www.SheScribes.com blogs about how easy it is to us CakeVase®

I will be the first person to tell you that I can't bake to save my life. My intentions are good. Luck is just never on my side. Thankfully my husband can bake fairly well. As it is with baking cakes, decorating cakes just never goes my way. I'll cite a few examples to prove my point. Many years ago I made a Christmas cake for a party my friends and I were planning. I decorated sugar ice cream cones to look like Christmas trees and painstakingly decorated little Teddy Gram cookies to look like elves. I even made a frozen pond out of foil (the elves needed something to ice skate on). It literally took me the entire day just to decorate this sheet cake. I safely got the cake to my friend's house where the party was going to be. As my bad luck would have it the florescent light bulb above the sink fell and broke and pieces of shattered glass went everywhere, including all over my cake! There was no way we could risk eating the cake so we had to toss it out. Fast forward years later. I was decorating a cake for my son's birthday. It was suppose to resemble a construction site. I even purchased new construction vehicles to top the cake with. Sadly when I was removing the cake from the pan a HUGE piece stuck, leaving a massive hole in the middle of the cake. There wasn't time to make another cake so I improvised and pretended the hole was part of the construction site. I crushed up some Oreos and put the crumbs in the hole and some in the dump truck to make it look like dirt. It ended up looking "OK", but I was so disappointed that there was a huge hole in the cake. Decorating cakes is not my forte. My sister on the other hand is a fantastic cake decorator. I'm always impressed with her skills and she never had any formal training either. Just once I would love to decorate a cake just as impressive as my sister's cakes. There is a super easy way to decorate any cake and it will have people thinking you are the ultimate cake decorating pro. It's called CakeVase(http://www.cakevase.com/). It's the most amazing idea! CakeVase is a plastic "disc" which has holes on one side and "spikes" (for lack of a better description) on the other side. To use the CakeVaseall you need to do it bake a bake (or purchase a cake) and frost it (you can purchase a pre-frosted cake too). Then you insert the spiked end of the CakeVase into the cake so that it's resting on top. Then you can take real flowers, fake flowers or greenery and insert them into the "holes" on the CakeVase topper. Your cake will look amazing!

I just had to try the CakeVase for myself. I purchased a pre-made cake from the grocery store down the street. I also picked up a small bundle of mixed flowers from the florist in the grocery store too. When I got home I just took the various CakeVases I have (they come in different sizes) and found the one that best fit the top of the cake. I was a bit worried I would smash it down too much but it inserted into the cake really easy. You can fill the wells in the CakeVase with water to keep the flowers lasting longer. I have bad luck when it comes to cakes so I omitted the water. Besides we were going to eat the cake that night anyway so it was fine. Next I cut the stems on the flowers to fit into the well and tried to arrange them nicely around the cake with the CakeVase. It didn't exactly turn out as nice as some photos I have seen, but it was certainly much nicer then any cake I could have decorated. It was so easy too! I did take a few pictures of the finished product. I just have to hunt them down. I have a feeling my daughter deleted them, but she's not admitting to it. Either that or she uploaded them onto her computer when she uploaded pictures from a sleep over she went to. As soon as I can find my pictures I will update this post. I'm seriously very impressed with the CakeVase. It's so simple to use. Even my four year old neighbor could do it (although I wouldn't recommend that...ha ha). You can even use pillar candles in place of some of the flowers. I don't have any on hand so I wasn't able to try that out for myself. For Christmas this year I want to get a cake frosted with white frosting. I want to ask the bakery if they could give it a "basket weave" design. Then I want to use some greenery and some red flowers (maybe Carnations) and decorate a cake to look very festive for Christmas. I would love to use some Evergreens. I think that would look stunning! Here are some examples of cakes decorated with the CakeVase. I love the one that uses candy canes/candy sticks around the cake. What a fun and tasty idea!

How gorgeous are these cakes! With CakeVase anyone - including someone like me - can make the most impressive and amazing cakes. I'd like to try and make one for Thanksgiving too. If I do I'll take pictures and post them on She Scribes. To learn more about CakeVase you can visit http://www.cakevase.com/.CakeVases come in various sizes to fit most round and sheet cakes. Cake Vase is available at many online retailers including Amazon,Gooseberry Patch, ChefTools.com and other locations. There is a complete list on the CakeVase web site. Kathleen from CakeVase would love to give TWO lucky She Scribes readers their own set of CakeVases. Thanks Kathleen!

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For centuries, friends have gathered at the onset of Winter to enjoy a warm mulled drink consisting of ale, cider, wine or fruit juice flavored with citrus and spices. For over a decade, our own mulling spice blend has evoked the true essence of this time-honored tradition. Simmer this beautifully balanced mixture of cinnamon, orange zest, clove and allspice with cider or red wine for an old-fashioned flavor and heady aroma that personifies the spirit of the holidays. 6 oz., packed in an airtight tin. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

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• CakeVase featured on My Gourmet Connections
• "Food Finds - Serving In Style"

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  CakeVase

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  Swiss Wedge-Shaped Cheese Board

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  Glass Wine Bottle Stoppers

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  Crab Wine Bottle Cheese Tray

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  Retro Cherries Hostess Apron

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  Angelo Salt Shaker

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  Microfiber Storage Cases

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  Rollings of Cinnamon Apron

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  Santa Claus Wine Caddy

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  Holiday 4-in-1 Serving Set

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  Quatro Pepper Grinder

www.TheGoodStuff.com just did a great review of CakeVase® Leave a comment on her blog and enter for a chance to win a free CakeVase® set.

Bring Those Flowers Inside…

October 13, 2009

I have my last annuals still going strong in my garden and I finally cut some to enjoy indoors. I have two favorite things that make flowers so easy to show off inside.

The second little beauty is CakeVase. I had never seen anything like it, but now I’m hooked.

You can create this:

or this:

with the help of CakeVase.

You either bake or buy a 6 or 8 inch round cake. Then place CakeVase onto the top. Add a little water and your cut flowers (even a store-bought bouquet!) and VOILA: A gorgeous creation.

Have you ever seen anything more brilliant?

Enter a comment below to win a set of 3. You can also find them at Amazon.

Just leave a comment by Saturday, October 17th and I’ll choose 2 lucky people: one for the CakeVase and one for the Easy Arranger. Good luck and have a great day!

Category: Brilliant, GardenTags: CakeVase, Easy Arranger, easy entertaining |

1. 

   marla

   on October 13, 2009 10:02 am

   I want this!!!

   ---

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This is a really cool video that the people at HandBookLive are featuring on their website. Check it out.

CakeVase Product video demo - HandBookLive

http://www.handbooklive.com/index.php?pr...

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Cake Vase

Company: Kathleen's Cakes

Updated: 2009-10-06 23:41:45

Janice Thomas Kitchen classroom

Helpful cake decorating suggestions:

Always do a crumb coat.

Temperature matters!

A bent spatula is a must.

A turntable makes it easier to achieve a professional look.

Mix your color into a generous amount of frosting. It’s hard to match the original color if you run out.

Add food coloring 1 drop at a time, mix and add 1 more drop to achieve the best color for the job.

You can always add white frosting to bring down a dark or bright colored frosting.

Frosting colors should be somewhat edible.

Red food coloring comes in a “non taste” version. Use is when you need a really deep-rich red color.

Decorations only stick to freshly applied frosting.

Refrigerate a cake fully if it is going to travel.

Allow cake to return to room temperature before being served.

Suggestions for better baking:

A stand up mixer is essential.

Have several sets of measuring cups and spoons on hand.

Measuring cups in many sizes, including 6, 8 and 12 cups sizes make it easy to pre-measure everything, including eggs.

All ingredients must be room temperature.

Use heavy, metal cake pans (not non-stick or dark metal) so as not to over-brown the exterior of the cake.

Follow individual recipe’s guide for mixing ingredients.

Do not substitute “key” ingredients:

Flour, cake flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, unsalted butter, etc..

Add eggs one at a time on the slowest setting.

Stop beating cake batter once eggs have been completely incorporated.

Use a serrated knife to torte or cut cake. This preserves the crumb.

My favorite Websites:

www.creativecutters.com - tools, readymade fondant, dragees, beautiful cake boards, wide variety or rich food coloring paste, cake pans in many sizes and shapes, gum paste tools etc..

http://www.colettescakes.com/ - My all time favorite inspiration.

http://www.margaretbraun.com/cakes.html

http://www.confetticakes.com/designer.html

http://www.gailwatsoncake.com/ -the original cake decorator for Martha Stewart from back in the 1990’s.

http://cakelove.com/

http://wendykromer.com/

http://www.weddingcakes.com/ - One of the best in the world!

https://www.auiswisscatalogue.com/store/merchant.mvc - amazing European cake decorating supplies.

http://bakednyc.com/

http://www.fancyflours.com/cgi-bin/fancyflours/index.html - A new favorite of mine. Colorful and inspirational website.

Books:

The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum - This book is easy to read and she explains the science behind baking.

Neoclassic Buttercream

Lemon curd

Cakes by Design by Scott Clark Wooley & Michael G. Farace

Detailed gum paste instructions that are very easy to follow.

Any of the Colette’s Cakes by Colette Peters books

Beginner to expert techniques.

In less than four hours, students learned to torte, fill and frost two cakes. They learned to fill a pastry bag and pipe stars, dots and leaves. Students were asked to bring in flowers to decorate of their cakes using CakeVase®. The finished products were truly stunning. It’s amazing what can be learned in the right environment, with the right tools and with with a determined mind!

Door County is a popular vacation destination on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. The thumb shaped peninsula is lined with small towns, shops, an active arts community, lighthouses, B&B's, restaurants and small hotels.

Midwest Living Magazine has named Door County the "Best Small Town Getaway in the Midwest." Money Magazine has named Door County "One of the Top 10 Vacation Destinations in North America"

Door County consists of several small towns, lining the 300 miles of coastline of Lake Michigan,

Door County is a popular vacation destination on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. The thumb shaped peninsula is lined with small towns, shops, an active arts community, lighthouses, B&B's, restaurants and small hotels.

Midwest Living Magazine has named Door County the "Best Small Town Getaway in the Midwest." Money Magazine has named Door County "One of the Top 10 Vacation Destinations in North America"

Door County consists of several small towns, lining the 300 miles of coastline of Lake Michigan, for a scenic drive. German and Scandinavian immigrants were the early settlers of the region and their heritage is still evident.

In the spring the cherry trees blossom in the rich lands of Door County. The cherry crops are harvested and used to produce cherry treats, beverages, and wines. Winery tours are offered by wineries in the county to taste locally produced vintages.

Door County has a active arts community. There are artists and galleries in the towns throughout the island.

The American Folklore Theater can be seen at an outdoor stage at the Peninsula State Park. The summer main season features different shows in repertory

Savory Spoon honored to be included in:Gourmet Getaways: 50 Top Spots to Cook and Learn

Thanks to my daughter, Piper, who helped during the entire day. Thanks to all the students who participated. Many thanks to Janice and her staff at The Savory Spoon. I had a wonderful time!

Jill Piper Schoenfeld made this beautiful cake out of wee garden tools, CakeVase® and a homemade cake.

Her Wee Garden supplies are adorable and fun. It did not matter if the succulents were food safe because CakeVase® kept them off of the cake entirely.

Her website is www.WeeGarden.com and it is inspiring.

CakeVase® arrives

Bake Cake

Insert CakeVase®

Pour water

Begin arranging design elements.

My attempt at a wee garden. I purchased a stone planter, miniature evergreens, succulents, pea gravel and sand at Milaeger’s Garden Center in Racine, Wisconsin.

I purchased the arbor, pots, urns, watering can, wheel barrow, garden tools, bird house and fence fromWee Gardens.

I found the moss in the back yard.