Contests Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Sugared Productions Blog

SugarEd in Texas!

March 16, 2009 by Sharon Zambito 2 Comments

Yee Haw!

I will be In Pearland, Texas May 3,4 and 5, 2009. The Pearland Cake Society will be having a Day of Sharing on May 3. I will be doing a demo on a name brand knock off purse with champagne bottle inside. Other demonstrators will be Ruth Rickey, Dena Bryngleson, Kim Wilson, Jacque Benson, and Carolyn Mangold. And let me tell you, these ladies kick cake a$$!

Then there will be two days of classes on May 4-5. On the 4th I will be teaching a one day class. We will make a fully decorated 2 tier wedding cake using fondant and gumpaste. On the 5th, I will be teaching 2 mini classes: a 2D carved fish and a stack of 2 books cake. There are other classes available too. It is going to be so much fun it will border on being illegal.

Go here to get all the scoop and sign up!

Clicky to come see me.

You can also email lopezclarissa2@aol.com for more info.

—————————————

Congratulations to the winner of the SugarEd hat by random drawing:

Vicki!

“I think your blog is great and fabulous and amazing and wonderful despite your hate of cute little possums! Janice’s contribution was great because it reminds me of how much we stress over our creations and usually they end up just fine (or other don’t notice the imperfections.)Vicki :)”

Please email me at sugaredinfo@aol.com to claim your prize.

——————————–

I will check in later this week some more uber interesting stuff to share with you all.

Happy caking!

Sharon

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

Sugar Free Celebration Cake

March 11, 2009 by Sharon Zambito 39 Comments

Today we have a guest blog entry by my other big sister Janice. You have met my other sister, Barbara, already. Janice is 7 years older than me, and Barb just 1-2 older than her. Since there was such a gap in our ages, they were not really my playmates when I was a kid. In fact, I think I was their play-thing, but that is a whole therapy session in and of itself. Once we reached adulthood, that gap in years has faded away and we three have become very close. Don’t get me wrong; they still take care of me and look out for me and spoil me. Some things just should not change in life.

Janice is the adventurer of us three. She rides Harley’s with her boyfriend, and has para sailed with my dear hubby as Barb and I fried on the beach watching. She has traveled the country and has a bucket list of things to do that scares the bejeesus out of me and Barb. This was her bright idea:

Janice is a crackerjack legal secretary, and my secretary as well. ( I call her CJ.) One day when I can start paying her, she is going to leave that huge corporate law firm down in the city that she works for. She takes care of all my invoicing and PO’s for wholesale orders, and keeps me in line with business law issues. She also comes on cake trips with me and Barb to help me vendor. And let me tell you; that girl could sell ice to an Eskimo. That girl has a gift for sales! She is beautiful, skinny, funny, and just damn near perfect. Another overachieving sister, sheesh. Hard to keep up with those two! But I love them both so.

So without further adieu, I present to you Janice……

—————————————-

Since I am a diabetic and several other members of my family adhere to a sugar-free diet, I am always responsible for providing a sugar-free dessert at all of our family gatherings. Thanks to the invention of Splenda, I’ve come up with some pretty good ones over the years.

A few months back, my sister Sharon, the professional cake baker/decorator, sent me an email with a recipe for a knock-your-socks off sugar-free cake, and asked me to make it for the holidays. It looked just beautiful in the picture – much more elegant than anything I had made in the past. Since I am not one to shy away from a challenge, I said I would give it a try.

As Christmas got closer, I started to stress out over it. I wanted it to be perfect. That’s just the German in me. I decided that I needed to take the whole day off on Christmas Eve to work on this cake so that I could take my time and not be rushed. Good thing I did that because as it turns out, it took me all day to make it and I finished it at 9:00 p.m. that night. Of course, I did take a break to run a few miles that morning, and to go to church that evening.

Because cake layers baked with Splenda don’t rise very much like cakes with regular sugar, I decided that I wanted to double the recipe to make the cake taller. But I only had two cake pans, so I had to bake the layers in two batches. That took a little extra time, and as it turned out, when I started to construct the cake, I only used three layers, instead of four. Four would have been too tall.

Mascarpone cheese was a challenge to find, but my daughter-in-law, the health nut vegetarian, found it for me at the Whole Foods Market. I let the cream cheese sit out at room temperature to soften it, but I actually think it was a little too soft. Next time, I think I would not leave it out as long because when I went to spread the filling, it was a little drippy over the sides. I think it would go on better if it were a little bit firmer. When you add the vermouth, that softens it too. But the best part was that since it was sugar-free, I got to sample it as I was making it! And since I had the vermouth out anyway, I decided to make myself a little martini. What the heck, it’s Christmas Eve, right?

I splurged on organic strawberries, also bought at the Whole Food Market. Expensive, but I figured if you’re going to create something special, you should buy only the best ingredients.

Chopped hazelnuts are not easy to find either. I went to three different stores before I found them at a Winn Dixie. I thought they needed to be a little bit finer, so I put them in a food processor just to chop them up a bit more.

I could not find a paper doily with a design that was open enough to use as a stencil for the powdered cocoa. So my sister, Sharon, found some snowflake coloring pages online and emailed them to me. I printed one of those and cut it out with a razor knife, and used that as the stencil.

The whole strawberries on the top of the cake are dipped in sugar-free chocolate melting wafers that my sister ordered for me from one of her suppliers.

Here’s what went into the filling:

1 tub (something like 250grams) mascarpone cheese
1/2 tub (about 100grams) light cream cheese
About 5 tablespoons Red Martini (sweet red vermouth)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Splenda
About 2 cups small strawberries, cleaned and halved

First cake layer.

First cake layer with sugar free strawberry jam on top.

Add some mascarpone filling.

Add fresh strawberry slices and repeat with each layer.

I used the sugar-free Cool Whip for the frosting.

Chopped nuts were pressed onto outside and design stenciled on top with cocoa.

The finished cake!

When the cake was finally done, I was exhausted, but I was happy with the end result. I put the whole thing in the refrigerator to firm up overnight. But as I flopped down on the sofa and sipped on my dirty martini, I immediately started stressing over how I was going to transport this masterpiece the next day from my house in Kenner to my sister’s house in Mandeville – about a 50 minute trip.

The next morning, I had to pick up my 95-year old aunt who lives nearby in an assisted living home. She’s in a wheelchair and it takes a while to get her situated in the car. I wanted my confectionery creation to be off the ice for as little time as possible, so I loaded up my car with all my gifts, but left the cake in my refrigerator, went and picked up my aunt, and then went back home to get the cake. I put a towel on the backseat to level it (center seat, of course – that’s the safest seat, right?), strapped it in with the seat belt, gave it a little kiss and jumped into the car and headed out. I figured I would speed just a little bit and the most my cake would be off the ice was 45 minutes.

So here I am, zipping along, with my old aunt in the front seat, and my award-worthy culinary delicacy in the back seat. Can’t wait to get to Sharon’s house so everybody can see it. (The cake, I mean, not my aunt. They see her all the time.)

Well, how could I have foreseen that when I turned onto Causeway Boulevard, it would be a freaking parking lot! Fog on the bridge! What?! Fog on Lake Pontchartrain. It’s a warm day, 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon, how can there be fog on the bridge? I could not believe it. Traffic was limited to one-lane, speed limits were greatly reduced, and that 50 minute trip turned into a three-hour trip. It took me three hours to get to my sister’s house in Mandeville! I was so upset because I had spent all day making this cake and I just knew it was in the backseat melting! And I also knew that my 95-year old aunt was going to have to use the bathroom very soon, and boy, was I going to be in trouble!

When I finally got to my sister’s house, I had to have my nephew, Daniel, open the lid and look at the cake. I couldn’t bear to do it. He said it looked fine, but I said, “Put the damn thing in the refrigerator and get me a martini!” He said, “Okay, but it won’t do much good because the power is out.” The power was out! It’s a conspiracy, I thought. There are terrorists working behind the scenes here to assure that my delectable piece of culinary craftsmanship would turn into a melted mess of vermouth-laced drippy cheese, strawberry juice and Cool-Whip. This cake baking stuff is not my thing! Sharon, I don’t know how you do it. This is too stressful! I am a legal assistant. Someone give me a brief to type! That I can do.

Well, the power came back on shortly, the cake was still firm and beautiful, and tasted delicious when we served it. It’s a good recipe and I highly recommend it.

————————————————-

Sharon here again. Whew, I am stressed out just reading that! Now I want a martini too. That was a crazy Christmas Day. Our 3PM lunch did not get served until 6:30 due to the power outage and late guests. In perfectly fine weather too!

Well, I think Janice did a fabulous job on her cake, and it did taste wonderful too. Thank you for the entry sis, and helping me out on my blog.

Speaking of blogs, if you guys like mine, just leave me a note in the comment section below, and you will be entered into a drawing to win this fabulous prize! :

Isn’t it great?! There are only 2 hats like this in existence, and I own the other one. So if you want a little piece of SugarEd to call your very own, let me know how great and fabulous and amazing and wonderful my blog is! Oh yeah, you can also leave a comment about Janice’s great post too, yadda yadda yadda.

I will announce the winner by random drawing sometime next week, when the spirit moves me. Gotta keep you guys on your toes, don’t I?

Happy Sugar Free Caking!

Sharon the baby sister Zambito

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

Martini Glasses Winner

February 27, 2009 by Sharon Zambito 2 Comments

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great Mardi Gras. I had a terrific time in Michigan teaching despite it being about 345 degrees below zero! 🙂 I will post some pics of the classes when I get a chance. Right now I am in a frenzy getting ready for our next DVD shoot on Monday and Tuesday. YAY!

The winner by random drawing of the fabulous Mardi Gras martini glasses is Audrey:

Audrey said…
Stuff like this makes me wish I had a big sis (or 2)! Sounds like you have a wonderful family. I’m so grateful you’re willing to share them and all you do with us. Enjoy Mardi Gras! 🙂

February 17, 2009 10:34 AM

Audrey, you did not leave an email address so I need you to email me at sugaredinfo@aol.com to claim your prize.

Congratulations and thanks to all who entered! We will have another give-away coming up soon!

Sharon
http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

Mardi Gras King Cake

February 17, 2009 by Sharon Zambito 38 Comments

HAPPY MARDI GRAS EVERYONE!

Since it is Mardi Gras season right now 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…..

—————————————-

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.

—————————————-

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. What do you guys think? If you think she needs to start her own blog, leave a note in the comment section below ……

Then you can pretend you are down here with us having a great time while you sip your Mardi Gras martinis.

Mardi Gras Martini:

This festive concoction will add color to your celebration and your cheeks. To make purple sugar, add a few drops of red and blue food coloring to granulated sugar and mix. Rim glasses with a cut lemon and dredge in colored sugar, add a lemon twist and enjoy this purple, green and gold treat.

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce triple sec

1 drop creme de menthe dark

Lemon twist, optional

In a martini shaker, combine vodka, triple sec and creme de menthe with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a martini glass, preferably one rimmed with purple sugar. Garnish with a lemon twist.(*from acj.com)

Happy Mardi Gras Everyone!

Sharon

PS We’ve got a full video tutorial on making the King Cake in our online school:

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

And the Winners are:

January 3, 2009 by Sharon Zambito 1 Comment

The DVD Give-Away winners are:

Winnie N. of VA

and

Roselyn L. of CT

These 2 lucky winners have won a free copy of both the Design Gallery DVD and Boxes and Bows, which should be released next month if all goes well.

We thank all who entered, and truly appreciate your business. Please stay tuned for more contests and drawings coming in the future!

We are in the final editing stages of Boxes and Bows and it is looking good!

Click here to see more details on the popular Design Gallery DVD.

Happy New Year to all! Stay tuned to our blog for more fun stuff coming up!

Sharon

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

DVD Give-Away Ends Soon!

December 30, 2008 by Sharon Zambito 10 Comments

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I just want to drop a quick reminder that our DVD Give-away ends midnight December 31, 2008. Read here to see how to win a free copy of both A Design Gallery and Boxes and Bows, which should be released within 2 months. I am so excited about the new DVD and cannot wait to get it out to you guys. It is just jammed packed with info I think you will love!

Design Gallery DVD Preview HERE

Here is a sneak peak at the cakes featured In

Boxes and Bows:

Wedding Shower Gift Cake

Valentine Gift Box Cake

Baby Boy Shower Package Cake

Christmas Parcel Cake

Side Bow

————————–

The SugarEd Staff and I want to thank you for helping us have a very successful 2008. We look forward to serving you in 2009. Please stay safe on New Year’s Eve. We wish you a very healthy, prosperous and peaceful year.

Sharon

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

DVD Give-Away and SNOW!

December 12, 2008 by Sharon Zambito 6 Comments

In celebration of this holiday season, we are going to have another DVD Give-away!

Every purchase of The Design Gallery DVD between now and December 31, 2008 qualifies the customer for one entry into the give-away. A random drawing will be held right after the new year. TWO names will be picked, and each will receive a free copy of both the Design Gallery and the Boxes and Bows DVD when it is released in the spring.

Pre-orders of the Design Gallery placed prior to this date will also be entered into the drawing.

This offer is not yet listed on our website, but all Design Gallery DVD purchases through December 31, 2008 will be entered.

Please check out the video clip preview of A Design Gallery on our website: Gallery Video Clip

SHIPPING NOW!

————————————————————————

Snow in Louisiana!

We woke up this morning to the falling of snow! J was sooo excited. He went out to play for a few minutes before school and got soaked and had to redress.

We barely ever even wear coats down here. We use the A/C all year round. I have seen a light snowfall like this maybe 4 times in my 45 years of life. And I have to tell you, it was exciting. And so pretty! We got more ground coverage than shown in these 2 pics. Even though it had started to melt, there was enough left on the ground for J and the neighborhood boys to play in it after school.

This is a picture of Heather’s car

D is at college at LSU, about an hour away. He called me at 4:30 AM just as excited as he could be, to tell me they had snow there. He and his friends were up studying for exams when it started.

So of course they went out to play in it!

—————————————-

How are all of you coming with your holiday baking and candy making? I am done making all the goody basket items. Now I turn all my attention to my sister’s office party extravaganza cake. (Hope I can pull it off.) Wendy is going to help me, and I will post pictures next week, either success or failure! I will post pictures of the assembled baskets the week after that.

Happy Holidays Ya’ll!

Stay Warm!

Sharon

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/

What could they be working on?

September 25, 2008 by Sharon Zambito 57 Comments

GUESS THE PROJECT CONTEST!

Yesterday I spent the day at the office studio of my video production company, Video Specialties. We are working on our next release, to be ready within about 2 months we hope. This is not one of the two instructional DVDs we have in progress. This is a “lagniappe” (or bonus) release. Can anybody guess what it might be? I will take all the correct guesses and put them into a hat for a drawing. The winner will get a free copy of this project. Put your thinking caps on and email or submit your guesses right here in the comment section at the bottom of this post!

Working hard, trusty Diet Coke at hand.