Cupcake Inspiration Challenge Submitted!

Here is my entry for the Cake Central Inspiration Challenge!  I will be posting more production details in the upcoming week.  You can continue to check out all the entries at http://cakecentral.com/g/a/3282121/cupcake-challenge-1/. 

Best Laid Plans

So the cupcakes for the cupcake challenge are finished and the photos are being processed.  Luckily my husband was able to snap some shots before going to work today so I'll be able to post them before Monday!  I had a whole plan for what I thought these cupcakes were going to look like and they ended up completely different.  It's a lesson I've learned before...you can plan everything out on paper, but when you actually start a cake project it tends to take on a life of it's own.  Colors don't come out the shade you planned, the icing isn't the consistency you thought it would be, the flowers you wanted to make by hand look less like roses and more like calla lilies-but somehow it works and sometimes even better than you could have imagined.  That's the beauty of making cakes.  While the actual baking requires a certain level of precision, the decorating can be spontaneous and really keeps you on your toes.  I've learned to not get too stuck on a design and to let the materials take the lead.  If you can't be flexible you can end up feeling like a failure and missing out on the joy of the creating. 

I'm happy with the way the cupcakes turned out.  Of course there are things I would change, but I'm usually my own worse critic.  I promised myself I wouldn't look at the other entries until I finished mine.  I didn't want to be influenced by any of the other designs and I also didn't want to be intimidated.  There were only about a dozen entries when I looked last, but the deadline isn't until Monday the 14th so I'm sure more will be posted over the weekend.  Check out all the great entries at http://cakecentral.com/g/a/3282121/cupcake-challenge-1/.  Stay tuned for the pictures of my entry! 

Next Project: Cupcake Challenge!

I love to bake, but let's be honest, unless you have somewhere to go or a specific event to bake for, coming up with inspiration can be challenging.  Of course, I never need an excuse to bake, but it helps to have an audience in mind.  Enter the Cupcake Challenge!  For the past two years I have posted pictures of my cakes to the Web site Cake Central (www.cakecentral.com).  As I was uploading my recent pictures I came across a posting for a contest to design a cupcake based on a vintage teacup.  (You can check out the posting here: http://cakecentral.com/b/inspiration-challenge-cupcakes.)  I've never entered a contest before so I'm a little nervous, but I thought it would be a good theme to challenge myself with.  These days I'm looking for anything that gets me excited to get in the kitchen and start experimenting!  The contest deadline is January 14th so I don't have much time, but I do have some ideas on where to begin.  I'll post all the steps as well as the finished product here on January 14th so check back to see what I come up with.  Oh, and the winner will be featured in an upcoming issue of Cake Central's magazine.  While I truly don't expect to win it would be a great treat!

Happy New Year!

What better way to ring in the New Year than with family, friends, and a cake?  I hadn't planned on making this cake.  I was organizing my supplies and realized that I had some materials that were going to spoil soon and I hate seeing things go to waste.  So I thought what better way to use them up than to make a cake.  As I was designing this cake I found myself reflecting on all the wonderful changes that have happened in my life during the past year.  I am so excited to find out what 2013 has in store and I thought a countdown clock cake was a great way to capture that anticipation.

This is a two layer 9-inch chocolate cake filled with almond buttercream and cherry preserves.  I've never used preserves in a filling before, but the combinations of flavors was delicious!  The cake is covered in and decorated with vanilla fondant.  I made a mirror ball out of a styrofoam ball and silver embellishments at my niece's request for her birthday cake several years ago and I just loved the way it came out.  I have kept it in a little container with my supplies just in case I ever needed it again (because you never know when you'll need a 3 inch mirror ball:)  As I was decorating this cake I remembered that little ball and thought what a great addition!  I painted the pole it sat on top of with black food coloring to finish it off.  If only I could have made it really move down the pole, maybe next year... :) So here it is, the last cake I made of 2012.

Happy New Year!

And it begins...again!

Little Miss with her 2 month cake-Banana
cake with cream cheese icing

So my intention of starting this blog over a year ago was sincere, the actual execution of it was another story.  Since my first post there have been many life events that have veered this blog off course.  My husband changed jobs which entailed relocating from the city to the suburbs.  Needless to say the move was extensive and time consuming, but extremely worthwhile.  But the most exciting event was finding out that we were expecting our first child!  Emma was born this past August and she has changed our lives in ways we could never have imagined.  With the arrival of the New Year I thought this was the perfect time to resurrect the blog I wanted to start so long ago.

I am currently on maternity leave and, needless to say, all of my time has been consumed with her care; but, I have still found time to bake and more importantly she has provided a wonderful new source of inspiration.  As she has gotten older I have found myself having a little more free time.  The most important part is planning in advance and breaking the whole cake production into small steps.

When Emma was born I decided to commemorate each month of the first year of her life with a cake...of course I took this challenge on BEFORE having a newborn and realizing that my time would never be my own again, but I was determined to do this for her.  Even though she is too young to enjoy the actual cake, I love the idea of her being able to look back at each month of her first year and realize that we truly celebrated each month and all the important milestones she reached.  It also gave me an external goal to focus on and deadline to meet which I truly enjoy.  Some cakes have been better than others, but overall I'm just happy to make them.

Emma is now four and half months old, so I thought I would post the first four cakes in this post and then devote one post for each of the cakes to come.  I haven't decided on a theme for her 5 month cake and suggestions are certainly welcome!

This was Emma's first cake.  It is a 6-inch double layer chocolate cake with buttercream icing and fondant accents.  

This cake almost didn't get made on time!  It was another 6-inch double layer cake but this time I made vanilla cake with almond buttercream icing.

Emma was born on August 24th which meant her  four month birthday fell on Christmas Eve.  I took that and ran with it:)  This was a red velvet cake with green cream cheese icing and fondant lettering.  I didn't split the cake and I only iced the top creating more of a giant cupcake appearance.  The surrounding mini cupcakes are also red velvet and topped them with crushed peppermint candies.


I should also note that my husband is the photographer in the family so when the pictures look professional it's most likely because he took them.  Unfortunately that isn't his day job, so on the occasions when he isn't home I attempt to capture the cakes...you can probably tell which of the above pictures I took:)

And it begins...

Welcome to Think, Feel, Bake.  I'll be honest with you: I don't really know what the purpose of this blog is yet.  I spend a lot of time thinking about others and coming up with new ways to make people feel special.  One of those ways has been through baking.  For the past several years I have been baking, primarily cakes, but all sorts of treats for my family and friends.  The first big baking endeavor I undertook was my oldest niece's first birthday party.  I wanted to do something special for her, something she would be able to look back at when she was older and smile.  As I baked this cake I thought about her, all the joy she had brought into our lives.  I realized then that, for me, baking wasn't just about a delicious end product, but the whole process.  Thinking about a special person, what is important to them, and making that translate into cake and icing is challenging and joyful. Planning a cake, coming up with a theme, gathering materials and inspiration from all around me; these are the things that I could spend hours doing.  Seeing the joy on my loved ones faces when they see their cake for the first time and knowing how special it makes them feel is the greatest payoff I could ask for.  So, it occurred to me that baking is not only a way of channeling my creative side, but also sparking thought and emotion.

At the end of the day, for me, thinking and feeling are so intertwined not only in my professional life, but in my baking life as well.  So, I guess the point is that I don't know where this blog will go yet.  I plan on using this as a forum to share my projects, my successes, and my failures in baking.  I welcome all your comments and shared experiences as well.  I think the greatest thing in life is when someone or something moves you to think and feel.  For me that is baking, what is it for you?