I present to you, without comment, a link to the blog of pop singer and impish egomaniac John Mayer, who, apparently, is also a cake lover. In this edition, he presents the results of his personal Winter '08 holiday baking contest.
Note the numerous instances of Mayer-themed cakes: The red-and-white "JM" logo cake, the JM "Tree-O" cake with Mayer and bandmates presented as fir trees, the "JM" logo Christmas ornament, the cake depicting a sugarpaste Mayer singing on stage at the Nokia Theater, and, of course, the portrait (pictured).
These days, dslr's go hand-in-hand with food worship and blogging. The more you photograph your food, the more you want it to look good, creating an ongoing addiction to better cameras and faster lenses. But just sometimes, that love affair works its way onto your tongue in the tastiest way.
The above is a birthday cake that Flickr user fsumaria got at the end of last year. It was part of a pair -- the real D700 as a gift, and an edible, red-velvet version for the birthday cake. Talk about an awesome birthday! My D80 is glaring at me as I go green with food and photography jealousy.
This might not be a homemade version (it was whipped up by www.grannyschmidts.com), but it sure gives some camera food for thought, and an added impetus to continue improving my fondant skills.
Has the world of photography ever made it to you in cake form?
Yesterday I wrote about muscadine grapes, which include a coppery green variety known as the scuppernong. Well they've been on my mind all week. On Tuesday, I stood in a friend's mother's backyard around sundown, fending off mosquitoes as I plucked heavy handfuls of scuppernongs from the musky, sweet vinegar-smelling vines.
Tomorrow I will make scuppernong cake, my new favorite early fall treat. I came up with this Southern take on rustic Tuscan vintners cake last September - slightly cooked scuppernongs tucked, skins and all, into a light, olive-oil scented batter. I like to serve this cake with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
As the resident cake baker in my circle of friends, I'm always trying to find something new and funky to make. I've been in a groove of no-cook fondant and marzipan figures, but this summer I got a challenge -- chocolate. Not being the biggest fan of chocolate cakes, I mostly stick to the many other flavors. However, my friend, she loves the dark and sinful treat. If she wanted chocolate, she was really going to get chocolate. Since she's also a skier, it would be served in a smooth, snowy package.
Death by Chocolate Cake, straight out of The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Chocolate, with white fondant, a marzipan skier, and some candles for wishing. Check out the gallery, peruse the recipe after the jump, and stay tuned for more information on the fondant and marzipan.
Cake Wrecks features cakes that people have actually paid for that have turned out less than stellar. I am glad of the blog's stance to not mock home bakers as I've certainly made some regrettable looking creations, but if I'm going to pay for something, I would expect it to look good.
As for the cake in this picture, the blog offers no explanation. However, the commenters came though. One commenter, Jen, pointed out that the characters say "Happy Birthday" in traditional Chinese and another commenter, Tom, said, "A little pile of poo is a good luck symbol in Japan." It seems that there is an explanation for everything.
Check out Cake Wrecks for more cake disasters that you can't help but stare at.
I've never been a cake for breakfast person unless you count pancakes as cakes. In a recent post by Cakespy (who I can't help but adore due to my love of cupcakes), she makes a strong case for eating cake in the morning. By writing about this, I am not advocating cake as a daily breakfast treat, but rather as an extra special morning indulgence.
Cakespy gives many slices of information on why cake for breakfast can be good. Here is one of my favorites: "You can't deprive yourself all of the time. If you wake up craving cake and instead eat something virtuous like oatmeal, it's likely that you'll still be craving the cake all day. This will undoubtedly lead to idly munching various non-cake items throughout the day in an effort to fill the void. Really, you should have just had the cake. So have it!"
With E3 in full swing this week (full coverage on our sister blog Joystiq), I thought it might be a good time to post my incredibly fun pac-man cake. It's not very difficult to make and since it uses cupcakes and mini-cupcakes, it can be made for any number of people to enjoy.
Start with any size batch of cupcakes and mini-cupcakes prepared in paper holders so you can move them around easily. I used red velvet cake because it was the preference of the birthday boy whose wife requested this cake. The background obviously needs to be black so you can use either black foil cake board wrap or, as I did, just use black poster-board. It has a nice dull finish for the video screen effect and since the cupcakes are in paper cups, they'll never touch it anyway.
I used black buttercream icing purchased from my wonderful and helpful local bakery shop. I've never successfully created true black icing and always just get really dark gray but theirs is tasty and crusts well. All of the cupcakes were iced and smoothed for a flat surface. I found my round cut-outs incredibly helpful for this cake. The smallest size circle was used with light yellow fondant to make the pac-dots and the middle size for the power pellets, both of which were placed on the mini-cupcakes to create the maze of the game. The largest circle was a perfect size for our hero in dark yellow fondant with a small triangle cut out for his mouth.
I shamelessly stole this idea from the Betty Crocker website but I did manage to change it up to make it a bit more interesting. It turned out very well but it had me cussing more than I imagined it would.
I started with two leveled cakes that were made in loaf pans. I did one in chocolate and one in french vanilla for a little variety. The vanilla one was cut in half to make the two smaller blocks. For the chocolate block, I managed to find chocolate marshmallows to cut in half and use for the top of the block but let me assure you that these sound a lot yummier than they actually are. The smaller blocks got strawberry marshmallows which I highly recommend for sm'ores or just nibbling. The large block was covered in blue buttercream icing and smoothed for a flat surface. Then I covered each marshmallow half, set in it's spot and attempted to even them out as well. Those little buggers can be quite uncooperative.
Next, I covered the green block and set it at a small angle against the first one. The final block was the one that presented a couple of small challenges in order to sit on its side. I iced the bottom edge of the block while holding it then placed it next to the other pieces. The top portion of the block was resting on the points of the other two and I must say that marshmallows make for a squishy support system at best. They also tend to slide off when at an angle so, for the yellow block, they were secured with toothpicks as they went on.
The cake turned out cute although I never managed to get it as smooth as I wanted. Looking back, maybe the reason I found the cake, which was actually pretty simple, a chore is that it wasn't my original idea. Normally, all the little challenges I encounter when making a cake are fun and interesting but apparently that is only true when the concept is mine in the first place.
I was absolutely amazed when one of my fellow Slashfoodies, Kellye Agreda, sent me a link to this cake. I spent quite a lot of years as a cake decorator, and I know how much time and effort goes into a thing like this.
This cake took first place at the Kentucky State Fair in 2007. Can you imagine? The craftsmanship and level of detail on this cake is nothing short f breath taking. I've seen a couple shows On Food Network about cake decorators preparing cakes for a big competition, so I know they can spend some serious time making this type of cake. I wonder if the cake was made by a professional or by a hobbyist? Either way, I wonder how much they charge for a birthday cake?
If you want to see more views of this cake, check out Adam Newbold's Flickr set. I could stare at these images for long periods of time if I wasn't careful. So be careful, and make sure you have a few minutes!
Time for a fun summer cake! With the heat of summer coming to the south early this year, I felt the need to make a pool cake.
I started with two 11x9 sheet cakes, one in chocolate and one in french vanilla just for fun. I stacked them with buttercream icing and cut out the center of the top one for the pool. Next, I mixed up some blue vanilla icing for the water and smoothed in into the pool area. To make it glossy like water, once the icing crusted I brushed on some piping gel. This was my first time using it and I was really impressed with how well it worked. Next I went about making the tiles. Using fondant, I cut out four separate sections for each patio side on the top of the cake and indented them at one inch with a toothpick for tiles. I had cut out individual white tiles to line the pool itself thinking it would be easier to get them down in there that way. They separated just a bit as the cake settled in so if I were to do it again, I would probably make the same tile strips that I did the for patio area.
The hot pink towel was made by simply cutting out a fondant rectangle and indenting each end twice with a toothpick. I bent it just a little as it cured so it wasn't just laying flat. The diving board is just white fondant but for an extra touch, it was lightly coated in sugar on the top so it has that same rough, no-slip surface. I was nervous about shaping the legs mostly because I'm not comfortable making people yet. But legs and feet were easy enough. The second one was harder than the first because it not only had to look human but it also had to match the size of the first one. I just love how they turned out on the cake though. For the outside edging, I made lots of different colored tiles and added them one at a time using just a dab of buttercream for the tastiest spackle ever.
It still needed some shade and I just couldn't resist using a drink umbrella which is the only inedible thing on the cake. I added just a bit more piping gel just to make it really shimmer and she was all done. Anyone want to dive in?
This R2D2 cake is the perfect storm of my nerdy obsessions: science fiction, red velvet cake, Rice Krispy treats, things that look like other things. As we last wrote about an R2D2 wedding cake last month, I'm clearly not alone in my love of cake-flavored robot. However, I think this cake is even better-looking. The recipient is one lucky four-year-old!
Created by baker Mark Randazzo, it's a multi-layered red velvet cake with white icing, with Rice Krispy treat legs and hand-painted food color details. Check out the pictures of the cake in-progress: I'm not sure I've ever seen so many layers. Randazzo's a talented guy - catch him making a giant monkey cake on reruns of Food Network's Extreme Cake Challenge.
This week, the New York Times Magazine's The Way We Eat column is devoted various types of syrup-soaked semolina cakes and pastries. In Macedonia, these desserts are known collectively as siropiasta. Revani and samali, both made with semolina and ground almond, are served drenched in sweet liquid - lemon-sugar, honey, rosewater syrup. In France and Italy, more pudding-like cakes are made with finely ground semolina, also known as farina, and baked in water baths. Served with caramel of fruit, they make fine summer desserts.
Can you tell which one is made of butter and flour?
Pastry Chef Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes is the mastermind behind this and many other magnificent reproductions made of cake and fondant.
She put together a video of the construction of the dog cake, a four hour process sped-up to four minutes and set to hurried classical music that makes the whole process seem even more impressive. Watch as she whizzes through the crumb coating, tosses on layers of fondant and double-times the "fur" sculpting.
You should also check out a video montage of more of Strauss' cakes, from cheese steaks to hat boxes to Yankees caps. You'll walk away in awe, with a new appreciation for cake making and an unmistakable craving for sugar.
The Cupcake Project is a huge contributor to the Slashfood Flickr pool. But because I don't want to express favoritism among our flickr posters, I try to limit my Cupcake Project posts to about one a month.
And what better way to celebrate the upcoming Memorial Day weekend than with cupcakes? But these aren't any cupcakes, and they probably won't satisfy your sweet tooth.
Enter: All-American Barbecue Cupcakes. Essentially, you add liquid smoke to a chocolate cupcake recipe, and top it with a sweet corn frosting that contains four gloriously simple ingredients: sweet corn, cream cheese, butter, and sugar. (And did anything bad ever come out of a recipe whose two main ingredients were butter and cream cheese?) The red, white, and blue star sprinkles don't hurt, either.
Okay, so they sound a little funny - but props to Cupcake Project to being creative and unique. They sound like the perfect addition to any cookout. Just serve 'em and watch your guests' eyes widen in surprise and their faces sink into relaxed, contented smiles.
Have I mentioned how much of a geek I am? Well, just in case I haven't, now you know. I just love it when two of my passions cross over each other, especially when the results are this great!
Check out the post on Gizmodo for the whole story, but this is a wedding cake for, you guessed it, a Star Wars wedding. It's hard to tell how much of it is edible, exactly, but some of the details are amazing. The chef who made this cake used camera lens with a blue bulb behind it for R2's sensor for added realism. Have you ever seen a geek-y cake this awesome? I'd love to hear about it!
We can change the way we make eggs -- scrambled, poached, fried -- but what about changing the eggs themselves? Mix up your scrambling routine with quail eggs.
With 
Time for a fun summer cake! With the heat of summer coming to the south early this year, I felt the need to make a pool cake. 
This 
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
