Posts by: chris

The following is a request from club member Angela:

EGG SHELLS NEEDED for Confetti Eggs at School Carnival in March.  If you are willing to help I would GREATLY appreciate it.  Please crack eggs leaving approximately 2/3 of the eggshell intact, wash, and returned to its original container.  Please e-mail a note if you will be able to donate!!!  I will then make arrangements to pick up the eggs from you!
 
Angela@SugarSweetCreations.com
 

With the annual cake show just around the corner, it’s time to get crackin’!

 

Several new faces this meeting!  Welcome, all!

Pearland had their Day of Sharing last weekend.  The demonstrators’ handouts are now available online on their website: http://www.pearlandcakesociety.com  On February 5th, the Texas ICES will have their Day of Sharing in Montgomery, TX.  Please visit their website for more information: http://texasices.org/feb5thdos.html

The club is a buzz with excitement for our upcoming 8th annual That Takes The Cake Sugar Art Show and Cake Competition.  We announced some volunteer opportunities and perks.  Please use our online volunteer registration form if you’re interested: http://thattakesthecake.org/index.php/contact-us/volunteer-contact-form/  We’d like volunteers to work a minimum of a 5 hour shift.  It’s a whole lot of fun, so don’t miss out!

Irene is hoping to get her hands on some of these darling cake pendants to sell at the show:

Our next monthly club meeting will be a little different.  We bumped the date up to February 7th (to free up Valentines Day).  It will also be at Make It Sweet‘s brand new location:

Crossroads Shopping Center
9070 Research Boulevard
Austin, TX

That will be our last club meeting before the big show!  We’ll be doing some projects for the show at this meeting and also at several smaller meetings during the month.  Lots to do and not much more time to do it in!  Check back on our blog, Facebook, and MeetUp pages for updates on when we’re meeting and where.

This meeting’s demonstration was given by our new member: Kathleen Boyce.  She shared with us some techniques for creating a purse cake.

Kathleen also brought in the dragon cake she learned to make in Sylvia Wilson’s class:

Big thanks to Kathleen for sharing with us and to Charlotte for the yummy desserts!

 

 

Cake Wrecks Book Tour
November 15, 2011
Austin, TX

 

Cake Wrecks, the famous blog of professional cakes gone bad, finished up its second book tour across the USA.  They were promoting their latest book, Wreck the Halls, just in time for the “Hole Days”.  Capital Confectioners was there to make sure we represent.

 

  

 

We had a gut-busting good time!  Jen and John Yates, authors of Cake Wrecks, had several slide shows of unimaginable cakes and fun stories to share with us.  Each book tour stop involved a cupcake wreck-plica contest and a local bakery that volunteered to feed the masses.  There were so many fantastic cupcakes!  Here are a few:

 

  
  

 

Blue Note Bakery from south Austin shared her “cake bars”, showing some true Austin colors.

 

 

The entire night, this handsome guy kept staring back at us:

 

 

This is Hugh Jackman’s head by Kimberly Chapman over at http://www.eat-the-evidence.com/.  Pop over there for a better back story!

 

 

 

This really was a fun night, lots of laughs and sugar!  We’re hoping Jen and John will be back in town in February for our annual “That Takes The Cake” Sugar Art Show & Cake Competition.  Here’s the entire photo gallery:

 

 

Early Contestant Registration for That Takes The Cake 2012 is now open online!

http://thattakesthecake.org/index.php/competition/registration/


Registration before February 19, 2012 is now required (except for Child & Junior division entries) to help us plan space needs. One registration fee includes all general competition entries for each participant. Competition registration includes General Admission to the show for the weekend for the competitor. Competition registration for entrants under 18 includes General Admission for the competitor and one accompanying adult. There will be no refunds of entry or registration fees. Entry fees for Child and Junior are waived, but registration prior to the show is encouraged.

Divisional Competition

Early Registration (ends January 15, 2012): $20
General Registration (ends February 19, 2012): $25
Child (12 & under) Registration (ends February 19, 2012) or at the door (February 25, 2012): FREE

Showcake Competition

For each 48″w x 29″h round table (ends February 19, 2012): $25

Tasting Competition

Any number of entries * (ends February 19, 2012): $15

*Entry fee is waived when combined with a Divisional or Showcake Competition entry.

 

Halloween Pumpkin Cake with Chris Cantrell and Irene Hackbarth

Last Sunday’s students got a little spooky with the latest club class by Chris Cantrell and Irene Hackbarth!  Halloween pumpkins were shaped by using bundt cakes, ice cream cones, and some handy buttercream techniques.

Scary spiders, worms, and rats made this holiday treat complete!

A big thank you to the instructors, volunteers, and students that made this another fun class!

   
   

Be sure to check out next month’s class: “Turkey Trot”

 

Austin, TX

November 15, 2011

Round Rock High School Library
301 Deepwood Dr.
Round Rock, TX 78681

Jen and John Yates from Cake Wrecks have launched their 3rd USA tour to promote their latest book Wreck the Halls: Cake Wrecks get “Festive”.  They will be in our area on Tuesday, November 15th (7:00 PM) at the Round Rock High School’s Library.  Expect to see many club members’ shining faces!!!  RSVP at the eVite here!

NEWS: If you have a professional licensed kitchen, the Cake Wrecks tour  is still looking for someone interested in donating the official cake for the Austin event.  Please contact them via their Cake Wrecks site.

 

Last Tuesday was our monthly club meeting (every 2nd Tuesday of the month).  We welcomed some new faces, talked cake, celebrated Irene’s October birthday with treats, and watched Brian demonstrate some leathering techniques.

Our “That Takes The Cake” show is shaping up to be, as always, super exciting.  Jennifer gave us an update on who’s coming and what we’ll have in store for competitors and attendees.

There are a few other cake events just around the corner, such as the Arlington Day of Sharing this Sunday:

http://www.sweetsensationscakeclub.com/SweetSensationsCakeShow.htm

Sweet Sensations Day of Sharing
October 16, 2011
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Courtyard Villa
1801 W. Division St.
Arlington, TX  76012

Congrats to Chris Wingler (ha, that’s me!) for her wedding cake appearance in Cake Central Magazine’s Volume 2, Issue 1.

We proposed the club Christmas party to be held at Irene’s house on Sunday, December 4th.  We’ll put together a MeetUp.com event date and provide more information about our cookie exchange.

Our next monthly club class is creating a Halloween Pumpkin Cake with Chris Cantrell and Irene Hackbarth.  This class will be at Make It Sweet on Sunday, October 23rd from 1 – 4:30 PM.  Register here: http://thebigcakecalendar.com/index.php/registration/?cgroup=OCT

During the break we snacked on snicker doodle cookies and spice cupcakes with brown sugar Italian meringue buttercream.

Brian Stevens from Crazy Cakes demonstrated how he creates a leather look on fondant with his texture mat and painting techniques.

This is our first club meeting demo to be video recorded!  Let’s hope we can continue this and share with our members who could not attend.

Thanks for all who attended!  We missed those friends that could not attend.  We look forward to seeing the new faces again!

Photos from club meetings will be posted here.

 

Upcoming Classes:
sallydoll
This month’s Capital Confectioners member sponsored class is this adorable “Sally Doll” figure model. Sheri Vineyard will teach you all you  need to know to create this model and design your own creations. This class is a real bargain at only $50! Come join us for a relaxing Sunday afternoon with friends. Sept. 25, 1-4PM at Make it Sweet (formerly All in One Bake Shop). Click here to sign up now!
JackOLantern 2

Nothing symbolizes Halloween better than pumpkins. Come spend the afternoon learning to carving yours out of cake with Capital Confectioners’  own, Chris Cantrell. Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Sign up now.
upsidedowncake

Wow your friends and family with this gravity defying cake. Taught by award winning sugar artist, Yvette Humbert! October 16 at Amazing Kakes of Austin. Click here to sign up!

 

turtle
Join TLC’s Cake Boss: Next Great Baker contestant, Brian Stevens, for this hands-on class in Waco, Tx.In this box turtle class you’ll learn to carve a cake, create textures, apply multiple painting techniques and how to airbrush. This class will be held at Wedding Cakes by Esther on Sept. 17th. Register now!
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We are hard at work on our 2012 That Takes the Cake Sugar Art Show and Cake Competition! Instructor & Vendor applications are rolling in. We have so many great classes coming, you’ll have a hard time choosing! Next year’s theme is “Renaissance” and as you can see from the art at the top of the page the show will be called Cake-a-Lot. As usual we allow you to interpret our showcake theme in the broadest sense. Think castles, dragons, knights or beautiful renaissance architecture, it’s up to you! We look forward to seeing what you dream up.. Stay tuned for upcoming class listings.
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Other Upcoming Events:

Sweet Sensations DOS October 16, 2011
Pearland Cake Society DOS January 8, 2012
Texas ICES Area IV DOS February 5, 2012
That Takes the Cake Show February 25-26, 2012
Frosting Creators DOS May 6, 2012

michaelscoupon

 

Threadcakes.com are posting their winners for their annual contest!  Amazing stuff here: http://www.threadcakes.com/winners

2010 winners: http://www.threadcakes.com/home/winners2010

2009 winners: http://www.threadcakes.com/home/winners2009

 

 

“Crazy Pizza Cakes” with Brian Stevens

Another successful Capital Confectioners class!  A big thank you to Brian Stevens for teaching the class about the color wheel, color theory, airbrushing basics, and how to use torches!  Everyone’s “pizza” turned out fabulous and I can personally attest that we no longer fear the airbrush.

Brian demonstrated airbrushing using different tricks and techniques, including stenciling and creating a gradient.  He walked us through the different parts to an airbrush and shared his preferences in tools.

After learning about the color wheel, the class tackled creating their own colors from the primary colors … and we even discovered something interesting.  Be warned!  Americolor airbrush blue + red does not make purple!

We were given 12″ round cakes to carve, ice, and cover with fondant.  Brian showed us how he utilizes multiple colors and passes to create an organic and realistic coloring to the pizza crust.

Chris and Chrissy working intently!

The pizza toppings comprised of red or white buttercream “sauce”, shredded fondant “cheese”, and different fondant “toppings”.  No one held back!  Every pizza turned out supreme.

One of Brian’s favorite tools … the torch.

What a fun class!  Hope you join us next time.  Here’s our 2011 class photo gallery: