Cake Life @ The Velvet Buttercream

and so the sun began to set...   Things haven't been going quite as well as I had hoped with my new job.  Creativity and hours are at an all time low..  People just don't seem to want to spend money on cake  :( On average i've been getting about 25-35 hours per week and it's been putting a considerable amount of stress my life.  If any of you know of any jobs in the Annapolis area that will pick up  a part time employee, do let me know!! Meanwhile back at blogger, I will try to keep you all updated with the cakes that I do find fun and entertaining. Take Care. Sincerely, Aaron

It's a fine morning here in Annapolis, Maryland... i'm sitting at "Ahh Coffee" enjoying a Key West Latte.  This morning I feel like telling you a story.  A story of a cake disaster.. It all started this previous saturday, October 2nd..  The day was beautiful, the breeze was calm, and the temperature was just right.  The morning started off just like any other day before it.  I headed into work at 8am absolutely sure that I was going to have a lot of time to finish my cake.  After all two of my four wedding cake orders were already completed, all that was left was the octagon shaped cakes. Fast forward to around noon.. the first octagon wedding cake was finished and ready to go, all I had left was to deliver.  So I started on my way to the Naval Academy Officer's Club still thinking that I had more than enough time for the additional deliveries.  All went well with the first octagon cake, all except that the cake started to crack around the border!  I had no t

Some new stuff is in the works still... although i'm not sure exactly when i'm going to start them.  I guess it would have been easier just to say that i'm going to start making video's.  Who knows exactly when it's all gonna start to work together.   In the past couple of weeks since I last blogged it has been incredibly slow at the shop.. well kind of.  We attended an event called "Annapalooza" where Palate Pleasers was one of six food vendors.  We offered good food at the regular markup prices at an event...  Sadly we walked away with a lot of food that hadn't been used.  On the dessert side of the event we had only two varieties of cupcakes, chocolate and carrot, and only three choices of icing.   Overpriced, or possibly just a lack of hungry people kept them from buying a lot of our 1,000 cupcakes.  By the time people did finally start to get hungry it was so late in the evening that there just wasn't enough time to push the remaining 800.

Two words: Buttercream Icing... Traditional white buttercream icing As i've mentioned in my most recent blog... I have a really busy week ahead of me with five wedding cakes, two shop orders, as well as shop display cakes.  From what I have counted I have a total of 25 ordered cakes, but a total of over 30 takes that will be completed by the end of the week.  Naturally you've got to have something to cover the cake in! This week I spent eight and a half hours making icing for all the cakes due this week!  Just under 150 pounds of pure fat and confectioners sugar..  Now when I mention the weight it's a combination of our two icings, traditional buttercream, and Italian buttercream.  Between the two icings there are 42 pounds of butter! Imagine eating two slices of cake and what it would do to your hips. Oh well, that wicked amount of fat keeps me in a job.  So do yourself and a cake decorator a favor, and go buy some cupcakes or a single serve cake slice.  You wo

As a follow up to wednesday's blog, I had told you about my experimental cakes that I was going to make.  Both cakes sold within 12 hours of their creation.. Definitely a success in my book, especially for being a dessert cake. The chocolate turtle cake consisted of me having to make Kahlua caramel which was one of the main ingredients besides the chocolate cake.  Now just a little background into my caramel making history.. I haven't made caramel since culinary school and I wasn't exactly sure how to make it.  So I did what any new age culinary connoisseur would do and I google'd it.  I found some great tutorial videos on how to make sure the caramel would remain a sauce and not turn into a brick. I first started with a half cup of butter and two cups of brown sugar, let the two come to a boil in a sauce pot.  After boiling for 1 minute I added a half cup of Kahlua and allowed the mixture to cook for an additional 30 seconds before adding one cup of heavy cream.  T

This week I am planning to experiment with some new cake flavor combinations!  I have three flavors in mind that I am dying to try out, the flavors are coconut cake with fresh peach filling and coconut buttercream icing, a chocolate turtle cake with Kahlua caramel buttercream, and last but not least citrus cupcakes with fresh nectarine compote and buttercream icing. Just an example of the Coconut peach cake I want to make After this past weekend's peach festival here in Annapolis I have really been feeling the need to play around with different flavors.  Really just trying to branch out from the normal basic cake flavors.  Some of my long time readers know that I have been yearning to play around since I first started with Albertson's two years ago.  Now two years later I finally have free reign to make what I want! An example of the chocolate turtle cake with Kahlua caramel buttercream filling When Aaron plays with cake flavors.. the customer wins! I shall report back

Today I delivered a beauty of a wedding cake, it was a four tier Yellow and Carrot cake finished with Italian buttercream icing and a Swiss Dot style design.  I have to admit that it is by far one of my best cakes in my opinion! The only downside to this beautiful cake was that I had to deliver it to Cambridge Maryland which is about an hour and a half away from Annapolis.  Of course the bridge traffic had to add to my drive time..  It was easily backed up beyond Rowe Boulevard (about 9 miles), and was moving at a snail's pace.  I spent about 45 minutes in the bridge traffic alone, but thankfully I had planned for this type of problem. Not only did I prepare for the bridge traffic, I also brought along extra supplies just in case something happened.  I brought Icing, piping bags, icing tips, scrapers, large turners, non slip rags, as well as a heavy duty turn table.  Now I know that seems a little drastic but I failed to mention that I brought the cake in two separate pieces.  It

Chocolate Chocolate can be poured, baked, made into a sauce, served as a sweet dessert, or a savory seasoning for an entree.  Chocolate really is one of the most versatile spices available! When it comes to cake, chocolate is always up at the top of the chart for being the favorite.  Palate Pleasers has a recipe for chocolate cake that is by far one of the best scratch bake recipes I think I have ever tasted.  It's interesting that when baking the cake the batter is entirely in liquid pouring form instead of a more pudding like consistency.  I imagine that is why the chocolate cake is so moist. I wish that there was tastevision available on youtube so that you could taste what i'm talking about.  We all know generally what chocolate cake taste's like, but this recipe is out of this world amazing!  Since I don't have a way for you to taste what i'm talking about, i'll just share with you some of my chocolate cakes that I have made.  ENJOY! I know I

It's the peak of summer right now(156 days) and is so far my slowest week on record.  I have one cake due this week, but after making a few shop cakes I am hoping to end with 5 for the week. My only cake order..  I finished it on monday July 26th.  A chocolate 6 inch cake with raspberry filling, chocolate buttercream crumb coat, and a ganache final coat. In a time where I control my own schedule I am finding it quite difficult to get enough hours.  I know that I shold be enjoying this slow time of year.. but I am having a hard time enjoying it when in the back of my head I know I have bills due!  I know that i'm complaining now, but in a few weeks i'll be eating my words..  This past week I scheduled another cake for the week of August 21st, bringing the total cake order count to 6 and possibly a 7th. On the a different note, I would like to congratulate two of my close girlfriends on their engagement..  Regan and Bri!!!!!! Have a great week everyone, take it eas

This week was a challenge.. although the challenge wasn't creating the cake, but trying to get to 40 hours!  The heat wave in the Northeast doesn't seem to be treating anyone too well.  I'm getting increasingly antsy waiting for business to pick back up again.  Maybe mid to late august we should see an improvement?  Onto the cakes that were finished this week.  I had one three tier wedding cake, a two tier separated wedding cake, and a couple smaller ones. The Lane three tier wedding cake was an incredibly complicated cake, consisting of Almond cake with ganache filling, coconut cake with ganache filling, and the icing on the cake.. so to say, was Italian Buttercream.  All in all I think that the cake might taste wierd, but I didn't have the chance to talk with the customer to help them change their mind.  Oh well, to each there own I guess? These twins twins as well as the nautical compass below were part of the Gray wedding.  The twin cakes were both the same c

Icing cake this week was made quite the challenge because of the extreme heat combined with humidity.  I managed to make it through Friday without having my icing melt, but come Saturday morning it had turned to soup.  I haven't experienced buttercream icing melt, I guess you could say that I was spoiled with consistent air conditioning while working at Albertson's.  Anyone have a sturdy buttercream recipe that won't melt on me?! This past week flew by... six days and 19 cake layers later, I am totally exhausted.  I only had two very large cakes this week, the Whitney cake was three tiers with a single on the side, and the Nisson cake was three tiers as well with two sheets on the side.  I also had quite a few shop orders this week, carrot cake's, almond cakes, and lemon cakes. The Whitney cake was completed with beautiful red roses along the corners and for the topper.  I didn't make it to the delivery for this cake hence why I am missing the final detail pictu

I know that some of you are counting on a blog tonight..   In order for me to avoid writing about the same thing twice, I am going to move my blog schedule to Wednesday and Saturday's. So far this week is hella busy for me.. I have 17 cake layers to make and a remaining two days till they need to be completed.  Stay tuned on Saturday for the pictures of this weeks cake.

Saturday in Maryland... Rain! Need I say more?  Some say that if it rain's on your wedding day that your marriage will be blessed with fertility, bliss, and good fortune.  In the back of my mind I can't help but think that there is a bridezilla out there that freaked out that it was raining cats and dogs. It was a week for trial and error, and to find methods of organization.  I'm not the most organized person when it comes to the transition from paper to final product.  The funny part is that I can organize the paperwork and also finish the cake with great precision, but the in between is still hard for me to organize.  Maybe it's because I'm not making the cakes at a steady pace as I used to, or maybe it's just the first week jitters. Any idea's on organization technique are welcome! Now onto the part that you have all been waiting for..  Wedding cakes for July 10th, 2010! Three tier Almond cake filled with Almond brittle buttercream all the way throu

Another beautiful day in Annapolis Maryland has come to a close... psshh what am I thinkin!  It was hot and humid as h*** today!  Making cake today was made almost impossible by the heat and humidity combined.  I was tempted to go in the walk-in refrigerator and ice cakes for the rest of the day, at least in there the temperature is controlled. Yes.. I know that I moved from the surface of the sun (Phoenix, Az) to a state where it's supposed to be colder, and I should be used to it.. right?  Ha.. fat chance!  Working at Albertson's was a godsend for a cake decorator, there was constant air conditioning that kept the cakes from melting away.  At Palate Pleaser's it's hard to maintain a cool temperature when you have 2 ovens, a stove, and a receiving door that constantly gets opened. Runuculous cake due Saturday I lost my cool a few times today while trying to crumb coat a couple cakes, it took a few deep breath's and my new boss Amy to help calm my nerves and g

Today was my first day with the new bakery.. and what a day it has been!  I had a great first day at work, such a great day that I am officially pooped lol. Today I spent majority of my morning figuring out a system of how I will write down what supplies I need from my baker.  Also a basic order guide for myself as to how a cake will be built per layer.  I re-organized the confirmed cake folder into a three ring binder that is separated into three sections, Cake Due This Week, Confirmed Orders, and Unconfirmed Orders.   I still have many things to change, organize, and clean in my station.. I imagine that I will be doing these changes all week long. So I didn't really produce much product today, I made about 40-2 count cupcake packages today and two 6" inch cakes. The cupcakes varied in flavor and they were as basic as they come..  White cupcakes with white/chocolate icing, Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate/white/german icing.  All the cupcakes were hand decorated with

Day three: Knoxville, TN to Stevensville, MD Little did I know that I wouldn't get much sleep in Knoxville that night.  I was in the hotel room by 10pm and in bed by midnight, but for some odd reason I woke up at three in the morning and took a shower.  After noticing what time it really was I had to lay down and try to get a little bit more sleep..  My mind was racing all night at the thought of what an amazing trip I had accomplished, and that I was so far from my family. Once again I woke up 15 minutes before 5am and began to get my car packed up and ready for the final push into my new home state.  I made a crappy cup of hotel coffee and checked out for the morning, all followed by a small McDonald's breakfast. Goodbye Tennessee, and hello Virginia! Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee down.... Virginia, District of Columbia, and Maryland to go! From the first moment when I crossed the Virginia border I noticed that the speeding cars slowed b

Day Two: Oklahoma City to Knoxville I woke up bright and early at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning.  I began making my way towards through the inner city freeway when I had remembered that my mom was telling me about the Federal building memorial.  So I called and woke her up about 3am Arizona time and asked her where the building was located. For those of you who don't remember what happened on April 15, 1995 At 9:03 a.m. the Ryder truck filled with 13 barrels of explosives blew up, destroying one half of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building.  The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children and injuring a total of 680 people.  A day that one will never forget. I began to drive into downtown Oklahoma City to visit the Murrah Federal building memorial.  I wasn't expecting to be moved as I was, seeing as how I was only 10 when the blast occurred I didn't really remember much.  I arrived at the memorial and instantly my heart began to race as I looked at the massive wal