Cakes, cakes, cakes!!

So, there's a few things happening right now that I'm pretty excited about. Even if one or all of them disappear/fall apart, I do feel a change in the winds. And this is something that I'm welcoming with open arms. Not to say that my life is in any way on the down and out, but I do get anxious about wanting to incorporate baking and food into my everyday life. I'm obsessed with learning new techniques and bettering myself with every single thing that I make. 

Anytime I'm asked to bake something, I try to use the opportunity to incorporate something new. The uncharted territory is daunting but so far it's paid off in spades. Is that a real saying or did I just make that up? Essentially I'm trying to say, bring it on - I love a good challenge and I'll make it work. No regrets. Not even when I watch cakes crack and then collapse into 4 different pieces, like at midnight this past Saturday. Daylight savings, you have such impeccable timing with your extra hour!

Where am I going with this? For some reason (a reason I'm incredibly thankful for) the past couple months have been jam packed with baking requests. People ask for personalized cakes and I just always say yes, without thinking twice. The above sleeping cat was a birthday cake for a friend's boyfriend... my favorite part was his little pink triangle nose.

Then came Gabe's brother's 40th birthday and his wife, knowing exactly what would delight him, requested this cake:

Unfortunately, it required transportation to Boston, and on the way the the fondant slid off the top and bottom... However, some impromptu marshmellow "ice cubes", last minute icing-as-glue skills, and a toothpick or two seemed to fix the problem until cake cutting time.

The most recent venture was a trophy cake for my cousin who ran the marathon yesterday. Every time I got frustrated, all I had to do was remind myself that I didn't have to run 26.2 miles... and then I felt better.

The trophy cup on top was originally 3 times larger and made of cake, until it decided to perform the aforementioned last minute self destruction. This rice krispy treat backup was plan C, only after attempting to fill a Tupperware with cake and covering it in fondant. I immediately was saddened at my actions of putting something non edible in the cake and trying to pass it off - it's something that always disturbs me. Discovering non cake parts inside cake is kind of like being told there's no Santa. 

I've also picked up a part time job assisting the head chef at an event and catering space on park avenue a couple nights a week after my day job ends at 7.30. It's something I absolutely don't mind doing despite the long hours, because it's giving me awesome exposure to what happens behind the scenes of an event planning facility. And then on Saturdays, I assist the pastry chef (!!!) It's a pretty exciting beginning of something fantastic...

Last but certainly not least, I was just asked to make my first wedding cake. My first reaction was slight panic, but it's not until April so you can bet I'll be spending the next 4 months researching wedding cakes and how they come to be. If you have any suggestions/tips/designs that you fancy, please do send them my way! I need all the material I can get my hands on. 

Apologies for the non glamorous photos - recently when I've been in cake mode, it's all I can think about and the pictures usually come later (and are taken with the iphone). I promise to be better about this.