Since I have neglected my page but plan to post cakes in the future, I thought I would try to bridge the gap by letting you know what I've been up to.
A real transformation happened in October.
I spent almost every day traveling down to the South Suburbs of Chicago to attend the
Wilton School of Cake Decorating.
It was my first experience decorating cakes every day. That, combined with the flood of new skills I learned, helped me to start making cakes that really represented my tastes and abilities.
The first two weeks were dedicated to the Master Course, an intensive piping regimen of flowers, figures, and borders, which resulted in my
rose and pansy cake, which I posted in December.
The second two weeks were with
Colette Peters, owner of Collette's Cakes, in NY.
Collette has a masters in painting from Pratt and worked as a designer at Tiffany’s for 10 years before becoming a decorator.
Her cakes are flamboyant, free-spirited, and amazing!
In her class tools were rarely used for their original purpose, and flowers were mostly called, "fantasy flowers.”
It was important to me, when making cakes in her class, to use her techniques (like metallic painting and free-form carving) without stealing her style.
The cakes I completed for Colette were the
beetle and celestial cakes, which I also posted.
After Wilton I spent three months interning full time with the
Cakegirls of Chicago.
I was thrilled when they took me on because my love for their cakes verges on obsession.
Chief designer Mary Maher’s cakes are stylish and artful, and she has developed a distinctive style that is regularly imitated.
Mary taught me how to use molded chocolate and rice-crispy, how to add life with highlights and shadows, and when to balance bold statements with detail.
Never once did she send me to get coffee or make me do dishes!
It was at Cakegirls that I learned that piping skills truly separate the boys from the men.
Mary, and her sister Brenda both started out at an old-school buttercream bakery in Detroit, and as a result use a piping bag as if it’s an extension of their hand.
I decided after my internship ended to apply to work at Chicago’s own old-world bakery, the
Swedish Bakery in Andersonville.
The place has been a neighborhood staple for 80 years, and they do everything from marzipan and whipped cream cakes to fondant and buttercream.
Speed and a steady hand is my goal, and since we average what seems to be 50 cakes a day I think I’ll achieve it.
I’ve made a lot of cakes at work that I’d love to post on my blog, but out of respect for the businesses I’ll leave web-posting to the business owners and customers.
When I find some time to create cakes at home, which I am looking forward to, I’ll be sure to post them here!
Class this week was devoted to mold making and airbrushing. I find that airbrushing really separates the boys from the men in cake decorating, especially when it comes to sculpted cakes. Even though 3D cakes have their own natural shadows, airbrushing adds extra dimension and realism with shading. I was really happy that we spent so much time practicing lines, gradients, and texture with the airbrush. For our final exam we airbrushed this woodgrain fondant cake. On its own I think it's really odd, but in three tiers with a chainsaw on top I bet it would make a really cool lumberjack wedding cake.
Using the most basic mold-making technique we learned, I created a chocolate shell molded in cornstarch and a chocolate frame molded in cocoa powder. You simply take the object that you want to recreate and press it into the powders. As you can see, it makes a fairly detailed impression. Cornstarch molds are an old candy maker's technique that is still used today. I know Sour Patch Kids and candy corn are made this way.
