Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Cakes!
A couple cakes I made the other day. I've been looking into old school pipping techniques and am trying to integrate them into the cakes at work.
Also, I DREW ELMO!
Also, I DREW ELMO!
Friday, February 18, 2011
No Touchie!
Many bakeries have fake cakes used as displays to show off various designs or styles of cakes they do. Well, at our place we have two. One of a Barbie doll with a full length skirt made of cake and then a two layered carved Dora and Diego cake. We use to have a Spongebob one as well, but a mishap with an order and us not being able to find the kit in time resulted in us harvesting the display for its toys. Which is a shame as it was one of the nicer displays.
In any case, these are made of styrofoam bases (called Cake Dummies) and iced as though it were a real cake, but with royal icing, which hardens and is able to withstand the test of time (and mold) far more effectively than the standard buttercream.
They, however, are very breakable and costly to replace. Some are more expensive then the actual cake!
We used to display them on the counter, but customers would pick them up, drop them, and allow their children to handle them only to have the kid rip off a toy. I've hot glued these things back together so many times now the darn thing is more glue than styrofoam.
Our solution was to put them on a high shelf above the cake book where we assumed it was obvious the displays were not meant to be handled. But NOOOOOOOOO. People STILL pulled them down.
So I made a sign. It reads (in bright red ink): "Please do not touch or remove displays. Very fragile! Thank you."
Its been up for about a month and we haven't had any issues. Until tonight. As I closed the bakery and was about to go home, I saw a Mother lift her child ONTO the table top so she could reach the displays to play with. Inside I was fuming.
THERE IS A SIGN NOT BUT A FEW INCHES AWAY FROM YOUR FACE SAYING NOT TO TOUCH THE DISPLAYS! DO YOU LACK THE CAPABILITY TO READ WOMAN!?
Sick of people breaking my displays, I put on my no nonsense face and approached the woman and said:
"Ma'am, we request that customers refrain from removing or touching the displays, they are very fragile and expensive to replace. Also, we do not permit anyone to climb onto the tables for liability reasons, please remove your daughter from the table or I will have to ask you to leave."
She looked miffed, but I just stood there. She finally left down the Dairy aisle after her Husband. I informed the front desk before leaving about the incident in case the lady complained about me being rude to her.
In any case, these are made of styrofoam bases (called Cake Dummies) and iced as though it were a real cake, but with royal icing, which hardens and is able to withstand the test of time (and mold) far more effectively than the standard buttercream.
They, however, are very breakable and costly to replace. Some are more expensive then the actual cake!
We used to display them on the counter, but customers would pick them up, drop them, and allow their children to handle them only to have the kid rip off a toy. I've hot glued these things back together so many times now the darn thing is more glue than styrofoam.
Our solution was to put them on a high shelf above the cake book where we assumed it was obvious the displays were not meant to be handled. But NOOOOOOOOO. People STILL pulled them down.
So I made a sign. It reads (in bright red ink): "Please do not touch or remove displays. Very fragile! Thank you."
Its been up for about a month and we haven't had any issues. Until tonight. As I closed the bakery and was about to go home, I saw a Mother lift her child ONTO the table top so she could reach the displays to play with. Inside I was fuming.
THERE IS A SIGN NOT BUT A FEW INCHES AWAY FROM YOUR FACE SAYING NOT TO TOUCH THE DISPLAYS! DO YOU LACK THE CAPABILITY TO READ WOMAN!?
Sick of people breaking my displays, I put on my no nonsense face and approached the woman and said:
"Ma'am, we request that customers refrain from removing or touching the displays, they are very fragile and expensive to replace. Also, we do not permit anyone to climb onto the tables for liability reasons, please remove your daughter from the table or I will have to ask you to leave."
She looked miffed, but I just stood there. She finally left down the Dairy aisle after her Husband. I informed the front desk before leaving about the incident in case the lady complained about me being rude to her.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
This is not Burger King...
I understand people have busy lives and they forget things, but really...
If your child/significant other/relative's birthday is THAT important to you and that you have a nice looking cake with the flavors and design YOU want, would it not stand to reason that you make the time to pre-order it? I work in a grocery store bakery and we do not have a large staff. So when you storm into our department wanting a custom cake made fresh in front of you, I will have to decline. I'm sorry we do not have the flavor and icing combo you want in the freezer case, but if you need it this moment, you're left with little choice. I cannot simply shove off another person's order to make yours. I have an obligation to them when they placed their order in ahead of time. Some people even order MONTHS in advance to ensure they get JUST the cake they want. And we are happy to oblige them!
This isn't Burger King. We are not a fast food joint. If you want a cake, we need prior notice to plan and organize. The three of us have a very large bakery to work and run, not just cakes. Please be considerate and give us a day notice. We will be glad to make you a cake.
Today's cake photos:
If your child/significant other/relative's birthday is THAT important to you and that you have a nice looking cake with the flavors and design YOU want, would it not stand to reason that you make the time to pre-order it? I work in a grocery store bakery and we do not have a large staff. So when you storm into our department wanting a custom cake made fresh in front of you, I will have to decline. I'm sorry we do not have the flavor and icing combo you want in the freezer case, but if you need it this moment, you're left with little choice. I cannot simply shove off another person's order to make yours. I have an obligation to them when they placed their order in ahead of time. Some people even order MONTHS in advance to ensure they get JUST the cake they want. And we are happy to oblige them!
This isn't Burger King. We are not a fast food joint. If you want a cake, we need prior notice to plan and organize. The three of us have a very large bakery to work and run, not just cakes. Please be considerate and give us a day notice. We will be glad to make you a cake.
Today's cake photos:
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Bad Girl...
I've been a very bad girl lately. I've neglected to update for...a while. Let's just leave it at that. So prepare to be bombarded with stuff!
This is a very accurate, albeit exaggerated, depiction of a typical day at the bakery. The only real exaggeration is the last panel.
This is a very accurate, albeit exaggerated, depiction of a typical day at the bakery. The only real exaggeration is the last panel.
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