These days

Yeah - I'll spare you the "I suck at blogging... so busy" card.  I'm not a stay at home mom. I don't work part time. I don't work full time. I work full time plus and have 2 small dependent children so yeah, blogging isn't something I keep up on and that is that.

At any rate, I don't know what the last cake was I wrote about is, but I am certain that I have made several since then.  However, due to some health issues the doctors' say I need to de-stress as much as possible.  I don't know how in the world to de-stress - there is not enough time in a day to slow down.  But, for now, the easiest thing to "cut" out of my schedule is taking on cake orders.  So, I don't plan on making any crazy cakes for a while and likely only for family/friends and their special occassions in moderation (I have a large family and tons of nieces/nephews so I don't want to leave that window wide open).  So, this blog will not be about how busy I am, how stressed I get, the recent orders I've done or caking at all.  This blog is dedicated to my 2 and 3 quarters year old (as he likes to say) - and his funny Noahisms that I never want to forget.  Two that are fresh on my mind from the last few weeks will be noted here although I could write for hours the funny things he says and does that crack us up each and every day.  It's his innocence, his intelligence and his surprizingly mature personality that never ceases to amaze and entertain us.  How I love my busy little guy.

On halloween, we let Noah pick a candy to eat after dinner time. Grandma, Boppa, Dan and myself were all sitting at the table finishing our dinners and Noah is dumping out a fun sized bag of skittles on the table.  He notices there are "S"s on the skittles and is quick to point this out to all of us.  Noah knows all of his letters and usually what sound each letter makes - but I try to re-inforce learning whenever I can with his spongy brain.  I reply "Noah what sound does the "S" make?" - Noah picks up a skittle and puts it to his ear to listen to the S.  Seriously.  We all burst out laughing...

Yesterday we made a quick stop at the grocery store after picking up the boys from daycare for some last minute ingredients for dinner.  Noah saw some wreaths (he doesn't have a well developed long term memory yet - as most kids under 3 don't - so to him, this just may have been the "first time" he ever saw wreaths).  He points and in true Noah exaggerated, excited form he exclaims "A GRASS DONUT!" Yep. That's my boy! Tears...

I'll leave you with those 2 short, cute, funny stories of my Noahisms for now... but I hope next time I have something relevant to share to include some more.  A peek into the life of Tami.

Until next time,

Tam

xoxox

cakeaholiccakery.com

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P.S. I finally have business cards if anyone would like some!

Update on Current State of Business

I currently write this as I shift into another chapter of life.  Sleep deprived and a little scatter brained… bear with my lack of wittiness and editing skills… I am the first to admit, I am not an author or a poet.

As many of you know - I have been taking a bit of a "cake break" (well not a total break… I did make a cake for my sister in law and another cake for my cousin)… First of all, I struggle to find the time to fulfill orders.  I have a pretty demanding full time job that doesn't always fit into the traditional 8AM - 5PM Monday through Friday schedule, and is often a 50 hour a week job.  I also have a 2 year old at home, and just had a baby in April this year.  On top of that, until recently, my husband frequently worked odd hours as well and I was often a pseudo single mom during my "non-working" hours.  To try and juggle my own side business in the midst of all of that was near impossible if I wanted to get even a blink of sleep in and keep my sanity. 

What most people don't realize is that the type of cakes I make are not just the traditional grocery store bakery cake - but are custom built works of art that take several, several hours - often times up to 36 hours of work.  Between a full time day job, a 2 year old and a new born baby, where am I suppose to find an additional 15-36 hours in a week to make a custom cake art piece?  And to also factor in shopping time for supplies and ingredients, baking time, clean up etc... - you get the point. 

Additionally, please also consider the sacrifices that taking on said orders means for me… Little to no family time, no weekends, no evenings to just "relax" (and I tell ya, after a long hard day at work and an evening filled with chasing around a rambunctious 2 year old and an overtired 3-4 month old - an hour to veg out in front of the tv with a glass of wine is all too often needed), no sleep, no social time with my girlfriends, extra-curricular work events are out of the question…

Yes, I want to build up my business.  No, I don't want to turn away work.  Yes, I want to build up my portfolio and keep striking at the iron while its hot so to speak… but at this time in my life, the sacrifice just wasn't worth it.  I was becoming a crabby, fat, depressed, introverted mom/wife/friend/daughter/sister/aunt/employee etc. 

Here is a little background on how Cakeaholic was born if you are not yet aware.  As soon as I saw the first custom created cake art I was obsessed.  Totally amazed that these finely crafted works of art were actually edible.  These cakes were often the center pieces or focal points of many people's celebrations to commiserate milestones of their lives.  Weddings, Anniversaries, Engagements, Births, Birthdays, Graduations, Baptisms, Retirements and so much more… When a little extra money fell into my lap - I thought I would play around with this craft a bit and see if it was something I could more than just admire from afar.  I caught on quick and before I could blink, the orders started rolling in.  What I was intending on just being a hobby I could have fun with for the time being, had become a business whether I was ready for it or not.  I quickly got my ducks in a row to keep it all legit, registered with the state, became kitchen certified/licensed, insured, put a website together and viola! Cakeaholic Cakery was officially born.  Word spread quick and only a few months after I ever touched fondant for the first time I had way more order inquiries than I could ever keep up on. 

I am not complaining here - this is a great "problem" to have, and I certainly recognize that.  And had I not yet been a mother when I started - or had I been a stay at home mom - or had I been a housewife - or had my kids been a little older… had the circumstances been different generally speaking, I would have taken the bull by the horns and fricken ran with it!  And, never once looked back.  I still dream and hope to one day have my own little boutique shop, with not only cakes and the like but also party planning supplies or packages - more to come on that at a later time.  My vision is still there… but I know that right now in life that is not where I am at, it's not where my family is at and we are just not ready for that yet.  Regardless, the business grew before I could catch my breath and I needed to catch my fricken breath.  The fun of it was being lost in the stress… I needed to not only take a break for my health and my family, but to re-evaluate to see if the passion was still there.

Guess what? It is.  And I am so happy to have a clear vision of where I want to take this… SOMEDAY.  Not today, and not tomorrow… but someday around the corner - when the stars align differently for our family. 

All of that being said, I am re-opening my doors for business but it will be a bit more restricted for the time being - and I say that very hesitantly because I don't want to hinder the possible growth of my business.  I simply want to ensure that I can give the orders I do take on, 110%, not a run-down, stressed out, insomniac version of myself who at their very best can give no more than say 60%… Just keep in mind the key words "For the Time Being".  As of August 1st, 2012 moving forward until further notice, I will only be taking on 1 wedding cake order per month (simply because wedding cake orders tend to be larger and require further delivery) and limited celebration orders outside of that per my schedule.  As of today, I am already booked until October [insert annoying smiley face here that I do still admittedly use quite often to convey tone] I have always and will always encourage early orders - this is especially true for wedding orders which are often placed 4-6 months in advance…

Thank you for those of you who have stood by with support, and a willingness to help as you saw me break down under the weight of life.  Thank you for those of you who didn't walk away when I hesitantly, apologetically turned down your orders.  And thank you for those of you who kept encouraging me even when I demanded a break.  Your support, encouragement and understanding is not and has never been lost on me.

That is it, just a little glance into my life in regards to the current state of Cakeaholic Cakery.  And to keep it fun, here are a couple of pictures of mi familia…

Peace and Love,

Tam a Lam

cakeaholiccakery.com

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Burnt Out.

So I have been avoiding writing this particular blog because I certainly do not want to put anyone off, make anyone feel regretful for recent orders placed or detour anyone from placing an order but man, I just need to get this off my chest. 

I am SICK-OF-CAKING.

there. I said it. and it can't be taken back. 

before I elaborate on that at I just want to clarify that I absolutely love making edible art and I am still completely obsessed with it, and I have no plans on quitting any time soon… additionally, the statement was not directed at any particular order or person in any way, shape or form.  I am tremendously thankful for all of the orders and people that come my way and thoroughly enjoy working with each and every one of you!

Now to explain my statement:
If you've read any of my previous blogs, its no secret that I feel a bit "busy". 

A typical day for me goes like this

• 5:00AM wake up to baby crying
• between 5 and 7:40AM juggle getting ready for work, packing my lunch, cleaning and taking care of baby
• 7:40AM frantically try to get out the door for work
• 8:00AM-5:00PM (give or take a half hour in either direction) work my day job, kicking ass and taking names [or something along those lines]
• 5:30PMish arrive home to baby immediately wanting me to hold and give him shameless undivided attention - to which I am more than happy to oblige.
• 5:35PM shovel dinner down our throats so that at
• 5:45PM Dan (husband) can rush out the door to teach music to his eager students or attend a rehearsal or gig [percussionist by trade]
• 6:00PM clean up dinner, dishes, baby and high chair while simultaneously running his bath
• 6:10PM bathtime for baby
• 6:30PM time to start the bed time routine with baby - brushing teeth, reading stories, closing all blinds etc
• 6:45-7:00PM put baby to bed
• 7:15PM assuming baby went to bed right away, begin working on cake stuff until I crash - which is anytime between 9PM and 10:30PM usually
• 10:30PM-5:00AM wake up 2-4 times throughout the night to a teething baby
• 5:00AM start it all again…

Anyone want to trade places? 
Yeah, didn't think so…

Point being, while I love to cake - I don't have the opportunity to do so until everything else through out the day or my life, has sucked any bit of energy I have out of me first…  All the while, I miss out most opportunities to have any sort of recreational time with friends or family. 

Bottom line: I am just burnt out and I feel like it is definitely beginning to reflect in my work.  What I don't think that most people really understand is simply the amount of time that goes into just one cake.  Think shopping for ingredients, shopping for supplies (boxes, board, ribbon etc), mixing, baking, cooling, filling, crumb coating and settling, making accents, coloring fondant, decorating and the worst - cleaning up after all of that.  Even on the simplest of cakes I'm talking about 8 hours of work minimum, while most cakes take at least double that.  Between baby, work, and home where the heck am I suppose to find an additional 16 hours or more in a week for caking?!?  Throw time out the window - how about energy? 

People often ask me how I find the time to juggle it all - my simple answer  is "I don't sleep".  But in all seriousness, I just get frantically stressed, emotionally distressed, embarrassed by less than par work and sick to death of caking.  I love it, and I don't want to lose that - I just wish I had the time I need to dedicate to it. 

Okay I am done ranting.  I am not asking for pity or an ego stroke.  I chose to do this, I opened the door for business and as such, I will continue and will continue with a grateful attitude.  Many people are not so blessed - and with that realization I will move forward.  Just needed a little vent break.

Thanks for listening (reading) my rant...

Tam a Lam

cakeaholiccakery.com

Spring/Early Summer

Whoa so it has been a while to say the least, I am on a much needed vacation this week so I thought I would finally get a blog out.  My husband has found it a bit humorous that even on our vacation, I have spent every day of it thus far, caking in some way or another.  What can I say?  I'm obsessed, totally addicted; hence the name "Cakeaholic".

To say I've been busy would be an understatement as well as a cop out.  So besides working 50+ hours a week at my day job, taking care of my baby/toddler, working near opposite hours as the hubby and all of life's other demands, here is what I've been up to Cakeaholic related since my last post:

Spiderman Cake for Grant's 4th Birthday!  The cake was supposed to be a 2 tier topsy turvy style cake… but it just wasn't cooperating with me.  Lucky for me, the cake was ordered by an ever understanding co-worker.  Spiderman scaling the side of the cake was my favorite detail, and the sharp edges fell right in line with the rigid style of the Spiderman illustrations.  From what I heard, the birthday boy couldn't be happier with his cake - and that is all that matters :)

 

The same day the Spiderman cake was due, we were celebrating Easter (it really has been awhile) and my sister's 31st birthday with my family.  My sister and I are night and day - so when I asked her what some of her "favorites" are for inspiration for her cake, and I got this list: 'Movie = Braveheart, Flowers = Sunflowers, Flavors = chocolate, strawberry, cream cheese, Colors = metallics mostly Blue, Hobby = Gardening, Wine = Shiraz…'.  Well that put me way out of my element and any pre-conceived design ideas in my head were thrown out the window.  I obviously wasn't going to dump all of that onto her small cake - so this is what I came up with.

A wine bottle (100% edible including the label "Sonya's Shiraz - Aged 31 Years"), with metallic blue accents and Sunflowers to compliment.  Everything on the cake is edible.  The cake itself was chocolate with raspberry filling.

Next up was a Wizard of Oz inspired 50th birthday cake, staring the Wicked Witch of the West, a Flying Monkey and a crystal Ball showing Dorothy.  I was really happy with the way the figures turned out but not so pleased with their fragility and needing to transport them.  The crystal ball gave me the opportunity to learn a new technique of creating gelatin bubbles (that's right, the crystal ball is edible!).  The cake itself was a from scratch carrot cake (Yum!) with nut, coconut and carrots of course, complemented with a crusting cream cheese frosting.  I love the Wizard of Oz movie, so this was a really fun cake to make!

Rosette Cake: This cake wasn't ordered but really just an excuse to try this technique that is becoming really popular.  I was lucky enough to enjoy this cake with my husband's family as sort of a Father's Day/Birthday cake - and discovered my recipe needed a bit of improvement.  I'm excited to make a variation of this design again for an up-coming wedding.

My next order was for baby shower cake pops, Mickey mouse silhouette.  These turned out so dang cute!  I especially love the long dramatic sticks.  If you remember, I made similar pops for my babe's first birthday party January 30th.  This time around however, I decided to have them displayed so the pop portion sits on the plate with the stick in the air.

Another Baby Shower inspired cake for my cousin + my old friend's little bundle of joy on the way - It's a Girl!  I had free reign on the design of this cake and I thought the birds/egg/nest idea would be cute.  I also played with the look of lace/ribbons, fabric inspired flowers and ruffles along the bottom.  Super girly but a fun cake to practice some techniques on.  All white cake; one being buttercream/caramel/pecan, one being buttercream with raspberry filling and finally, the top being buttercream-strawberry - almost like a sherbet.  Unfortunately, this cake didn't quite turn out as planned (do they ever?), nor did it travel well... but it tasted great!

Ice cream cake pops: another gift.  A coworker of mine had helped me out with a special project I had, and to show my appreciation (and as an excuse for me to try these super cute cake pops), I made him some red velvet cake pops/ice cream cones.  These were surprisingly easy to make a really fun summer time design!

And finally, I recently made a sweet 16 cake based on an Art Eats Bakery design, incorporating hot pink, zebra stripes and "bling".  The bottom tier is white cake with almond-buttercream filling, the middle tier is my "too much chocolate, chocolate cake" recipe filled with dark chocolate and covered with ganache and the top tier is red-velvet with cream cheese.  The client also decided she wanted coordinating zebra cake pops, and I wasn't sure how I was going to make those but I am really happy with the technique I came up with and the way they turned out.  The cake and cake pops looked great on the super cute hot pink/zebra themed candy buffet table her mom set up for her.  From the sounds of it, Hailey had a great 16th Birthday celebration.

Soon to come, a Welcoming citizenship cake, another Camera cake, a 100th birthday-house cake, a few wedding cakes and whatever else comes my way.  Having a lot of fun testing my ever work in progress of discovering better cake recipes. Additionally, after seeing this "hobby" of mine unexpectedly take off on me, I have added quite a few new cake flavors, filling flavors and altogether combinations to my menu (I still need to update my website) to keep ahead of the curve with the continuing orders that are making their way to me.

Thanks for reading - I'll try to keep up on this blogging thing better… I am amazed at people who can find the time to blog a couple of times a week…  maybe someday I'll be able to keep up :)

Until next time,

Tam a Lam

cakeaholiccakery.com

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Bridal Shower Cake

I was so excited when I finally had an opportunity to do this cake.  Amanda had asked me about making a small bridal shower cake – but she didn’t have any specific design ideas in mind.  I had this design floating around in my head for quite some time and it was a perfect occasion to make it.  Since Amanda left the creative juices up to me, I was so psyched to make this idea a reality.

This cake is inspired by many ruffle wedding dresses, and focuses on one of the most eye catching details on wedding dresses – the buttons on the back.  The peonies add that simple extra touch of color and elegance to make this cake not only ultra feminine but also a bit romantic.

The peonies were a first for me, and I struggled with them a bit.  All of the tutorials I could find required petal cutters, colored luster dust and wires.  None of which I had, and since I wasn’t going to make a profit on this cake, none of which I could justify purchasing.  So I had to wing it and use what I had to make the flower petals – and I am actually quite pleased with how they turned out.

Additionally, although the photos don’t really reflect it, all of the pearls and some of the ruffles “shimmered”.  

This cake was 4 six inch cakes stacked.  Every third “ruffle” intentionally looked a bit imperfect.

Now if only I had all the time and money in the world, I would practice making cakes inspired by fashion every-day ;)

Thanks for letting me take the reigns on this cake Amanda – I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did making it :)

On another note, took my Certification test this past week... not sure of the results yet, but wish me luck!

Cheers,

Tam a Lam

www.cakeaholiccakery.com

Fashionable Cake

I’ve been slacking here with this blogging thing… just been so crazy busy as usual finding it really hard to keep on top of everything, especially since sleep has suffered in attempt to get it all done.  This entry actually isn’t about any cake, cakes or cake products that I have made myself, but rather is simply a tribute to some cake designs that I adore…

From Left to Right white cake: sweetandsaucyshop.com (they also have super cute cake stands), 

middle cake: superfinebakery.com,

right most cake by my Canadian Cake Hero thecaketress.ca

I do want to have it stated that I love making cakes for other people and learning new techniques with each design request that comes my way.  That being said, if I had all the money and time in the world and could just design whatever type of cake my little heart desired – this is definitely the style that I would follow.  Some would call it “Shabby Chic”.  Others would describe these cakes as “Vintage Inspired Couture”… call it what you may, I call these stylish cakes gorgeous!  These cakes mimic dress designs, fabric flowers, ruffles and lace that are just so perfectly “imperfect” – swoooooooooooon…

This is part of the reason why I am looking forward to my next cake order so much.  A simple, small, romantic, girly cake with flowers, ruffles and buttons…  cake art inspired by fashion – love it! 

That’s all for now.  Still looking for a commercial kitchen space to rent out in  the Minneapolis area that won’t cost me an arm and a leg – so keep me posted if you have any leads.  

Thanks for reading, 

Tam a Lam  

Cakeaholiccakery.com

Baby Shower, Beer, Baby Shower

They go together right?!?

Beckie had contacted me through a referral looking for baby shower cupcakes.  Sounds easy enough, except that this was my first cupcake order… I read up on cupcake frosting techniques (woo-oo, woo-oo… hear that?  It’s the nerd alert siren), sent her some design ideas and asked her for a bit of direction.

She went the safe route and decided everyone would like chocolate flavored cakes.  It was a perfect opportunity for me to test out a new recipe… holy moly, I kid you not, this recipe turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to chocolate cake – YUUUUMMM.  I will never use another recipe for chocolate cake… soooooooo good.  This comes from the heart of a self-proclaimed chocoholic.  If this is the safe route, I will hardly ever venture off of it.

Then, were the decorations to make my cupcakes unique.  She wanted the designs to include soft blue, soft green, taupe and brown.  Beckie leaned towards designs that included booties, bibs, onesies and circles.  Being such a small order (only 14 cupcakes) I didn’t want to over-kill the design, so I made 2 different types of booties (so stinkin cute), 2 different types of similar “Baby” and “Boy” plaques and a few cupcakes with round coordinating “pearls”.  They were a hit!

Next up?  A last minute order for a pint of Guinness to feed 20.  I love this beer and I was so psyched to make a large one [cake], though as stated in my previous post, a bit apprehensive about the tall skinny design.  In a word – supports.  This cake has a large dowel going down the center, and several smaller dowels throughout, not to mention cake boards inside to help with the support system and height of the cake.  I decided to try wrapping this cake in fondant, as I really could not come up with a different strategy for covering it.  With help from my husband, I was surprised at how easy this actually was, especially after reading so many people suggest against this approach.

I then hand painted the whole thing, added the logo in fondant (the harp is actually shiny gold) and covered the top with the beer head.  The base board is also covered in fondant scored to look like wood then hand painted to get the wood grain effect.  Finally, I wasn’t sure where to put “happy birthday” on this cake and thought a napkin would be a clever/playful addition.  I added a “ring” on the napkin to mimic the look of a wet beverage on a bar napkin and jotted “Happy Birthday” on it.  I am so pleased with the outcome of this cake. 

I later found out this cake was for a judge in the largest county of our state… to me that is kind of a big deal… (I think I hear that siren again)

And I kept on going with an order I had been dreaming/drooling about for a few months – CHEESECAKE, CAKE POPS.  Imagine, cheesecake bites dipped in a chocolate shell and displayed on a cute stick.  Soooooooooo goood that I am currently wiping the drool off of my face as I reminisce about these.  These too were for a baby shower.  I had a lot of fun playing with the display of these (including jelly beans, glass flutes and white platters), as well as taste testing a few – quality control ;)  I was a bit worried that the blue was too bright (they seemed to get only darker with time, and I didn’t have time to re-do them as the cheesecake has to be frozen when you dip the balls) – but I think they ended up matching the invite perfectly…

Thanks so much for thinking of me for your special events Beckie, Rebecca and Libby – I had a lot of fun with each of your orders!

In other news, I’ve been getting contacted quite a bit from different businesses etc and I am working on finding a larger commercial kitchen to work out of, so if you have any connections to one in the Minneapolis area, please let me know.  I have also been working on getting some promotional materials together – such as business cards, stickers, brochures etc… you all have been keeping me so busy I haven’t had time to get this stuff together yet – shocking!  I know.  Finally, I am currently in the process of getting my official Certification in "Kitchen Management" - becoming all official and what not :)

Anyway, I am booking up fast and having so much fun with this “hobby” that I had no idea would take off the way it has.

Until next time,

Tam a Lam
Cakeaholiccakery.com