Have you ever met someone whom you wished you had met so much sooner in life?  This is just how it was for me when I met Scott & Juli Chapin.  About a year ago at one of many cake shows that I attend, I noticed a vendor booth that was unfamiliar to me.  A woman was showcasing what looked like a big plexiglass box with a tiered wedding cake in it.  When I approached the booth, I was warmly greeted by Juli who introduced me to the CakeSafe_™. 

Juli and her husband Scott went on to explain to me that they developed the CakeSafe_™ as a means to safely transport tiered cakes from bakery to venue without worry.  Being the skeptic that I am, I was dubious about the concept.  Scott, an engineer by trade, demonstrated the mechanics of the system.  

The CakeSafe_™ is a plastic box that has four sides that hinge together and lock into a sturdy high density plastic base. With the cake in the box, the top of the box is placed over the sides and then locked in place with four metal tabs. Then a guide piece is placed in the top and a stainless steel rod (⅜” thick) is pushed down thru the cake and the base, securing your cake in the center of the CakeSafe_™.  Once at the venue, the box easily disassembles, the stainless rod is removed, and you can cover the small hole with buttercream or rolled fondant.

After testing the box by tipping the model over with a real cake in it several times and seeing with my own eyes that nothing budged, I was sold.  The only problem?  I no longer have a bakery!!  Where was the CakeSafe ten years ago?!  If you make tiered cakes, I encourage you to investigate the CakeSafe today–you’ll be glad you did!

Read more about the CakeSafe online at www.cakesafe.com.

Endurance

People ask me all the time: “What does it take to get good at making cakes?”.  The answer came to me this week as I ran my first 8-mile training run for my first half marathon:  ENDURANCE.  As with any craft, learning to decorate a cake well takes repetition over a long period of time.  But what defines this period and  when does one practice one’s craft?  Before work?  After work?  During work?  While getting ready for work?  On the weekends?  The answer seems obvious: all the time…and forever.  I personally practice every moment I can and find ways to learn ways to improve my craft regularly.

Back to my running analogy.  I have never been a runner.  While I used to be an avid distance cyclist, I quickly learned that running uses a whole different set of muscles than biking.  And it requires an enormous amount of mental stamina in order to avoid boredom or talk yourself into stopping short of the day’s target distance.  My coach (and I use the term loosely since we meet so irregularly), at our first running meeting, gave me a battery of exercises to do while I am not running.  Some of these exercises simulate running while others train tiny muscles in your ankles or strengthen your hips to help improve the next run…and avoid injury.  I find myself thinking about running all of the time now.  This is exactly how it should be for the novice cake decorator. 

Carry a sketch pad.  Jot down ideas of techniques you’d like to try.  Carry a camera.  Take photographs of shop windows with a particular pattern or color palette that strikes you and later translate it into a cake design.  These aesthetic exercises are akin to the runner’s “non-running” exercises that will help you develop your craft even when you are not standing in front of a cake.

When you are standing in front of a cake, practice.  Practice techniques you’ve done only once or even a thousand times.  When you do something for the first time it often feels a bit clumsy.  The second and third attempts build your comfort level.  The fourth and fifth create familiarity…perhaps by the hundredth you will have that eureka moment and “get it”. 

The bottom line is that there is no magic period of time by which anyone will “get good” at decorating a cake.  We all have affinities for certain things and struggle with others.  There is truth in the old adage “practice makes perfect”.  So to all of you new cake decorators out there: keep practicing.  And I’ll keep running.

Every Spring it seems as though all of the wedding cake designers across the country receive the same memo in which a collection of trendy color palettes are explained.  Have you ever wondered how these seemingly universal accords on what colors are “in” this season are reached?  We know that many cake designs are inspired by haute couture and interior designs, but taking it a step further, where do these color trends originate? 

In 1963, Lawrence Herbert, , the founder of Pantone, created an innovative system for identifying, matching and communicating colors. His idea that the color spectrum is interpreted differently by each individual led to the innovation of the PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM® (PMS).  You, no doubt, have see this book of standardized colors (nearly 2,000 of them) in fan format.  Since its inception, PMS has since expanded its color matching system concept to other industries in which color is critical, including fashion which directly then influences the cake world.

Cake decorators in the know often turn directly to the PMS color reports to get a handle on what color schemes will be popular in upcoming seasons or years in order to plan new designs for wedding and party cakes. For example, Spring 2010 will bring splashes of sunshine to the fashion world, so expect to see cakes with turquoise-based color palettes; turquoise is a color that evokes tranquility and escape–perfect for destination weddings. Violet’s purplish hue lends itself to romance and will figure largely in Spring fashion. In cake it will translate to sugar violets as side designs, color bases for bows, and linens for table scaping.  Other colors to be on the lookout for in cakes in 2010 are pink champagne and coral.

Pantone color reports do more than simplify identify color trends though…colors are explained.  In reading the reports, a better understanding of how certain colors correspond to different types of events and to various personalities as well as reactions that specific colors tend to evoke can be grasped.  This level of understanding can help a cake decorator develop a broader sense of style vis-a-vis colors and be better suited to guide his/her client through the cake selection & design process.

If this is your first time hearing about color reports, read one.  It is just like learning a new word that suddendly everyone around you is using.  Read the report and watch the whole world glow.