South Africa

On May 12-25th I will be heading to the town of Swayimana, in the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa to help out a non-profit organization called Zimele. "Zimele" is Zulu for "I am standing on my own two feet." The organization's main vision is to confront the root causes of poverty and empower communities of women and children to stand on their own two feet instead of depending on foreign aid. This comes in the form of providing women with skills, business training, resources, mentorships and support networks necessary to start businesses and social service projects to sustain themselves, their families, and their communities. I think this organization is special because it focuses on more than just meeting immediate needs, but rather emphasizes long term transformation. As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

This is where my trip comes in! A team composed of several professionals representing finance, computers, culinary arts, education, photography, arts/crafts, sports, pharmacy, and medicine will be leading workshops specific to our professions to impart specialized skills to the women of the Swayimana. I will personally be holding workshops on how to bake breads, cookies and cakes so that women can learn the recipes and skills necessary to start a local bake shop as well as feed their families and neighbors. Currently, to get a loaf of basic white bread they must travel to a large city that is three hours away round trip! The town just got their first oven donated to them, so they are extremely eager to learn how to use it. This is an incredible opportunity to use my culinary experience and skills to make an impact on a community and their local economy.  To learn more about the organization visit www.zimelecommunity.org    I will return with photos and stories to share!

Here is bread recipe I've been testing to teach them! 

Ron Swanson Cake: Give me ALL the bacon and eggs you have.

For anyone who watches the TV show Parks and Recreation, you might appreciate this cake.  Ron Swanson is a monotone, masculine, hunting, and breakfast loving character who is the parks director of Pawnee, Indiana.  Although there are SO many great characters on the show, my husband appreciates the humor of Ron the most.  So for his birthday I decided to make a face cake based off a Ron Swanson halloween mask I saw online, which was designed by Jon Defreest.

 
 

You must watch this hilarious clip with one of his most his memorable lines.  "Give me all the bacon and eggs you have."

http://youtu.be/HrIeP798hiQ

Surrealism Cake: New York Magazine Weddings 2012

New York Magazine - Weddings, has an awesome museum worthy cake collection in their current issue!  Each cake is based off of an art movement in history such as Realism, Impressionism, Abstract, Pop art, Cubism, Modernism etc.  I chose Surrealism as my movement.  As you can see, under the fondant layer of this cake you would imagine fluffy layers of cake and buttercream, but instead there is a peek through a curtain that exposes a hard, cold brick wall with a window that opens up to goldfish swimming in the blue sky.  Haha, that is as surreal as my literal mind could come up with :)! See the entire collection @ 

http://nymag.com/weddings/slideshow/sw12/cakes/index6.html

Winter Wonderland Cake

Goodbye winter!  Today is officially the last day of winter and to bid it goodbye, here's a huge Winter Wonderland cake that we made for a Sweet 16 party.

After each snowflake was cut out, they were individually piped with royal to add intricacy.

Then each was painted with pearl dust, silver luster dust, disco dust, shimmery sprinkles or clear sprinkles so that no two snowflakes would be the same.  

We made over 120 snowflakes for this 10 tier cake

We made over 120 snowflakes for this 10 tier cake

Goodbye Winter, hello Spring!

Dressmaker Details

Check out our cake in the Spring 2012 issue of The Knot.  The story highlights cakes that have dressmaker details such as embroidery, ruffles, eyelet, etc.  It's so amazing how fabric details can be replicated in the form of cake.  It takes a lot of time and patience to make fondant look like fabric, but outcome is so delicate and beautiful.

Laduree visit and...pink macarons!

When Laduree opened on the Upper East Side of NYC I was thrilled!  I dragged my husband (who doesn't like sweets by the way..?!?..crazy) and waited in line for 1.5 hours.  The store is gorgeous and they hold the key to my heart there.  The NYC inspired cinnamon-raisin macaron was so delicious I almost cried.  No joke.  Have you ever tasted anything so good that you will never forget the feeling, the place, and the time you ate it?  A food that conjures up other great memories and evokes a child-like joy in you?  No wonder Laduree is the best.   Note: Bouchon Bakery makes a killer coffee macaron too.  

These delicate and sweet treats are flown in from Paris.  

So, of course I was craving a macaron the other day and wanted to stop by Laduree again, but priced at just around $3 per macaron and the long wait, I decided to make my own.  Please don't judge me by my feet....if you know what I'm talking about :)  haha

Piggy Bank Cake

This is the my first post in 2012 and what's a better way to start the year then with a cake that reminds us to save $.  This coin-slot/piggy bank cake was used in the January issue of Brides Magazine for a story on budgeting for your wedding.  

The all white flowers are supposed to mimic ceramic flowers with button-like centers.

Here a closer look at the decorative slot: