cake power kids

Eat This Book:

2012-01-29T16:46:00.021-05:00

A mountain of books and flavors for a passionate
young reader.

above photographs: David Levinthal

I've long admired the amazing David Stark Design and Production, and LOVED making this cake for this event. Arriving at the location, we were completely awe-struck by the attention to detail and the magic of the setting transformed into an Alice In Wonderland larger-than-life dream of endless and fascinating stories.

above photograph: Susan Montagna
event produced by David Stark Design and Production

above photograph: Susan Montagna

a very happy ending.

Lovin' Spoonfuls: A few of our Favorite Gingerbread Houses 2011

2011-12-30T12:19:00.027-05:00

As small as a typewriter, as big as a house... really, a house!

Fit for a president or wrought for a cause,
Here's a photo & video round-up of a few my favorite gingerbread homes

Big: The Incredible Edible Gingerbread House at the Brunswick Centre, in Bloomsbury London created to raise money for the Great Ormond Street hospital.

Click here: to see the finished Incredible Edible House video

A typewriter! Baked Ideas made this gorgeous super colorful and nostalgic, completely edible gingerbread typewriter (like a house for stories) to benefit City Harvest. It's displayed at NYC's Parker Meridien Hotel. The Gingerbread Wonderland is located in the 56th Street atrium of the lobby: December 1st – January 6th created by local restaurants & bakeries:

Gingerbread the White House: weighing in at over 150 pounds of gingerbread dough and 250 lbs of white chocolate and an amazing attention to detail:

How to: I came across this wonderful Gingerbread Brownstone through a tweet from my friend Elisa Strauss. Its from Kitchen Table Scraps.com Check out their Build a Gingerbread Brownstone post for really great photos and details on how to build your own brownstone & Gingerbread house basics:

Behind the scenes: with our friends at Cake Alchemy building their Penguin House. Here's my question: How did they get the amazing and beautiful pulled sugar to hold up? Lauri?

On display at the New York Botanical Gardens through January 16, 2012

On Location: our Dog Gingerbread house for the NYBG.
Click here: to see how we made it.

Lastly, a perennial favorite: Baked Ideas tiny houses, too small for even a mouse:

Happy 2012!

2011-12-28T09:56:00.008-05:00

Happy Holidays!

Homemade cookies for Santa on our Fred & Friends Food Face Plate

A small taste of windows around town: ♡Bergdorf Goodman's (below via strictly paper:)

Dream Hotel: lobby display

Anthropology @ Chelsea Market... I love that it was snowing... inside the window.

Gingerbread Dog House: (three bedrooms, no baths)

2011-11-21T14:41:00.024-05:00

It's that time again♡---friends and neighbors are smiling and commenting on the smell of cinnamon and ginger in the halls. We're well stocked on molasses and brown sugar, and we are ready to build.

(above: let it snow)

Every year right around this time we make a Gingerbread house for the New York Botanic Garden. Not surprisingly, all of my houses revolve around things my son is interested in that year. One year it was a train station, then a rocket, a dinosaur, the three pigs, and the Nutcracker Suite (which admittedly was a bit of a stretch, since he'd never heard of the Nutcracker Suite, but the Nutcracker-soldier dueling with the evil mouse-king seemed to seal the deal).

Step by step: how to build a super-delicious dog.

We promised him that he could have a dog when he's nine, and at seven, he seems to be spending a lot of time thinking about and preparing to be part of that A-Boy-and-his-Dog thing, so this year we've made a dog house.
Not a house for a dog (see, it's a joke), it's a house shaped like a dog. Like a road-side stand you might find on route 66, or like a fantasy house in the imagination of a child. It has parts to climb, and parts to swing on, and lots of important amenities like a rooftop garden and a satellite dish so we can get ALL of the football games.

And kids. Tiny sugar & spice kids to live in it and enjoy it was essential, (I was told by my inside source), to the completion of the project.

(above: homework)

The Gingerbread Adventures exhibit can be found in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden and is part of the New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show which runs from Saturday, November 19th through Monday, January 16th.

JuSt fOr FuN! Cakes Dressed as Everyday Objects: BlackBerry Cake, Purse Cake, Record Player Cake, Wine Cake.

2011-10-29T10:20:00.014-04:00

Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, but more often than not these days, its actually a cake, trying to pass itself off as a cigar, or a blackberry or a lovely purple purse.

60's Record Player Cake (A Portable Imperial Party Time, Solid State...)

Here's a little behind the scenes, like the original "real" record player, and some bits and pieces of the decorating stages:

Cynthia and Alejandra!

Cookie "Costumes": #1 Bride & Groom

2011-10-23T13:45:00.008-04:00

My amazing niece Tara is all grown-up, and getting married. She wanted something little, and especially fun for photographs of her bridal party.

The first time mustache cookies came onto my radar was through my friend Liz and her Eat Cake Be Merry blog, and it really made me smile.

Watching my son play with them made me think we need to make some more variations on this theme for fun cookie dress-up photos...
LIKE THESE GREAT GLASSES AND EYEBALLS FROM my friend Patti Paige at BAKED IDEAS:

*To make sure the skewers didn't burn or spin around later, I soaked them in water before baking. Before putting the cookies in the oven, I also added an extra little piece of cookie dough over the part of the cookie where the skewer was inserted for extra strength.

BAKER-BOT: the Future of Kitchen Gadgets?

2011-10-01T12:55:00.014-04:00

Fab@Home: imagine this- "the sun rises and the alarm clock chimes, you roll out of bed to be greeted by a freshly printed breakfast from the dining app that syncs with your alarm clock"

I was really looking forward to seeing my first 3D printer up close and in person at the NY Maker Faire this year. What we found was a whole "3D printer village"!
As we marveled at 3D objects being reproduced, layer upon layer right before our eyes, the silicone streaming out of the printer's tubes reminded me of icing being piped. Sure enough, tucked away in a corner of the show we stumbled across this printer, syringe filled with chocolate and fabricating these little chocolate turtles:

"The Fab@Home syringe tools have the unique ability to make objects out of multiple materials. They are compatible with a wide array of materials including silicone, cement, stainless steel, cake frosting, and cheese. Some of our finished products include a battery, a flashlight, a bicycle sprocket, toy parts, and various food products."

The video below is a little long... but fast forward to where the printer is piping icing onto a cookie, its pretty cool to imagine what the applications can become:

If a Maker Faire comes to your town, I say run, don't walk to check it out.

Here's another exhibit we loved: A game-controller-operated Gigantic Slingshot. (Hmmm, we're going to need a backyard.)

Attack of the Minifigure Cake!

2011-09-16T14:35:00.030-04:00

"Caaaake!"

I've been making cakes for Aidan's family since he was three. Now he's seven. I love that age. They seem like they're all legs, like foals, and growing so fast that they're tripping over their own now a-full-size-bigger-than-thee-months-ago feet. Their imaginations are huge, and their super powers are at their best.

The 12 sculpted characters on the cake are formed out of a combination of fondant and sugar-paste. It took about three days to make them. Many disappeared within seconds, and clearly, a few were taken prisoner:

While I wouldn't say, "just try this cake at home", I would totally recommend the LEGO Minifig Popsicle mold (below). We used it to start off the basic pieces & shapes of our figures. With these iconic shaped molds, you can make a quick homemade super cool popscle with a big pay-off. An Orange-Banana Smoothie popsicle is just the right kind of yellow of the classic minifigure. (My personal favorite is Watermelon-Chocolate Chip: puree Watermelon, fold in chocolate chips, pour into molds, and freeze.)

The Red Lego "Brick" cake measures 12 X 16 X 5". Its chocolate cake filled with layers of caramel buttercream and chocolate-caramel buttercream.

This one goes out to all the 7 year-olds:

Homemade S'mores

2011-08-18T22:17:00.055-04:00

Part 1: Making the Graham Crackers
Here's a good basic recipe with easy to find ingredients that draws on kids' natural affinity for measuring, pouring, and mixing. And who doesn't love to play with different textures like soft silky flour, coarse brown sugar, creamy milk, or syrupy honey?

graham cracker tips: ✳ let the kids know that the dough needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours, OR overnight before baking, and then chilled again for a bit once it's rolled out. (And have a few interim activities waiting in the wings.)
✳ If you don't have a food processor (we didn't), a blender is a good way to start it off, but it doesn't quite do the job properly. We started with a blender and finished by hand, a little clunky, but OK.

Graham Cracker recipe

*adapted from Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (176 grams) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt (4 grams)
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon squares ✳ and frozen
1/3 cup (114 grams) mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons (77 grams) milk, full-fat is best
2 tablespoons (27 grams) pure vanilla extract
for topping: 2 tablespoons (43 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) ground cinnamon

Measure out and combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse on low to incorporate. *if using a blender instead, please see "tips" above.
Add the cut and frozen tablespoons of butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla extract and honey. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a square about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator.
Sprinkle an even layer of flour onto a sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough onto parchment paper, into a square about 1/8 inch thick. The dough is sticky, so flour as necessary.
Cut into shapes about 2 1/2" square-ish.
Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove from refrigerator and place the crackers about 1/2" to 1" apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping.
Using a fork, toothpick or skewer, form dotted rows in the dough.
Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

Yield: 10-12 large crackers

❤ I love homemade versions of foods that we usually get from boxes and bags ❤
We burnt the first batch just a little, but given that a couple disappeared even before I could snap this picture, I think they were a success.

Above: Our graham cracker-making was a rainy day activity on vacation. The rain didn't let up and we had to cancel our campfire. So on to plan B: store-bought marshmallows, a bar of chocolate, our homemade graham crackers and a microwave. (Rave reviews!)

✶

Part 2 Making the Marshmallows
We made shapes based on one of our favorite books, Cloud Boy by Rhode Montijo, and the clouds that we saw that day.

The recipe for the piped marshmallow is from Martha Stewart.com
Piped Marshmallow tips: ✵ You'll need a candy thermometer for this recipe.
✵ I think it's fascinating to watch boiled sugar go from a glassy liquid to a white fluffy cloud, but obviously boiling sugar is definitely not a kids activity.
Step #1: adults only. ✵Once its white and fluffy and ready to be piped, it's all good!
✵Tie the end of the piping bag with a twist-tie or rubber band to keep the marshmallow from coming out the other end.
✵We used a plastic coupler as our piping tip because we didn't have a tip large enough to pipe the shapes we wanted. You could also use a large zip baggie and snip a corner off for the tip.

✵
click here for recipe.

✶

Baseball Cake in the Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-14T10:23:00.016-04:00

(A tribute to love of baseball, they can have their cap/cake, and eat it too.)

My brothers came to town this summer with their families.
This means, that we were all going to see some baseball. I've always loved baseball, but not so much for the sport itself. It was that growing up, I knew that through baseball; (through time spent playing, watching, talking about, and fighting about baseball), the men in our family truly connected.
It seemed to me then that the language of baseball was a sort of secret language of brotherhood...
(Although, now some of my nieces are world class ball players themselves, and I can see that language is pretty universal.)

☆a big hit with the kids, (I highly recommend): Staten Island Yankees Minor League Baseball game

❤ happy birthday, Kelly!

How to Crack an Egg

2011-07-23T15:12:00.014-04:00

We were making a batter for cupcakes, and my seven year old asked if he could break the eggs. (Hmmm...)
Many eggs, and a comically messy counter later, I figured there had to be a better way to teach a kid how to break a few eggs.

(Draw a dotted pencil guide-line around the center of the eggshell to show where they can aim to hit it against the bowl.)

Step 1.
Rap the egg firmly against the inside wall of the bowl.
☆ Use an especially large bowl. The high walls of the bowl act as a splash-guard.

Step 2.
Turn the egg about a quarter turn around the dotted line around the center of the egg, and rap it again. Repeat around the egg until there's a nice clean(ish) break.

Step 3.
Pull the halves of the shell apart.

Step 4.
Ker-plunk! Mission accomplished.

Question: What happens when you tell an egg a joke?

Coney Island Dreamland Cake

2011-07-17T20:05:00.028-04:00

Here's our Spinning, Whirling Coney Island Cake for What Works,
An ArtStar Pop-Up Exhibition

sugar in motion! ❤ rides you can eat!

One of my favorite parts of the display was a working sugar Zoetrope, Zoe's Zoetrope. We learned about zeotropes at the
Museum of the Moving Image.
(We couldn't quite capture the motion in the photo or video, but it was a fun and edible little "motion picture" of a cupcake guy jumping up and down.)

Photograph by David Levinthal
The cake was made for Little Collector to go with a series of photographs of amusement park rides in the exhibit by my husband. For me "amusement park" is synonymous with Coney Island. And, Coney Island, is one of my fondest memories from childhood. We would go there almost every Tuesday night in the summer to ride the rides, grab a Famous Nathan's hot dog and then sit on the beach to watch fireworks shot from a barge. I loved it...even in the face of, the dreaded animatronic "fat lady", and her haunting laugh. There she sat, stationed at the entrance of the park, (like the genie, Zoltar from the Tom Hanks movie, Big) the biggest price of admission for me as a kid.

Thank you ❤ to all the friends who made the trek to the Lower East Side of Manhattan for the opening night last week. ❊ A special thank you to Rich at Art Star for pulling everything together and creating a beautiful show.

Behind the scenes: One of the things that works for me, is that David is so sweet and always willing to step in and do a little of the handy work when things start to get down to the wire.

Little Collector Pop-Up Show: What Works

2011-07-09T14:24:00.012-04:00

I LOVE THIS!
❤ My family and I, are part of a super fun family event coming up through
Little Collector.
❤ In Little Collector's gallery exhibits, the world of "art" is made very fun and very accessible for kids. The definition of "artist" is even expanded to include: balloon artist, cake artist and bead artist, and we're shown alongside more traditional well-known artists.

❤The subject matter of the artwork is also pretty near and dear to the hearts of most children. Toys and imaginary play and amazing children's book illustrations.
❤Here's a little sneak peak of the beginnings of my contribution to the event, and my husband's photographs that my cake is married to.

❤JOIN us if you can on July 14! GOOD ART, Free Cake!

photographs by David Levinthal ❤
I LOVE that a cake is part of a gallery show,
❤ that the subject Coney Island--
(a place that looms large and happily in many of my childhood memories),
❤and that the exhibit is about how families influence each other.

What Works

A Pop-Up Exhibition

Opening Reception: July 14, 2011 6-9 pm

By Appointment: July 15-17, 2011

ArtStar’s Space: 195 Chrystie Street 801B, NYC

ArtStar.com announces their first pop-up show in their unique gallery space on the Lower East Side. Featuring the work of six artist couples exploring the influence they have on each other, each artist will present a work that reflects, either consciously or unconsciously, the influence of their partner. The show includes photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, video and mixed materials from ArtStar and LittleCollector artists and their talented paramours who will take over the ArtStar’s gallery space for a three day exhibition. Says Creative Director Rich Hendricks, “Having launched just over five months ago it is our mission to create new opportunities for artists and collectors. Transforming our office space into a temporary gallery to showcase our artists and curators is just another platform for more art lovers and collectors to engage with contemporary art”

Kate Sullivan & David Levinthal

Langdon Graves & Nick Van Woert

Erin Kornfled & Charlie Schultz

Ginger Schulick & Don Porcella

Katherine Newbegin & Todd Knopke

Colette Robbins & Micah Ganske

Rainbow Cake: Part 2. Decorating the cake, and eating it too ❤

2011-07-05T21:45:00.042-04:00

start by brushing water onto the outside of the fondant to make it sticky...

photographed by Gail Albert Halaban .

✫ It is a very lucky thing to have photographer friends. Gail and I first met when I was a photo editor. We'll let the pictures do the talking for this birthday cake decorating activity. ✫Step-by-step instructions are at the end of the post.

stick the tiny pieces of sugar paste onto the fondant covered cake to create a mosaic

(fun for all ages)

✫We made five cakes of varying sizes, from 4" to 7" round, and had the kids work in groups of 4 or 5 to decorate each little cake. It works just as well with ONE cake. Small groups take turns decorating one larger cake. While some kids work on the cake, others play games

Advanced version: make several cakes and stack them

getting ready to sing Happy Birthday!

make a wish...

(❈ Check out Rainbow Cake: Part 1 for the inspiration for the rainbow cake.)

Rainbow Cake Instructions: 1. Start with your favorite cake: baked, filled and frosted (click here for the rainbow inside the cake recipe: Omnomicon's How to make a Rainbow Cake!) You can choose what ever size and shape cake works for you and the number of guests you're having.
2. Cover your cake in fondant. *tip: KEEP IT COLD: ) I refrigerate cakes thoroughly before covering in fondant, and then also refrigerate the fondant-covered cake overnight. If you decorate it cold, it will be a firmer and easier to work on. (yes! it is OK to refrigerate fondanted cakes)
3. Color sugar-paste, also called gum paste, with 5-7 different gel colors. *tip: you can also use rolled fondant to make the cut squares, or even pre-colored fondant.
4. Using a rolling pin, roll out sugar-paste very thin onto a plastic mat or flexible cutting board.
*tip: I put the mat with the rolled out paste into the freezer for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. (Longer is fine too, depending on what else I'm working on). The chilled sugar paste is easier to cut.
5. Use a pastry or pizza wheel to cut into small square pieces, and let dry flat for a few hours or days, depending on how much lead time you have. Until they are set up enough to handle easily and don't stick to each other when poured in a bowl.
6. Divide the colors into separate bowls.
7. Wet the outside of the fondant with a brush or paper towel. It should be wet enough to make the surface tacky so that the squares will stick to it.
8. Have fun sticking the squares to the fondant!
We talked to the kids about mosaics and patterns and shapes, but what they most wanted to do was make random festive confetti patterns.
ONe laSt EASIER to prepare VERSION for the road: You can also do this project without covering the cake in fondant. Stick the sugar paste squares or store bought confetti sprinkles to buttercream frosting, (although it could get a little messy for little fingers).

❈

The only bad thing I could ever say about working with my friend Gail's photographs was that she makes the "editing" part of the job nearly impossible, because I love her pictures and I can never choose. To see more of her work: click here

Rainbow Cake: Part 1

2011-07-01T16:18:00.016-04:00

We were awed by recent trip along the newest stretch of The Highline in NYC to see Rainbow City by FriendsWithYou, an interactive installation of air-filled sculptures. It inspired me to do an interactive rainbow cake project.

Above: a rainbow baked right into the cake, recipe and how-to courtesy: Omnomicon (*more about the cake to follow)

Amazing views and art works (both visual and audio) abound all along the Highline. "DIGITAL EMPATHY": Sound pieces greet visitors with messages of empathy and love in the park's bathrooms, water fountains, and elevators by JULIANNE SWARTZ.

O.K., back to the cake. Rainbows were very much on my mind when I came across Omnomicon's "How to Make a Rainbow cake" post. It's basically a modified white cake box-mix. The batter gets divided into six parts, (sorry, indigo), and gel food color is added to make individual vivid rainbow colors.

The photographs from their post are particularly beautiful, check it out for a step by step instructions to make and pour the batters to create a great rainbow cake:

✪ A funny thing about this cake is that it's a diet recipe, and calls for diet clear soda in the mix.
I enjoy baking from scratch, but I didn't have enough time to test out a variation of this recipe, so I cleared it with the moms involved, and decided to just go with it. I thought it was pretty yummy. The moms at the party seemed to really love it and asked for the recipe. I honestly think that the grown-ups liked it a little more than the kids did.

❤ PART 2: Rainbow Cake DECORATING project for kids coming soon...

❤ one more parting rainbow we made at the museum of the moving image
(kids can create their own stop-motion animations, which they can save and email):

Food Imitating Art. ♡ Wayne Thiebaud

2011-06-25T19:30:00.029-04:00

This is for everyone has ever looked at Wayne Thiebaud's paintings of cakes, mouth watering, longing for the paint to be icing, and for the icing to be eaten...

(and really how could you not?)

We made some of the cakes, from one of his paintings, out of, well... cake! and icing! (And then, we ate it too.)

(above) the baked Cakes, photographed by Gail Albert Halaban.
Eggs & flour & sugar & butter & chocolate on boards.

(above) The Painting: Cake Window (Seven Cakes) 1970-76
Oil on Canvas. 48 X 59 3/8. Signed and dated bottom canter: ❤ Thiebaud '70-'76
Private collection, New York
(You 'gotta love a man who signs a painting with a heart.)

Its funny. Everyone seemed to want a piece of the cake they could see the inside of all night long. Even though it wasn't the only chocolate cake on the display, and even though I tried to explain it might not taste as fresh because it had been cut open for hours.

When it came to painting the wooden board that the cake stands would be attached to, I started painting on the blue "shadows" with food color, because that's what I always paint with. My friend Erin thought that was hysterical, it hadn't even occurred to me to use actual paint. Its a little difficult and expensive to paint on wood with food color... and in the end the acrylic paint did prove to be a much better way to go.

My friend, Gail Albert Halaban (above, getting ready to photograph cakes), is an amazing photographer. Gail has been exploring the world of kids and food through photography for years. She's also a very enthusiastic ally, and her encouragement and willingness to photograph the cakes is a key reason they were made.

Wayne Thiebaud's (pronounced Tee-bow) work is a natural to introduce kids to art.
I love these children's books: “Delicious: The Life and Art of Wayne Thiebaud ,” and Counting with Wayne Thiebaud text by author Susan Goldman Rubin

The National Gallery of Art even uses Thiebaud's work to help teach kids math: Counting on Art, Frosted Fractions

Gift Boxes Cake

2011-06-20T22:09:00.014-04:00

Here's the thing I've learned about making Bar and Bat Mitzvah cakes, (kinda the hard way):

☆ Make sure up front that boy or girl receiving the cake is on-board with the basic idea of the cake. This is a cake that was supposed to be a big Sand Castle cake. It turned into a stack of Gift Boxes Cake when the birthday girl caught wind of the sandcastle idea about a week before the event...(which is not unlike my story about the cake that was supposed to be a Snow Globe that turned into a Lord of the Rings Cake)

So, scrap the sandcastle advance work, take a deep breath, and figure out an arrangement of boxes that has some playfulness and energy. After scavenging every box I could get my hands on and several failed attempts, here is our model:

and then, my favorite part, details, details, details:

Patti Paige and I worked on the cake together for about a week.

*P.S: I'm in ♡love with the whale room at the Museum of Natural History, so when we get a job that is going to be there, like the gift boxes cake, its extra exciting!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

2011-06-18T09:52:00.006-04:00

SPECIAL DELIVERY:

THANK you to Patti for the cookies and cookie ideas! Cookies covered in royal icing (dry overnight) and decorated by (sweet) hand in food color markers.

Yoda, on top of the Empire State Building, Cake

2011-06-04T17:17:00.024-04:00

The Empire State building has taken hold in the imaginations of a class of first and second graders in Manhattan. They've studied it, built it, drawn it, and written stories about it. ✴This probably goes without saying, but so has Star Wars.✴ I guess it was natural that these two things get together, like Salt N Pepa or Fred and Ginger.
I ask, "what kind of cake do you want for your birthday this year, honey?" "HOw about the Empire State Building... with King Kong! No, wait... Yoda on the Empire State Building---Master Jedi, Yoda from the Clone Wars, in battle, not the Yoda from the first Star Wars Movies."

...but THIS is my favorite part.
There's so much to do to plan and set up a party, and I always find myself scaling back and cutting my losses at some point. No time to make the "Wookie Cookies" I was planning, or the cookies for a cookie decorating activity for the kids. So, why not kill two birds with one stone, and have the kids finish decorating the base board of the cake with the food color markers bought for decorating the cookies. I can not tell you how sweet and enthusiastic the kids were about participating in this way. (Running late is so the mother of invention at our house .)

I was also informed that Yoda would never be holding a blue lightsaber, so OK, here's some glittery green food color and a paintbrush... go for it! I love this. Next time I want to make a cake designed specifically to be colored in and painted by the kids.

We love the cut out your own Clone Wars masks as an other party arts and crafts activity.
Download Masks Here.

I'd like to say that crazy great reaction is all for the cake, but really the cake sparklers were pretty cool and exciting!

Yoda Cake/ Empire State Building Cake sketch

(I see a trace of Saturday Night Fever in my Yoda.)

I'd like to acknowledge my models: the LEGO Empire State Building and 3" plastic figurine of Yoda... Clone wars Yoda, that is. (and the Yoda plush toy of course:)

Clone Wars in NYc

2011-06-04T17:17:00.001-04:00

Dear Cake Wrecks,

2011-05-20T09:09:00.012-04:00

O.K., "cake wreck" might not be the first thing that comes to your mind looking at this picture, but, the sight of it UPTURNED & ON THE FLOOR, (tiny little limbs and heads strewn about)...and Cake Wreck is what I see.

It was just too heavy for me to get from a table to the low-to-the-ground utility cart by myself. The only other person on hand was my 6 year old son, who watched the cake tumble over, and having seen one or two cake shows in his day, immediately tried to make it OK by telling me a story of a man who dropped a ten foot cake.
"This happens to everyone", he assured me, as he continued with his 10 foot cake tale.

The 16" super-sized Apple was made for our super amazing and talented Teachers & Staff at our school for Staff Appreciation day. How can you ever thank these guys enough? HOW DO THEY DO IT?

After the fall:

A big hole of fondant ripped out of the top, and of course, the little people were the big casulties. After a few repairs, a slightly bruised apple.
Apples are a classic symbol of teachers, of gratitude, and of knowledge, (unless, of course you're Snow White, or Adam & Eve then there's that whole other thing.)
According to Yahoo Answers, (and this must be true because I found it on the internet... but even if it is not, I kind of like it, an imagine a few teachers might as well) : People associate apples with teachers is the tradition from the 16th century until 18th century in various countries including Denmark and America, in which parents pay educators with foods like fruits. During this time, teachers do not receive enough salary to sustain the cost of living in their places. To help them with their basic needs, parents give the teachers of their children potatoes and apples. During these centuries, apples are considered special and expensive because these fruits are difficult to plant, cultivate and harvest. To compensate the efforts of educators and to make them feel special, parents pay them with different varieties of the fruit.

Snips and Snails...and a Leo Lionni inspired Baby Shower Cake

2011-05-06T17:31:00.010-04:00

I often have a hard time thinking of a GOOD solid idea for a baby shower cake. My soon-to-be-mom friend Daphne had recently learned that she was going to have a boy, and she was trying to wrap her head around just what it would mean to have a "boy". The "What are little boys made of", nursery rhyme came to mind.

And as I thought of Snips and Snails... the wonderful children's book, The Biggest House in the World By Leo Lionni popped into my head. (In a fable within a fable, a wise snail convinces his son that a small, easy-to-carry shell might be better than the biggest house in the world for a life of adventure and exploration.)

Leo Lionni

Now, I admit, I don't think they'll be a run on "snips" or "snigs" cakes any time soon, but as part of a little trio of cakes, they were quite welcome story tellers.

☆ In the earliest known versions, the first ingredient for boys is either "snips" or "snigs", the latter being a Cumbrian dialect word for a small eel.

What are little boys made of made of

What are little boys made of

Snips & snails & puppy dogs tails

And such are little boys made of.

What are young women made of, &c

Sugar & spice & all things nice^[1]

My Moment with Martha and Darcy

2011-05-01T13:30:00.034-04:00

OK, OK, I know, I admit it--- I am WAY too excited about getting to be on the Martha Stewart show. May I just say, I've always wished I could to do something with Martha.

Martha Stewart, Kate Sullivan and Darcy Miller. Photo by David Russell /The Martha Stewart Show
In 1996 I got an assignment from the the New York Times Magazine, to do a cake-portrait of Martha Stewart for a special "Heroine Worship" issue. My first thought was, "Great! I'll do a really nice cake, Martha will see it, love it, and the rest will be history."

Little did I know, that the article would be entitled---wait for it----
Public Enemy No. 1, and it would be about people who love to hate Martha. Who knew?! (So much for the love connection.)

Inspiration for puppy cupcake designs, super adorable doggy (favor) bags designed by Darcy Miller.

OK, so fast forward to now : ) Just before Christmas this year, I got a call from Martha Stewart Weddings' Editorial Director, Darcy Miller to make cupcakes for her daughter Pippa's puppy themed birthday party---which might be featured later in a show.
Darcy has been nothing short of amazing in her unwavering enthusiasm and warmth from the moment we met.
Here a little behind-the-scenes: A final pup-cake-pop head-count before we leave the house.

A quick run through on the set with our segment producer, Courtney and the crew. ✩ This show really does operate like a well-oiled machine.

Getting things ready on set with Chef Anthony.

...on to hair and make-up!

Martha on the set before the audience arrives. She really lights up around Darcy's kids.

The cupcake recipe

preparing for the pet segment of the show.

Most of these photos were taken on an iphone by my very very above-and-beyond supportive friend ❤ Patti, who stayed up all night with me to finish the 200 cake-pops for everyone in the studio audience, and then helped pack and get everything to the studio. *Click here to see a great clip of a wonderfully '80's style Martha Stewart, presenting a Patti Paige wedding cake in 1987, when barely anyone even knew what a custom cake design was yet.

Joey Kola from Martha Stewart Show, decked out in puppy ears.

...and then a puppy party of our own, back home with some friends.

and the rest, at least at our house...is history.

Bake a Difference.

2011-04-21T23:32:00.007-04:00

photograph from Amy Atlas' Candy Shop Dessert Table

I'm so excited to be part of a very special upcoming event.

Icing Smiles and The Pinwheel Project have partnered up to create a Spring celebration for families at the Ronald McDonald House NYC on Thursday, April 28th.
Amy Atlas, is creating one of her amazing dessert tables, guaranteed to provide guests with a small escape from the sights and smells of the medical world (and create some Icing Smiles). We'll be doing a big fun cake that we hope will be as appealing to the moms, in honor of mother's day, as for the kids. And there will be cookies by Patti Paige, who makes my favorite cookies in the world.
The Pinwheel Project will be providing children with fun activities and goody bags, giving the parents an opportunity to relax and enjoy their evening away from the hospital.
To learn more about Icing Smiles and how you can help, please visit their site, Icing Smiles.org

How-to Make Puppy Cupcakes

2011-04-21T09:27:00.014-04:00

*This is a fun decorating project, and pretty kid-friendly, so you can make these with you kids ❤
*Click here to watch us do a how-to demonstration on The Martha Stewart Show.

Start with chilled standard cupcakes baked in white paper liners:

Frost the cupcakes and chill for at approximately 10 minutes.

A helpful TIP: CUT A FLEXIBLE CUTTING BOARD or piece of acetate INTO A SMALL RECTANGLE AND USE IT TO FORM A QUICK AND PERFECT DOME OF ICING ON TOP OF THE CUPCAKE.

Roll out darker color of chocolate fondant

Cut out 3" circles with circle cutter. Chill cutouts in refrigerator for about 5 minutes. Roll out lighter shade of fondant and using circle cutter, cut out 1 3/4" circles.

Place 3" circle on top of icing on cupcake and using fondant smoother or hands smooth over top.Place 2" circle near the bottom edge of the cupcake for the muzzle. Attach by slightly wetting the back of the fondant.

Place a handful of dark brown candy melts in a bowl. Microwave 10 second intervals stirring until the chocolate is soft enough (about total of 20-30 seconds). Fill icing bag or ziplock bag with melted chocolate and press out excess air from bag and seal. Snip a tiny hole in corner of bag.

Place the ears template under a sheet of wax paper and trace the shapes with the piping bag, fill in outlines and chill.

Pipe eyes and attach the candy nose and piped ears with melts. Draw mouth with food color marker. Download and print the dog-ear template for a handy decorating guide.

Here's what you'll need:
24 chilled standard cupcakes baked in white paper liners
decorations:
1 recipe buttercream icing
white chocolate fondant tinted in shades of off-white, tan and brown with gel food color
(cornstarch for coating fondant work surface)
dark brown candy melts
black jelly beans and sugar babies candies
black food color marker
equipment
rolling pin
fondant smoother (optional)
1 3/4" circle cutter
3" circle cutter
ziplock bag
template for ears
flexible cutting board cut into a 4 X 3" triangle
wax paper

Git along little doggies!

2011-04-21T02:42:00.003-04:00

Herding little puppy cake pops out the door. The final head count...204

Cake POPS!

Bite-sized balls made of crumbled cake mixed with icing and covered in candy coating. They decorated to make cake pops, cupcake pops, and cake bites.

❤ You can find great video tutorials from both Bakerella and Cakeb0t on the basics of how to make your owns cake pops.

LEGO Cakes (Part 2)

2011-04-19T22:44:00.015-04:00

As I write this, there are dozens of tiny LEGO minifigures hiding in every conceivable corner of every room of our house. I'm pretty sure they're waiting for me to walk by so they can launch a surprise attack and throw themselves under my feet--(if you've ever stepped on one of these guys, you know what I'm talking about.)

But... you gotta love something that can make a kid so happy!

So, when I got a call to make this minifigure for a soon-to-be 8 year-old named Asher, I couldn't resist!

...and LEGO cake pops! ❤ You can find great video tutorials from both Bakerella and Cakeb0t on the basics of how to make your owns cake pops.

To get this shape, we took cake crumbs and buttercream mixture, pressed it into a pan and put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Then, using a small circle cutter cut out a kind of marshmallow shape--- (marshmallow lego pops, an other good idea!).
Then we coated attached lolly pop sticks and it in our melted yellow candy melts. *You can add a few drops of yellow candy color to the candy melts to make the yellow more intense. The little top and bottom knobs are small circles cut out of modeling chocolate, but you can use any candy that has that basic shape for the same effect.

Lego Cake (Confessions of a Cake Competition Loser...and a Happy Ending)

2011-04-11T12:12:00.021-04:00

The very first time I'd ever heard of a cake competition was 6 years ago when a producer at the Food Network called and asked if I wanted to participate in a "Cake Challenge".
We were already in the process of doing a show for them called Recipe For Success, which was a really great experience with an amazing crew, and I thought, cool, why not?
It was the first season and maybe the second episode shot, so no one really knew what it would look like yet. I was in great company, the other competitors were, Elisa Strauss, Buddy Velestro, and Christpher Garren, all of whom went on to win Cake Challenges...except moi.

At every competition I've been asked the same interview question, over and over. "Are you a competitive person?"
I know full well what I'm supposed to answer: Yes. Unequivocally. Absolutely. "I am here to kick some butt".
But, because I've been focused on the cake and the task ahead, the question always catches me a little bit off-guard. I look blankly at the camera, and try to think of what to say.
Three competitions later, for better or worse, I can unequivocally say that I am not a competitive person. I am not someone who wants to beat you in a race.
Although, I very much like to run my own race. I like to see if I can do something better than I've ever done before, something I didn't think I could do.

Two years ago when a producer (someone who'd worked on other competitions and seen me crash and burn first-hand) from TLC's Ultimate Cake Off (again in its first season) called, I laughed out loud and said, you're kidding, right?
I'd never successfully completed a three foot cake in a timed competition setting, now this would be a FIVE foot cake that had to have three different mechanical elements.
And I said OK, why not.

Now, of course, I lost again. But this time it was different. Rather than being the dead bottom of the pack, we came in second... OK, second of three. But for all of my not getting it right in a timed and stressful race, in the end, I loved our cake. It was the messiest fondant I can possibly imagine, but it was still the most beautiful, magical, creative cake there that day. And I could say with all honesty, I thought it was a winner : )

Planning the cake. Sketches, scale models, run-throughs, it takes a village to make a ginormous multi-motor spinning, musical cake. Here's Dan Pasky working in NY on the beginning mock-ups of the cake.

Lego brick gummies with lights inside!

My son's Lego ships for inspiration.

Meeting with a Mechanical Engineer.

The little people.

Tons of advance work on Patti's (head assistant and support!) cookies. I did the sketches, and then she crafted hand-made cookie cutters...

The plan: build a strong support structure. Cut sheets of cake into puzzle pieces to fit into structure.

Beth's gorgeous Hydroplane ride car prototype.

Patti Paige, Kate Sullivan, Beth Ayala and Chrisy Platt.
The team: countless of hours of back-breaking, unpaid, under-acknowledged work both behind the scenes and during the show.

P.S. We went to Legoland anyway!

(Lego cake by Kate Sullivan.)

Little Tractor Cake

2011-04-06T21:02:00.005-04:00

PUTT, PUTT, PUTT.
LITTLE TRACTOR CAKE.

TRACTOR CAKE CUTTING
Ford Ferguson 9N Tractor 1940

(Ginormous) Hamburger cake and dreams of Claes Oldenburg

2011-04-03T20:04:00.009-04:00

This week's "Sunday Sweets: Cake or Fake?" post on Cake Wrecks is super fun!
Its filled with great cake sculptures by the likes of Mike's Amazing Cakes... as well as some tricky April Fools day double-takes.
I don't know what it is about making a larger-than-life blow-up cake version of some object that makes me sooo happy, but it does.
Maybe its just that any giant version of anything warms my heart, like those roadside diners shaped like hot-dogs. I also think of these super-sized cakes as the "Claes Oldenburg cake treatment", because I'm such a huge fan of the artist.) In fact, I've always wanted to make a cake version of his sculpture, Spoonbridge and Cherry (below : )

...and hey, there seems to be at least a little cross-over here, given the artist's interpretation of this piece called, Floor Cake, from 1962:

Dog Cake Week (Part 2) Old dogs ❀ New tricks...

2011-03-20T13:32:00.007-04:00

Green Dog Cake:

"Jeff Koons Puppy" Cake:

Koons was commissioned in 1992 to create a piece for an art exhibition in Bad Arolsen, Germany. The result was Puppy, a forty-three feet (12.4 m) tall topiary sculpture of a West Highland White Terrier puppy, executed in a variety of flowers on a steel substructure. In the summer of 2000, the statue traveled to New York City for a temporary exhibition at Rockefeller Center. It was love at first sight for me, and "love at first sight" for me often results in a cake tribute somewhere down the road ➷

This Bichon Havanese cake version was made for a very dear friend and covered in 600 hand piped rose buds ➷ (...which didn't even half-cover the 20" high puppy:)

Armant's Kira as Snoopy Dog Cake:

Jonah's Blue Dots Dog Cake:

Luck Be a... Boy? (Lucky Dice cake)

2011-03-19T17:07:00.005-04:00

(I know I'm so behind on posting my week of dogs cakes, but first this:)
Sam designed a Lucky Dice Cake for his Dad's birthday. He was extremely specific in how he wanted the details, especially the "invisible floaty thing".
When asked why Dice, he said, because "I love dice, so if I love dice then, of course, daddy loves dice." (There is a lot of truth in that apple not falling far from the tree.) And "of course" dad did.
Sam also helped with the decorating of the cake. He thought that the dots should not be painted on, they should be cut out of black fondant. Excellent idea.

Dog Cake Week

2011-02-28T23:18:00.006-05:00

Some weeks inadvertently fall into themes of cake orders. This week its dogs...little black and white dogs to boot. I like dogs, and the more the merrier!

➷ Old dogs:

✵ New dogs, (coming right up...)

Hospital Building Cake (Yeah!-Doll House!)

2011-02-18T12:33:00.010-05:00

When I was a kid, I loved loved loved playing with doll houses. Even today, I feel totally giddy whenever I see one. When I was contacted about doing this cake version of the new Heart Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital my heart skipped a beat. Its a truly amazing building designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners that is both gorgeous from the outside, and includes new kinds of spaces on the inside— for example, hybrid operating rooms that could quickly change from noninvasive to invasive surgery if a patient had problems in the midst of a seemingly routine procedure.
This one year anniversary celebration was such a joy to get to be part of.

The Happy Birthday Dad who-does-it-all Cake

2011-01-18T22:45:00.011-05:00

Happy birthday Dad! cake: what to give the man who loves yoga, surfing, 2 kids and one on the way, a beautiful wife, a dog, lots of time on the black berry, on the computer...

(and what parent hasn't wished for an extra set of hands every now and again?)

Happy Holidays, Deer.

2010-12-26T15:59:00.004-05:00

Illustration by Nate Duval

More tiny cupcake yummies!

2010-12-18T11:52:00.003-05:00

Totally fun for kids to help out with!
Everyone LOVED this new recipe we tried from the Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit
(*Below recipe and comments by Chockylit:)

PINK SALT AND PINK PEPPER CUPCAKES

"These cupcakes sound more challenging to the palate then they are. I think it’s all the chocolate… The foundation of this cupcake includes two basic recipes – chocolate cupcakes and chocolate ganache. I decided to use the low-flour chocolate cupcake recipe I like and to sub out the wheat flour for quinoa flour and make them gluten-free. No one noticed a difference. If you are looking to make gluten-free, this is a great recipe to use. Your gluten-free friends will be very happy.

I really thought this recipe would end up being all concept with no real flavor excitement, but I was wrong. The pink peppercorn cream paired extremely well with the salted toffee. Those two things with the chocolate were just great. A couple of people weren’t into the pepper flavor and just scooped out the filling and ate the rest, but for the most part everyone enjoyed the cupcake. So, I guess whether or not this combination is a challenge to the palate depends on who you are. So far only the wasabi, white chocolate cupcakes I made in 2008 were too much for me…"

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes
~28 regular-sized cupcakes / 350 degree oven

7 ounces (200 grams) Valrhona 85% cacao (or any bittersweet chocolate)
3 sticks (343 grams) butter
2-1/4 cups (445 grams) sugar
8 eggs
1-1/4 cups (180 grams) quinoa flour, gluten-free (or all purpose flour for non-gluten free)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (if using gluten-free flour)

1. Chop the chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer.
2. Add the butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate melts and the butter is combined.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
4. Measure out the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum (if using) into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together.
5. Transfer the cooled chocolate/butter mixture to the electric mixer and beat for 3 minutes.
6. Add one egg at a time, mixing for 10 seconds between each.
7. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine.
8. Scoop into cupcake cups only 2/3s full. Bake all the cupcakes at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note: If the oven is not hot enough than these cupcakes may over-flow. One way to be safe is to either fill 2/3’s full or another trick I use is to preheat to 375, then drop the heat to 350 once I put the cupcakes in. I also rotate the pans after 15 minutes of baking. It is safe to gently move them at that point and I find the lower back of my oven to be a bit cooler.

Chocolate Ganache (*one note, I used my own Ganache because I like it better thatn the confectioner sugar version)
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate like Valrhona 61% cocao
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1. Chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of your standing mixer.
2. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate.
3. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
4. Add vanilla and butter. Stir until butter is melted. Let cool to room temperature.
5. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and mix until fluffy.

Pink Peppercorn Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
pink peppercorn
1. Whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whisk until combined.
2. Add grindings of the pepper tasting occasionally until you are happy with it. I made it fairly strong as its a small component to the cupcake and will otherwise get overpowered by the chocolate.

Salted Toffee
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon water
1 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons large grained salt
1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring everything to a boil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. The mixture will start to boil with vigor. Do not stir. Let the mixture boil over medium-low heat until the mixture turns a deep nutty brown, about 20 minutes
3. Pour on to a prepared baking sheet (either covered in a silpat or oiled parchment paper). After a minute or so, sprinkle with salt. I used pink, Hawaiian salt.
4. Leave it to cool.
5. After the toffee has cooled, break it into small chunks.

Note: I like my toffee very dark – almost burnt. Getting the toffee just right for your taste can be a challenge. I think a nutty brown is a good place to start. One additional warning, if you cook it very long you could nearly ruin your pan or at a minimum create bunch of cleanup work for yourself. Don’t use your favorite pot or pan!

Assemble
1. Fill the cooled cupcakes using the cone method.
2. Frost.
3. Top off with the toffee chunks, a little more salt (if desired), and a decoration (if you want).

Little "Love" Bites for the Holidays

2010-12-06T21:41:00.021-05:00

I love the idea of giving these one & two bite treats a few weeks out before the holidays when people are in the thick of getting ready--- maybe a little stressed and maybe a little tired. Its a nice pick-me-up guilty pleasure, but not too guilty because, after all, it's just a bite!

Above: Little bites for the teachers and staff at school.
Ina Garten's Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange Icing is probably my favorite new recipe that I tried this year. The dried crystallized ginger adds such a nice little bite, but still not too spicy for kids to love. (The flavor even continues to develop overnight).
Anyone who clicked on the Google banner over Thanksgiving found a page of perfect, simple basic and delicious recipes for the holiday from The Barefoot Contessa. I thought, OK fine, done. I used most of the recipes for our feast, the turkey the brussel sprouts, popovers and the Gingerbread cupcakes.
Above: a very festive Red Velvet. I've tried a number of different Red Velvet cake recipes and Elisa Strauss' Red Velvet cake recipe is my absolute favorite.

OK, and then there's chocolate. 'nuf said.
❤

The Gingerbread Nutcracker, Sweet

2010-11-19T12:13:00.027-05:00

Cake Power and Baked Ideas present...The Gingerbread Nutcracker, our collaboration for this year's Gingerbread house display at The New York Botanical Garden .
We love "Gingerbread Adventures" where kids are invited smell, touch, and taste the spices and other plant parts that make up a gingerbread recipe. They can also grind spices, make spicy sachets and ornaments, and decorate gingersnap cookies.

"Every Year five of New York's most celebrated and imaginative bakers design gingerbread houses for The New York Botanical Garden's Gingerbread Adventures exhibit in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden, on display from November 20, 2010, to Jan 9, 2011." NYBG

We are honored to be in the company of these wonderful bakers who have houses (that we can't wait to see!) :
Mark Tasker, Balthazar Bakery
Lauri DiTunno, Cake Alchemy,
Kaye Hansen, Riviera Bakehouse,
Irina Brandler, Sugar and Spice Bake Shop
(us: Kate Sullivan, Cake Power along with Patti Paige, Baked Ideas)

*For more about what kids get to explore at the exhibit see:
New York Times 2009 article 'GINGERBREAD ADVENTURES'

RECIPE:
The Gingerbread house displays for the NY Botanical Garden stay up for months in all sorts of extremes of temperature and in direct sunlight. This always presents a special challenge in creating structures that can withstand the weather and condensation.
For our display, Nutcracker Gingerbread "Sweet", we made a cookie dough used mainly for houses and ornaments, because it bakes up so hard and solid. That recipe is from Colette's Christmas book.
❥ Since most gingerbread is made to be EATEN as well as seen, I thought I'd share the best most yummy & delicious Gingerbread recipe I know of, that works great for cookies, houses, and for eating!!:

Patti Paige's Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
1/2 cup light brown sugar -- firmly packed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
10 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
3/4 cup dark molasses
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Cream together butter and sugar. Add spices, salt, egg, and molasses, and beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder; add to butter mixture and beat again. Chill dough for several hours. Heat oven 350 degrees. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool.

Royal Icing: 2 large egg whites (or equivalent powdered egg whites); 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar; juice of 1 lemon.
Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, lemon juice and beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add a little water. If too thin, add more sugar. Spread on cookies or decorate with pastry bag and tip.

Hours for The Everett Children’s Adventure Garden:
Outdoor Galleries and Gingerbread Houses are open for exploration during regular garden hours- Tuesday-Sunday, 10am - 6pm.
Guided Gingerbread Activities take place:
Tuesdays - Fridays; 1:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays (except for November 20 & 21, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.) and extended hours days; 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

*The New York Botanical Garden, spanning some 250 acres of Bronx Park, was founded in 1891 on part of the grounds of the Belmont Estate, formerly owned by the tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard, after a fund-raising campaign led by Columbia University botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton, who was inspired to emulate the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. It contains 48 different gardens and plant collections.

Come see us at the LILLY PULITZER/ BLOOMINGDALE'S EVENT NOVEMBER 10, 2010

2010-11-05T16:09:00.011-04:00

Thanks to every one who came out to see us!

LILLY PULITZER BIRTHDAY EVENT @ BLOOMINGDALE'S (OK, this posting is more for moms than kids, but we hope to see you there...)
November 10, 2010, 4:00pm – 8:00pm

LILLY PULITZER BIRTHDAY EVENT @ BLOOMINGDALE'S (OK, this posting is more for moms than kids, but we hope to see you there...)
November 10, 2010, 4:00pm – 8:00pm

Enjoy music and sweet treats as you shop Lilly’s NEW Resort 2010 collection. Lilly Pulitzer will donate 10% of proceeds from the day's event directly to our friends at the American Cancer Society, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, to help create a world with more birthdays. ❤ CAKE POWER'S KATE SULLIVAN WILL BE ON SITE DECORATING A SWEET TREAT EXCLUSIVELY FOR THIS BIRTHDAY BASH! Bloomingdale's 59th Street Bloomingdale's 59th Street The New View, Lilly Pulitzer Shop Level 3

Then and Now ♡ (& can it really have been 13 years?)

2010-10-16T20:53:00.014-04:00

Now and then an event comes around that really melts my heart.
In 1997 I made a "Winnie The Pooh" themed cake for a beautiful two week old baby girl named Remy. Just a few weeks ago, a stylish Bat Mitzvah cake for Remy, now an enchanting young lady.

Remy loves music and wanted to in corporate some of her favorite CD cover-art into the design of the cake. She wanted an atypical cake design that reflected her tastes and personality.

The silver base and laces are a reference to Remy's favorite Doc Martin silver boots.

(Very Fully Baked Ideas): I ❤ Patti's new Blog

2010-09-20T14:34:00.012-04:00

Patti Paige (Baked Ideas) has finally started a blog! I'm pretty darn excited about this because I always look so forward to seeing what she will come up with next. She is the smartest Cookie I know.

I'm always inspired by and frankly, at least a little jealous, of how beautiful, interesting and original her work is.

☛ Look at these nautical cupcakes! How great are these?

Here's Looking AT-AT You, Kid (Star Wars AT-AT cake)

2010-09-16T20:38:00.015-04:00

So, here's the assignment: Star Wars Jedi-In-Training Party for a 6 year old boy.
Now, I've always had a little crush on the vintage AT-AT walker toy our friend Jason passed down to our son, and so suggested an AT-AT cake.
Then I thought about it. (Its kind of a daunting concept once you get right down to it)
When I did a little online research, I was really surprised to see how many AT-AT cakes were out there. Great beautiful fondant covered and wonderful homemade buttercream masterpieces. I read on one blog how it took 60 hours to make theirs...and I thought---"no, no, no, I can totally do it faster than that." Oddly enough, I clocked in at right around the 60 hour mark when Chris and Lisa arrived to deliver the cake... and could easily have gone into overtime.

I wanted to emphasize the puppy-like qualities by making the paws and joints and head a little bit bigger. (head is cherry vanilla cake body is chocolate cake)

Here's one of my other favorite things I stumbled across in searching for reference material for the AT-AT cake:

Sometimes a Cake Stand isn't just a Cake Stand

2010-08-29T13:13:00.010-04:00

Its hard to top a table-top presentation like this--- sometimes its just not about the cake. My friend, Patti though it would be fun to share this- "how all the cake stuff works as toys. Kids at my house used to put the metal tips on all their fingers, used cutters to outline, etc."

✌

I love these guys!

2010-08-26T11:09:00.007-04:00

I've been kind of in love with ♥ ➸ Alan Richardson for somewheres about 20 years. Since I was a magazine photo editor and he was my favorite photographer, who could bring absolute magic to pretty much any assignment.
These days he's also a best-selling author. Hello Cupcake and What's New cupcake are filled with hysterically funny, sweet and even magical how to designs that seriously bring down the house.

I ♥ love love love these do-it-yourself rubber duckies cuppies:

ion (front cover):

Fire up the DVR or Tivo

2010-08-15T10:19:00.004-04:00

Cake Power's NY Episode of TLC's Fabulous Cakes will air again on Monday August 16 @ 7PM.

Why IS it so hard to find a scratch strawberry cake recipe that actually has real strawberries in it?

2010-08-12T16:12:00.009-04:00

Why IS it so hard to find a scratch strawberry cake recipe that actually has real strawberries in it? Strawberry cake is really good! And this is coming from a big I'll-have-chocolate-or-I'll-have-nothing-at-all person.

When 5 year old super sweet Polly (pictured above) asked for Strawberry Cake for her 5th birthday the hunt for a good recipe began. I found this one on Confessions of a Foodie Bride And then... I got distracted... and didn't pay any attention when I was putting it together. I just combined all of the wet to all of the dry in one fell swoop with butter thrown in at the end--- and it was still good!
Despite the abuse, and despite achieving that broken appearance going into the pans, the batter totally rose to the occasion and made some truly lovely and delicious cakes.

Katie’s Strawberry Cake
3/4 cup strawberry puree, room temperature (follows)
1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened (not melted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8 inch pans.

In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

Source: Good Things Catered, adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Classic White Layer Cake
Yields: 2 8-inch layers

Strawberry puree
24oz either fresh OR frozen (organic) strawberries, (thawed)*

Thaw frozen strawberries in whatever form (sliced, whole, etc) and in whatever container/bag you have them in. Pour into a fine strainer placed over a bowl and let sit. Lightly toss the strawberries occasionally to remove any pockets of excess liquid. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.

Fresh strawberries: Just hull, slice and toss with a teaspoon or two of sugar and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, or until nice and juicy. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.

Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting (I used 1 part puree to 3 parts vanilla buttercream and loved it), if desired. It’s also fabulous spooned over ice cream… and eaten straight up with a spoon.

Yields: Approx 1 1/4 cup strawberry puree

Tonight: 10PM TLC Fabulous Cakes!

2010-08-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

Tune in!

2010-08-06T11:07:00.011-04:00

This coming Monday, Aug 9 @ 10/9c, tune in to see us! TLC's 4-episode special called Fabulous Cakes comes to a close. The show features a number of bakeries in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and finally New York! Also on hand to work on cakes are my friends Liz Shim from Eat Cake Be Merry, Katie Robinson of The Painted Lily and Kristen Veloria of Cakeb0t. Thanks also to Shena & Daphne for everything from the tiniest details to the heavy lifting! *Episode will air again on Monday August 16 @ 7PM

TLC press: "Three bakeries in New York create over-the-top cakes for special occasions - at City Cakes in Manhattan, chefs Mark Matthias and Benny Rivera make a four-foot-long alligator cake for a surprise twenty-third birthday party and a four-foot-tall, five-tiered sculpted cake for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus's thirtieth anniversary party, including a replica made out of cake of the house where the party will be held. Kate Sullivan and the team at Cake Power make a sculpted four-foot-tall Springer Spaniel for a six-year-old girl's birthday and a two-foot-tall mushroom for a wedding; and Michelle Doll makes a four-foot-tall terracotta urn for a restaurant opening."

PEACE of Cake

2010-07-31T10:30:00.016-04:00

It's a sign of the times. "Peace Sign" Cake. 4 ft tall & filled with love.

Thank you for a great job! left to right: Nikki, Liz, (me), and Shena

*the hose running out of the back of the cake is to power the confetti cannon, built into the index finger

Icing Smiles and Ben.

2010-06-24T21:53:00.013-04:00

I want to put the word out there to my baker friends about an organization called "Icing Smiles" and to also say thank you so much to Tracy Quisenberry for having this great idea--- and for giving me the opportunity to be part of something so special.
Below is a little blurb about what they do, and if you're interested in making a cake for a child in your area or helping out in any other way, by all means let Tracy know.
"When a child is seriously ill, sometimes a smile is the thing they need most. That is why we are so excited about the mission of Icing Smiles. Birthdays can be very difficult for children who are enduring a difficult illness in the hospital and receiving a very special cake helps children feel especially loved. The gift of a cake that is specially designed for each child can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child when they need it most." - Ryan Wilkins, Ronald McDonald House
I loved meeting Ben and his mom more than I can say, and I really do think that in some small way, this did make a ninth birthday in a hospital and far away from home a little better.

*If you'd like to read more, check out this article on Parents.com:

Amazing Cakes for Ailing Kids | GoodyBlog

www.parents.com

A Dispatch From Parents writer Katrina

Brown Hunt In case you ever doubted that cake has made the world a better place, here’s indisputable proof.

(Super Mario Yoshi cake for Yoshi's #1 fan)

Icing Smiles: Baking With Purpose

2010-06-20T09:39:00.005-04:00

Icing Smiles is a fairly new non-profit organization which coordinates providing custom celebration cakes for critically ill children and their families.
What a wonderful idea.
This cool monkey cake was done by Cucurbita Cakes in Circleville, OH.
(Great icing smiles all around!)

Book Cake

2010-06-12T09:36:00.007-04:00

Here's a cake I made for the staff in my son's school to say thank you for being so wonderful.
It's based on a piece by artist Su Blackwell, who's work I love! I discovered her paper sculptures in a gorgeous cut paper art exhibit called Slash, at the Museum of Art and Design, in columbus circle--- very very worth a trip!

Bakesale for Haiti: #2

2010-04-19T19:52:00.006-04:00

Congratulations everyone! Our second bake sale a resounding success!