Cake decorating classes NY

Our Grand Opening and Our Grand Opening Cake!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), edible cake bunting, Featured, fondant, pink cake, vintage wedding cakes, wedding cake connecticut, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake new york, wedding cake ny, wedding cakes connecticut, wedding cakes ct, wedding cakes new york, wedding cakes ny | 4 Comments

There are benefits to living in a small town, such as knowing all the guys at the town buildings department by name (no lie: Bob, Bill, Jim, Joe) and that when you open a business and hold a grand opening, like we did on April 25th, the town arranges a ribbon cutting ceremony and sends the mayor. We even got press coverage! (Okay, it was this article in the Hamden Journal, but still.)

Here we are (me on the right, my sister on the left) with Mayor Scott Jackson. And the official golden ribbon-cutting scissors.
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Our grand opening turned into a little fête of sorts. Of course the cocktails helped.

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My consultation studio is now mostly finished, with the exception of the completely bare walls. My brother-in-law took this shot.

And my friend Brooke of Brooke Allison Photography took these. She is a wedding photographer and is rapidly becoming one of the top photographers in Connecticut. Keep your eye on her.

 

I created a special cake for the grand opening. I covered the cake in pink (one of my logo colors), made gold bunting for three of the tiers (I went through a serious bunting phase about a year and a half ago that thankfully passed. This was just a brief relapse.) and hand-cut the plaque and letters. (Photos by Brooke Allison Photography.)

The community has been so supportive, and we feel extremely fortunate to be in such a great place. Thank you so much to all of you who stopped by, and thank you to those of you who wanted to but, for whatever reason, couldn’t. Don’t worry : we plan to be here for a long, long time.

Special thanks to Brooke Allison, my husband and children, my mom, sister, Scott, Zachy and Kody, and Frank. Love you guys.

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Prom Cake

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, fondant, vintage wedding cakes, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake new york, wedding cake ny, wedding cakes connecticut, wedding cakes ct, wedding cakes new york, wedding cakes ny | 4 Comments

This is Tim. He is a student at a local high school.

This is Tim and his girlfriend, Taryn.

We met Tim when he came into the shop a couple of weeks ago to order a cake for Taryn. He wanted it to say PROM in big caps with a question mark, and Forever & Always in script. (It’s the title of Taryn’s favorite song, he told us, even though the lyrics are really sad. I’m pretty sure it’s this one by Taylor Swift.) You’re probably thinking: “How cute, sweet, and thoughtful is that?” So were we.

We asked him about her favorite flavors (chocolate chip mint), colors (Tiffany blue and light green), and whether he wanted any other designs on it (completely up to us).  Here’s what we came up with:

Tim told us later (okay, after I emailed him to ask what happened) that he had it waiting on her desk in math class.

Oh, and she said yes!

Thanks Tim and Taryn. It was so much fun creating your cake.

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Demystifying Cloth Covered Wire

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, for the baker, gumpaste recipe | Leave a comment

Cloth covered floral wire is used in cake design for wiring large petals on gumpaste flowers and for arranging edible flowers and leaves on cakes. If you’ve ever been utterly baffled by the way wire is sized, here’s a good way to remember it. Picture a very small ring, about a quarter the size of a wedding band. Now imagine sticking cloth-covered floral wire through it. You would obviously be able to fit more smaller wires through it than larger wires. That’s what the wire gauge indicates: the number of wires that would fit in a small ring. So, a wire gauge of 26, for example,  indicates that you would be able to fit 26 wires in the ring. A smaller gauge wire, like 18, is a bigger wire, because you would only be able to fit 18 of them through that same ring. The bigger the gauge, the more you can fit in the ring, so the smaller the wire. And the smaller the gauge, the fewer you can fit in the ring, so the bigger the wire. I hope that helps.

Floral wire can generally be found in gauge 16 – 32. I find that use 18 – 24 most frequently. I I always sort of grabbed at wires randomly, until I purchased one of Scott Clark Woolley’s flowermaking DVDs. In it, he outlines the various size wires and their uses. I find it very helpful, so I’m sharing it here.

16, 18: heavy flowers with many petals such as roses, ranunculus, peonies

20, 22: stem work

24: medium flowers, single-cut larger flowers

26: small flowers (individual hydrangea petals, jasmine), petals (such as rose petals)

28: small petals, leaves

30, 32: fine work, such as baby’s breath and small leaves

Happy caking!

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Things Just Got a Little Sweeter Around Here.

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, peony cake, petalsweet, sugar magnolia cake | 1 Comment

We are pleased to announce that Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet Cakes will be guest teaching at our Hamden, CT cake studio this spring. Jacqueline is a world-renowned sugar flower artist who has travelled as far as Australia to share her techniques. In addition to her technical skills, Jacqueline demonstrates a restrained and refined use of color (as opposed to using color with reckless abandon like I do) that I greatly admire. She is gifted not only as an artist but also as a teacher (I took a class with her two years ago), and is now coming to share her gift with us.

To register for one of Jacqueline’s classes, please visit our website: www.ericaobrien.com

The fine print: Note that full payment is required on registration, and refunds for withdrawals will be honored only if your space can be filled prior to the class. Students are responsible for providing their own transportation and accommodations. We are not responsible for any transport or accommodation costs should you be unable to attend class.

OPEN PEONY and PARROT TULIP

Thursday March 22 – Friday March 23, 2012

10am – 6pm both days. Light lunch (with vegetarian option) provided.

Class fee:   $600

In this two day hands-on floral workshop, students learn to make two of Petalsweet’s signature flowers: the beautiful, over-sized Open Peony (with stamens) and the fun and  fabulous Parrot Tulip. Corresponding buds and leaves will also be covered where  appropriate. Students will use modeling techniques to make flower centers, and then use cutters, veiners and specific techniques to create buds, leaves, and the many wired petals needed to form their large blooms. Once all of the components are dry, students will also learn Jacqueline’s signature coloring and dusting techniques, as well as taping, assembling, and finishing touches to complete their flowers. Class limited to 10 students (8 minimum). Tools and supplies will be provided for use in class. Cutters will be available for sale at the end of the workshop.

Images courtesy Petalsweet Cakes.


THE SOUTHERN MAGNOLIA and GARDENIA

Saturday March 24 – Sunday March 25, 2012

10am – 6pm both days. Light lunch (with vegetarian option) provided.

Class fee: $600

In this two day floral workshop, students learn to make two beautiful Petalsweet favorites: the Southern Magnolia and the Gardenia! Corresponding buds and both flowers’ gorgeous, dark and glossy leaves will be covered as well. During the course, students will use cutters and creamy white paste to create the petals needed for their fabulous Gardenias. In addition, students will also use modeling techniques to create a Magnolia center, and then make numerous, large petals to finish their oversized flower. As time allows, Jacqueline will also share her techniques for making dainty pulled filler flowers. Once all of the components are dry, students will also learn dusting and coloring techniques, as well as taping and assembly to finish their flowers. Class limited to 10 students (8 student minimum). Tools and supplies will be provided for use in class. Cutters will be available for sale at the end of the workshop.


We hope to see you in class!


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Pinspiration

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, Featured, wedding cake connecticut, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake new york, wedding cake ny, winter wedding cakes | 1 Comment

If you already use Pinterest, you probably love it. If not, try it, and you’re sure to become addicted. Pinterest is a curated collection of searchable images, meaning that the images are selected by users. Pinterest users are just like you and me, and their searches are our searches, so when you search “wedding flowers” on Pinterest, your results will return only photos of wedding flowers Pinterest users deemed worthy of pinning (rather than the photos of, say, random Equadorian rose wholesalers you get with a Google images search). Users create “boards” (think of them as pin boards used to hold photos with a push pin) to organize their pins. Although some people use Pinterest as another social media outlet, recommending other users to follow, tallying up the number of followers they have, etc., I use it as my own personal inspiration board. I used to have my “Images for Inspiration” folder on my desktop–you know the drill: right click, save image as, etc.–but now I just use Pinterest. And I get inspiration not just for cakes: I have boards  for my living room, my studio, even my mudroom.

Below are two images I found on Pinterest that I just had to turn into cake. The first cake is a loose interpretation of the image. (I plan to revisit the sunset rose in the near future.) The second is pretty much a reproduction in sugar. All the decor on each cake is made of gumpaste and is edible–right down to the pine cones. And, just for fun, I’ve included a little Pin It button above each image. Enjoy.

Pinspiration # 1: Sunset Rose. (Original Source: Xanga.com)

 Pin It Pin It Pin It

 Pinspiration # 2: Winter Bouquet. (Original Source: Cava Weddings)

Pin It

 Pin It

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A Shower for Ashley

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Erica OBrien in cake decorating classes Boston MA, Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, gray and white cake, vintage, vintage wedding cakes, wedding cakes ct, wedding cakes ny | 2 Comments

 

My sister-in-law, Ashley, got engaged last year and planned a November 2011 wedding. I first met Ashley when my now-husbandtreated her to a two-week adventure travel tour of Costa Rica for her 18th birthday. My friend Jackie had convinced me (coerced is more accurate) to go on the same trip, which is where I met and fell in love with Cory. That was seven years ago,and had it not been for Ashley, I would have never met my husband, so I wanted to do something special for her shower.

I decided to host the shower at my home in California (before we relocated to Connecticut) because I wanted it to feel cozy and informal. Let there be no doubt that I worked my ass off on this. I planned the menu, created the invitations, catered the whole thing, and even schlepped to the the L.A. flower market to buy the flowers. I designed every aspect, and executed it all by myself (with special help from cousin Molly and Megan from Honey and Poppies). It was a lot of work but well worth all the effort. One of the bridesmaids told me that the it was the best bridal shower food she’d ever had, and although she qualified “best food” with “bridal shower”, I choose to consider it the highest of praise. Most importantly, Ashley loved it.

As guests arrived, they were greeted by a small flower arrangement that Megan made of hydrangea, roses, dusty miller and licorice displayed in a vintage wine glass (below, left). I repurposed a small wooden ladder (perhaps you remember when it was yellow?) by spray painting it a satin-finish pink. I secured a damask pattern scrapbook paper print to foamcore board, and used decorative brads to attach cardstock with Welcome printed on it. I then fastened a ribbon to the back of the foamcore, and hung the small sign from the glass. I’m no graphic designer (although I fancy myself one), so for the invites, I bought some scrapbook paper that I scored into a tri-fold using my indispensable Martha Stewart scoring board (I like to think of myself as a younger, hipper, more socially conscious, urban Martha), and printed the invites in the fanciest font I could find.

For the centerpieces, Megan and I used hydrangeas in shades of pink and peach as well as stock, peonies, lisianthus, snap dragons and roses. She also incorporated dusty miller and licorice from my garden. (I like to think I helped a lot, and not in the way my kids “help” when I’m cooking.) The centerpieces were displayed in footed glass urns from Megan’s personal collection.

For the backdrop (above and below left), I hung a large white sheet from a photography backdrop stand and overlaid inexpensive gray broadcloth secured with ribbon to create a draped look. The tablecloth was just inexpensive broadcloth (about $2.99/yard). For the bunting on the front of the table, I made a template out of foamcore board. I used the template on 12″ x 12″ scrapbook paper and overlaid the cutouts on contrasting paper (actually, this is the part Molly did), securing them with double stick tape. To secure the squares to the pink ribbon, I spray painted binder clips in a glossy pink.

For the brunch, I made baked French toast casserole (excellent and easy, and extremely high-calorie), egg and sun-dried tomato souffle (delish and simple, but not for those on a diet), rosemary potatoes, berry salad, a yogurt bar, homemade biscotti, homemade banana crunch muffins, and a bellini bar (friggin’ fancy).

Look closely…See how I put the French toast label in front of the egg casserole and the egg casserole label in front of the French toast? Yeah, well, I didn’t notice until it was published in The Knot Magazine.

Ashley’s husband-to-be is a yoga instructor, so we thought it would be fun if we handed out flash cards with various yoga positions and had all the guests what position Ashley was in. It was equal parts goofy and fun.

For the ribbon backdrop (below), I stapled ribbons of varying widths to a horizontal piece of ribbon and printed out L-O-V-E on 5″ x 7″ cardstock.  Ashely knew exactly what she wanted for her cake, and although I’m a little out of practice with my piping, I think it was up to her standards.

Special thanks to Chatti for taking the photos. Event and cake design: Erica OBrien of Erica OBrien Cake Design ( www.ericaobrien.com ) / Flowers: Megan Gray of Honey and Poppies ( www.honeyandpoppies.com ) / Photos: Chatti Phal of Savady Photography ( www.savadyphotography.com)

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Damn You, Reality TV. Thank You, Reality TV.

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, for the baker, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake ny | 5 Comments

This post is an editorial, so no fancy pictures, just my thoughts. However, unlike most editorials that take a definite position, this one is filled with ambivalence.

When I tell people what I do for a living, their first question is always, “Oh, so do you watch the cake shows?” I know just what they’re referencing, of course: The Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, the Food Network Challenge, Amazing Wedding Cakes, etc. The list seems to constantly grow with no end in sight.

Many cake artists, particularly those who began before the birth of the “cake shows”, hold them in a certain disdain, feeling that they trivialize the art, have caused a saturation in the market, and distort the amount of work involved in creating a cake.

And they’re right: Reality shows like The Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, and even the Food Network Challenges edit many hours of work into 60 teeny tiny minutes (48 if you don’t count the commercials). In reality (or perhaps I should say real life), the cakes you see on television take many, many hours of work. Even for the Food Network Challenges, in which competitors are limited to eight hours of work time, the designers spend countless hours beforehand preparing for the competition. And anyone who’s ever even attempted to decorate a cake knows that 60 minutes flies by at light speed.

Since the birth of the cake shows, custom cakes have become commonplace if not mandatory. I have seen a definite increase in the number of custom cakes, not to mention sculpted cakes, ordered for events that used to require a sheetcake. What fans of the shows don’t often realize, however, is how much work a cake entails, so when they request a Prada shoe on top of a basketball held by an iguana, they are usually shocked by the cost.

As for the saturation of the market, many new cake design businesses have popped up since the preponderance of the shows, but this need not be seen as a negative. While some cake designers argue that competition is bad for business, I maintain that it actually forces us to raise the bar. Like any business, without competitors, we risk becoming complacent. Rather than being stagnant, competition forces us to better our skills and become better artists. Competition offers an incentive to innovate, too, so that new products are constantly introduced and are made more widely available, making us more efficient.

Although some cake artists resent that reality television has elevated a handful of cake designers to  celebrity status, I’m glad our work is finally being recognized for the fine art that it is. The difference is that unlike a painting or a sculpture intended to endure for time immemorial, our work is designed to be temporary. For a lucky few, reality television has captured their art on film and will preserve their work, if only in the public’s consciousness, indefinitely.

Oh, and by the way, I’m way too busy to watch the cake shows.

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New Classes Just Listed!

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Erica OBrien in cake decorating classes Boston MA, Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut | Leave a comment

We’re excited to announce our first classes at our new location! As of Wednesday, we’ll be the official lessees of 1242 Whitney Avenue in Hamden, CT 06517. We expect it to take at least two months for our official opening, so we’ve listed our classes beginning in late January, 2012.

Our first course will be our Tier I, Introduction to Cake Design Class.

We’re also excited to offer a Fondant Intensive for the first time. In this class, I’ll share all the tips and tools that give fondant-covered cakes a flawless finish. Students will learn various fondant techniques (ruffling, simple flowers, bows, etc.), practice covering real and faux cakes, and engage in a troubleshooting session. students are encouraged to come with lots of questions. This six-hour intensive is perfect for students who live in New York (1.5 hours away) and Boston (2 hours away).

Our classes make fabulous gifts (plus, chances are you’ll get lots of cake out of the deal), so please contact us if you’d like to give a class as a gift.

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