No Bridezillas Here!

I am very lucky.
Truly.
My Brides are Amazing.
They really are!
These past several months have been filled with some of the most jincredible consultations of my career. Today I am featuring one gracious bride in particular that I have jintended to blog about for quite some time.

Kris & I first met some 14 years ago when she was working for the area newspaper & wrote a piece about my wedding cakes. When she came in earlier this year she told me that the day of my interview was the day she'd decided I would make her wedding cake & the time was finally here!

Before we get to the wedding & groom's cake we must start with her shower cake. That's right! Her friends knew just what she wanted & they ordered it from me.


A tier of Organic Coconut Cake alternately layered with Fresh Lime Curd & a tier of Toasted Almond Cake filled with Strawberry.


Next up, the Wedding Cake on the left was designed to closely mimic a photo she brought in & the Groom's Cake on the right was a surprise for the groom- a cake clone of their doggie Coco!


Coco was all cake- no styrofoam parts here! She was covered with dog-hair-textured-fondant to make for an uber realistic pooch. I heard the groom was thrilled! Yay!



Ahhh... now for the pièce de résistance! Alternating tiers of delectably flavoured cakes covered with a very thin fondant to add that silky smooth exterior. With accents of pearl dust the entire piece shimmered outside the reception hall. Ooh's & Aahs were heard from afar!

Best of all, the bride was ecstatic! Double Yay! She said everything was exactly as she had pictured it in her mind. Just another happy customer; it's all in a jinDays work.

Jin's LUV Pink!

I'd like to start off by sending you to an Awesome website called
PartSelect.com
Not only do they sell appliance parts for any of your needs,
they also happen to be hosting a Contest with some seriously jinApproved prizes!
It's in support of breast cancer awareness & they're donating $$$ for each contest entry they receive. All you have to do to enter is paint a pink ribbon on one of your appliances, snap a piccie & email it (or blog it, or tweet it, or post it on FaceBook).

Enter the Contest Here

Guess what?
I'm Blogging it.
Ohhhh... jinny wants to win that pink Kitchen Aid!!!
YESYESYES I do!
So here's my Ribbon

Here's me & my support... errr... I mean me supporting the cause


Here's a Pink Bunny Cake I created recently just because I feel it ties in with the whole theme. ;-)


A brief note: I truly do apologize for my lack of blog responses of late. jinMom has been going through a very difficult time with her health the past few months & it looks to be getting more intense. Please send good vibes our way, especially the next two weeks which are critical. Thanks for continuing to read & comment- I miss you all terribly!

Summertime

Ahhh... the Hustle & Bustle of a Pastry Shoppe in the Summertime. I do so love the din it creates. Yet when I think of serene warm summer nights whence nearly undetectable breezes waft through my long locks I always hear this song jinside my head.



Turn up the volume, sit back, relax & enjoy her undeniably smooth seductive voice whilst you read about a few of my favourite creative Bloggers & savour a tiny slice of my most recent pastry creation.

TIKI CAKE

CIRCUS TENT CAKE

GRADUATION POM POM CAKE

SHOWER GIFT BOX CAKE

CHOCOLATEY DOTTED SHOWER CAKE

...and the Dardos Awards go to:

John Donald Carlucci- Yes, JDC gets top billing. Am I biased? No way! ;-) Writing, Graphic Arts, Sculpture & Jewelery just to name a few. Wait, what's this... I think it's a film too!

Ruela- The most amazing talent I [n]ever met. If Portugal wasn't so far away I'd be at EVERY show his art is displayed in! I really would- the screen image isn't enough, I want to reach out & touch the pieces he creates!

Jared R. Byer- A brilliant photographer who sees beauty everywhere he looks. He is kind enough to share it with the rest of us on a daily basis. Peruse & enjoy.

Ted Warnell- aka /t. of Canada. I don't visit his cyberspace nearly as much as I'd like to considering each code poem of his is so very creative. An amazing talent. Do spend time playing over at his place, you won't be disappointed!

Rich of G3T FILMS- Known the world over for his incredibly entertaining short films. Known by me as a super cool human being with above average intelligence & a dreamy Aussie accent.

Do you play Chess? No, but I eat the Pieces!

Really, I don't think I can say much about this creation.
Except maybe for anyone whom isn't familiar with my anal-retentiveness.
(I am, after all, a textbook Virgo people!)
Still, the only thing I'd say to them would be:

"Of course those chess pieces and that chess board are NOT plastic! Sheesh! What kind of Pastry Chef do you take me for? I cast those myjinself out of delicious Imported Swiss Dark and White Chocolate then finished them by hand."

BEST. WEEKEND. EVER!

I LOVE my job.
I mean...
I
REALLY REALLY REALLY
(REALLY!)
Love my Job.

I Love my Customers too.
Well, 499 out of every 500 or so. ;-)
(Metaphorically speaking of course... I'm into cake art, I'm not a cake Tart! mostly)

My Weekend was Perfection.
This jin was soooo busy.
I had 2.5 hours of sleep Thursday eve
and 1.5 hours of sleep Friday eve
then worked until 8PM on Saturday
and I can still honestly say
I LOVE my job.
How effing awesome is that?!

You just need to look
(well, you need to taste too, but I can't send it thru the monitor yet)
so...
sit back
relax
pull an Al Bundy
and stick your hand in your pants if that's your thang
take a deep breath
and click thru these
pieces of jin

Time to Play"What the Hell is That?!!?"The Answer Revealed

Well, well, well.....
Most of you guessed it!

I tried to trick you.

The Photo I showed you was not right side up.


Here.....
Let me turn it around.

Oopsy!
That's still the wrong way!


Third time's a charm.

That's better!

This was a HUGE cake!
Funny how some of you thought it was small scale.
(Tricky photo angle! ;-)
The gold board was a whopping
1.5 Feet x 2.5 Feet!
The cake was 2 layers high.
Red Velvet Cake w/ Raspberry Filling.
French Vanilla Buttercream Frosting & Deco.

Vanilla Buttercream Olive anyone?

Jin Loves *Unique* Requests

*Unique* Request #1
"jin, can you create a Vegan Wedding Cake for us?"

The top tier was created without any animal products what-so-ever, expressly for the groom and the vegan guests. Each tier was the same flavour: Almond Cake filled with Organic Strawberry Preserves. YUM!

What a sweet couple they were! An absolute pleasure to do business with. I would truly love more vegan orders.....it makes a jin feel good to create them.

Proof that everything happens for a reason (you just don't always know why... right away). Even on a busy weekend I was able to work this cake order in, thankfully because of the one that was canceled.

*Unique* Request #2

"jin, I'd like several different flavoured small cakes for a baby shower. Can you create something unique for me?"

Alternating White Chocolate & Chocolate Cakes filled with Lemon Curd, Dark Sweet Cherry Buttercream & Raspberry Buttercream.

Sometimes a jin forgets how much time is appropriate for decorating. (Er, shall I say the $$$ per hour ratio.) But, it turned out so damn cute...I couldn't help myself!

Look at the itty bitty baby booties! Hee!

I know some of you aren't into kids. No problem... I could do stacked condom boxes, too!

*Unique* Request #3

"jin, I need 2 gift baskets; one for children & one for adults. They prefer Organic foods & healthier, heartier, breakfast-type items. Can you include some nicely decorated personalized cookies for the kids?"

The adult basket was filled with Mini Banana Walnut Spice Bundt Cakes, Muffins with tiny Maine Blueberries & Organic Apples, Organic Zucchini Carrot Quinoa Muffins, a few Scones & some Cappuccino Brownies for any chocolate lovers.

There were also some of these tucked inside. OMG were they delish! I had to sample them. *jingrin*

Both baskets had a few of these in as well. Very simple yet so satisfying!

The kids basket was topped off with several all natural fruit leathers, a box of mini whole wheat bunny crackers & the personalized cookies.

The cookies were approximately 4" x 4" each. FYI- they are also suitable for adult noshing. *WINK*