Sugared Productions Blog

Calling the Coward……

by 41 Comments

 

Hello Sugar Friends!

 

This post is directed to only one person that I have no way of contacting, so this is my only recourse. I hate to take this to a public forum, but it is time that I speak up. All of my wonderful and loyal customers and blog readers… please forgive my indulgence here.

I have been getting anonymous “self-destructing emails” from someone who is not happy with my participation on a particular cake message board. I did not even know self destructing emails existed until I got the first one. Once you open it, the message cannot be copied and pasted, there is no return email address, and then in about 60 seconds the whole email disappears and cannot be traced.

To the coward who can be so judgmental of my activities, but does not have the guts to write me in first person:

I have no idea why my postings on a cake message board are of such importance to you. I am not ashamed of any activities I participate in. If you have such a serious problem with me, then at least have the integrity to contact me directly. At least when I write something, I do not hide behind an anonymous email service. You are a coward of the highest degree, and you have no affect on my life whatsoever. In addition, this is the last time I will acknowledge or respond to your childish behavior.

 

Sharon

 

 

The Story of the Cherry Hog

by 27 Comments

 

 

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.

—————————————-

 

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.

 

 

—————————————

 

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

 

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

 

Chocolate Bunny Boxes

by 5 Comments

It just would not be Easter without chocolate bunnies, right? I just had to share with you these adorable chocolate boxes I made. I got the mold here.

They are so cute filled up with candies. And you can eat the whole box! Gotta love that.

 

 

Paint the accent areas inside the mold with colored chocolate and a paint brush. It’s easier to do if the chocolate is cooled off a bit and a bit stiffer. Don’t be too worried about staying exactly in the lines. If you paint out of the lines, just let it air dry, and then use a toothpick to scrape off the excess where you don’t want it to be. Use a soft brush to brush out all the “crumbs”. Why not pop it in the fridge instead of waiting for it to air dry? Because that will cause the chocolate to release from the mold, and when you try to clean it up with the tooth pick, the whole piece of colored chocolate will pop right out. And then you will cry, and have to start all over.

This is what the outside of the mold looks like after the inside has been painted.

 

 

 

Then fill both cavities with melted chocolate in the color of your choice. Make sure the chocolate is cool to the touch. If it is too warm, it will melt your colored accents and they will run and smear. And then you will cry, and have to start all over again.

Edited to clarify: The above mold is the 2 pieces of the box. One side is the top, and the other side is the bottom part of the box with the cavity for the candies already in there. When you unmold it, the 2 pieces come out as you see in the finished product. I apologize for not getting a photo of the bottom part of the mold empty.

 

 

I put it in my freezer for 12-14 minutes, and then the 2 pieces come right out of the mold with a gentle tap. Let them come to room temp in cool room before you touch them. If not, you will get finger marks on the condensation you will not be able to repair. Then you will cry, and have to start all over again.
Isn’t he cute???
All packaged up and ready to be delivered by the real Easter Bunny.
Wishing all of you a blessed and peaceful Easter with your family and friends,
Sharon
www.sugaredproductions.com

New DVD Coming Soon!

by 10 Comments

 
 
WHAT COULD IT BE?
 
 

 
 
It’s going to be a good one!
 
 
 

 

                                                           It is almost ready!

 

 

                                              We will be taking pre-orders soon!

                                                                 Stay Tuned!

                                                                 Sharon

                                                www.sugaredproductions.com

 

 

And the Winner Is…………….

by 5 Comments

 
 
JUDI!!!

 

Judi guessed the right colors! YAY Judi!

But since we had such a great response to this contest, I did a random drawing from all of the entries and pulled 3 MORE WINNERS! YAY me!

Ann (Miss Sweetstory)
 
Jana
 
The Cake Queen
 
You guys need to email me at sugaredinfo@aol.com to claim your prize from the list I will provide you.
 
 
 
Note: Many guesses came in via email, so if you do not see a winner’s name in the comment section, please do not call the contest police. I assure you there is no cheating allowed at SugarEd.
 
I had a lot of fun with this one, and you guys seemed to also. Some of your answers just cracked me up. We will surely do this again in the future. Thank you all for reading my blog and hanging out here with me. Love you guys!
 
 
 
Sharon
www.sugaredproductions.com
 
 
 
 

Guess the Colors!

by 66 Comments

 
 
Hello Sugar Babies!
 
Here is a baby shower cake I just did. It was a very unusual color combo for a rather unconventional mom to be. I thought it would be fun to turn it into a little contest! (The crowd roars!)
 
Whoever guesses the 3 main colors used in this cake will win a prize! The 3 main colors are in the stripes, rattle and bow. The black (clay gun strings and dots) is not one of the 3 colors. You do not have to guess the base color. The winner will get to choose one cake tool from my site (from a list I provide.) The first person to guess correctly will win. If no one guesses the correct answer by Thursday, I will do a random drawing of all the entries to pick a winner.
 
 
Is SugarEd fun or what??
 
 
 

 
 
Want to learn how to make this style and shape of cake?
Stay tuned…………….
 
 
———————————————–
 
 
We Want Classes!
 
I get a lot of inquiries about coming to teach in different parts of the country and how that all works. Sometimes a cake club or a shop owner with sponsor the classes, but anybody can host a class. Here is the info:
 
If you want to host a class, you will need to find a place to hold us for 2 days. Each person needs 4-5 feet of table space depending upon what we cover. We can customize a class with the topics you desire. The minimum number of people depends upon my traveling costs to get to you, but it is usually around 10- 12-15. Once you find a place, and we agree on the dates, we determine the class cost (usually $200-$250 for 2 days with lunches provided, but students need to bring some supplies). Then we put the word out about the class and I start collecting deposits. If the minimum number of students is not reached, then the class is canceled and deposits are refunded. Please let me know if you have any more questions!
 
 
Now put your thinking caps on guess the colors
of this wacky baby cake!
Good luck!
 
 
 
Sharon
www.sugaredproductions.com
 
 
 
 

SugarEd Classes In Texas!

by 4 Comments

 

The Pearland Cake Society will be having a Day of Sharing on May 3, 2009 in Alvin, Tx (suburb of Houston.)

 
I will be doing a 2 hour demo on a name brand knock off purse with a champagne bottle inside. Other demonstrators will be Dena Bryngleson, Kim Wilson, Jacque Benson, and Carolyn Mangold. And let me tell you, these ladies kick cake butt! Lunch is included for the Day of Sharing.

 

 

 

On the 4th, I will be teaching 2 mini classes: a 2D carved fish and a stack of 2 books cake. You can sign up for one or both classes. Click here for all the info:

       http://www.pearlandcakesociety.com/

                                   Or email with questions: lopezclarissa2@aol.com

 

 

 

 

Please join us for the fun! I hope to see you there!

 

Sharon
www.sugaredproductions.com

 

 

Bow Loop Dryer

by 2 Comments

 
Hello Sugar Friends!

Hope your weekend is starting off right. I have tons to do this weekend, and don’t know where to start. I kinda feel a hamster on a wheel. No, hamsters look too much like little possums. Scratch that analogy.

 

Anywho, I have gotten hundreds, no thousands, no billions (OK, a handful) of emails asking where I got the bow loop dryer I use in my Boxes and Bows DVD, and how can they get one? Well: 1) it’s not mine, and 2) you can’t get one. Bummer.

The rack I use in the DVD actually belongs to Wendy and her hubby made it for her. I don’t have a picture of it to post here, so you have to watch the DVD to see it. (Ain’t I slick?)

 

But , have no fear. I have found another great rack that you can actually obtain! A gal on Cake Central posted this one that her hubby made from PVC piping.

 

 

 

 

All the arms swivel to any position you want. You can use it for drying flowers, bow loops, tails and more. You can also slide fatter pipes over the arms to make more open loops. I bought one from her, used it and loved it. Worked great and holds a lot too.

JaimeAnn of Cakes by JaimeAnn and her hubby are making these and selling them. I think the price is $35 plus shipping. You can contact her for more info and to order one: CakesbyJaimeAnn@bak.rr.com

Disclaimer: SugarEd is not affiliated with JaimeAnn nor her husband in any way, nor do we get monetary benefit from the sales of these racks. I do not know JaimeAnn nor her husband. Heck, I do not know if they even really exist. They could be androids, or aliens, or Disney animatronics for all I know. So once you leave this blog, I am out of the loop.

 
Have fun!
 
 
———————————–
 
 
 
CALLING ALL CAKE PHOTOS!
 
If you have a cake you are of proud of that you made after using techniques taught in our DVDs, then send them on in! I will post them in the blog to show off all you great cakers! Send a little description with the photo and a website link if you would like me to include that. Please send photos to sugaredinfo@aol.com and enter “Blog pic” as the title.
 
 
 
Have a great weekend. I am off now to try to get my head together and get some stuff accomplished!
 
Happy caking!
Sharon
www.sugaredproductions.com
 
 
 
 
 

Easter Special… FREE DVD!

by 5 Comments

 

 

HAPPY EASTER!
 
 
 
Buy any 2 Instructional DVDs and
receive a copy of our
Design Gallery DVD for FREE!
 

Instructional DVDs include Perfecting the Art of Buttercream,
Flawless Fondant, Successful Stacking
and Boxes and Bows.

The free DVD will not show up in your shopping cart at checkout, but you will receive a confirmation email that you have qualified for the free gift.

 

Offer expires April 12, 2009

 

 

Daring Bakers: Lasagna!

by 13 Comments

 
WHAT THE HAY?
 
Daring Bakers want Sharon to cook?
As in food?
As in gather ingredients, chop up stuff;
take the pans out and do something with all that to create…….
a meal??
 
Do they know me at all?
Sharon does not cook much. At all. OK, never.
Sharon does not care for cooking.
Sharon gave that up decades ago when the obnoxiously
picky eaters she lives with proved it to be a futile effort.
 
 
 


And to add insult to injury they want me to make lasagna? Do they not know I am married to a 100% pure blooded Sicilian who will eat no other Italian food besides his mamma’s? Did I do something to piss off the Daring Bakers?

Well, being the stubborn me that I am, I did not let these obstacles deter me from my challenge. I expected to either throw it away cuz it would totally suck, or end up eating it myself for a whole week until it was all gone.

 

 

 

The March 2009 challenge was hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. If you want the recipes, click on the hosts’ sites above.

For this challenge we had to make our own homemade spinach pasta, and use a recipe for bechamel sauce and a meat ragu. Alrighty then! The only thing I have used my pasta machine for is fondant and gumpaste. But make the pasta I did. I totally screwed up the recipe and had to add about 3 more eggs to make it kneadable and non brick-like. I knew this was gunna be bad from the get go.

 

 

I made mine as rolls, rather than the traditional layered casserole because, well, that’s how I roll. HAHA. I crack myself up sometimes.

 

 

 

 

 

J saw the green pasta and asked what the heck was that? I told him I was making lasagna (which he does like) and that it was broccoli pasta and he would love it. I told him it was broccoli because he loves broccoli and if he knew it was spinach he might not even try it.

Well, later that evening as the lasagna is baking he comes into my office and says,

J: Mom, that stuff has spinach in it?
Me: Getting nervous and pretending I did not lie earlier: Yeah, it does.
J: You said it was broccoli. I saw a package in the garbage can that said spinach.
Me: (Busted!) I did? Oh, I just said the wrong thing. It tastes just like broccoli. You won’t even taste it in the lasagna. Trust me, you will like it.
J: Yeah, whatever.

 

OK, so I know for sure he’s gunna hate it.

And hubby hates all things white sauce and not made by his mom Gina. But, I must forge on as any true Daring Baker would do. I will get my photo shots for the blog, get credit for the challenge, and move on with my miserable lie filled life.

 

 

OK. At least he agreed to try it. He looks miserable. But he does that a lot when I take pictures.

 

 

What do you think J-Man? He gave it a thumbs up, but in a cool teenager kinda way. (See the one little thumb up?)
 
 
 
 
 
 
He likes it! Hey Mikey!
 
 
 
 
And guess what else. Sit down. P-Daddy liked it too! I nearly fainted. I did not tell him it had white sauce in it. God, I am such a dishonest person. I need to go to confession.
 
SO, for the first time in about 20 years, 3 people in my household liked and ate the same thing on the same night! Check the Book of Revelations cuz the end of the world must be coming soon. Or Hell is frozen over. Something freaky is going on for sure!
 
 
So does this success mean Sharon is going to start cooking on a regular basis?
 
 
When pigs fly!
 
 
 

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