The Village Cake Lady

CTV Morning Live - Ottawa

2011-10-28T12:57:00.001-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to do a morning cake show in Ottawa at CTV Morning Live. What a riot! Great bunch of people in front of & behind the camera.

It's an early morning go for sure! Hard for a night-owl like me.

There were 3 cake decorators from the Ottawa area paired with hosts to create a cake based on them. My host was Lianne Laing. She gave me a large list of things about her that I could incorporate into my cake and this is what I came up with.

Each of us had to demo 3 times during the show before the final reveal. Here are some of the videos posted on YouTube.

CTV 1st demo

CTV 2nd demo

Final Reveal

From start (baking) to finish (TV reveal) under 12 hours ...... WHOA!!!

Here are some candid shots from the studio.
Lianne & myself

The behind the scenes crew. Could not have done it without the team work!!

All the decorators & the cakes with hosts Kurt Stoodley & Lianne Laing

I had a great time. It was lots of fun. Although I think the early morning TV stuff is best left to those who do it on a regular basis!!! HA HA HA

Thanks CTV Ottawa Morning Live for inviting me to participate!!!

MORE THAN JUST CAKE

2011-10-06T13:15:00.000-04:00

I am Thrilled to be participating in the More Than Just Cake Event to raise money for Ronald McDonald House!!

Chelsea & George's Wedding Cake

2011-07-14T12:15:00.003-04:00

This fabulous feature wedding hits the news stands today in

The Ottawa Wedding Magazine.

I was thrilled to be been part of the celebration!

This is how it starts ....

A smidgen of the work....

The end result....

The front view....

Over 3 1/2 feet tall !
... Yes I needed a ladder to put that top tier on!
Pick up a copy of the magazine to see all the beautiful wedding details!

Some of my products featured on A-Channel today.

2011-04-21T21:37:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Sherrie Mae Guthrie of karmababy.blogspot
I was a feature on A-Channel Ottawa this morning.
You can view the segment (VCL at 1:45) here:

Here are the items featured on today's show.

Polka Dot Pastel Bunny Vanilla Cookies

Vanilla Cardamom Cupcakes (My new fav!)

Cupcake decor was designed by my daughter Carli WHOOT!

Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Chocolate Raspberry Chambord Cake Truffles

Great Show today!!!

Volunteer Appreciation Sally Ann Style

2011-04-17T16:18:00.000-04:00

Here's a recent cake I did for the Salvation Army's volunteer appreciation dinner in Kemptville over the weekend. With a couple of the event's organizers.

Smiles all around!

The Ottawa Citizen's Wedding Day Planner

2011-04-17T16:12:00.023-04:00

Great article about cake and The Village Cake Lady.

Wedding Day Planner

Gorgeous pictures. Full of information & venders.
A must have!!
Very handy wedding planner!!

Custom Cookies

2011-01-15T16:49:00.000-05:00

Just before Christmas I had an interesting order. Every cookie had special meaning for the couple. Their initials in a heart. Lips on a light house as that was where there first kiss was. Can you guess why there is a blindfold on the D8? I think my fav cookie was the fries! I'm not sure I could actually eat the brain cookie LOL.

Buddy Valastro in Ottawa

2011-01-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

Buddy brought his show to the National Arts Centre on Sunday January 9, 2011.
What a hoot!! It was very entertaining, touching at times, hilarious at others. He starts off with the T-Shirt cannon.

He involves the audience in his show and THAT is something to see! I wanted to leap off the balcony seat and run to the stage HE HE.

The guys decorating cupcakes. (The women did too but my pics did not turn out)

The kids I think had a blast!

The macho men made roses.

Buddy made a rose blind folded to show the men how easy it was, LOL.

Buddy then fixes the guy's cupcakes LOL

This one is a true Sens fan!!!

GO SENS GO!!!

After the show Buddy came to the foyer and signed autographs. This was as close as we got, behind him on the stairs. The line up was huge. We were happy with our shout out from above and the big smile we got!

I brought myself home a T-Shirt and smile :~)

What a great time it was!!!

Ottawa loves you Buddy!!!

Food Network Challenge has asked for an audition tape!!

2011-01-05T00:58:00.003-05:00

WHOOT!!!

So here it is with my partner in crime, Lorrie Gauthier of Eat Dessert First

Footage by Freedomphotography.ca

Editing by MarkMadeThis.com

Photo Credit - MartinPhotography.ca

I have nothing more to say other than have a good laugh we certainly did!!

I WON!!! The 2010 Gingerbread House Championship at Upper Canada Village

2010-12-04T11:28:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending & entering the competition at Upper Canada Village. What a hoot!!! I took home the grand prize of $1500 & a weekend away at The Guest House Cabin with fabulous food from Willard's Hotel, The Antiques Tearoom and Upper Canada Cookhouse plus 18 holes of golf with a cart at Upper Canada Golf Course. What a thrill! I can't wait to enjoy this weekend away!
Oh yes and most importantly Bragging Rights!!! LOL

Here is my Grand Prize winning piece.

Here are the pictures I do have of the entry houses from the competition.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Here is my friend Lorrie Gauthier's of Eat Dessert First entry.
Her Hansel & Gretal cottage had this amazing poured sugar bay window in front with this perfectly laid out roof top. And I love the little green army men piled up to make a tree!!!

This one mesmerized me.

I love the roof line & the candy lights glittered with the Christmas lights. I would love a cabin like this!

This here was a miniature house. The skater on the pond was 3/4 of an inch tall at best. The whole house might have been 10 inches long.

Why I don't do Bridal Shows

2010-11-05T14:07:00.002-04:00

I came across a blog post that explains a lot of how I feel. There are many more reasons but I thought this article was just so well written I had to share. And yes I did add a comment at the end of this post. That I am attaching here as well.

Life in Weddings (click Life in Weddings to read blog)

THANK YOU!!! Shayna Walker & Kara Buntin for this post. I am so hoping more show operators read this. I too have given up presenting at shows. Not that I have ever done a huge show as the costs involved are extremely prohibitive in my area ($1500+ just for space). I never did progress beyond the smaller more intimate shows where there was only one professional participant from each speciality niche allowed. I loved doing these shows. However there is one more consideration slightly touched on here that needs to be expanded upon. This is the time/income lost to actually take that week off to accomplish the display cakes and attend the show. For myself, when I add up the cost, $1500 for space, $500(approx.) for booth display, $500 in product for 2000 people AND $1000-$1500 to lost revenue, this $4000 out of pocket is the reason I won't do these shows. This is $4000 that can go towards direct marketing with bridal magazines or internet advertising that is in circulation much longer than one weekend. In fact that could be up to 4 years worth of ads for the cost of one show. Again thank you for this posting, I wish more people understood.

Canadian Cake Decorators Guild

2010-11-03T09:38:00.000-04:00

NEW OTTAWA CHAPTER
Why not check it out!

The Ottawa Chapter will be having their first CCDG meeting on Tuesday November 23 at 7:30 pm.
The meeting will be held at 617 Bank St. (The Flour Shoppe).
This first meeting will be an "open house" so all members are invited. After the first meeting you will need to be a privileged member to attend.

Capitol Cupcake Camp

2010-09-27T02:19:00.006-04:00

SUGAR HIGH!!!

What a great day over $6000 was raised for for Women Alive and Youth Services by Ottawa's Capitol Cupcake Camp

I took a million pics ... ok not a million but I'm still up at past 2am posting pictures mostly cause I'm still so full of sugar I can hear my veins screaming for a chelation LOL.

So I have different categories of pictures I took: the cupcakes themselves, bakers, volunteers, judges, eaters/crowds. Hopefully I will post them in that order.

First is my cupcakes. Been so busy that there was no time for fancy decorating :~( They were gone in a flash, I had some folks come back for seconds and one lovely lady told me they were the best cupcakes she had ever tasted.... my newest bestest friend ever LOL. Was awesome to see couples that I have previously done their weddings and my blogger friend Smoothie and her hubby!!

My stash of goodies to try

Okay now here comes the sugar load of cupcake pics in not particular order.

Some of the very happy bakers whom without this event would....have no cupcakes !!

Do you not love this business logo tunic?

Some pretty boxes were floating around.

Volunteers were easy to spot in these pretty pink Tees.

No volunteers, no event. They had things running just peachy all the time, THANKS!

The judges doing their thing...... I know I could not have done it!!!

The event sold out. There were lots of people.

I found them parked on the floor eating.

Priceless!!!

And then I made a point of Meeting Ottawa's Premier Executive Chef of The NAC I know I'm a camera hound but I love to meet people with the same type of passion for what they do, that I have for cake!!!

I think a great time was had by all and I can't wait for next years event!!!

Cupcakes in the Capitol

2010-09-23T16:14:00.017-04:00

I can't wait till this Sunday the 26th of September!! Cupcake Camp is at Ottawa's City Hall this Sunday
Bakers arrive at 11:30 am; Doors open to tasters at 1pm

Have you got your tickets? They are going fast!!!

http://cupcakecamp.eventbrite.com/

You can find them on Facebook & Twitter too
Cupcake Facebook
Cupcake Twitter

The Borg Cube Ship

2010-07-28T01:07:00.000-04:00

Every now and then a cake order comes along that can make me squeal very unprofessionally. This for me was THAT cake!!!
Contacted by the groom only, as a surprise wedding cake for the Trekkie bride. (I hear the Officiant also came as a Vulcan!)

I recently had the opportunity to take a class with Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes to learn a little chocolate know how. This came in VERY handy doing this cake. The entire outer 'hull' is chocolate.
So I thought I would show a few process photos of this cake.

Here is a double stacked square cake. There is a centre board with doweling for supports. Two chocolate panels have been attached.

Here the cube is completely panelled ready for the outer attachments.

The first panel of chocolate shapes have been adhered. This I am finding out is VERY time consuming! It takes many many little trinkets to cover a panel.

The entire cube has now been decored. A depression was made where the 'Sphere Ship' docks. The Sphere is rice crispy treats on a dowel inserted deep into the centre of the depression.

Here is a close up of a panel that has been airbrushed. Blue & green shimmer colours had been added first in spots. Then the entire Borg Cube was airbrushed black. A final coat of shimmer was added last.

Some 'Noise Maker Cans' were hung from the back of the ship. They were made from rice crispy treats.

The "Just Married" sign was hung on the Sphere.

The final docking port of the Borg Cube wedding cake. (At the venue)
Congratulations Denny & Enjoli !!!

Julien's Wish

2010-07-12T17:35:00.000-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to create a cake for a special person. It was a last minute squeeze that I couldn't refuse. Beverly Papousek of Make A Wish in Ottawa called for a cake. Not just any cake but a "John Deere tm" cake for a young man named Julien. Ideas were discussed and agreed upon. But you know me I NEVER listen!!! It's a Wish Cake... I can't just make any cake....3D cake pops into my head. YES that's it!
So all night it was going to be... after I cancelled & rescheduled with some very understanding clients (Thanks Christine and Kevin!)

So here's the cake.

Bev and her husband Mark arrived to pick up the cake and WHOOT wouldn't you know it (Hmmm that voice is WAY too familiar), I have my first local celebrity in my cake kitchen... and it's a mess, and how I look like h*ll. Oh well it's all about the cake, not the kitchen or me LOL.

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Make A Wish for allowing me to participate in Julien's wish. I hope it made his day just a little more fun. I know it made my week!!!

Julien and his cake:

Jen Dontz comes to Canada!

2010-07-05T21:12:00.004-04:00

And right here in the Ottawa Valley!!! Yes it is unheard of for a TLC celebrity to visit our neck of the woods. But she came at the request of Lorrie Gauthier

Jennifer is owner of Sugar Delights in Manistee, Michigan, USA. Jen is an accomplished sugar artist that has been featured in many magazines and competed on TLC's Ultimate Cake Off among other things. Jen is an ICES approved teacher.

You might ask why am I taking classes after so many years in the cake business? Well because it is FUN! It is great to meet other sugar artists and interact. It is also good for the brain to stay on top of new techniques.

Seeing as Jen was a US citizen and we were so close to Canada Day up here, I treated Jen to a Canadian Care Package. There was so much to choose from this time of year with store shelves filled to the brim with Red & White. Her is Jen sporting here new hat & showing off some of her gifts:

We learned about new sugar tools on the market and the techniques Jen uses to produce her gorgeous sugar flowers. Here is Jen hard at work:

Here are some of the sugar flowers I created in class.

And lastly (But certainly not least) The class of really great people!!!

THANKS JEN for coming to our little neck of the woods!!!

What about this cake?

2010-04-09T11:13:00.006-04:00

I am often asked about certain cakes. How much it serves or how much it costs. So I thought I would explain the 3 cakes I am asked about the most.

The Pretty Box Cake with the bow on top.

This cake, for example: if the tiers of this cake were to start with a 10 inch square on the bottom and ascend to a 4 inch cake on top, it would serve 82 people. Or at least that is how many servings I gauge this cake will feed. You can start with a 12 inch or 14 inch and even add another layer for a larger serving number. Or reduce by a layer for less. Now the 82 serving cake would start at $626.00 and can range to $872.00 depending on flavours chosen. *

This next cake is one that I use to embellish my web pages.
I call it The Calla Illusion Stem Cake.

It can be made to serve 56, 69, 86 or 105. In it’s petite size, 56 servings, this cake’s cost starts at $528.00 and can range to $724.00 depending on the flavours chosen. It also has an acrylic stand inside the cake that requires a deposit of $125.00, which is refunded when the stand is returned. *

This last cake has a Rose Ball and Cascading Blossoms.

This beautiful cake can serve 60, 75 or 94 without changing the ‘look’ too much. More servings would require additional tiers being added. Depending on flavours chosen this cake is would start at $762.50 and range to $1025.00 for a 75 serving cake. *

*(These cakes are all priced with 2010 prices and subject to change)

I gotta ask why?

2010-04-08T15:00:00.003-04:00

I'm a little off cake topic here but I just had to!

This past Easter weekend we took our daughter to an annual Easter hunt with friends. They have fair sized piece of property with a few acres to hide goodies on. The potluck food was outstanding! We indulged in frittata, curried chicken (OMG!!!), scalloped & roasted potatoes a berry tart I recently found a recipe for in this month's More Magazine and so much more.

Now after the kids are done hunting we go and check to see what they missed. We send them out again with some hints and see if they can find the rest. After the kids quit, all chocolate is fair game!!! I found this Ciocori Egg (Distributed by Crown Sales (1338432 Ontario Ltd.)) that the munchkins missed. I brought it to the eats table to enjoy a little chocolate and now here's the thing I gotta ask WTH were they thinking?!!!

Take a look at the prize........it's a plastic shot glass with glass charms. Yes like those things you put on your wine glass at a party to identify your beverage container. Now seriously! Who puts a shot glass in a child's Easter egg????
Upon reading the label the first line does say "TOY NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN..." .... maybe they should have left it at that!!

AMAZING WEEKEND !!!

2010-04-05T22:04:00.007-04:00

I (we) recently had the opportunity to travel to The Toronto area for celebrity cake classes at FlourConfections. The award winning Food Network star Mike McCarey of Mike’s Amazing Cakes, was the celeb of the day (2 days + really)

Now I didn’t make this journey alone. I have been conversing with another local cake maker/teacher over the internet but we made plans together without having really met each other face to face and off we went on our trek to the “Big Smoke”

On arrival my roomy Lorrie was keeping updates on her FB for her hubby and others too follow.

Me I was wired for sound with the impending excitement!!!

First order was to scope out the room. Me being the germ-a-phoebe that I am. Lysol wipes the entire room. Next is check the sleeping arrangements. As I peel back the bedding it becomes apparent that the sheets were NOT changed EWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
A little chat with the front desk and a clean set of sheets later. (I did not expect to have to change my own sheets in a Hotel!!!!)

So out to dinner we went. All is as it usually is. I no sooner tell my new roomy that I seem to be a magnet for restaurant screw ups and the waitress returns to tell me what I asked for in not available. We laugh!!! Another item is forgotten by the waitress before our meal ends, but I have become so accustomed to these things it's now like water off a ducks back for me…. But it is still funny when you wait for it to happen.

We then make a pit stop at the LCBO for a 4 pack of Margarita Ice. I brought some homemade salsa to enjoy and a Marg goes awesome with it!!! Unfortunately there was none on the shelf. But hey the sign in the window say’s “Next closest store 705 Kingston Rd E.” Well that sign is just a cruel joke! We pump it into the GPS and arrive at….. a laneway to an empty field, no building at all, hmmmmmm (insert much more laughter here). It is not looking good for acquiring any Margs here !!! LOL So off to the next LCBO only to find they don’t have any either. Now you would think in a major metropolis like the greater Toronto area it would not be so difficult to find a decent Marg! Alas I must decide not to drive all over hells half acre and just settle for a bad substitute. LCBO you disappoint me!

Back to the room for a nightcap and a not so good nights sleep (far too much excitement rattling around in my head waiting for class). Morning arrives and when we open the curtains ACCKKK!!!

Oh Please No!!! Don’t let this be true! Right outside our window is 2 Orkin trucks. Man could it get any worse? Hopefully it is NOT what we think it is??? A closer look reveals…..

an entire fleet…….. just here for a meeting. But man my heart started to race there for a minute!!! HA HA HA

Mr. McCarey my brain is full, may I be excused?

Okay so now for the good stuff. Being in the same room with your idol is just…..OMG I’m lost for words…… This turned out to be the most fun class I have ever taken, anywhere at any time (yes that includes HVAC classes and being the only girl!!) Seriously how can spending 2 days in a class that smells like chocolate, tastes like chocolate and is all about chocolate NOT be fun??? Especially when it is being taught by none other than Mike McCarey,

The Encyclopedia Britannica of chocolate modeling.

His assistant (also named Mike) is full of energy and eager to help in anyway possible and absolutely hilarious to watch. I laughed so hard through this class my abs hurt!

A lot of technical stuff was touched on and if you listened closely all the time there was a constant barrage of info coming at you. I’m not sure chocolate will be my forte (my hands are very warm) but it certainly will come in handy with a few projects coming up this summer.

I really can’t thank Mike enough for sharing the way he did. Seeing some of his work close up and getting full explanations of how some intricate details were done, was just the bestest EVER!!! There really is nothing like learning from a master!!!

Here is one of the elements of the class. All apart and waiting for a little magic to happen.

Here it is in its completed form….

I met some great people at this class. I had an awesome time with my roomy! It was nice to see old friends. Thanks Lisa, Scott & Karey. Hope to do this again sometime.
Watch for all this new found information in future cakes!!!

Myths & Facts about Wedding Cakes

2010-03-15T13:27:00.006-04:00

I have needed to blog about a few issues now for a while. A couple, are questions I receive over and over. It seems that sometimes magazines or other wedding preparation sources can, on occasion, give misguided information to couples embarking on their marriage-planning journey. I’m going to touch on a few of the cake-bunk items … as I see them anyways.

MYTH 1 – You should book your wedding cake 2 months before your event.
FALSE FORGET THAT!!! Fact is you should book your cake as soon as your officiant, venue & entertainment are booked. If you wait until 2 months before your event you may be very disappointed that your date is NOT available. Especially if you have been planning your wedding since you were a little girl. Why would you wait on this important detail? You might have this idea all drawn out and then bring it to a baker and they tell you it is too complicated to complete on such short notice. Or sorry I have no space left. Or worse your limited choice of bakers leaves you with Aunt Edna saying I can do something ‘similar’ for you…. But we have all seen the Cakewrecks web site…. Or if you haven’t, maybe you should!
If you have your heart set on a custom designed cake, then book early. I will book up to a year and a half in advance. Small custom cake artists like myself only take on a limited number of commissions per year. If you were at a wedding and ‘loved that cake’ chances are someone else will too.

MYTH 2 - Ordering a fake is less expensive.

The MYTH of the fake cake being ‘cheaper’ has been around for some time. If you find a company that rents cakes as a usual course of business this may be an option for keeping costs down, if your venue is already supplying dessert. FACT is having a fake cake made for your wedding is NOT(cheaper). The majority of costs involved in making a wedding cake are labour. The time it takes to bake, ice and decorate a real cake verses a fake is no different. Your baker still has to take the time to order your styrofoam layers and pay for shipping. If sculpting is involved, Styrofoam is difficult, time consuming and messy to shape. As most bakery ordering is done at the same time, storage now becomes an issue as well. These styrofoams are now iced and decored the exact same as a real wedding cake, taking just as much time or more as a royal iced, fondanted cake now needs time to dry. What might have been an easy push to install a posy pick, now becomes a chore for a power tool to make that hole where a flower stem or decoration needs to be inserted. Don’t kid yourself a custom fake is still a custom cake.

MYTH 3 - Kitchen slab cakes cost less

There is a TRUE and FALSE answer to this myth. Certainly this can be an option if you have a very large guest list and want a very ornately decorated cake. Creating a cake to display for 150 of your guests and have the other 200 portions needed to serve hidden away in the kitchen. But the kitchen cake itself still needs to be layered and torted with filling to look just like the servings from the main cake. Not a single layered, no filling cake like you find at a grocery store. You would not want guests sitting beside each other with 2 different quality of cakes wondering why they weren’t just as special as someone else. So the per serving price is still in place but where you can save is in the décor price. You needn’t cover a kitchen cake fondant (unless you want to) and you needn’t make all the fancy decorations like the display cake.

Now these last points are not myths just some important FYIs that I often get asked about.

Can you bring me a cake to decorate?

No, this is something I cannot do. Why? Because of cross contamination. Your kitchen has more than likely processed meat in it. My kitchen does not know what meat is. I can’t take the risk of possibly bringing in outside contaminants of this sort. And there isn’t any type of cake I don’t already make here.

Can you bring me your special pans to bake in?

No. As much as this may have special meaning for you to use pans passed down from family, I can’t relearn the baking process just for one individual. I use commercial grade baking pans. I know how they bake. I know how much to fill them, most retail baking pans are 1 to 1 ½ inches high; mine are all 3 inches deep. I also know how much time they need to be in the oven for a specific type of cake. Sometimes time is of the essence and if a re-bake is necessary there might not be enough time to go through the motions all over again. I would not want to run the risk of not having the moistest yummiest cake come out of my kitchen.

Custom Ornament

2010-03-05T16:19:00.001-05:00

Recently I took a trip to Blue Mountain for a mini ski-cation.

Besides skiing there were many things to do. Like visit the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory or The happy Valley Candy Co. Yes they were the first places on the to-do list besides skiing. Major yummy!

I ventured into the The Great Canadian Gift Company and bought a few Canadian goodies I'll be needing for the end of March. But this one little place in the village was just plain fun to spend a little quality time in. The Crock A Doodle is a quaint little pottery shop that has prefab items you can drop in and custom paint & pick up the next day or have shipped to your address.

My very talented daughter and I both created works of art.

This is Carli's very colourful new bowl.

And this is my wedding cake ornament (with 3 painted cakes & TVCL on the bottom)

Both were shipped and arrived in perfect condition!

Always remembered, always loved.

2010-02-14T13:35:00.000-05:00

Designer Extraordinaire

2010-01-21T13:09:00.032-05:00

Every once in a while you come across EXCEPTIONAL talent!!!
I just had to blog about this “Designer Extraordinaire”.
Very rarely do I see a venue transformed into a veritable wonderland of someone’s image of “Their Day” so perfectly that I am taken a back by the beauty.

I recently created this cake for a couple getting married at the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa.
Congratulations Melanie & Jamie !!!

Upon entering the hallway to the reception area I could see things were going to be different. The colour scheme: black, white & gold. The feel…elegance, old world charm & fantasy rolled into one. The reception room STUNNING!!!
The look created by Sharon Bosley-House of Avant-Garde Designs. http://www.agdevents.com/

I was humbled by how stately Sharon's decor made my cake look.

I snapped a few shots to share what the gift of real natural talent can do for an event.

Ruffles Potatoe Chips Wedding Cake

2010-01-21T12:34:00.010-05:00

Does that title say Wedding Cake? Yes it does! What a fun thing to do. This was a total surprise wedding cake for the groom. Apparently he has a thing for Ruffles Sour Cream & Bacon chips. So much so, the bride had it written into the vows…LOL. Well this was one of those Cheshire Grinning Groom (say that 10 times really fast!) moments that I live for.

I hardly got a chance to set the cake down when the paparazzi swarmed…LOL.

I took a few process photos as well that I thought I would share. Those chips looked soooooo real !!

Making the ruffle.

Drying

Coloured

Covered cake ready to hand paint.

VOILA!!! The finished munchie bag.

Upper Canada Village’s First Annual Canadian Gingerbread House Championship

2010-01-21T12:19:00.003-05:00

Well I am definitely the worst blogger I know.
It has been a whole year since I posted anything. My bad!!
This year I promise to try and post at least once a month.
I have a few things I want to catch up on first.
So I am going to start with ….you guessed it Gingerbread houses again!

These are my daughter’s and mine, 2009 entries into Upper Canada Village’s First Annual Canadian Gingerbread House Championship http://www.uppercanadavillage.com/night.htm

My daughter Carli took 1st place in her division (5 to 11 year olds) with this garden cottage. But I’m not surprised, she is going to rival me one day in the cake world for sure!

This was my entry, the upright piano. I did not place at all. Big disappointment as this took 16 hours to build. All corners were mitered to fit perfectly. The sizing was to scale. The wood grain effect was spectacular. Oh well there is always next year!!!

CMHC's Habitat for Humanity Gingerbread House Contest 2008

2009-01-15T11:11:00.011-05:00

I love making gingerbread houses. I make one every year for display in my home. Sometimes they last until after Christmas. Sometimes they are (lovingly) destroyed on Christmas day by family & friends. Sometimes it is the sneak attack of daily dismantling of one candy at a time...."Wasn't me! Must have been dad!"

During the Christmas season of 2008 I participated in a gingerbread house contest that raises funds for Habitat for Humanity. A lot of planning went into the house. What house to do? What candy to use? How big? I chose to model my house after the Millisle Bed and Breakfast in Merrickville, Ontario. I don't know how many times I have driven by that house admiring the fabulous architecture thinking, "I love that porch." So I set off to Merrickville to ask the owners Hugh and Debra MacLennan if I could take pictures of their magnificent house. They graciously agreed to pictures. Thank you!

I set about planning on detailing the house inside and out. But alas all the best-laid plans in the world can't get around father time. I was delivered some very sad news that cut short my time to be able to accomplish all that I wanted on this miniature Victorian beauty.

In 3 days, 3 1/2 hours of sleep, a gingerbread house was standing. Not completed by any means, but a fabulous house nonetheless. I had to pick and choose what I would be able to finish, that beautiful porch would suffer the consequences. 60 hours was just not enough time. 300 hours would have been needed to accomplish all the glory of this beautiful bed and breakfast.

So off I trotted to CMHC for the final day 2:00pm entry deadline, the last one through the doors on the dot. Yaaah I made it on time! It would have been such a shame to do all that work and be disqualified!!!

Did I win? No not the contest. But I was able to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity and to me that is a win win situation. I hope whom ever did win my house at silent auction really enjoyed having it in their home.

For me the journey of building a gingerbread home will forever have bittersweet memories attached.

Dedicated to the memory of my mother, Rita C. Holtom 1924-2008

In The News....Paper !!!

2008-08-18T15:18:00.014-04:00

It is mid August and the busy season is in full swing! Finding time to blog has been a challenge exceptional! But I just had to get this one in.

I was contacted earlier this year by Kirstin Endemann, a writer with The Ottawa Citizen, to participate in a regular article called “FIVE GREAT PLACES…” The article was “…TO BUY FANCY CAKES”. I was thrilled to be chosen as part of the ‘5’ and even more tickled to find one of my cakes on the cover of Section J of the August 2, 2008 Saturday paper. A BIG THANKS !!!!

Anne-Marie & James's wedding cake
01/09/07 Hilton Lac Leamy
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Bohart Violin

2008-06-03T14:46:00.001-04:00

I thought I would start my blogging with a something near and dear to my heart.
When asked to make a violin cake recently, I knew it would not be 'just a buttercream' cake. This is a replica of my mother's violin. Maybe a little lighter in colour. Maybe missing some pin-striping. But very much a beautifully recreated 'cake' version of an almost 100 year old work of art. Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed making it! .... Price of this masterpiece $500.00 and up