Cake Decorating: Not just for the Professionals

Cake Decorating: Not just for the Professionals...or just for adults for that matter! Even though the art of cake decorating has been around for hundreds of years, it's only been in the last 10 years that this artform has really made a lasting impression on people around the world. From Fondant covered cakes, handmade sugar flowers and blown sugar work, to cakes that are upside down or look like they're about to fall over. With the sudden boom in the cake industry, came an overwhelming number of cake decorating reality shows. Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, Food Network Challenge, TLC Ultimate Cake Off, and our favourite Canadian program of course, Cake Walk: Wedding Cake Edition :) We all watched them, either by yourself, your spouse, friends and even children. It's the last point (children) that I want to talk about today on our Blog.

When I was young, I remember making cakes all the time; however, the extent of my cakes were from-the-box Betty Crocker cake mix and Ready-Made Frosting. I would make 2 8" rounds, then simply stack them on top of each other with a thick layer of icing in the middle, then plaster the outsides and top with the rest of the icing, and finally cover the entire thing in as many sprinkles as I possibly could. That was my masterpiece - I was always so proud of these cakes :) Now that people have seen on TV what can be done with cakes, the "new" cakes are the kind that the kids want to make. Not your Betty Crocker Box, Ready-Made Icing - they want the fondant, the moulds, the cutters, the flowers, etc. SO, here at Country Girl Cakes, we decided to let the kids give it a shot!

It's been almost a year since we started our Kids Cake Decorating Birthday Parties, and they are more popular now than ever before! Our Decorating Parties, give kids a chance to come on into a professional cake decorating shop and really get an indepth look at what it takes to make these cakes. They each get their own personal 6" round cake, which has been previously torted, filled and crumb coated. Before they get started, I always give a demonstration on a dummy cake, how to kneed and roll out fondant, how to cover your cake in the fondant, and how to use all of our tools (moulds, cutters, plungers, crimpers, rolling pins, smoothers, etc.). Once the demonstration is done, they get their own bit of fondant to start rolling out. As many of the participants have never touched fondant, this is usually the part of the party that takes the longest. Figuring out how to keep it in a circular shape, how to figure out the correct pressure of the rolling pin, and how to know when to stop at the correct thickness before putting it on the cake. Once the cakes are covered, each participant starts the decorating - and this is where the chaos fun begins! We use pre-coloured fondant for our parties, so we don't waste a lot of white fondant trying to colour it for each person. They get their colours, their supplies and go to town! This is my favourite part of the whole party! Each persons personality and creativity starts to fly, and the cakes go from looking all the same to looking all completely different! Once the cakes are done, I take each participant over to the airbrush booth and they put that final touch of pearl lustre spray on their cakes - which when people see how it makes their cake sparkle and shine, they go crazy. I get so much pride and happiness out of seeing the happy faces on everyone when their cakes are done! Everyone then gets their own box to take their personal cakes home.

These birthday parties aren't just for kids though! We've had a number of bachelorette parties in the shop as well, with participants in their 20's and 30's  having just as much fun, if not more fun, than the 10 and 12 year olds have!

Everyone wants their chance to make that "cake boss" cake like they've seen on TV, and here at Country Girl Cakes, we want to give them that opportunity! Some people leave the shop with their cake thinking it was so much harder than they thought it would be, while others think it wasn't too bad at all. Then we get the odd few who are bound and determined to come back when they're old enough and work here at the shop, as they have decided they want to be a cake decorator when they get old! How cute :) As long as everyone leaves here with a finished cake, happy face, and new found respect for the art of cake decorating, we're always happy!

So if you and your friends, or your daughter/son and their friends want to try out cake decorating, WITHOUT the mess at YOUR house, give us a call and book your next party! You will not be disappointed :)

Here at Country Girl Cakes, we hope everyone has a wonderful week full of fun, laughter, happiness and of course, cake! Stay Tuned next week, for more Cakes From The Country!

Miranda xoxo
www.countrygirlcakes.org




**For more information on available dates, pricing, etc., don't hesitate to call us at 613-341-7074 or email at countrygirlcakes@hotmail.com **