My First Cake Decorating Competition

Springville Art City Days 

Cake Decorating Contest 

"Living The Sweet Life"

Cake Title: La Vie Douce “The Sweet Life”

Inspiration for the design: 


When I think of living the sweet life I think of enjoying the very finest things in life. I’ve had the opportunity to live in New York City and whenever I would walk into an upscale French chocolate shop I would be blown away by how amazing looked and smelled.  I decided to design my cake as a chocolate shop counter featuring an array of delectable chocolates and confections. 

 I made a chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut ganache filling, which is one of the most delicious concoctions I have made yet.

I was the one of sixteen decorators and I was the only male competitor. I competed in the intermediate group and I did not win a prize, but it was a great experience anyway! I met some other local bakers and it was great fun! 

Most of the chocolates are cake bites dipped in chocolate. Some are made of pure chocolate and some are fondant with sparkly coating.

Tree Branch Wedding Cake

This cake was commissioned by a couple who wanted a pretty simple wedding cake. 

Their wedding colors were brown and green and are both outdoorsy type people.

They decided on a white vanilla cake with chocolate ganache filling covered in white fondant, topped with a branch and leaves made with fondant. 

Pavlova

I was driving home from work the other day and got a phone call from a man who wanted a cake for his son's surprise birthday party. He asked if I could make a Pavlova cake. His family had taken trips to Australia and had tried this amazing dessert and he could not find anyone in Utah County to make it for him. One of his good friends referred him to me. 

I had the man describe the Pavlova to me and I assured him I could do it. Making it turned out to be a fun adventure seeing as I had not made this type of meringue before. It is a bit different from most meringues in that it is supposed to be soft and marshmallow-like in the middle and crispy on the outside. After a bit of trial and error the Pavlova turned out beautiful!

Two meringues filled and topped with whipped topping served with fresh strawberry, kiwi, and mango.

Tarte au Citron (Lemon Tart)

        

For Easter Sunday I made a luscious lemon tart.

Another successful recipe mastered from my French Culinary Institute cookbook. 

Topped with candied lemon zest.

It was absolutely and positively delicious!

Irish Lace Piping

A few days after I graduated I received a call from my sister regarding a birthday cake for her daughter. She had chosen a cake design out of a Colette Peter's cake book that was quite intricate. My sister called me to inquire about any tips that I had for piping such an intricate design. I gave her a few tips and then offered my services to assist her in decorating her cake. I arrived and was so excited about the project that she just handed it over to me. It was so much fun and I learned a new technique. It turned out great and the party was a success. 

Génoise (French Sponge Cake)

Seeing as I have just three weeks of school left until I graduate I have not had much time to bake as much as I would like. Fortunately this evening I had some time to whip out my French Culinary Institute book and find a recipe to try out. I turned to the cake section and happened upon a recipe for Génoise, which is a French sponge cake, and decided to give it a whirl. I filled and topped it with whipping cream and put fresh strawberries on top. It was quite delicious!! I am so excited to be done with school and have more time to whip up cakes, pastries, and all manner of delectable desserts!!

Valentine's Day Cake

I made my first attempt at doing a topsy turvy cake and it was a complete success. I have seen them done on Food Network Cake Challenges, Ace of Cakes, and Cake Boss and have always wanted to try one. When we learned of a benefit concert and silent auction being held for my wife's cousin Dan Sloan she had the idea that I should make a cake and donate it for the silent auction. I thought it was a great idea so we decided on a design and went for it. After many hours of work we ended up with an absolute masterpiece!

 

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling!

 

Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes would be so proud!

 

 

The silent auction went extremely well! We started the bidding at $75 and it was bought for $300!!!

Hi All,

Welcome to my blog! I've thought for a while about putting together a place for people to view my work and share in my latest creations, and the day has finally arrived--courtesy of my lovely wife and Baker's Assistant, Charlotte.

A little bit about the Baker; I am a self taught cake artist working primarily out of my home (except the really big projects I do at my sister's house because she has a larger kitchen and much more counter space). But I don't work in a professional kitchen. And I never took any sort of cake decorating classes, unless you count the one or two online tutorials I've watched. We all have to start somewhere, and if working from home in the beginning was good enough for Duff Goldman, it's good enough for me.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please take some time to look at a few of my cakes, they are as beautiful as they are delicious! And don't be shy about telling your friends about me, I love referrals.