want to be and really be able to embrace my future career, being surrounded by people with the same passion and dreams as I do. So children out there, my wise elderly college advice, go away to school. Learn to live. Be your own person. And have fun. But mostly learn to be responsible and be smart. Or you will end up right back in your parents house. Now on to the more entertaining things in my life. I had a pretty boring first trimester of school. I took my lively academics of math, english, and all that fun stuff. I just started my actual baking labs and it. is. AMAZING. I love it and reminds me I made the right choice. So far, my skills in the kitchen have soared and I have not burnt a SINGLE thing since starting... okay maybe one or two.. that's our secret though. Besides those hiccups, I have been very successful and am starting to think of what I could possibly do in the future. I would love to work somewhere like Hershey Park or Disney. Or a grand hotel. like the Mohegan Sun. Or a little bakeshop in the city. Or a famous bakeshop in the city. Or go to Florida and work at a resort. Or a cruise. Or go far away to Hawaii and work there! OH THE POSSIBILITIES. It makes my head spin. As you can see, I have NO clue what the heck I want to do with my future. Great. Now I'm all worried. Well, as I think over all my possibilities in life, I will leave you guys with some lovely creations I have made while I fell off the face of the earth.. or at least the face of my blog. I will post them under the pictures tab.. go look there! :]

What's College?

2011-07-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

So I've been doing some thinking. During my last year of high school, I was able to have the time to run my business from home, decorating cakes and baking pastries and treats for local customers. However, I am now "entering a new chapter of my life", as some people like to say, and I will not be home to continue with my business. Therefore, I will not have any pictures to post of my cakes...SO. I decided to expand my blog as not just a business blog anymore but a blog into my experience at baking and pastry school! Exciting right? Yeah, im sure you're all ecstatic. But if I didn't expand, then this blog would be totally neglected and that's kind of pointless. So to keep everyone up to date with my life...

1. I graduated high school! YAY! ( note the previous post of my graduation cap cake).

2. I got into my college of choice for baking and pastry! Yay again!

3. I have done practically NOTHING excitable or crazy this summer. But that's predictable. I always want crazy plans and then waste my summer away.. sleeping usually. But this summer was different. I wasted it away working AND sleeping.

4. I went to my orientation and met my awesome roommates and got pumped for living away from home for a year.

5. I came home and decided I didn't want to leave actually. I missed my dogs too much. Oh, and my family of course.

6. I started buying all the STUFF that goes along with college because even though I will miss my dogs tremendously, I can not hold myself back from life experiences because of my love for animals.. or my comfy bed.

7. This is where I leave off now. At the moment, I'm working my butt off to save up for the crazy expenses of college (which I am assuming they are just not telling me the truth at the moment and I am actually living in a beautiful mansion which is why it is so expensive to go there. Yepp, that explains it.) I am also slowly planning my hang outs with friends and family before I leave since it will probably be the last time I will see my friends until at least winter break. And I thought saying goodbye at graduation was tough. HA. But don't worry, I'll make sure to bake some brownies this week as I de-stress myself. I might not have family, hometown friends, or my dogs up at college but at least I have my one last love with me ... baking :)

GRADUATION!

2011-07-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, I officially graduated this year and in honor of mine as well as my sister's graduation, my mom put together a party to celebrate. I decided to make the cakes for the event and wanted to have them reflect my sister and I together but seperate. I made two cakes in a soccer pan from Wilton ( which can i say was the WORST pan I ever bought. When the pan was washed the coating fully came off and it dulled and tarnished immediately. If anyone plans to make a cake like this, I would not use this one in particular) I cooked two seperate halves of the soccer ball and covered each in fondant. I then took cardboard as the top of the hat and cut it to fit and covered it in hand colored fondant. Afterwards I hand decorated the tops of the hats and finished them off by making edible tassles in the school colors out of fondant. Happy graduation to the class of 2011!

T-Rex Cake

2011-06-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

So I know I've been behind with my updates.. but school and works been in my way and I haven't been able to make or take pics of my projects! SO. I was asked to make a T-Rex cake for a customer's son's five year old birthday. They pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. I haven't been making cakes as much since I'm not in classes anymore, so I really wanted to bring back some of my skills and make an awesome cake. I made a double layer chocolate cake with homemade chocolate frosting in between and on the sides of the cake. I then colored some vanilla buttercream into the various colors and made a desert background. The T-Rex itself is hand drawn and piped in with a star tip. I think the cake really did come out as good as I hoped. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have some updates on graduation cakes I will be doing!

Dora The Explorer Cake

2011-04-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

This cake was an order made for a customer's daughter who loves Dora The Explorer. I made a chocolate cake with a thin chocolate frosting layer and then topped with a vanilla cake with sprinkles baked in and covered in vanilla buttercream. I then made a buttercream transfer of Dora and decorated the borders in blue, purple, and green designs.

Pina Colada Cupcakes!

2011-04-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

For my sister's 21st birthday, I made her booze cupcakes! I started with a pineapple and coconut cupcake infused with coconut rum as well as fresh pineapple pieces baked in. The cupcakes were then topped with a Malibu frosting, consisting of a basic buttercream and Malibu Coconut Rum. They are topped off with a bit of toasted coconut and an umbrella!

Blueberry Muffins

2011-04-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

So my favorite muffin of all time is.. you guessed it.. blueberry muffins. I have made muffins before and have the hardest time finding the perfect recipe.This muffin recipe came from an online source that I tweaked a bit. It wasn't too sweet, which a lot of muffins can be, and came out soft and fluffy inside with a crisp outside dome top. I also topped the muffins with some course sugar crystals although some people like to use a cinnamon sugar topping as well. Too bad I forgot about the holiday and made these the morning before Passover.. muffins anyone?

Bridal Shower Cake Pops

2011-04-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

I recieved this order from the mother of the bride who was looking to get cake pops as party favours for her daughter's surprise bridal shower. I made a red velvet cake mixed with buttercream because the daughter preferred buttercream over cream cheese frosting. It really didn't alter the taste of the cake pop and was still very rich of a cake. I then dipped them in dark chocolate and drizzled them with hand colored white chocolate to match the olive green party bag favours at the shower. They came out very pretty and I was glad to hear they were a hit at the party. I only had a few left over to take pictures of before they were all eaten up!

Basket Weave Cake

2011-04-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! So I haven't updated my blog in a while but I have been baking and decorating a few things here and there. The cake here is a cake I made for the official last class of the Wilton Cake Decorating classes that was for royal icing designs specifically. If anyone is into decorating and wants to try a class out, I definitely recommend taking the Wilton classes. I had a great time and learned a ton of different skills for decorating, ranging from basic decorating to fondant and royal icing designs. It's a good class for all levels of decorating and the instructors are really great too.

But anyway, back to the cake..this cake is a dark chocolate cake with a homemade mocha coffee frosting. The frosting was a little soft so the basket weave wasn't as defined as I would have liked but it is noticeable going around the sides of the cake. This cake was a kind of last minute thing for me to make and I didn't get to make royal icing flowers but I did top the cake with fondant pansy flowers in orange, yellow, and purple.

Spring is coming!

2011-03-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

For a customer order, I was asked to make a springtime tiered cake. The first tier is made up of a layer of yellow cake and red velvet cake, filled and covered with homemade buttercream. The second tier is two layer of red velvet cake also filled and covered in vanilla buttercream. They were then covered with handcolored fondant and decorated with royal icing that I colored green and used to make grass and grass blades on the cake. I also used about 25 sugar roses in red, dark pink, yellow and light pink, all colored and hand-made out of gumpaste. To top the cake off, I made a few butterflies in light blue and purple out of gumpaste. This is definitely one of my favorite cakes so far!

New York Yankees Cake

2011-02-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

For a friend's birthday, I was asked to make a birthday cake inspired by the New York Yankees. This cake is a vanilla cake covered in homemade buttercream. I handcolored the blue and red buttercream and drew the infamous logo on top.

Rainbow Cookies

2011-02-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to learn how to make "rainbow" or tricolored cookies and finally had some time to search for a recipe and actually make these small treats! I made three almond cake layers hand colored with pink green and yellow food dye. I then filled the cakes with a raspberry jam and topped with a chocolate ganache and chocolate sprinkles.

Fondant Calla Lillies Cake

2011-02-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

I completed my fondant and gum paste course and took pictures of my completed fondant covered cake. I made a chocolate cake, filled and covered it in homemade oreo buttercream. I then covered my cake board in yellow fondant and used blue hand colored fondant for the cake itself. All flowers were hand made and decorated out of gum paste.

Sugar Flowers

2011-02-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

I have been taking a fondant and gum paste class and learned how to make an array of sugar flowers for cakes and treats. These are some of the flowers I have created. If anyone is interested in ordering cakes for any occasion, I am able to make buttercream as well as fondant covered cakes decorated with any designs including the sugar flowers below along with other types of flowers requested.

Calla Lillies

Mum Flowers

Rose Flowers

Sunflowers

White Carnation Flower

Best Buy Cake Pops

2011-02-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

For another Best Buy order, I was asked to make red velvet cake pops. I made the cake pops and dipped them in blue and yellow colored white chocolate.

Valentines Day continued < 3 (a dozen roses.. i mean cake pops)

2011-02-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

Another order that I made for valentines day were cake pops made into roses. I used red velvet cake dipped in white chocolate and sculpted the rose with petals that I shaped out of homemade modeling chocolate. I also have a few roses decorated with pink hearts placed on by hand.

Valentines Day < 3

2011-02-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone so for valentines day I recieved a ton of different orders and thought I would split them up into different posts. This first post includes pictures of the red velvet cupcakes I made. I decorated these with homemade cream cheese frosting and topped with mini heart sprinkles and a pink fondant cut heart that I made by hand. I also created chocolate decorated strawberries dipped by hand in pink or white colored chocolate and drizzled with designs or covered in sprinkles. Lastly, I made red velvet cake pops. These were dipped in pink or white colored chocolate as well and decorated with the same designs as the strawberries.

Black Forest Cake Pops

2011-02-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post that I wasn't able to upload sooner. I recieved an order for cake pops made with black forest cake. This was my first time ever making black forest cake but I recieved great feedback. This shows the chocolate cake with cherries covered in white chocolate.

Best Buy Mobile Cake

2011-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

This was a cake requested for the Best Buy Mobile Department. I used a chocolate cake and covered it in vanilla buttercream. I used the frozen buttercream transfer method for this cake as well and handcopied the logo and filled it in with homemade colored buttercream.

Washington Redskins birthday cake

2011-01-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

I used a new technique on this cake called the frozen buttercream transfer. I made this as an order for a 25th birthday. I was told the customer's favorite team was the Washington Redskins so I took some liberty in the design and made the logo for the football team using the fbt method I read about online. The cake itself is a two layer chocolate and vanilla cake filled with vanilla buttercream. This is all original and handmade work including the logo.

Devil Dog Mini Cupcakes

2011-01-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

I decided on my snow day to try something new out and make devil dog cupcakes! These mini treats are chocolate devils's food cupcakes filled with homemade cream filling.