Kristina and Jay's Wedding. The Groom's Cake: A Taste of Roger

                                                            

Last week I flew back east to New York for my niece's wedding.  It was a magnificent event held at the Glen Island Harbor Club in New Rochelle.  While I could go on and on about every detail from the flowers, to the food, to the fabulous band Full House, I have to admit the highlight for me was Roger.  You see the groom Jay hopes one day to get an English bulldog and name him Roger, and while his bride Kristina is not quite ready for that yet, she does love her man enough to give him, shall we say, a taste of Roger.  And so for his groom's cake presented at the rehearsal dinner, she had cake artist Susan Gambelli, create an English bulldog cake.

I didn't get to see the entire cake as pictured above with Roger atop a cake.  I met him the next day sitting in a torn box, but still retaining all the charm and dignity of a bulldog in a top hat.  Beside him was a bowl of dog food that he hadn't yet eaten; perhaps he was watching his weight for the occasion.

 

Isn't he amazing?  Or should I say isn't Susan Gambelli amazing?  The attention to detail is the mark of a true artist.  Look at the folds, the coloring, the shades and shadows, his tongue--I think everyone touched it at some point to see if it was wet!--his ears, eyes, paws, nub of a tail, and even the dog food.  Incredible!  Of course, I had to email her to send my praise and admiration and ask a few questions.  Here's her response:

"Thank you so much for your kind words Debbie. I had a blast making the bulldog for Kristina and Jay. To answer your questions, yes he was made from rice crispy treats and then iced and then covered in sculpted fondant, airbrushed etc. The dog food was raisins that were mixed into dog food colored butter cream and then airbrushed to make it look realistic. I am planning on putting him on my website soon. So when I do I will let you know so you can put a link on yours. I would really love that!!! Cake decorating is my passion and anything involving sculptures is my kind of work. Anyways enjoy your baking journey and decorating and thanks again!!!"

Sweet Regards,

-Susan
Susan Gambelli Custom Cakes
914-831-2001
www.susangambellicakes.com

(For those of you not familiar with cake talk, when she says "iced" before the fondant is applied, she means iced with buttercream--not ice cubes--so the fondant will adhere.)


The wedding cake itself was provided by the venue, I believe.  Lovely, but didn't hold a candle to Roger!

Yes, I will always treasure my memory of Roger, that and watching my dad dance...with the bride of course,

and with me!

Cake Art--for Reading not Eating!

The only baking I did this week was Blueberry Streusel Muffins already posted in April. http://bakingdazeinla.blogspot.com/2010/04/blueberry-streusel-muffins.html
I am off soon to my niece's wedding in New York, so my cake decorating is on hold for a bit.  However, I have been doing some reading about baking! 


First I discovered the CIA'S (Culinary Institute of America) Cake Art book published in 2008. It covers every aspect of cake decorating: baking, filling, icing, piping, modeling, embossing, and painting.  I can't wait to try my hand at some of the more complex aspects of cake art. 






 And then for fun, I've been flipping through Duff Goldman's Ace of Cakes, which is about the beginnings of Charm City Cakes and the eclectic group of artists who work with him.  Lots of photos and quirky information.  Not exactly airplane reading--too heavy literally. 







But then I planned on bringing my good friend and mentor Gayle Brandeis's newest novel Delta Girls.  I just started the first few chapters and am hooked.  (No wonder she won Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for Fiction).  Now this has nothing to do with baking cakes--but it does involve pears, so there is a connection of sorts!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to everyone!  Don't eat too much.  Save room for cake;)

What a pleasure it was rolling out fondant on my new countertop!

My First Creative Specialty Cake Rediscovered!

While I just became interested in cake decorating this past year, it dawned on me that this interest isn't exactly new.  When  my son Dean turned one in October 1981, the Dodgers and Yankees were in the World Series--thus the theme for his party!  (Dodgers won!)  And my first creative cake!!