Here is a cowgirl cake, yee-haw! 

       It's the first cake I made for the Blue Duck Bakery Cafes!

ANY ADVICE FOR ME REGARDING THIS BEAR CAKE??

This is one of the last two cake orders I have for Cakes of the Hamptons (now I'm doing orders only for Blue Duck but I took these orders before we decided to work together!). 

ANYWAY! This bear, while adorable, was the worst cake ever to make. I followed the directions perfectly, using wire to tie the cake pans together. The cake pan (Wilton) leaks and it leaked all over my oven and down to the drawer underneath. Only half the cake batter was left, then the inside of the cake never did cook, even with the center metal core.

So I dumped it and started all over, but this time I baked it using the two halves, having to add aluminum foil around the feet to "build up" the cake pan. After the cakes had baked, I trimmed them down, but then had to put buttercream up the middle of the cake to "glue" the two sides together. I did add two short dowels in-between the two sides for extra support.

In order to ice and transport it, it was another whole deal. 

After crumb-coating the entire cake (a messy proposition), I placed the cake face down into the pan again and iced the back, making "fur" by using a hair/grass tip. Then I froze it. After it was solid, I took the bear out and carefully stood it up on a cake drum and added the "fur" to the front, then put it back in the freezer, again while up on the cake drum. I normally don't like to freeze the cakes but in this case, it was a must-do.

As far as delivery, I put the cake into the back part of the cake pan face up, and yes, it messed up the "fur" in the back of the bear. I put ice in Zip-Lock bags and placed the bags in a cooler then secured the frozen bear (still in the back part of the pan) on top of the ice.

Once I was onsite, I carefully removed the cake pan from the back of the bear and placed the cake on top of the bottom round and doweled it. (It was an hour's drive so it was nearly thawed out by then.) I then "fixed" the fur in the back. I had to allow at least half an hour to fix the cake and make any repairs. I added the blocks on the front simply to cover up the chocolate icing that had dripped from my icing bag because of the heat.

I hope I never have to make another bear cake! If anyone out there has any suggestions, I'm all ears! 

Email me your helpful tips at:

CakesoftheHamptons@Yahoo.com

Thanks!

Here I am today, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on my first day doing custom cakes for the Blue Duck Bakery Cafe!! 

I work out of the Southampton, New York location. 

They have four shops: Southampton, Riverhead, Southold, 
and a new bakery opening in Greenport!

I'm happy as a pig in mud!! Correction!

I'm happy as a pig in mud surrounded by Kit Kats!

I made this cake for my Godson's birthday and it was SOOOO EASY to make!! It was probably the easiest cake I've ever made and it looks so adorable. 

 

One thing I learned, though...

You CANNOT PUT GUM PASTE FIGURES IN PUDDING, even when the pudding has been refrigerated overnight first!!

For some reason, the gum paste melts and it melts FAST. 

 

 

 

When I saw that the pieces of gum paste pigs were melting, I quickly removed them and put them aside on cornstarch-covered parchment paper. 

 

The pieces ended up being added to the cake at the very last minute, right before the cake was served. This gum paste / pudding combo is not a good type of cake to use if you want it displayed longer than 15 minutes. I even tried putting the combo in the fridge but the pieces still melted. Next time I will try it with ganache (cooled!!!) and see if it works any better.

 

It was delicious, though! 

Picture of melting pig, below!!!!

"Cakes of the Hamptons for Blue Duck Bakery" 

will have cakes 

on the website Love.com 

starting this fall. 

Stay tuned!

Cakes of the Hamptons and Blue Duck Bakery 

were in the Monday, 5/6/13, edition of 

Newsday / Explore Long Island section! YAY!