3 posts tagged “wedding cake”
Photo shoots are really fun. As long as you don't have to hang around all day and watch because it's about like watching paint dry. Rearranging, different angles, different lighting, different cameras, adding and deleting props. And then there's sifting through the hundreds of shots to find the perfect one, or as my photographer friend likes to call them, the "heroes". The fun part, for me, is making the cake and then seeing it in it's fabulous setting. And for this particular shoot, I was invited by my friend, florist and event planner extraordinaire Kathy Wright to create a wedding cake to complement a tablescape she was creating for Bloomingdales. She and Bridal Registry Manager Amy Treichler (whose wedding cake I just HAPPENED to make and deliver to Las Vegas last year!) chose a stunning china pattern by Bernardaud called Grand Versailles which is a virtual riot of color and design elements. The story behind the pattern is (and I hope I get this right!) that it was based on the Royal Bedchamber of one of those Louis fellows residing in the palace at Versailles. Apparently, the pattern uses 65 different colors and many of the patterns from said Bedchamber. For me, it was a delicious cornucopia of design from which to choose. I decided to do a somewhat narrow octagonal shape mainly because the table was rectangular but also because having 8 sides created more visual drama. Anyway, the tablescape came out amazingly and I'm sure there will be some lucky brides registering for the crystal and china they will see this weekend. High fives to everybody who made this beautiful setting come alive.
Just for the record, for actual enjoyment of food, I much prefer a white plate. The food should be the focal point, in my humble opinion. Can you imagine trying to even FIND your food on plates like these? So, I'm in a quandry here. I'm a chef so the food's the thing. I'm a cake stylist, so the design's the thing. And, there's no denying the sensual pleasure of seeing a fabulously adorned table. When it's time to eat, though, please bring my food on a white plate.
I've listed some of my favorite books in the Books section (duh) of this blog but unfortunately, some of the very best ones aren't visible because they only give you Amazon as a resource. So, I'm going to tell you about a few of my other personal favorites which I have found to be inspirational.
First of all, I have to admit that generally I don't buy cookbooks for the recipes. I buy them for the photographs, the histories that are sometimes included, presentation ideas, flavor combinations, etc. I can go to a bookstore and leave with 5 or 6 cookbooks and spend several days in bed reading through them like novels. I will spend time reading a cookbook before I will spend time reading an actual novel. And then, they go up on a shelf and I may not open them again for years. But I KNOW what is in them and when I need something, I remember exactly where to look. At some point, I will refer to every book that I have.
Mastering the Art of French Pastry was published in 1984 and I think is still one of the best books on French Pastry ever written. If you can find it, BUY IT. This book started me thinking like a pastry chef even though I was just a little baker wannabe who had a recipe for EVERYTHING. It made me realize that this could become this, which could then become that, and go between these and HEY-a really cool dessert!
I purchased Das Ist Zucker after taking a beginning sugar course from Ewald Notter at his school which was then located in Gaithersburg, Maryland (I think it's in Florida now). After the class, the book makes sense although I will NEVER even come close to creating some of the amazing pieces he demonstrates. (I make GREAT spheres and EXCELLENT seaweed) It has helpful beginning advice but it's still better to have actually had hands on experience before attempting sugar work. And of course, the right equipment, which is quite substantial and costly which is why very few people ever become masters of this incredible art form. There's just so much STUFF you have to have. Another helpful purchase was his 2 part Basic Sugar Decoration and Advanced Sugar Decoration videos (or now probably DVD's) done through the Culinary Institute of America. The videos are shot in the exact sequence as the courses so, if you've been through the course, it's like going all over again.
Au Coeur Des Saveurs is just an amazing book. It's huge and expensive and a must have for any serious pastry chef's library. It's in French and English which is extremely helpful and the desserts are magnificent.
los postres de el bulli is another one of those expensive "must have" books for the serious pastry chef. Albert Adria is a mad scientist and most of us will never make ANYTHING from this book other that maybe an espuma but that's a good reason to invest in an Issi whipper, right?
Faszination in Marzipan is another REALLY old book by Georg Maushagen who, quite coincidentally, just created the monumentally monstrous wedding cake for Ivana Trump and her boy-toy (OK, OK, don't be a Bitter Betty!) at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. With the able assistance of my good friend and Master Pastry Chef Rudi Weider of the San Diego Marriott Marina. Oh the stories I got to hear. You guys didn't hear NUTHIN! But I digress. I took a sugar class from Georg, like, 13 years ago. We actually held the class in the kitchen I was renting at the time. Of course, I never used anything that I learned and had to pay the big bucks to relearn it all from Ewald Notter 10 years later. Georg is like a rock star in Germany. Of course, here, he was just the guy who made Ivana's cake. No big whup. Did you SEE the thing? It was 9 freaking feet tall! Anyway, he's also a great marzipan guy. Hence, the book above. You were probably wondering.
Romantic Wedding Cakes by Kerry Vincent is great. It's beautiful and has unique and fabulous designs and techniques up the yin-yang. Of course, you need every crimper, cutter, shaper, patterned rolling pin and lace press in the known universe to create even one of her extravaganzas but you can tone it down and still have a very cool cake. Kerry is, as all Food Network Challenge addicts know, the evil judge who rarely has much positive to say about anything but, honestly, I'm a little suspicious of this role. Is she a plant? A sort of devil's advocate to create drama? Is she REALLY that mean? I don't know. Stay tuned for her next (OMG-did she REALLY just say that?) remark.
And then, there are the best cookbooks of all. The ones that are never published but the recipes you use day after day, year after year. Collected from friends, relatives, magazines, the Internet. The ones everybody always asks you for and you say, oh I just mix a little of this and that and, you know, I don't actually use a recipe. Because.....IT'S TAKEN ME 25 YEARS TO PERFECT IT AND YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO REPRODUCE IT AND YOU'LL BE CALLING AND TELLING ME I GAVE YOU THE WRONG RECIPE.....etc. etc. etc. Like the crusty, old pages below.
Ever wondered just how a cake is born? Generally the client has an idea of the direction in which they would like their cake to go. Simple and elegant, whimsical, towering, petite, monochromatic, technicolor, modern, romantically old fashioned, an unforgettable show stopper. Doesn't care because nobody remembers the cake anyway. THAT is enough to bring a cake stylist to tears. Important details such as color scheme, florals, linens, decor, design elements of the wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses all help the designer to create a cake that will fit seamlessly into the event.
These particular clients came into my office with no real clear idea of the cake design they were looking for. Their reception was being held at the Westgate Hotel which is a very ornate, gold leafy, brocade, cherub, oriental rugs, magnificent chandeliers and huge floral arrangements filled space. So that was my first glimpse into their personalities. Both were artistic and definitely wanting to impress their guests. They planned on using dramatic lighting and lots of jewel tones. So, my thoughts naturally went to Faberge egg designs. From there, they chose the particular egg they liked and I sketched out an idea. When designing a cake of this magnitude and cost, the client wants to know almost exactly what they will be getting so, a color rendering is the next step. The design phase can take weeks of tweaking. I worked with an artist (you can see the extent of my drawing ability above!) who incorporated all of the design elements I indicated in the description. It was then presented to the client who approved it and THEN, the real work began. Usually, I make a mock-up of the cake out of Styrofoam, especially if there are unusual shapes and different heights of tiers. Guessing is not an option. Then, we make all of the "accessories" which, in this case, took about a week. A false base, the royal icing "fan jewels", gold paisleys, leaves, and the egg top. The lion "pulls" were a challenge at first. I found a great drawer pull at an antique hardware store and made a mold which created the perfect lion head. The egg itself took an entire day and was covered with tons of teeny little gumpaste flowers painted gold and centered with garnet colored beads. Tiny pearls filled in all the gaps. The base of the egg was formed in a champagne glass with cast sugar, covered with fondant and then decorated. I won't bore you with the actual assembling of the cake but the scary part is the "day of" because so much of the decorating and application of accessories has to be done after the cake is almost completely built. It's a race against the clock. I don't know about other cake "people" but, after a cake like that, I feel like I've gone through childbirth. It's a huge adrenaline rush and then........it's over. Miller time.
