This past weekend is one that we’ve been looking forward to for the past year – we were hired to cater goodies for 500 or so people at a convention in Chicago. The people that run it are awesome, really know how to throw a party.. and the convention goers are also cool, for the most part. (A few notable exceptions, but I won’t bother getting into that here!)
It was also the weekend of my very first cake decorating competition, and I was very much looking forward to that – since APRIL. Had it all planned out, we worked the logistics out down to the last minute, and altered our weekend plan to be able to pull both off. This meant that, although we were serving goodies Saturday night in Chicago, we had to be back in Minneapolis by 1pm ish on Sunday… which meant meticulous attention to sleep from Thurs-Saturday, forgoing a lot of partying, and some minor abuse of (legal) stimulants. Maybe a lot of abuse. LOL.
Anyway, we woke up early, early Sunday morning and hit the road at an ungodly hour. We strategized, visualized, and I got some rest on the way.. until things got weird in the middle of Wisconsin.
It started innocently enough.. I noticed that the back window of our delivery van looked foggy. Not that IT was actually foggy, but that the air was foggy behind it. There was no fog, but for some reason, I didn’t give it too much thought. A few mins later, hubby asked if the engine was racing, but I didn’t hear it. I mentioned the weird foggy thing, looked back, and
The initial idea was that the transmission blew – there was transmission fluid everywhere. He hitchhiked to the nearest town to see about buying transmission fluid, in the hopes that we could get as far as a gas station, where he could get a better look. I started calling around hopelessly, trying to figure out a way to get to the competition.. unfortunately, anyone we knew that would be coming back from Chicago were a few hours behind us
After a few hours of working on it, hubby managed to fix it. Something in the radiator had burst, so he had to replace it. on the road, with none of his tools. Sigh. At least we weren’t stranded long term. We ended up arriving at the Mall of America JUST in time to see the awards presentation. Oh, AND I was completely snubbed by a so-called friend of mine, which just capped the adventure off perfectly, you know? These are the days of our cakes…
On the upside, we did have a wild time at the convention. Made a lot of friends, impressed a few key people, and were made to feel like utter Rock Stars. We debuted a new flavor of cake – Milk Chocolate Cardamom-Pear upside down cake, which went over extremely well… and the event chairperson booked us on the spot for next year. Always a good thing.
So, C.A.M… you guys rock! The great memories from this weekend are almost enough to smooth over the agony of defeat.. not at the hands of another cake designer.. but our delivery van. Sigh.
Hopefully next year, the convention will be on a different weekend than the competition.
It was the best of times.. it was the worst of times… Seriously.
the window was suddenly soaking wet. It wasn’t raining or anything. Hubby freaked, made me pull over.. and that was the beginning of the end of our competition hopes.
Archive for October, 2008
What a weekend!
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
This is the base for all of our delicious frostings… Light, yet rich and soo creamy!
5 egg whites
1 cup granulated (NOT powdered!) sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Mix egg whites and sugar in a *clean* metal mixing bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water on your stovetop. Whisk occasionally until it hits 160 degrees.
Move egg mixture to your stand mixer and whip on high (using the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks form, and mxture is relatively cool. While waiting, cut up the butter into chunks.
When Meringue has reached the stiff peaks stage, switch to low speed and add the butter a chunk at a time. Add vanilla.
Once vanilla and butter is incorporated into the mix, turn speed back up to high and whip until you have a smooth buttercream. It will go through some weird stages before this point – soupy, maybe curdled. Don’t worry! It will come together!
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
5 egg whites
1 cup granulated (NOT powdered!) sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate (chips or otherwise), melted and cooled slightly – not hardened.
Mix egg whites and sugar in a *clean* metal mixing bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water on your stovetop. Whisk occasionally until it hits 160 degrees.
Move egg mixture to your stand mixer and whip on high (using the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks form, and mxture is relatively cool. While waiting, cut up the butter into chunks.
When Meringue has reached the stiff peaks stage, switch to low speed and add the butter a chunk at a time. Add vanilla.
Once vanilla and butter is incorporated into the mix, turn speed back up to high and whip until you have a smooth buttercream. It will go through some weird stages before this point – soupy, maybe curdled. Don’t worry! It will come together!
Once frosting is ready, turn speed back down to low. Making sure that the melted chocolate is no longer hot, slowly add it to the mixing bowl, pouring down the side of the bowl. Once all of the chocolate is in the bowl, you can speed up the mixer a little until it is all incorporated, and smooth.
Cocoa Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
This is another version of chocolate frosting, for those who don’t want to fuss with melted chocolate!
5 egg whites
1 cup granulated (NOT powdered!) sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2-5+ Tbsp cocoa powder (Good cocoa, preferably!)
Mix egg whites and sugar in a *clean* metal mixing bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water on your stovetop. Whisk occasionally until it hits 160 degrees.
Move egg mixture to your stand mixer and whip on high (using the whisk attachment) until stiff peaks form, and mxture is relatively cool. While waiting, cut up the butter into chunks.
When Meringue has reached the stiff peaks stage, switch to low speed and add the butter a chunk at a time. Add vanilla and 2 Tbsp cocoa powder.
Once vanilla and butter is incorporated into the mix, turn speed back up to high and whip until you have a smooth buttercream. It will go through some weird stages before this point – soupy, maybe curdled. Don’t worry! It will come together!
Taste your frosting, and add more cocoa if desired.
