Sharon Zambito, Author at Sugared Productions Blog

Stable Mabel Support System Sale

April 10, 2018 by Sharon Zambito Leave a Comment

Hi sugar friend!

Today I want to tell you about a special discount on a really great disposable cake support system. You may have heard me talk about this system before because I really love it.

It’s called the Stable Mabel system.

(I’m not affiliated with the company in any way, and get no compensation for this email or promoting Stable Mabel. I just really like the product, and I know the company to be a solid and ethical one that I trust; and I like to pass on to you info about good products I find that could be beneficial to you.)

Stable Mabel is a disposable cake stacking system that includes everything you need to stack a 2-3 tier cake: the base, interlocking center rod, cake boards, and dowel supports with rings.

It’s very stable but the cost is so low you can roll it into the cake price, and no worries about getting any equipment back. (Love that!)

Stable Mabel is offering friends of SugarEd Productions a discount:

Save 20% on all Stable Mabel
Disposable Cake Support Systems

Includes Bulk Packs for a double discount!

Offer good: April 10 – 17, 2018

Offer does not apply to Wholesale orders.

Use Coupon Code: Sugar20

You can shop here.

(They also offer a non-disposable version.)

You can see the new Stable Mabel how-to video here.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I know you will love it!

Happy Caking!

Sharon

SugarEd Productions Online School

Agbay Cake Leveler Sale

December 3, 2017 by Sharon Zambito 1 Comment

Hello again sugar friend!

I’m sure you’re in full holiday prep mode by now and super busy. I hope all your projects are going well, and you fully enjoy the season.

I wanted to let you know about this rare and special offer:

AGBAY SALE!

You may know that the Agbay cake leveler is the best on the planet, and you may have seen me use it in some of my videos.

You may also know that they literally never go on sale.

BUT the kind folks at Agbay are offering a one time special offer of 15% off any model for SugarEd followers. Ask Santa to get you one for Christmas!

Use coupon code SUGARED15 (offer expires 12/31/17)

S HOP HERE

Note: I am not financially affiliated with this vendor and I get no commission for sales through these links. I just like to bring you news about products and services that I believe are of high quality and value. 🙂

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Here’s a peak at our video tutorial: Santa Got Stuck!

Join us at www.sugaredproductions.com

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Have a great week and happy holidays!

Sharon

Buttercream Course

July 18, 2017 by Sharon Zambito Leave a Comment

Hi cakey friend!

I started SugarEd in 2007 when I saw a need in the caking community for good quality instruction on using buttercream.

It started with DVDs, and has evolved over the years to a fully comprehensive buttercream course, available to you right in our website!

This course teaches about the different types, pros and cons of each, the recipes, how to ice round and square cakes, and troubleshooting.

I have the course items listed below in the logical order for a beginner to learn.

The Types of Buttercream:
- Crusting vs Non Crusting Buttercream article
- Types of Meringue Buttercream article
- Making American Buttercream video
- Making Swiss Meringue Butercream video
- Making Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Making Hybrid Buttercream
Properly Preparing Cakes:
- Leveling and torting cake layers video
- Filling and settling a cake video
- Freezing cake layers video
Smooth Icing Techniques:
- Icing a round cake with American buttercream video
- Icing a square cake with American buttercream video
- Acrylic discs icing method
- Icing a square cake using cake boards
- Icing a round cake with SMBC video
- Icing a round cake with IMBC video
- Repairing a blowout video

And of course we have even more tutorials that go from there: working with fondant, stacking, and endless decorating techniques.

Right now I’m offering a 30 day $1 trial to my online school to celebrate our anniversary.

This is a great opportunity to see what we have to offer, at no risk. You can cancel at any time during the first month and never be charged again.

CLICK HERE to read all the details.

I hope you will join me!

Sharon

PS. Want to see what’s new in the online school?

These tutorials and over 400 more are available.

www.sugaredproductions.com/o2

Agbay Cake Leveler Sale

December 8, 2016 by Sharon Zambito 1 Comment

AGBAY SALE!

You may know that the Agbay cake leveler is the best on the planet, and you may have seen me use it in some of my videos. You may also know that they literally NEVER go on sale. But the kind folks at Agbay are offering a one time special offer of 15% off any model for SugarEd fans.

Use coupon code SUGARED15 at checkout. (I get no commission for sales; just promoting a product I believe in and helping out a friend 🙂

agbay sale

Ask Santa to get you one for Christmas!

http://www.agbayproducts.com/

Happy Holidays!
Sharon

Visit our online school

Ultimate Guide to Candy Buffets

June 29, 2016 by Sharon Zambito 14 Comments

First off, thank you to Sharon for the opportunity to connect with her readers. I’m Sarah, and I work at CandyStore.com. We have a lot of experience helping people plan candy buffets for their weddings and events. I am excited to share this great tip to get you started. Here goes!

If you’re new to building a candy buffet, you may be intimidated by the prospect of building one yourself. Don’t be. The main reason people give up on having a candy buffet at their event is not money, it’s fear*. The solution to removing that fear is here. With one tip, we can soothe this savage beast.

“Fear?” you say. I ain’t scurred. Right, I’m not talking about grizzly bear fear or public speaking-type fear.

public speaking bear

I’m talking more about the fear that it’ll take too much time to plan and fear that even after all that time it won’t turn out well. It’s that overwhelming, my-brain-just-turned-off feeling where you just think. I can’t even. But you CAN! Here’s the tip that will save you:

Size Matters

This is true in many avenues of life, even scientists agree. With candy buffets, it’s a little more nuanced. It boils down to choosing the appropriate size buffet for your event and budget. You don’t need to have a magazine cover-style Candy Buffet of the Year spread.

magazine worthy candy buffete

If building a diy candy dessert bar gives you anxiety attacks – are you ready? – use a small table.

You can see your shoulders dropping already. Your breathing is getting more relaxed. That’s it, thaaaaat’s it.

breathe

And yeah, a small table – that’s it! The beauty of a small table is that you can break it down in your mind more easily. It’s more doable in your head. It’s also less expensive, easier to plan and has just as much impact as a large table, if not more. Now that you’re nice and relaxed, here’s the rest of the plan.

The biggest decisions you have to make for a candy buffet have already been made.

What Colors Should I Use?

You know the answer already. Since you’ll likely want to match the colors of your event, that takes care of that step. Bulk candy can be bought in most general colors now-a-days and even some more specific colors like maroon and aqua. Gold candy and dust are popular and fit within many events color schemes. Just be careful with the edible stuff.

Ok, this is already gaining momentum! You’re on your way.

What types of containers do I need?

You need 3 types. Big, medium and small. There we go with the bear metaphor again, goldilocks. A nice looking candy buffet uses zones to create depth and (sometimes just the illusion of) abundance. There’s more detail in my DIY candy buffet guide here, but basically, that feeling of abundance is harder to create over a larger space. Keep the table small.

The Candy Buffet Zones

Put the small containers – bowls, platters – in front and put your individually wrapped candy bars here. Other appropriate things to put here are baked goods and desserts that don’t ‘scoop’ and wrapped items that might get handled a bit. Larger, bulkier items tend to work best here. Cookies, cupcakes, etc.

Medium containers in the middle will contain some unwrapped candy that may need somewhat gentle handling. Gummy sharks, old-fashioned stick candy, chocolate covered espresso beans. Use tongs or scoops where appropriate.

In the back you put your tallest containers. Fill them up with wrapped or unwrapped bulk candy. Depending on how tall they are scooping may be awkward if people need to reach over the rest of the display. Consider wrapped candy that’s easily grab-able by hand if this is a concern. Foil-wrapped chocolate balls are great and come in a ton of cool colors. Alternatively, use single-color gum balls or another easily scoop-able candy item.

Centerpiece Optional

If you’re getting the hang of this and your brain is flowing with ideas, consider this. An optional centerpiece. If you wanna go the extra step, use a loaded up cupcake stand as a center piece and curve your zones around it. Cupcake stand, flower arrangement, or even the event’s main cake or dessert!

cupcake stands for candy buffets

You may need a slightly bigger table for this, but by now maybe you feel like you can handle that. If not, stay small. A high and tight candy buffet looks much better than a loose-goosey arrangement on a bigger table.

Add a personal touch

This is the part you’re already good at. Once you have the layout all worked out, add some personal touches to the decor. Some ribbon around the containers, maybe some tasteful confetti will look nice, fresh flowers. A framed picture of the honored guest(s).

picture frames for candy buffets

Tie it into your existing event decor. The dessert bar doesn’t need it’s own theme, it is merely an extension of the theme of the party it lives in.

lovely purple candy buffets

Final Thought

I’ll leave you with this one last thing. There are no rules. Have fun with your arrangement. If you get overwhelmed, dial it down. If you’re feeling empowered and want some more knowledge, we put together this amazing infographic (below) from my Ultimate Guide to DIY Candy Buffets. Pin it, print it out, use it to your advantage.

I’ll be answering any questions in the comments section, so let them fly. Also love to hear about how it went! So please let me know if you used these tips and how your candy display table turned out. Love to Sharon and SugarEd Productions!

Candy buffet infographic guide step by step

(* You may be saying, fear isn’t the only reason people give up. They might also think it’s going to cost too much because they’ll have to hire someone to build the darn thing. This is a subset of the fear you have of doing it yourself. There’s no reason buying some bulk candy and some containers should be expensive. The bang for your buck is there if you can get past your fear!)

The Cherry Hog

June 7, 2016 by Sharon Zambito 4 Comments

Some of you who have been with me for a few years may remember this story. It’s a re-post of an older blog, but I’ve gotten a lot of requests for it again, so here goes…. (read thru to the end for a quick tutorial.)

Once upon a time there were 3 sisters that grew up in the city of New Orleans with their 2 older brothers and parents. They were not exactly poor, but things were very tight, as they were living on one modest accountant’s salary. Melba, the mom, knew how to make every penny stretch. She was very frugal. There were never any treats like candy, soda, chips, or cookies in the house. Those things were reserved for very special occasions.

Since vacations were out of the budget, the family would make day trips a few times a summer to a nearby state park. The kids would swim in the Bogafalaya river and play on the sandy beach. Melba would pack an ice chest and picnic basket and they would spend the day swimming, eating, and relaxing.

On one particular trip to the river, Melba really splurged and bought a bag of fresh cherries. Not a big bag, mind you. But this was still a really special treat for the kids to get such an extravagance.

So on this particular day, after lunch, the 2 youngest sisters, Sharon and Janice, decided to go for a nice long swim, anticipating their refreshing treat of cherries upon their return. They wanted to save them for the just the right moment, to enjoy them to their fullest. So after their nice swim in the river, they happily skipped back to the picnic table, excited about the luscious fruit that awaited them. But alas, to their dismay, they discovered that their older sister Barbara (aka the Cherry Hog) had eaten them all! All of them! All that was left was a bag of pits and stems.

Needless to say the 2 little sisters were disappointed….. no, devastated….. no, scarred for life! Despite years in therapy and reading many self help books, they have not been able to work through the trauma of this event. In this tragic story they did not live happily ever after. So needless to say, to this day they give Barbara grief about it any chance they can get.

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Last week, when the whole family was invited to a friend’s house on the bayou for a Good Friday seafood boil, they took the opportunity to also celebrate Barbara’s birthday.

And here is the Cherry Hog’s birthday cake.

CH with her cake. She loved it.

Sharon and CH.

Sharon, CH and Janice.

Seafood boil of crabs , crawfish, potatoes, corn and more!

And fresh boiled shrimp! It was so yummy!

J-Man got to drive the boat!

Cherry Hog and her nephew D.

The cake was yummy and enjoyed by all. We had a wonderful day of boating, eating, and playing board games.

Note: Cherry Hog claims to have no memory of this event ever happening. Classic case of denial, if you ask me.

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HOW TO MAKE CHERRY HOG’S CAKE:

My BFF Heather gave me the great idea of using Styrofoam as the base of the cake. I used an 8 inch ball and cut it a little shorter than in half. I cut a flat bottom so it would stand up, and I used another piece of styro as “sand paper” to shape the bottom half of the cherry. (I learned that trick in a Collette Peter’s demo.)

Then I sharpened wooden dowels and drove them thru the styro and into the cake drum base for stability. I used 3, but in retrospect I could have done with just 2.

I then attached a circle of parchment paper to the top of the styro with buttercream to form a barrier with the cake.

First layer of cake in place.

I put a ball of modeling chocolate down in the hole to serve as the pit. Tee hee. Then I plugged the hole with the cake from the heating core.

Second layer of cake in place.

Carved to a cherry shape with a sharp knife. I intentionally went with a somewhat asymmetrical look, because real cherries are not perfectly round. Also makes the carving easier; I love that!

Then I applied a basecoat of thickened ganache over the whole thing. The ganache is 2 parts semi sweet chocolate to one part heavy cream. You let it cool to a thick paste consistency and then apply it just like a buttercream coat with a hot spatula. It firms up to make a nice chocolate shell; a wonderful surface on which to apply your fondant.

I smeared the whole cake with piping gel and then applied red fondant. I used a wad of fondant cupped in my hand in lieu of fondant smoothers. This works great on round and curved shapes.

I then gave the whole cake a liberal rubdown with everclear alcohol to get the excess cornstarch off before airbrushing. What??? No Crisco? I know what you are thinking. Sharon rubs down everything with Crisco! Yes, this is true, but not in the case of airbrushing. That will cause the airbrush color to not go on smoothly and you might get blotching.

After the everclear dried (took about 2 minutes) , I gave it several coats of red color. Let the coats dry in between or you will get pooling and dripping of color. Here it is still wet with color. (And I am still blowing red snot a week later.)

One more coat of color and dried.

I made the stem by wrapping several 18 gauge floral wires with brown floral tape and then airbrushed brown and green over that. I just stuck the stem down thru the center of the cake and down into the base of the styro. Note: This is not food safe, but it was for Cherry Hog so I did not care. The proper thing to do would have been to coat the part of the stem going down into the cake with chocolate and dried before inserting.

I made the beach chair with the cutter set here. I cut the pieces from white gumpaste. After fully dried I painted them with brown airbrush color mixed with everclear to make the wood look. The seat of the chair is white gumpaste. Ain’t it cute?? I love this chair! The sand is Domino’s brownulated sugar from the grocery store.

It was a lot of fun making this cake! This is when I love caking the most. A fun, challenging cake that has a special story to go with it.

Now you all go make one for your favorite Cherry Hog!

Happy Hogging!

Sharon

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

PS. Remember you can click on the photos for a larger view.

Free Batter and Cake Servings Charts

April 3, 2016 by Sharon Zambito 8 Comments

Hi Sugar Friend!

Hope you are having a great week and all your cakes this past weekend were a huge success!

Lately here on the blog we have been discussing cake baking, recipes, icing and baking issues. I thought it might be helpful to consolidate that valuable information (and more) for you. So I’ve created 3 awesome free charts that you can keep and reference forever. I’ve bundled them into one PDF file. Print them out or keep them on your mobile device to have at your fingertips anytime.

Send My Free PDF

Here’s what’s included in the free PDF bundle:

1) The famous WASC recipe and a chart on how much batter to put into each cake pan size.

2) A handy chart of wedding and party servings for each size cake and shape.

3) An easy to reference guide with tips to troubleshoot common baking problems.

You’ll get all 3 full size info-graphics in PDF form. The images are way too big to post here on the blog and still be able to read them clearly. You will of course get the full size (free) PDF that you can zoom into as close as you like. (Me, I have to zoom in reeeeeeal close 🙂

Just click the button below and fill out the form, telling me which email address to send the PDF to. (I promise that I do not sell, share or in any other way abuse your email address. I guard it with my life, as I do my own.)

Please note: Sometimes the email that contains the PDF gets bounced back or goes to spam/junk and you may not receive it. Please know we do send out every request immediately, but if you do not get it within 15 minutes, please email support@sugaredproductions.com and I will personally zip one back to you. I really want you to have it; these are such helpful and convenient graphics to have on hand.

Send My Free PDF

Grab yours now. I hope you find it helpful, and let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below. I’m happy to help.

(Be sure to check your emails daily this coming week (after you get the PDF). I have more free info and some fun stuff coming your way.)

Sweet regards,
Sharon Zambito

PS. I’m running a very rare FREE TRIAL to my online school this week.

You can have access to the whole website and over 300 tutorials for a full 2 weeks. (I have tons more information about baking cakes as well as cake decorating in the school.)

You can stay and pay at the end of the trial or cancel anytime and never be charged. It’s a rare opportunity to have a look at all the great things inside the school. See why we were named a finalist in the Cake Masters Awards for Best Learning Experience.

Join our thousands of happy members…. and me! (I give full personal support to all members.) Hope to see you on the inside!

CLICK HERE FOR FREE TRIAL

View our privacy policy here.

Edible vs Non Toxic Gold Dusts

March 30, 2016 by Sharon Zambito 10 Comments

Today I want to talk a little bit about a topic that’s really hot right now in the cake world- edible gold dusts.

There’s a lot of incorrect info out there about this.

And it can be rather confusing.

So I hope to clarify a few things. My goal is that each decorator knows what is and is not allowed to be consumed, and what can be used for decorative purposes only.

Non toxic vs edible:

Non toxic means just that; it won’t hurt if it touches the cake but it is not intended to be eaten.

There are many many petal, luster and highlighter dusts that are non toxic, but aren’t food grade nor considered edible. These can be used to color flowers and other decorations that will be removed from the cake before serving.

Non toxic dusts are not to be used to cover an entire cake, cookie, or any other part of the cake that will be consumed.

Edible / Food Grade / FDA Approved:

This is where it gets a little confusing.

The most important thing to know and remember is that what is deemed as food safe is determined by the government of each individual country.

Seeing a product advertised as “edible” does not mean it is FDA approved in the USA (and vice versa.)

Countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, and the USA all have different guidelines as to what ingredients are considered safe to eat ie “edible”.

You may be purchasing a dust that was manufactured in another country, or is being sold online by an overseas based vendor.

If the product is approved for eating in that country, you may see the description say “food safe”, “100% edible” or something similar.

But that does not mean it is edible or approved in your country of residence.

You may see the term “EU approved”. This means that dust is approved as food safe for Europe. That does not mean it is edible in the USA.
The FDA is the one and only food regulatory agency for the USA.

If an item does not say “FDA APPROVED” , it is not considered an edible product in the USA, and may not be used in a manner in which it will be consumed.

The bottom line?

You can’t assume a dust is food safe in your country just because the website you are shopping on says it is “edible”.

If you live in the USA, you must see “FDA approved edible” to use it in edible applications.

If in Europe, look for “EU approved.”

Canada: look for “approved by Health Canada.”

So what about gold?

There is no edible metallic gold highlighter dust on the market for the USA at this time.

There are FDA approved luster dusts, but no gold metallic dusts.

They may not be used in an edible application on cakes or cookies. They can be used on items that will be taken off before serving and not ingested.

Please don’t rely solely on what you see listed on a website as “edible” or “food safe”.

Double check and be sure each dust is truly food approved by your own country’s laws. Contact the manufacturer if you have any doubt.

Frequently asked questions:

What’s the difference between a metallic dust (highlighter) and a luster dust?
Do I have a list of FDA approved dusts?

I’ll answer both to the best of my ability:

1) A luster dust is a shimmery, pearlescent dust. It has a mostly translucent look when mixed with alcohol and used as a paint. (You can get good coverage if the paint is thick enough or more than one coat applied.) But it still remains more of a shimmer look, as opposed to…..

A metallic dust (also known as a highlighter dust), which gives an opaque, metallic reflective look. This looks the most like a true metal (shiny gold, silver.)

Basically:

luster = shimmer
highlighter = metallic

2) Below is a list of edible dusts as far as I know**:

— FDA approved petal and luster dusts food safe in the USA:

Pristine Powders
Crystal Colors
Chef Alan’s Hybrid Dusts
Roxy & Rich
The Sugar Art
TruColor
Wilton

— Dust brands that have some colors* approved in other countries:

Sugarflair – EU, AUS and Canada
Rainbow Dusts – UK, Canada
Rolkem – EU and Canada

— Metallic golds that are non toxic but NOT edible in the USA:

Rolkem (approved in EU and Canada)
Ideale / Albert Uster
CK

*NOTE #1: within any one brand there may be some individual colors that are approved and others that are not, depending upon the ingredients. Always check each and every color to be sure.

Note #2: Some retailers buy in bulk and relabel as their own product. They may be advertised as “edible”, but if you cannot see a list of ingredients in order to check for yourself, then you must assume it’s not an edible dust.

**Disclaimer: Don’t take my word as gospel truth. I pass along what I can to the best of my knowledge. But regulations and ingredients are always changing. As I mentioned, you’ll need to do your own research to be sure each specific dust is approved for consumption in your country of residence.

These lists are intended only to be a starting point for you to further investigate and ensure the food safety of the dusts you use.

I hope this clears things up a bit. Drop me a note if you have any questions.

To safe decorating,
Sharon

Visit my online school: www.sugaredproductions.com

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**ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SUGARED APPLICATIONS IS STRICTLY FOR PERSONAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. SUGARED DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY AND YOU EXPLICITLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT INFORMATION PROVIDED ON SUGARED APPLICATIONS IS NOT NOR SHOULD EVER BE RELIED UPON AS LEGAL, BUSINESS, FOOD SAFETY, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE.

ALL SURFACES, MATERIALS, INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT THAT COME IN CONTACT WITH YOUR CAKE OR COOKING PROJECT MUST BE FOODSAFE AND PROPERLY SANITIZED. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY CAKE DECORATOR TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON FOOD SAFETY, SANITATION AND PROPER FOOD HANDLING PROCEDURES. TECHNIQUES AND TOPICS DISCUSSED ON SUGARED APPLICATIONS ARE FOR INFORMATION AND DEMONSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR INFORMATION ON PROPER FOOD HANDLING TECHNIQUES. SUGARED ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGES OR INJURY SUSTAINED OR INCURRED BY USING IMPROPER FOOD, EQUIPMENT, OR INGREDIENTS HANDLING PROCEDURES OR TECHNIQUES.

Mardi Gras Give-away!

February 9, 2016 by Sharon Zambito 91 Comments

HAPPY MARDI GRAS EVERYONE!

Since it is Mardi Gras day down here in the Big Easy, I thought you might enjoy learning about another one of our unique culinary creations. I have recruited my big sister Barbara to do a guest blog entry on making a king cake. Barbara is the inventor of the original King Rock (more on that later). In addition to that, she is just the best big sister ever. She looks after me. She is an accountant by profession, so she helps with my business finances, taxes, and all that other icky stuff I have no clue about. She also comes on some of my cake trips with me to help me out with my demos and my vendor table. She is one of the most energetic, social, and fun to be with people I know. She is a very cool chick and I love her tons. So now I present to you… Barbara…..

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Hi, I’m Barbara, Sharon’s sister, and she’s asked me to do a guest blog. This is me getting ready for Mardi Gras, which this year falls on February 24.

(Note from Sharon: I have this same outfit and yes we do wear this when we go parading.)

Speaking of Mardi Gras, that brings me to the topic of the day. I am not a cake decorator. I see some of the magnificent pieces of art that you all do and I am in complete awe. But, I am here today to talk about the king of all cakes – the King Cake.

If you are not from the New Orleans are, you might be asking yourself “what is a King Cake?” A king cake is a brioche-style cake similar to a coffee cake that is served throughout the carnival season in New Orleans. The carnival season begins on the 12th Day of Christmas, the Epiphany (January 6), which is the day the three kings visited the Baby Jesus. It is believed that it took the three kings 12 days to find their way to the stable. The carnival season ends on Mardi Gras Day, which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

The king cake is circular, representing the circular path the three kings had to take to ward off King Herod, who was seeking them so that he could kill the Christ Child. The king cake is typically decorated with colored icing and/or sugar. The three colors are purple, green and gold, the colors of Mardi Gras, which represent justice, faith and power. I’ve also heard that the three colors represent the three gifts presented by the Magi (gold, frankincense, and myrrh.) Within each cake is hidden a small plastic doll, which represents the Baby Jesus. (In olden times, it used to be a porcelain doll, or a bean or pea.)

King Cake parties where all the rage when I was growing up. Whoever was lucky enough to get the doll in their piece of cake would be named king (or queen) of that party and had to throw the next party. Today, this tradition is very prevalent in offices throughout the city where the person who gets the doll must bring the next cake. King cake sales are so prosperous that many bakeries in New Orleans are more profitable during the carnival season than they are for the entire rest of the year.

The making of a king cake should not be taken lightly. Since this is a yeast sweet bread, it has to be kneaded and left to rise twice, and is a day-long commitment. There are many bakeries that make excellent king cakes, so why in the world would anyone want to make their own? Just for the fun of it!!

My introduction into making home-made king cakes came many years ago. I found a recipe and tried it out on my family. Geez almighty, it was horrible. It came out heavy and hard as a rock, so much so that they called it the King Rock. My other sister, Janice, told her office mates about it and they accused her of exaggerating – that it couldn’t possibly have been that bad. So, they asked me to make a cake for their office party. Much to my dismay, it was just as horrible, but everyone was so polite and complimentary so as not to hurt my feelings, but I knew it was a bomb. I hope to think that I have gotten a little better at it over the years, but it is still tricky. I continue to try out new recipes and techniques, as I continue my search for perfection.

The recipe below is a really good one. It produces a light, but moist cinnamon cake. A few pointers for success: You have to get the yeast at just the right temperature (105 to 115 degrees) and let it foam for at least 10 minutes. You have to be careful not to add too much flour and not to over knead it. The dough should be slightly sticky, but elastic and able to hold its own shape, but never firm.

You have to be careful not to over bake it or it will be dry. I now use an instant-read thermometer, which should register 195 to 200 degrees for doneness.

The recipe is below. Basically, this is what you do. It’s much like making a bread dough. Let it rise till double in bulk and then roll out into a rectangle.

Here’s what it looks like rolled out with the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on:

Then roll up each piece into a long string.

Pinch the edges together so that the filling doesn’t ooze out. Flatten down the pinched edge afterwards so that it lays flat.

Twist the two strings together.

Form into a circle on a baking pan.

Let rise until double in bulk.

This is what it looks like right out of the oven.

Let cool and then decorate with a glaze and colored sprinkles.

See the baby’s head?

And that’s me with my cake.

You can do these in a variety of ways. You can divide the rectangle of dough into thirds and braid it like this. I rolled these strings in the cinnamon sugar to get it on the outside, rather than on the inside.

This is what it looked like after it was left to rise, baked and decorated. This one raised a lot and was very light and airy.

This one was filled with cinnamon sugar, raisins, and pecans. If you put a lot of “stuff” in your cake, it won’t rise as much.

You can also use other fillings, such as cream cheese filling, apple pie filling, lemon pie filling, cherry pie filling, etc. But I don’t like those. They turn out too sweet for my taste and the filling overpowers the taste of the cake. I’m a purist and like just a little cinnamon sugar.

So, that’s it. I hope that you all give it a try and bring a bit of New Orleans to wherever you might live. Also, if you ever have the chance to visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras, the city would love to have you. Let me just say that Mardi Gras is not only what you see in the media. Yes, there are some unmentionable things that go on in the French Quarter, but that is a very small piece of what our carnival season is about. Mardi Gras outside of the Quarter is very family oriented. The parade routes are filled with kids and families having fun. When we were little kids, my family did not miss a parade. We loved every minute of it. We would lift Sharon, the youngest, smallest and spryest of all of us, over barricades to get that all-elusive string of beads, trinket or doubloon out of our reach. Police were all over the place supposedly monitoring such infractions, but because she was so cute, the police would just look at her and us, and just shake their heads. We trained her young; you should see how she still scoops up the parade throws.

Happy Mardi Gras!

KING CAKE RECIPE:

(This recipe makes two medium size cakes.)

¼ cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon (1 package) dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
5 ¾ to 6 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees)
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon or orange
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

Cinnamon Sugar:
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
7 tablespoons hot water, more as needed
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring

1) Pour warm water into small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over the surface. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy; about 10 minutes.

2) Place 1 ½ cups of the flour, the remaining sugar, and the salt in mixer bowl. Make a well and add the milk, sour cream, eggs, and zest in the center. Beat until smooth on medium-low speed, about 1 minute.

3) Add the yeast mixture and beat for 1 minute more.

4) Stop the machine and add 1 cup more flour. Beat for 1 minute.

5) Add the butter pieces and beat on low speed until incorporated.

6) Add the remaining four, ½ cup at a time, until a soft, smooth dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to the dough hook when the dough thickens, about two-thirds through adding the flour.

7) When all flour is added, knead with dough hook for about 5 minutes on medium speed. (If you don’t have a dough hook for your mixer, you’ll need to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5-10 minutes.)

8) Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and just able to hold its own shape, under 1 minute if you used the dough hook (6 to 10 kneads to smooth it out), dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time, just enough to prevent sticking to your hands and the work surface. This dough will be very smooth, with a definite soft elastic quality, a little sticky, but never stiff, and will hold its shape.

9) Place the dough ball in a greased deep container, turn once to grease the top, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, 2 ½ to 3 hours. Do not allow the dough to rise over double.

10) Punch dough down with fist. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Let rest 10 minutes.

11) Divide the dough in half with a bench scraper, pizza cutter or knife, never tearing the dough.

12) Divide each half into thirds. Roll out to a rectangle approx. 20 x 12 inches.

13) Divide in half with pizza cutter. Brush with melted butter keeping edges dry. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

14) Roll up and pinch ends together so filling does not ooze out. Flatten pinched edge.

15) Twist two long rolled pieces together. Form into a circle and fold edges under.

16) You can insert baby trinket into cake at this point or wait until after it is baked. (I like to wait after it is baked if it is plastic.) Insert from underneath. (If you don’t have a baby trinket, use a whole pecan, walnut or other object; just be careful it is big enough that it cannot be swallowed whole.)

17) Cover with greased plastic wrap or light cloth towels and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

18) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes. An instant-read thermometer will read 195 to 200 degrees.

19) Let cakes completely cool.

20) To prepare frosting, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and flavoring; add hot water 1 Tablespoon at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. You don’t want this too thin because it will run right off the cake or too thick because it won’t drip down the side of the cake.

21) Pour frosting over cake; sprinkle with purple, green and gold colored sprinkles or colored sugar.

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Sharon again here. WOW! Was that great or what? Thanks Sis for showing me up on my own blog. Dang overachiever. (Just kidding.) But seriously, I have been trying to convince Barb for months now to start her own food blog. She is a good cook, and photography has been a hobby of hers for a long time.