B-day Cake: The Verdict

I'm currently:

Watching the last game ever at Yankees Stadium.

Some thoughts:

I'm happy to report that dinner went well, and the cake... WAS DECLICIOUS! It's so exciting when you cut open something so pretty and it tastes awesome too! I think everyone was a little suprised by how good it was :-P Can't really go wrong with carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. mmm mmm good!

Time to finish my wine and watch the game. Will write more soon...

Until then, Bake Big! -Christine

Birthday Cake!

I'm currently:

Finished cleaning the apartment, showering, and making myself look nice (for a change!).

Listening to Z100.

Some thoughts:

Tonight my parents and my grandma are coming over for dinner and to celebrate my (early) birthday. My gram has never seen our apartment, so I spent most of this morning straightening up and making sure everything looks perfect. I also prepped everything for dinner. I'll be making fettuccine with red sauce and chicken cutlets. My mom is bringing a salad and some fruit. And then comes the best part of the meal: the birthday cake.

Yesterday at work I made myself a small birthday cake. It was so much fun thinking of what I wanted to make. The possibilities were pretty endless. In the end, we decided that a 'serious' cake would be best (since my gram is coming over). So we passed on making a cake with elephants and bubbles, and instead I made a carrot cake with cream cheese filling, covered in sage green fondant, white dots, and a bunch of hand made gum paste flowers. I think it came out really well! A few of my coworkers guided me through it and showed me how to best attach the flowers. It was a great learning experience, and it was fun to make something that was my idea, and not something a client requested.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the results-- AND I had a blast making it. Now, well just have to see if it tastes as good as it looks. (I'll keep you posted!)

Now off to have a quick snack/lunch. Then tonight early dinner/birthday party! woowho!

Until Soon, Bake Big! Christine

MY FIRST DAY OF WORK!

I'm currently:
Eating yogurt with fruit and granola

Listening to the Yanks vs. Tampa Bay

Some thoughts:
I'm officially a baker's apprentice. Today marked my first 'real' day of work at the bakery. It was weird waking up this morning and putting on a white t-shirt and cruddy pants, not 'business casual'. And although it was only about 30 minutes earlier than I am use to getting up for work, it was enough time to make it a lot darker outside.

I had to stay alert on the train to make sure I didn't miss my transfer. I was afraid my sleepy body would be on auto-pilot and take me to my old stop instead. But weirdness and sleepiness aside, all went well getting to work this morning. And when I got there, things were already going full swing.

My first job was to help decorate a few individual and small cakes (Carrot cake, Cheesecake, truffles, Mouse Cakes, etc). A big personal first: I ICED MY FIRST CAKE TODAY! Well, I've iced lots of cakes at home before, but never like this. Never on a pedestal with the correct tools and with precision in mind. The result? Well, I was pretty good. (Nowhere near great, but hey, it was my first day... and my first time!) I also cut forms for some flowers and assembled a hell of a lot of stems. May not sound like much, but this all kept me busy until around 2pm when we all helped throw together more Tiramisu then I've ever seen before.

By 2:30pm I was heading back to the train home. I threw my baking shoes in my bag and put on flip flops. When I got home I realized that the bottoms of my baking shoes were covered in icing, chocolate, batter, etc. Next time I probably shouldn't throw these into my purse... sigh.

Anyway, there is so much more to share... about the people, the atmosphere, the process of baking a few hundred cannolis today, etc. I also can't wait to write about the personalities and the way the men act (I'm sure you can guess about that one!) But all those details I'll save for another time. --I can't give away all the goodies on my first day!

Until next time, Bake Big! Christine