Sunday, April 09, 2006

The Advent of the Piece de Resistance


I'm an Earth sign, therefore, I am as practical as they come. Practicality suggests creating the cake as a 'Solid Structure', so that one need not worry about transit. Very few 'bakers' adopt this policy because it is more labour intensive & raises the end cost slightly. But, if you find a true artisan, they wouldn't do it any other way. I'm that artisan & this is how I do it. Pay attention, a quiz follows which comprises half of your grade. (The other half is determined by how much you kiss up to your instructor.) ;-)



The above photo is what we call a stacked cake. Four tiers stacked one on top of another. This type of cake is delivered just as you see it, completely assembled, minus the cake topper. Getting it there in one piece is not a problem, that is, as long as you construct it like this:



See? Super Structure.
*Thumbs Up!*
That cake is not going anywhere, except into the back of my:

"FUNKY DELIVERY xB"
(Easy on the emissions; 35 mpg; flat non-slip surface in the back; GR8 stereo which seems to constantly BLAST out Coldplay & it's cute, too!)


How do I get this variety to their destination?


These are taken unassembled. Each tier is set flat in the back of my xB, then stacked on the cake table, at the reception hall. By the way, I deliver EVERY SINGLE wedding cake that I make. I have NEVER dropped one & I NEVER will. It's not a question, it's simply a state of mind. PERIOD. Repeat after me: CON-FI-DENCE, alright! There you go! (Side note: other bakers sometimes hire delivery men for about $7.00/hour. Yeah, like they give a shit about your cake for 7 bucks. Oh, the stories I have heard.....)

Now, let's review what knowledge we have accumulated today:
1) Forget the rest, because my cake's the best &
2) Always refer to rule number one.

Class Dismissed!

13 Responses to “The Advent of the Piece de Resistance”

Cherry! said...

Saw you on Poly's blog. Then I saw your profile and that you're a fellow virgo! yay!

Wow! I can't believethat you make wedding cakes. That's awesome! How long have you been doing it?

wallycrawler said...

Love da cake but if ya keep buy'n non-American cars ya can kiss your business good-bye . But a Saturn Vue . 40mpgs , safer , keeps the people working .

Unknown said...

That is quality craftsmanship.
Funny thing, my friends with a porshe or a Farrarah, never get the why don't you buy American.
There are of course American cars, not made in the U.S. and foreign cars that are.
Maybe you will have to do a cooking school blog.

jin said...

cherry: Wow! We even resemble each other a bit. Virgos are the best, don't you agree?! MMmmm, Italy...have a Tira Misu & an Espresso for me?
In biz for 13 years this month. Time flies...

wallycrawler: The virgo in me is coming out & wants to be reallllly bitchy right now, but, since you started with a compliment, I'm going to try to be nice.
1) FYI - I thouroughly checked out the Saturn Vues (among several other vehicles, both American & Foreign) before I made my decision.
2) The Vue certainly DOES NOT get 40 mpg...they are working on a 'mild hybrid' (Green Line), which has not yet even been released & it still only gets 29.7 mpg. Your standard Vue, 4 cylinder, gets 25.0 mpg.
3) The Vues tagline is, "Powerful, Gear friendly & built for towing." I have never, & will never, have a need for towing, so why would I purchase an SUV?
4) My foremost concern is the environment. I feel good about what I drive. (BTW - if I don't have to deliver, I walk or ride my bicycle.) I feel much better about what my Toyota spits out into the atmosphere, than what a Vue would.
5) Did you know that if you purchase an American made vehicle that you are never to buy one that was assembled on a Monday or a Friday? If purchased on these days you will have a higher chance of receiving a 'lemon'. On Monday's some workers can be said to have a hangover & on Friday's they can't wait to get out of work & get to the bar. Studies have been done to show this happens more often with the US made cars & very seldom with the foreign. It's mighty simple. They have a better work ethic than us.
6) SUV's are NOT safer. Period. Personally, I don't need a big vehicle to make me feel like a tough bitch.
7) In my Scion, no animals were murdered for the upholstry. No leather at all. Not even the steering wheel, & that, dear sir, allows me to sleep peacefully at night.

itsreallysmall: lol Awesome comment about cars, you are 100% correct.
Would you be my first student? :-)

Unknown said...

Where do I sign up?
I am all about being the teachers pet.

I love your cakes and your cake car. It's cool. So what's your town like? Is everyone just so glad to have such a great bakery in their town? Don't they feel safer?! Aren't all the boys in love with you?

Hey I'm a Virgo too! No wonder I'm under your pastry spell.

jin said...

itsreallysmall: Teachers pet, excellent, I wouldn't want you to bring me an apple, though...I'd need chocolates, LOTS of them!!! :-P

evi: Thank you!! *Am laughing at all your cute questions!* :-D
I have quite a few very steady regular customers.
Our town has a population of roughly 35,000.
I try to do the math by saying: at least half of our population do their own baking, half of what's left don't eat sweets, half of that can't afford the extra cost & half of that have bad taste *LOL*, then divide that by 4 & you have aproximately the number of my local customers. In other words, I've got a fantastic reputation & I think I should have 3x as many customers as I do. Or is that just my Virgoan rationalizing? lol
Maybe the town would feel safer if I drove a big SUV. *Giggles*
Are all the boys in love with me? Heehee...I would love the attention but I think my husband would be pretty upset! :-)
We have very few male customers. Wives will come in & say their husband sent them, though. Go figure?!

Virgo Chicks Rule!!!

Tiffanie said...

Oh Jin, you really brighten my days. Thanks for the class. If I ever get married again, you'll put on YOUR red slippers and deliver a cake to the land of oz, right?

Unknown said...

How about chocolates shaped like apples?

flatlander said...

It looks as though the secret to success when it comes to confections is similar to stand-up comedy: good delivery.

Thanks for the heads-up with the Fakiecomments. It should be working now.

Go virgos!

jin said...

tiffanie: Aww, that's really sweet to say! :-)
Your Prince Charming is out there, somewhere, & if I can do your cake, I will. Hey, maybe your soulmate already lives in WI & he'll ask you to move here & you'll be able to say, "I know this great Pastry Shoppe".....

itsreallysmall: MMmmm...that will do just fine! :-P

flatlander: Don't you know it!
I was worried the aliens were eating your comments.
Happy belated birthday, too! It seems I just started reading after that. :-)

Unknown said...

I think we will have to make an agreement, no more of my story until I get some more cake.

Word verification:
how do I fixcobp