Sweet Talk with Flour Confections

The Flour Power Tour 2012

2012-01-05T09:47:00.010-05:00

Part 2 of Looking back at 2011 is still in progress....in the meantime here is a look at my personal teaching & travel line up for 2012!

The first leg of travel will be to Denver Colorado where I will be judging & demonstrating at the Sweet Times in the Rockies cake show. The show takes place February 11th & 12th at the Colorado Garden and Home Show.

Next stop is the That Takes The Cake Show in Austin Texas. The show takes place February 25th & 26th and consists of a sugar art show, live demonstrations, vendors, mini classes and celebrity classes! I'll be teaching Eat Your Art Out - how to make fun faux foods as well as making a silicone mould.

Some of the fun treats from Eat Your Art Out

In March I will taking 2 more trips. First to attend the Extreme Flowers - Giants to Miniatures class with Ron Ben-Israel at Custom Cakes in Savannah Georgia.

Later that month I will be teaching 2 classes at the Great Lakes Mini Classes in Dearborn Michigan. Another fun show consisting of a sugar art show, vendors and guest classes - be sure to check it out!

In August I will be demonstrating at the ICES convention in Reno, Nevada August 2nd - 5th. Join me at the Snakeskin Lace Effect demo on Friday August 3rd at 2pm - I will be sharing the techniques I used to make my 3rd place sugar shoe at the 2011 OSSAS show. Looking forward to attending the convention!

3rd place Masters Sugar Shoe at OSSAS 2011

In September I will be making my annual trek to Tulsa Oklahoma to attend & compete in the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show September 29th-30th. The Grand Wedding Cake Competition theme this year is Hats, Headbands & Headgear - should be interesting!

The last stop on the tour for 2012 is in October where I will be attending & teaching at the Cake Love convention in Vancouver, British Columbia. Last year the first convention was a blast with tons of great classes - this year is proving to be bigger & better with an amazing line up! Be sure to check it out!

Display cake from the 1st Cake Love Convention

Look Who's Coming to Flour Confections in 2012!

2011-12-30T14:17:00.045-05:00

This year Flour Confections is so excited to be hosting so many AMAZING teachers! Some have visited before, some are new to us, but rest assured each and every class will be packed full of fabulous information.

Want to know who will be joining us this, our third year of hosting amazing celebrity classes?

In March we have the amazingly talented Debbie Brown joining us all the way from the UK! She will be teaching 3 fabulous classes, including 2 projects from her latest book Baby Cakes!

Kittens Friday March 2nd 9am-5:30pm

Beetle Love Saturday March 3rd 9am-5:30pm

Noah's Ark Sunday March 4th 9am-5:30pm

In April my good friend Jackie Butler of Petalsweet in San Diego, California will be teaching us her fabulous sugarpaste flowers and how she creates those amazing romantic sugar vase arrangements.

3 Day Sugarpaste Flower Vase Friday April 27th-Sunday April 29th 9am-5pm

In July my "mate" Lorraine McKay of Extra Icing in Scotland will be crossing the pond again to join us for more of her fabulous sugar figure classes, she hasn't been back to Canada since 2010. Not only is she teaching 2 2day Bride & Groom figure classes, but she is also joining us for her wonderful Head & Hands workshop - perfect for those needing to improve their skills or for those looking for a refresher!

Head & Hands Friday July 6th 9am-1pm

Asian Bride & Groom Saturday July 7th & Sunday July 8th 9

am-4:30pm

Classic Bride & Groom Tuesday July 10th & Wednesday July 11th 9am-4:30pm

In August we are thrilled to be hosting 2 new classes with 2 talented friends: Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes in Oakland California, and Wayne Steinkopf of Swank Cake Design in Raleigh North Carolina.

Debbie Does Designer - Purses Thursday August 9th 9am-5pm

Designer Duo - Designer Purses with Debbie & Edible Shoes & Jewelry with Wayne

Thursday August 9th & Friday August 10th 9am-5pm

Edible Shoes & Jewelry class 1 Friday August 10th 9am-5pm

Edible Shoes & Jewelry class 2 Saturday August 11th 9am-5pm

And finally in November we are so excited to be hosting both of these returning teachers TOGETHER! My good friends Lauren Kitchens of Fancy Cakes by Lauren in Dallas, Texas and Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes in Redmond Washington will be joining us for 4 AMAZING days of cake!

What's in the Box? with Lauren Kitchens Friday November 2nd 9am-5:30pm

3D Cake Structures with Mike & Lauren Saturday November 3rd 9am-5:30pm

A Day of Modeling Chocolate with Mike & Lauren Sunday November 4th 9am-5:30pm

Sculpted Eiffel Tower Cake with Mike McCarey Monday November 5th 9am-5:30pm

Looking back at 2011 - Part 1

2011-12-30T14:15:00.051-05:00

I'm in absolute SHOCK that another year has gone by! I don't know about all of you, but for me, this year has gone by in the blink of an eye!

So where to begin? This year was so crazy I'm going to have to split this post in 2! 2011 started with us just settling in our new store location. Since the move in November 2010, we have been growing and going non-stop! And now a full year has past and it still feels the same...

February started off with a bang! Lauren Kitchens of Fancy Cakes by Lauren joined us for some highly anticipated classes - Character Sculpting 101 and Monsters 301! Students learned about structures and how Lauren created her lovable Muppet characters on Food Network Challenge Sesame Street Cakes.

Fun times with Lauren Kitchens

Lauren & her little monsters

Next for the month, I created a fun cake for a little show called Rich Groom Poor Groom - where the groom does all the planning!! Our groom decided he wanted a spy/espionage themed wedding complete with a recreation of Mike's Amazing Cakes "explosive" cake! You can see the episode on Slice.ca HERE.

Also in February I did some travel. First I flew out to Denver last minute to visit some friends & take a class with Sharon Zambito of SugarEd Productions & Rebecca Sutterby of Sugar Creations. It was a great girls weekend full of fun, great tips & techniques, and great food - I had my first Bison burger!

Rebecca, Sharon & moi with the class project cake

mmmm a very tasty Bison burger!

A week later I was back in the air this time going to Austin Texas to check out the Austin Cake Show. I worked at Sharon's booth selling DVD's during the show and hung out with friends at night, I even got to squeeze in a quick refresher class with Lorraine McKay. The show features great instructors, a competition, demos and vendors - and this year I will be teaching there as well - be sure to check it out!

Don't be alarmed - it's sugar!!

A fun night with Lorraine McKay

March was a whirlwind of travel! In early March I was back on a plane to Denver - this time however I was there to assist Ashlee Perkins in the Food Network Lego Cake Challenge!

The timing was tight - the Challenge film date was the day I was to be flying out to Orlando with my family for a Disney vacation - how could I be in 2 places at once? So I left for Denver and my family went ahead to Disney. The day after Challenge I flew straight to Orlando to catch up with them! Can you say exhausting?

My first Challenge experience was a blast - very tiring very stressful but a blast none the less. The day before Challenge we ran around Denver doing our final preparations. I was thrilled that my good friend Adele came to stay with me and offer moral support. She got up at 4am to do my makeup and she sat through the entire Challenge - smiling the whole time. When it was all said and done she helped us clean up - she's a rock star!

I made custom moulds of real Lego knobs to get the right details

Another detail shot of the finished cake

The Challenge itself was tough - most Challenges are 8 hours in length - but we got a surprise when we ventured on set in the early morning hours - not just an 8 hour Challenge - but an additional SURPRISE 2 hour PRE-Challenge!! That really threw us all off our guard! It was hard to get back in the game once the pre-challenge was done.

Ashlee & moi with the completed cake

Our final cake was super cool - a giant Lego shark from the Atlantis set complete with moving minifig - something that wasn't shown on camera. Unfortunately it wasn't in the cards for us - 2nd place was our fate.

On the wings of defeat, I was back in the air flying to Orlando for a much needed vacation! But there wasn't much rest for the wicked.....

Some family time at the Happiest Place on Earth

At the end of my trip I jumped in a rental and drove north to Savannah Georgia to take a 3 day sugar orchid class with Ron Ben-Israel at Minette Rushing's Custom Cakes. The class was all I expected and more. I can never say enough about classes with Ron or the amazing Southern hospitality at Custom Cakes! This trip has now become an annual tradition every March - one that I look forward to continuing!

A few of my sugar orchids

Me & my Sugar Daddy aka The Sweet Genius!

I've made some fabulous friends in the cake world - Ron, Minette & moi

In April we celebrated our 2nd anniversary! 2 years later and in a new location already! Who knew?

Also in April I stayed put and let someone else do the traveling! Marina Sousa of Just Cake came to Flour Confections to teach 2 wonderful classes - first by bringing some "bling" with her wonderful bead moulds and second how to create amazing topsy turvy style cakes.

The completed class cake - still on display at FC

Also in April I created 2 very fun and special cakes while applying what I learned from both Lauren & Marina. The first cake was for my daughter's 9th birthday, her request was for a Julius cake aka Paul Frank Monkey cake! Using the techniques from Lauren's Monsters 301 class, I created an edible Julius holding a mini birthday cupcake. At the party he was surrounded by more cupcakes each topped with a sugar cherry. The cake was the hit of the party!

Edible Julius aka Paul Frank monkey cake!

The 2nd cake that week was created for our friends Tami & Tara who were celebrating their 35th birthday. I decided what better cake to create than to recreate in cake what we did in Marina's class. Tami & Tara's toppling tower of treats (say that 5 times fast) was a show stopper.

The stunning twins with their stunning cake!

In May, I played 2 rolls - the first roll was my first time as a judge. I was invited to be one of the judges of the live cake competition at Bonnie Gordon's annual Cake Show. It was a tough experience being on the judging side, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed and took very seriously.

Competitors hard at work

The second roll that month was the roll of assistant for a 2nd time. This time I assisted Matt Somers of It's a Matter of Cake on the Canadian cake competition Cake Walk. Being that we had both done Food Network Challenge, we kinda had an idea on how to play things out - and even though we had never worked together before, after 5 minutes in the kitchen together we were in sync! Seeing the design come to life was an awesome experience - we had a great theme & great design - it went exactly as planned - and well winning the competition was pretty sweet too!!

The sketch

Detail shot of the pumpkins, moon & bride & groom

Detail shot of the burning candles (isomalt flames with LED lights) full sugarpaste rose and aged tombstone

Professional image of winning cake (courtesy of Buck Productions)

We will finish off part 1 with the month of June. We started it out with an amazing 2 days with master instructor Toba Garrett. Students learned the fine art of Australian stringwork as well as Lambeth techniques. Although the techniques are very challenging and painstakingly precise, I found the classes so relaxing. Piping is very calming for me and it was this class which gave me the confidence to create my OSSAS wedding cake (see Part 2).

Toba piping away while students watch in awe

This month I also created a very challenging yet rewarding cake. I was asked to take part in Stilettos for the Cure - a fundraiser event in support of breast cancer research. For the event I created an entirely edible pair of GIANT Louboutin stilettos! Each shoe was over 2 feet tall and all cake - lots of planning went into these and it was so rewarding to deliver them to the event.

Giant cakes take planning!

Finished shoes waiting to be presented

Organizers eagerly slice the cake!

So that concludes part of of my year in review! I'm exhausted just looking at it and it's only 1/2 the year!!! Stay tuned for part 2 !

The Sweet Genius was here.....

2011-12-30T13:00:00.031-05:00

Yes I know it's been a very long time since my last post - I can't believe that as of tomorrow this year will be coming to a close! Where did the year go? For that answer, please see my next post....

Last year we coordinated THE class of the year - a 3 day Master class on sugar flowers with Ron Ben-Israel! Ever since that class, students were anxiously awaiting his return. As I was enjoying my 2nd night in Florida on my family vacation, I was pleasantly surprised by a phone call from the "Sweet Genius"! He had finally received his upcoming schedule for season 2 of the show and was able to commit to a class. We had ONE MONTH to coordinate a 3 day class on sugar orchids - but we knew our students would jump at the chance!

Ron's sugarpaste Cymbidium orchids

Ron's sugarpaste Dendrobium orchids

Students worked hard but had fun!

In late November, Ron escaped the Thanksgiving crowds of New York to join us again for another amazing class. Students were not disappointed as not only did we learn 5 varieties of sugar orchids, but we talked, ate very well, laughed, and even had a private viewing of one of the episodes from season 1 of Sweet Genius! Watching Ron on the big screen while he sat with us was surreal!

Our own private screening with the Sweet Genius!

Again our amazing multi-media classroom allows for amazing views of the Maestro's work!

Using cake dummies & completed flowers, Ron showed us how to create different cake designs

One of the complete cake designs

Season 2 of Sweet Genius will start production in the New Year and Season 1 of the show will begin on Food Network Canada on January 4th .... as for Ron's return, we will keep you posted ....

Thank you Ron for another fabulous 3 days!

And lastly a very fun treat - spot Ron!

Matt & Lisa Make A SPOOK-TACULAR Cake!!

2011-10-20T12:39:00.012-04:00

Finally!!! The results have been revealed - Matt Somers of It's a Matter of Cake and Lisa Bugeja of Flour Confections were the dream team on last night's episode of Cake Walk - Wedding Cake Edition "Fright Night"!

Funny thing was this dream team was only created a week prior to the filming! Originally Matt had another assistant, however circumstances lead him to needing a replacement and fast! He called me up to see if I was available. Quickly glancing at my calendar and knowing he was in a bind, we made it work. That week we phoned, emailed, and texted back and forth working out the details - but we had never yet worked together in the kitchen! Matt came to my shop a few days before the filming so that we could prep and make sure we were both on the same page. Prep was fun and relaxed and we knew then we would have no problem working together.

The day of filming we walked onto the beautiful set ready to go - we had our game plan set, our tasks laid out and our design rocked! The 7 hours really flew by fast, but in the end we didn't miss a single element on our design and it looked exactly like the sketch! The win was pretty "sweet"!

Besides the amazing gravity defying structure (which was as tall as I am!), we made our own moulds, did isomalt flames lit with LED lights, gumpaste roses, gumpaste figures and a massive tree! The cake weighed quite a bit - and all the weight was on one side of the small base - so I made sure that Matt took that side during the move! LOL!

Here are some detail shots from the show.

The judges were ever so curious about our structure - all will be revealed in time....

Stacking went just as planned and BOOM we have a cake!

Despite the small base, super tall cake and the weight - we made the cake walk no problem!

Details details details - from the long stem gumpaste roses, to the burning isomalt flames, to the twisted tree - we had it all!

Thank you Matt for letting me be a part of this - it was awesome!

For Immediate Release.....

2011-10-13T15:53:00.001-04:00

photo credit: Hawks Photography

For Immediate Release

A Sweet Win for Pickering Entrepreneur and Cake Designer Flour Confections Wins Big at Leading North American Sugar Art Show

Toronto, ON – October 7, 2011 - It was a sweet win for Pickering’s Lisa Bugeja, owner of Flour Confections, when her decadently-creative wedding cake creation placed second runner-up in the Grand Wedding Cake Competition at the renowned Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show in Tulsa October 2, 2011.

With its striking Bridget Riley-inspired Op-Art design and vibrant pops of colour, it was no wonder the judges fell in love with Bugeja’s stunning five-tiered fondant wedding cake and inevitably beat out 80 others in North America’s largest cake competition.

“Every year for the past five years, I’ve been making the 20-hour drive to Tulsa to attend the show.” Says Bugeja, “This was the fourth year I entered in the Grand Wedding (cake competition) and I couldn’t be more thrilled that my cake came in third against the best of the best. This is an amazing accomplishment.”

While the Grand Wedding Cake competition was the star of the show, Bugeja’s name was called out several times for her talents in other divisions – she placed first (for the fifth year in a row) in Masters Confections for her cookies, second in Masters Special Techniques and third in Red Carpet Shoes.

It was a well-deserved triumphant event for Bugeja who first opened the doors to her progressively successful multifaceted cake supply business, Flour Confections, on April 1, 2009.

Based in Pickering Ontario, Flour Confections quickly made a name for itself through its divine creations that cater to celebrities and brides alike. The store is also the destination confection-enthusiasts flock to when they wish to create an indulgent dessert at home. From savoury fillings and topping decorations to celebrity-taught classes, Bugeja is more than happy to sugar-coat her services to meet all the needs of her clientele.

Bugeja’s talents are not only being recognized at celebrated State Fairs, but are being showcased on international television.

Watch her on Slice Network’s Cake Walk as she takes part in the October 26 episode of Cake Walk Wedding Cake Edition – Fright Night. She’ll be assisting Matt Somers of “It’s a Matter of Cake” compete for $5000 and the title of best cake designer.

Bugeja will also be featured on the US Food Network’s November 6 episode of LEGO Cake Challenge. She’ll be assisting Ashlee Perkins of Savannah Custom Cakes (http://www.savannahcustomcakes.com) compete for $10,000!

An extremely talented cake and confection designer, Bugeja doesn’t keep her award-winning know-how under wraps. She offers regular informative, interactive classes out of her Flour Confections store in addition to traveling across Canada and the United States to teach the art and skill of decadent design.

Bugeja will be travelling to Austin Texas February 25-26, 2012 to the That Takes the Cake Sugar Art Show and Cake Competition (http://thattakesthecake.org/index.php/main/) as well as to the Great Lakes Mini- Classes and Michigan Sugar Art Showcase Cake Competition March 23-25, 2012. Her classes will feature techniques used on her award-winning divisional entries from the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show 2011.

For additional information on the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show, please visit http://www.oklahomasugarartists.com/.

About Flour Confections

Since 2004, Lisa Bugeja, owner and founder of Flour Confections, has been creating custom cakes professionally, adding a unique touch to special occasions and turning dreams into sweet reality. Since April, 2009, the Pickering-based Flour Confections has been a prominent fixture on the confectionary design and supply scene. Serving Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area, Flour Confections evolved from a passion for dessert and a love for artistic expression. Providing an array of sweets, Flour Confections also provides cake decorating classes and sells an assortment of cake decorating supplies.

###

Contact: Lisa Bugeja, Founder & Owner

Address: 1084 Salk Road Unit 5, Pickering Ontario

Phone: (905) 492-2692

Website: www.flourconfections.ca

Blog: www.flourconfections.blogspot.com

Email: lisa@flourconfections.ca

Cake Walk - Wedding Cake Edition Premiers THIS WEEK!

2011-09-05T15:01:00.005-04:00

Hello all you Canadian Cake Fans!!! It's time to UNITE and CELEBRATE all things CANADIAN CAKE!

This week the Canadian Cake World is all a buzz as the premier episode of Cake Walk nears. What is Cake Walk you ask? Cake Walk will be making it's debut this Wednesday September 7th at 9pm on Slice Network - it is a timed cake competition in which 3 Canadian cake designers compete to create the winning cake for a one couple's dream wedding. Each week will feature a new couple, new designers and a new theme.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Be sure to TUNE IN Wednesday October 26th at 9pm to see ME assist Matt Somers as we make a "Spook-Tacular" cake! Will we win? Tune in to find out!

To view more about Cake Walk - you can watch the trailer on YouTube HERE

For more information about the show go to www.slice.ca HERE including video clips HERE

This One Time ... At Cake Camp ....

2011-07-18T18:27:00.011-04:00

Well I'm back from Las Vegas and Cake Camp 2011 - what a blast! It's been 3 years since the last Cake Camp so I jumped at the chance to go back!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - so let's go with that!

Get this plane going - Vegas is waiting!

Woot! Woot! We are here!

View from our room at the Green Valley Ranch Resort

As the sun sets ...

Time to take in the sites ...

Vegas has something for everyone!

It was a great weekend of spending time with friends .....

Me & Ruth Rickey

Me & Lauren Kitchens

Me & Ashleigh Phillips Foster

Oh ya and I took some classes too!

Beyond The Bridge with Ruth Rickey

Cocoa Painting with Marsha Winbeckler

Airbrushing with Roland Winbeckler

Sitting Dog Stand with Mike McCarey

Debbie Brown is Crossing the Pond!

2011-07-05T11:26:00.006-04:00

photo courtesy of Debbie Brown Cakes

We are thrilled to announce that Debbie Brown will be joining Flour Confections next year for 3 wonderful classes!

2 of the classes feature cakes from Debbie's newest book "Baby Cakes". Debbie has authored over 20 books and is the UK's #1 sugarcraft author! Her novelty cakes and figures are adored by people around the world.

Debbie will be teaching the following master classes:

Kittens MasterClass with Debbie Brown

Friday March 2nd 2012 9am-5:30pm $375 CAD

Beetle Love MasterClass with Debbie Brown

Saturday March 3rd 2012 9am-5:30pm $375 CAD

Noah's Ark MasterClass with Debbie Brown

Sunday March 4th 2012 9am-5:30pm $375 CAD

As with all our classes, all supplies are included and a fabulous lunch and our signature cookies will be served!

Spaces are already filling after our initial announcement last week - you don't want to miss out on this chance to learn from Debbie!

Being Tranquil with Toba

2011-07-05T10:33:00.005-04:00

I know most of you will probably say "piping? tranquil? not possible!" But it really is and was!!!

We were so honoured to have hosted master chef instructor Toba Garrett for 2 full days of advanced piping techniques. Toba is so down to earth and made everyone feel very relaxed - it was one of the most calming and zen like classes I've ever had! Soft music was playing while students patiently piped away.

Our days were split between the Lambeth Ring Design in the morning and Australian Stringwork in the afternoon. After the rather hectic week I had just had, I needed a break and this class was it! It's sad to say, but I feel like piping is a dying art these days and it's truly a shame. It was such a pleasure to see students come out to learn this fine art and to appreciate the skill involved. I hope now we will see a come back to piping!

Summer's Here - But come Fall we Cheer!

2011-06-28T19:45:00.002-04:00

Yes Summer is here and the kids are out for break - BUT - I cannot wait for Back To School, because this Fall, a bunch of new cake shows will be hitting the Canadian airways!

SLICE™

Cake Walk: Wedding Cake Edition (World Premiere) SEPTEMBER 7

Cake Walk: Wedding Cake Edition is a cake competition series hosted by Canadian actress and comedian Caroline Rhea. Each one-hour episode features three Canadian cake designers as they compete for the chance to have their work showcased on the most important day in a couple’s life. The designers must create the couple’s dream wedding cake in a matter of hours. The stakes are high as they race against the clock to design and complete a uniquely beautiful cake. In the end, it’s up to the couple – and a panel of three expert judges – to decide who will take home the $5,000 prize and the chance to have their cake design featured at the couple’s wedding.

FOOD NETWORK

Were you missing Duff? No fears....

Sugar High (Canadian Premiere) AUGUST 31
In this brand new series, famed cake ‘Ace’ Duff Goldman leaves his bakery behind and takes a sweet road trip on a mission to find the best desserts in America, from baked Alaska to Boston cream pie. Duff goes to the locals of each city to find out where they eat when they’ve got a sugar craving and then meets the people behind the nation’s best desserts, getting the scoop on the history of the recipe and the behind-the-scenes magic of how it is made.

Tough Cookies (Canadian Premiere) AUGUST 31
The only thing more popular than the Jersey Shore beach in New Jersey are the cookies at Crazy Susan’s Cookie Company. There’s never a dull moment with this loving, squabbling, multi-generational family. Sisters Susan and Linda try to keep everything running smoothly – but with lines out the door, phones ringing off the hook, and family members who create more problems than solutions, they’ll need to work their tails off to keep these cookies from crumbling.

I'll be tuning in.....will you?

Are You Ready For Some LOVE?

2011-05-26T16:04:00.003-04:00

Cake Love that is!

Get ready Canada! The FIRST Cake Love conference will be taking place this September 23rd-25th 2011 in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia!

I will be there teaching some awesome classes, but you can also learn from other talented artists. Learn from:

Amy Eilert

Anne Heap

Becky Rink

Colette Peters

Diane Gruenburg

Jacqueline Butler

Lauren Kitchens

Lucinda Larson

Norm Davis & Zane Beg

Pat Jacoby

Ruth Rickey

Silvina Barbosa

Susan Carberry

Toba Garrett

You won't want to miss on such an amazing line up in such an amazing city! For more information about the show, classes and how to register, visit the Cake Love website http://www.cakeloveyvr.com/

I'm looking forward to it!!

Why is Purple Making Me So Blue?

2011-05-17T10:12:00.012-04:00

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

My purple fondant is fading,

Is this happening to you?

I hear these questions on a daily basis - why is my purple fondant fading? What is the best way to make purple fondant? Which pre-made purple fondant is deep purple?

To start, let's begin with a little colour lesson. What is purple? To make the colour purple, you need to mix the primary colours red & blue. Without the colour red, most of your foods would have a greenish or blue tone - grape soda would be blue, deep chocolate cake would have a green undertone, etc.

In order to figure out the purple problem, a little bit of research and history is in needed. Up until the mid 1970's, the red dye used in the food industry was Red Dye #2. In 1976, this dye was pulled from the market as studies had deemed it unsafe for human consumption and could possibly cause cancer. Thankfully there was an FDA approved substitute in place - Red Dye #40. Now manufacturers could continue to colour their products - problem solved - or was it? Well it turns out that Red 40 is not as stable as its predecessor Red 2. And not only that, it was also more expensive and manufacturers require anywhere from 30%-50% MORE colour in order to achieve proper saturation. What does this mean to you? Well it means that the colour tends to fade. You see, the red is a UV intolerant colour, thus UV light (including bright lights) will cause the colour to fade. But how does that affect purple you ask? Remember what I said above? Purple = Red + Blue. If the red fades out, what will remain? BLUE.

So how does all of this information help you? Well now that you know what the causation is, you can look for ways to help prevent it. First, store your purple fondant and gumpaste out of the light - keep it in a dark bag or container and in a cupboard. Also keep your finished cakes, flowers, decorations, etc stored in a dark place in order to help prevent the fading from occurring.

OK so what do you do if you want to display your finished cake or flowers or decorations? Well now you need to look into ways of preserving the purple colour or look for a lasting purple colour. First there is airbrushing. I have found that an airbrushed cake remains true, I have had a purple cake on display for over 4 years and it remains the same.

Another way to have a lasting purple is to use a more stable colourant when colouring your fondant or gumpaste. I have found that the SugarFlair colours are more concentrated and more true, and specifically for purple, the Grape/Violet colour works especially well for a lasting purple. The red they use E122 is much more stable and thus it lasts longer.

Then there is the pH balance. When the pH of your fondant or gumpaste is not balanced, the red can fade out. In order to help counteract that reaction, you can add an alkali such as baking soda. A good ratio is 1 tsp of baking soda per 1 lb of fondant or gumpaste.

Now I'm not a chemist or a colour expert by any means. The above information is simply based upon my own research and experience and is meant to be helpful.

So hopefully the next time you are working with purple, you won't be singing the Blues!

Calling All Canadian Cake Decorators!!!

2011-05-12T10:54:00.000-04:00

Visit Canadian Cake Decorators Guild

Flour Confections is happy to announce we are now the home of the Durham Region Chapter of the Canadian Cake Decorators Guild!

Haven't heard of the Guild aka CCDG? Well it is an awesome online resource for Canadian cake enthusiasts to learn, share & socialize. To find out more and learn how you can become a member, visit their website HERE.

The Durham Region Chapter meetings will be held on the LAST THURSDAY of each month, beginning this month on Thursday May 26th from 6:30-8:30. The meetings are open to current members of the CCDG and for those looking to join. Our first meeting topic is insurance in the cake industry.

We hope to see you all at the meeting!

Sugar Flowers with Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet - 2012!

2011-05-10T11:05:00.006-04:00

Another class announcement! We have been working hard at lining up some really amazing classes for 2012, and we are happy to announce that Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet will be joining us April 27th-29th 2012!

Petalsweet, located in San Diego California, is known for creating contemporary, stylish & modern wedding cake and custom sugar flower cake toppers & decorations. Jackie has created her own style which is recognizable around the world! I am happy to call Jackie a friend and I'm thrilled that she will be joining Flour Confections next year!

Jackie will be teaching her 3 day Sugar Flower Vase Topper filled with her signature peonies, ranunculus, hydrangeas, buds & leaves in a fresh Spring green, white & pink colour palette. For more information about the class or to register your seat, visit our website HERE

To learn more about Jackie & Petalsweet, view her You Tube video HERE

Lorraine McKay Crossing the Pond in 2012!

2011-05-09T12:54:00.009-04:00

Flour Confections is excited to welcome back Lorraine McKay! We had an amazing time with Lorraine back in 2010 and we are so thrilled she has agreed to join us again in the summer of 2012!

Last year Lorraine's Bride & Groom class sold out quickly, so we are happy to be able to offer 2 classes this year, her amazingly popular Asian Bride & Groom as well as her Classic Bride & Groom. Both classes are 2 day classes in which you will learn how Lorraine creates her wonderful caricatures!

Lorraine will also be offering her new Head & Hands workshop

- for those short on time or funds - students will simply concentrate on the trickier aspects of figure modeling - the head & hands!

You don't want to miss out on your chance to learn from Lorraine. Her classes are fun, full of information and she is a riot! We hope to see you all

next summer!

Head & Hands Friday July 6th 2012 9am-1pm

Asian Bride & Groom Saturday July 7th & Sunday July 8th 2012 9am-4:30pm

Classic Bride & Groom Tuesday July 10th & Wednesday July 11th 2012 9am-4:30pm

Become a Master!

2011-05-09T12:42:00.005-04:00

As much as I hate to say it, piping is one of those dying arts in the world of cake decorating. With the emergence of new tools, gadgets, cutters, machines.....people joining the industry sometimes never even get a chance to hold a piping bag! Yet the art of fine piping is truly one of my passions and I'm hoping with the current trends of vintage and classic designs and with the recent Royal Wedding, the art of piping is going to make a come back!

So why not learn that fine art from one of it's masters? Toba Garrett is known around the globe for her fine piping & for being a master instructor. We at Flour Confections are honoured to be hosting such an amazingly talented and graceful lady. Toba will be teaching 2 days of master techniques - Australian Stringwork & Lambeth. If you haven't signed up, you don't want to miss this chance to learn from a master!

Limited seats remain - register online today!

Lambeth Ring Design May 30th & 31st AM ONLY 9am-1pm

Australian Stringwork May 30th & 31st PM ONLY 2-6pm

Master Techniques May 30th & 31st ALL DAY 9am-6pm - lunch included

It's not "Just Cake" with Marina Sousa

2011-04-11T16:22:00.009-04:00

What an amazing 3 days with Marina Sousa of Just Cake! I'm sure all the students will agree, Marina showed us how it's not "just cake" - it's ART!

Our 2nd class was 2 days of sweet fun! Teaching us about structure, students created a "toppling tower of treats"!

Katarina & Ayoma having fun making sweets

mmmm doesn't that look yummy?? remember it's cake!

Josie having fun while building

Again no 2 cakes were alike as the students were encouraged to let their creativity flow. Some of my favourite "sweets" were the cannoli, licorice All Sorts and Nanaimo bars!

As always, students were treated to wonderful lunches and our signature cookies were on hand - but they never lasted long!!

And if that wasn't enough - we were all treated to a special screening of the first episode of LCS (aka Last Cake Standing)!!! Our interactive classroom has many perks - including a DVD player. Marina brought us a copy of the first episode for our viewing pleasure as it's not yet airing here on Food Network Canada. We all were able to watch the drama unfold - it was awesome!

Here Nina works away while Marina is on the "big screen"

Monja is working away adding details to her cake

All of the creations coming together - so fun!

A "sweet" line up!

Thank you Marina for joining us at Flour Confections for your Canadian teaching debut!

And the fun isn't over yet - our next celebrity guest class will be here before you know it - the talented Toba Garrett will be joining us at the end of May!

Sugar Beads, Sugar Bling, Sugar Cha-Ching!

2011-04-11T08:26:00.008-04:00

We were honoured to host Marina Sousa of Just Cake for 3 days of sugar fun! Known for her wins on Food Network Challenge, her spectacular hanging sugar flower cake made for Oprah, and currently a competitor on Last Cake Standing - Marina Sousa was here to share her knowledge and introduce us to the art of sugar beads!

This class was all about sugar beads and "bling"! Students created a 4 tier cake and learned all about Marina's unique and ingenious bead moulds while working with isomalt. Students got creative with colours and designs - no 2 cakes were alike!

Aren't these blue sugar beads amazing looking? I love the colour!

I loved seeing all the colour combinations and configurations. From the classic black & white with a touch of colour, to a monochromatic yellow colour scheme, so many possibilities!

Marina assisting Jodi with attaching her beads

For those of you who were not able to make it to the class - we do have a limited few more bead moulds available for purchase. They will be available both in store and online.

Thank you Marina for such a great 1st class!

Marina Sousa is Coming!

2011-03-29T14:07:00.004-04:00

Get ready!!

You have seen her on Food Network Challenge! You have seen her on Oprah! And soon you will see her in the highly anticipated show Last Cake Standing......

Now is your LAST CHANCE to see her in PERSON!

Marina Sousa is coming to Flour Confections next week!!! She will be in town April 8th, 9th & 10th for 2 fabulous classes.

Our first class will be Structuring Sugar Beads taking place on Friday April 8th. During this class students will learn how to use Marina's unique and exciting new sugar bead moulds using a variety of mediums including isomalt and chocolate. These moulds are a quick way to add stunning "bling" to any wedding cake!

A few seats remain - register RIGHT AWAY if you wish to join us!!

Our second class with be Fun & Funky Structures taking place on Saturday & Sunday April 9th-10th. In this class students will learn all about structure while they create a toppling tower of treats! This class is sold out.

Woo Hoo! Look Who's Two!

2011-03-29T13:54:00.010-04:00

WOW! Where has the time gone??

To think, this time two years ago we were doing our final preparations on our first retail location - getting ready to open. And now, in 2 short years, we are in a brand new bigger retail location complete with a dedicated state of the art classroom!! My have we grown!! From our humble beginnings and a staff of one (me) we have grown to a staff of 7!

We want to thank all of our customers for their loyalty & support. Thanks to all of you, Flour Confections has become what it is today, and with your continued support we have great things in store for the years ahead!

In celebration of our 2 year anniversary, Flour Confections is offering a very special deal: $2 Shipping on any order over $22!!! *** please see details & restrictions.

For more information about our anniversary specials, please see our NEWSLETTER here.

A Fabulous Week of Sugar Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel

2011-02-19T15:20:00.017-05:00

This post is SO long overdue! We moved into our new location on the weekend of November 6th. On November 14th we greeted the flower Maestro Ron Ben-Israel at our brand new classroom....and we have been going non-stop ever since! So please forgive my delay - but as the saying goes, the best things are worth waiting for!

Ron is simply amazing! He has such an affinity for all things sugar, however he is most well known for his life-like sugarpaste flowers. Not only is he supremely talented, his personality lights up the room. Going through all the images from the 2 classes, Ron's personality shines through and you cannot help but smile when he is around. We were beyond honoured to have hosted Ron's first classes in Canada and we will be waiting anxiously for his return.

We hosted 2 classes with Ron that week - both were 3 fun-filled days of sugarpaste flowers: the calla, sweet pea, cattleya orchid, peony and the classic rose. Not only did Ron share his techniques for creating beautiful sugarpaste flowers, he also ended the day with a frank open discussion about business, cakes, and everything in between! This was invaluable to the students.

Now for the pictures....there were so many wonderful images, it was so hard to choose - but here is a collection of some of my favourites from the week - I think they really document the full class experience.

Happy times in the classroom

Don't you just LOVE our interactive classroom??!!

Students were treated to one-on-one attention throughout the class

To celebrate our brand new classroom - champagne & orange juice for all!

So proud of his students

Our first group of students - thank you everyone for attending!

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Ron providing personal attention to each and every student

He misses nothing - here he is loving Konstadin's shoes!

Judy & Vik - all smiles after learning the rose

Teacher approves!

Flowers all ready for dusting...

Ron is happiest with a sugar flower in one hand and tea in the other!

Thank you again Ron for an amazing and colourful week - we loved every single minute!

Muppets & Monsters & Magic Oh My! Part 2

2011-02-19T12:40:00.015-05:00

The following day Lauren was back to teach her newest installment to the series - Monsters 301! In this class students learned how to create an edible standing monster which would make a fabulous centerpiece to any party or cupcake display. Armed with a support structure, modeling chocolate and rice crispy treats, we all got to making our colourful army of monsters. Every one had their own take on the project - again the bright colours and expressions created by each student brought a smile to your face. With characters like Lauren & Karie along with all the monsters - you couldn't help but laugh all day long.

Each student station ready to go - complete with detailed handout and structure

The lovely Lauren Kitchens - isn't she cute??!!

Students having fun creating texture

Watching monsters come to life...

Karie - 'nuff said! LOL!

Not much longer now...

The finishing touches ...

Check 'em out guys!

Another AMAZING class with the talented & lovable Lauren Kitchens! Thank you again for joining us!

And yes I did make my own monster - here he is. His name is Fernando

Muppets & Monsters & Magic - OH My! Part 1

2011-02-10T19:03:00.013-05:00

We are off to an amazing start here at Flour Confections! At the beginning of February we hosted 2 amazing days with the talented & adorable Lauren Kitchens of Fancy Cakes By Lauren. Lauren is a 2 time Gold medal winner at Food Network Challenge and she is best known for her performance in the FN Sesame Street Challenge. Although she didn't win that Challenge, she won the hearts of the public with her creative interpretation of Muppetizing the judges of Challenge!

Our first class with Lauren was Character Sculpting 101- where everyone was asked to create their own Muppet of a friend, loved one or themselves. We all had a blast learning her techniques on how she created these characters and bringing our own Muppets to life. Walking around the room, you couldn't help but smile when you saw all the different characters - from young to old.

Students working away on the beginnings of their Muppets

Lauren guided students every step of the way

Creating the signature open mouth - love how handy our TV is!!

Muppets are starting to come to life

Discussing the fine details

Getting it just right!

Each and every Muppet was unique and fabulous! Here are a couple of my favourites from the class

And of course I had to make a Muppet of myself - complete with the flour logo!

Thank you Lauren & Kerri for a fabulous class - we all had an amazing time!

Stay tuned for part 2 - Monsters!

Look Who's Coming to Flour Confections 2011!

2011-01-13T11:07:00.003-05:00

We have another AMAZING line up of Celebrity Guest Classes for 2011 - registrations are limited - don't miss out on your opportunity to learn from these talented artists!

FEBRUARY 2011

FCLK1 Muppets 101 with Lauren Kitchens - February 4th $450 + HST

FCLK2 Monsters 301 with Lauren Kitchens - February 5th $550 + HST

APRIL 2011

FCMS1 Structuring Sugar Beads with Marina Sousa - April 8th $695 + HST

FCMS2 Fun & Funky Structures with Marina Sousa - April 9th & 10th $875 + HST

MAY 2011

FCTGM Master Techniques with Toba Garrett - May 30th & 31st $675 +HST (both classes)

FCTG1 Lambeth Techniques with Toba Garrett - May 30th & 31st - AM ONLY $375 + HST

FCTG2 Australian Stringwork with Toba Garrett - May 30th & 31st PM ONLY $375 + HST

OCTOBER 2011

FCJR1 Fall Fantasy Cakes with James Rosselle - October 14th-16th $825 + HST

Email us: classes@flourconfections.ca for more information

How to Register:

By Mail: Complete and sign the provided registration form. Return the completed form along with the full payment for each selected course. Payment options are Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or cheque made payable to “Flour Confections”. Please note that all cheques must be received minimum 3 weeks prior to course start date.

By Fax: Complete and sign the provided registration form. Fax the completed form to 905-492-2693. We only accept Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or PayPal for faxed registrations. Your card will be billed for the full class fee for each selected course

Online: You can register securely online via our website at www.flourconfections.ca – go to LEARN. This is the fastest way to register and guarantee your place in the class.

2011 Jan-April Class Calendar

2011-01-13T10:56:00.003-05:00

Check out what classes we are offering this Winter/Spring!

Classic Classes

FCCUP Cupcake Couture $150 + HST

Wednesday February 9^th 6:30-8:30 pm

Learn how to decorate cupcakes in fun and unique ways perfect for birthdays or weddings. (note: this is not a baking class)

FCCC1 Cookie Couture $150 + HST

Thursday February 10^th 6:30-8:30pm

Learn how to decorate cookies like a professional in this fun class. Students will learn how to flood cookies with royal icing as well as some other fun techniques. (note: this is not a baking class)

FCCANVAS Creative Canvas – Cake Design Basics $275 + HST

Thursday evenings April 14^th, 21^st & 28^th 6:30pm-8:30pm

In this 3 part series students will learn the basics in the art of cake design including working with rolled fondant, stacking cakes, modern piping skills, colouring & painting

FCAIR Airbrushing Basics $225 + HST

Monday January 10^th 6:30pm-9:00 pm

Thursday March 3^rd 6:30pm-9:00pm

In this hands-on class, students will learn how to properly handle an airbrush in order to create fun designs & finishes

FCSF2 Sugarpaste Flowers Advanced 2 Evenings $275 + HST

Monday January 31^st & Tuesday February 1^st 6:30pm-8:30pm

Learn how to create popular wedding flowers: rose, ranunculus, peony & poppy.

FCPP Piping & Painting $125 + HST

Thursday February 17th 6:30pm-8:30pm

Students will learn some of the basics to piping & painting wonderful designs on cakes.

Specialty Classes

FCWINE Aged to Perfection $295 + HST

Sunday January 23^rd 10:00am-4:30pm

Students will learn all of the steps to creating a realistic wooden wine crate complete with edible wine bottle – a perfect gift for the sophisticated man in your life!

FCCOCO Channeling Chanel $350 + HST

Sunday March 6^th 10:00am-4:30pm

Students will learn some of the techniques used to create Lisa's award winning cake "Camellia Couture" Each student will create a 2 tier couture cake inspired by the original design, which will include the following techniques: piped "tweed" effect, sugarpaste fabric camellia, quilted "leather" and sugar pearl necklace

Sweet Techniques - Demo

Join our Sweet Techniques Series, for 1hr long demonstrations on fun & popular techniques. Registration is required for all demonstrations.

Demonstrations will take place on Thursdays from 6:00-7:00pm

FCSM1 Silicone Moulds $35 + HST

Thursday January 13^th 6:00-7:00pm

FCBC1 Buttercream Basics $35 + HST

Thursday January 27^th 6:00-7:00pm

FCSP1 Stencils&Patchworks $35 + HST

Thursday March 31^st 6:00-7:00pm

How to Register:

By Mail: Complete and sign the provided registration form. Return the completed form along with the full payment for each selected course. Payment options are Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or cheque made payable to “Flour Confections”. Please note that all cheques must be received minimum 3 weeks prior to course start date.

By Fax: Complete and sign the provided registration form. Fax the completed form to 905-492-2693. We only accept Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or PayPal for faxed registrations. Your card will be billed for the full class fee for each selected course

Online: You can register securely online via our website at www.flourconfections.ca – go to LEARN. This is the fastest way to register and guarantee your place in the class.

1084 Brock (Salk) Road Unit 5 Pickering ON

905-492-2692

classes@flourconfections.ca

www.flourconfections.ca

We are experiencing technical difficulties....

2011-01-13T10:54:00.001-05:00

We apologize if you have been trying to access our online store these past few days - we have been experiencing technical difficulties with our web host. We are working on the problem continuously and hope to rectify it shortly.

Thank you for your patience.

We've been SNAP'd!

2011-01-06T14:26:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone who attended our 2nd Annual Holiday Open House on December 18th, 2010. SNAP Pickering was there and here are some pictures from our event. We were able to bring the holidays to those in need by collecting tons of food and toys for Simcoe Hall.

To see more, please visit SNAP.

See Flour Confections in print!

2010-12-22T12:34:00.006-05:00

photos courtesy of Toronto Life

Pick up a copy of the 2011 Toronto Life Wedding Guide to see Flour Confections in print! 3 of our cakes were featured in the issue.

photos courtesy of Toronto Life

For more information visit Toronto Life online

Sweet Words from The Sugar Cove

2010-11-23T16:30:00.004-05:00

We have been receiving tons of fabulous feedback from our classes with Ron Ben-Israel - here is another great blog post from Angela of The Sugar Cove

Thank you Angela for coming out to the classes - I'm so glad you were able to attend!

Sharing A Few Morsels by Mark....

2010-11-22T12:22:00.003-05:00

What a week - month - 6 weeks in fact! Lots has gone on in the last little while at Flour Confections with much more in store.....but our most exciting time has been this past week hosting classes with Ron Ben-Israel!

I will be posting more about the classes shortly, but here is a great review by Mark Desgroseilliers of Morsels By Mark

We are so glad you were able to attend the classes Mark and look forward to seeing you again!

We're Movin On Up.....

2010-10-20T15:08:00.003-04:00

Have you heard?

Flour Confections is moving!

We needed more room so we could offer much more in terms of fabulous products and fabulous classes! We secured a new location mid September- not far away, just around the corner in fact - and started renovations the following week, just before I left for Tulsa! My life has been a bit hectic!

The new location will feature a larger retail area and state of the art multi-media dedicated classroom!

Construction is almost done and now things are really going to get hectic as moving will start - all the while I have orders to fulfill!

Our current location will officially close on November 5th at 6pm and we will open at our new location on Tuesday November 9th at 10am!

As of November 9th 2010, we will be located at:

1084 Brock Road (Salk Road) Unit 5
401/Brock Court Plaza (just south of the 401 in the plaza with Sweets Galore & The Facial Place)
Pickering Ontario
phone 905-492-2692
fax 905-492-2692
sales@flourconfections.ca

Tulsa or Bust!

2010-10-08T14:17:00.012-04:00

Tulsa or Bust!

Lately I have not sat still for any length of time. Between the business, wedding season, classes and so many other things, there just hasn't been the time.

At the end of September, I made my annual journey to Tulsa Oklahoma to attend and participate in the Oklahoma Sugar Art Show (OSSAS). This year not only did I complete a few entries for the Sugar Art Show also known as the Divisionals, but I also created an entry for the Grand Wedding Cake Competition as well as took part of the live lunchtime competition which was Crazy Cupcakes.

My journey started out on a rough note, not only had I come down with a bad cold and was trying to recover from that as well as work, but my friend, colleague and driving partner Karey suffered a terrible car accident as was unable to join me. She is now in recovery and is doing well.

Carol & Connie leading the way

Faced with the option of either not going or doing the 20hr drive alone, I was torn. Fortunately I have many amazing friends in the cake community and I was able to call upon them for help. My friends Carol & Connie were driving down from Michigan, and offered that we do a caravan so that I was not alone on the road. I left a day earlier than planned so that I could arrive at Carol's home and be ready for the following mornings journey. On Thursday morning, we all got on the road for our very long drive. We drove all day and into the evening, stopping just past St. Louis Missouri for the night. The following day we made the last leg of the drive, rested a bit and went to set up our entries. For the rest of the time in Tulsa, we were walking zombies - having fun but tired all the same!

Once the pressure of making "the delivery of your life" was over, we were all able to relax, socialize with our friends from all over the US, and enjoy fair food!! Anything fried on a stick!

no this is not all mine!! Here is an array of fair food including: deep fried chicken, deep fried cheese curds and deep fried pickles!

and if deep fried is not your thing, then how about cookie dough dipped in chocolate on a stick?

Every year at the show, there is always a live timed competition, this year I was asked to participate. The theme was Nursery Rhymes & Folk Tales and the medium was cupcakes. Along with Gary Silverthorn, Dawn Coffin-Parrot and Peggy Tucker, we had 1 hr 30 minutes to complete our cupcake displays. It was great fun to do and fun to see what everyone came up with. Although my finished piece didn't place, I had a great time competing! Congratulations to Dawn who won 1st place!

here are the completed cupcake displays - left to right: Gary Silverthorn, Dawn Coffin-Parrot, Me, Peggy Tucker

I always plan on entering more, but time and life get the better of me, and I take what I can. This year I entered 2 divisionals and the Grand Wedding Cake. My cookies took 1st place in the Masters division and my wedding cake entry earned a Bronze standing. The entries this year were amazing - I'm so honoured to have been recognized amongst such a group of talented artists!

My wedding entry entitled "High Society" was inspired by the main hall of the Pittock Mansion in Portland Oregon. The flowers were inspired from an amazing art nouveau candelabra that sits upon a table at the base of the grand staircase. Elements from the ironwork on the balustrade, the marble stairs, and detailed carvings completed the design. A big thank you to Suzanne for sewing my tablecloth - it was gorgeous! And thank you to James Rosselle for advice regarding the flowers.
My winning cookies were hand cut using a template, iced with flooded royal icing and details were added freehand in both royal icing and edible food paints. Inspired by Fairy Tale drawings of artist Scott Gustafson

Now you would think I could sit back and relax....but no....lots more going on - stay tuned!

In the meantime, I will try to take a few minutes to think about my entries for next year......

The Boss was here - The Cake Boss that is.....

2010-09-12T20:52:00.004-04:00

If you were not aware, Buddy Valastro aka The Cake Boss is currently on tour performing a live interactive show. He was in Toronto last night, and my friend Karey and I went down to check it out.

The show opened to a screaming crowd of enthusiastic cake fans - the opening song - Pour Some Sugar On Me! This was obviously going to be a rowdy show!

After a quick intro, Buddy called upon the women of the audience to come on stage for a cupcake decorating contest. To the music of the Flight of the Bumblebee, Buddy quickly demonstrated the cupcake design. Then each contestant had to do their best to recreate the design. THIS was a sight to see! Needless to say, some were better than others. Now what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and so the men had to come up and prove they had what it takes! Ummm ...sorry but no, they didn't! LOL! It was all in good fun and it was entertaining!

Other portions of the evening included how Buddy became "The Cake Boss", his experiences, a slide show presentation of some of the work he has done over the years & a Q & A portion. Overall it was a fun family show for anyone who loves the Cake Boss!

Caddy Wampus Cake with Bronwen Weber

2010-09-01T09:22:00.007-04:00

The 2nd class with Bronwen was one I was really excited about - the Caddy Wampus! In this class students learned how to created this gravity defying cake - sure to wow guests at any event! students learning how to assemble their stands

Not only did we learn the beauty of the stand design, we worked with live cake to see how stable the construction was - all cakes left the shop assembled and made it home just fine (mine is still standing a week later! And no I'm not going to eat it!!!)

Bronwen demonstrated how to use her favourite fondant (and one of mine too) Fondx properly - we covered the dreaded square cakes with ease. From beginners to professionals, no torn or cracked corners in the room!

Once covered, we learned simple and quick decorating techniques that give a WOW to any cake. From applique to Lambeth, we did it all as we had 12 sides to work with

Bronwen demonstrating piping - amazing to watch!

Thank you Bronwen & Francois for an AMAZING 3 days!

Postcards from San Diego

2010-08-31T23:20:00.008-04:00

On the eve of the first day of September, I can barely keep up with all that has passed in August!

Early on this month, my family and I traveled for the first time to California to attend the ICES Convention in San Diego. WOW - can I just say I LOVE California!! Palm trees - EVERYWHERE! The weather was gorgeous every day - it was a much needed break! Besides the convention, my family & I were able to enjoy the sites - visiting the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld & LegoLand!

The convention was amazing - not only were there some great demos and displays, but all the amazing things to see and buy in the vendor room was a much added bonus! Keep your eyes out for new items coming soon to the store!

My all time favourite part of convention is catching up with old friends and meeting up with new ones! My first day in the vendor room I never saw a single thing for all the socializing I was doing! ;) I had the pleasure to finally meet in person my dear friend Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes. And right after meeting her, I was introduced to Wayne & Chuck from Swank Cake Design. We started to walk around the show only to bump into Becky Rink from About the Cake and Sharon Zambito of SugarEd Productions.

And if that wasn't enough, that evening I joined my amazing sugar friends for a great Mexican dinner in Old Town - Minette Rushing, Jacqueline Butler, Tandra Watkins & Tracy Auseklis. Best margaritas ever!!

The following day was my day for demos - amongst the many I attended were Stop to Smell the Sugar Flowers with the talented James Rosselle and Character Sculpting with the adorable Lauren Kitchens. Anyone who attended the packed demo was in for a major treat - not only was the subject so fun - but it was a star studded room! Lauren demonstrated her techniques for creating creative characters from structure & modeling chocolate - her subject - James Rosselle aka James Rosecake! Don't miss out when Lauren comes to Flour Confections in February to teach her techniques in person!!

photos courtesy of Lauren Kitchens

That evening I had another fabulous dinner at Searsucker with an amazing group of talented people - all aboard the hot tamale train!!!! But that's another story....

Farewell San Diego - I hope to see you again very soon!

3D Bulldog with Bronwen Weber

2010-08-30T17:13:00.008-04:00

August has been a busy month - travel, cakes, classes - oh my!

The day after Bronwen's demo in support of the MS Society, we hosted 2 classes.

The first was a 3D carved bulldog complete with lessons on airbrushing techniques. Students watched in awe as Bronwen demonstrated how 3 half sheet cakes quickly became a cute bulldog perfect for any birthday! Bronwen is a natural teacher and has a way of making everyone at ease - those that were terrified to pick up the knife were quickly carving away without fear. It was amazing to watch all these dogs come to life!

getting ready to make the first cut

cake anyone??

One of the highlights of the class (besides our famous signature cookies!) was to see Bronwen in action doing what she does best. Using fondant and her hands, she quickly "pulled a face" on her dog - amazing to watch!

After all the dogs were covered with fondant, out came the airbrushes so that students could learn how to control the gun and ways of blending colour. Once confident, students started to give colour to their dogs.

learning how to airbrush

putting on the finishing touches

who let the dogs out??

Bronwen's BACK!

2010-08-22T18:55:00.008-04:00

Last year as part of our celebrity guest series, we had the privilege of hosting 2 fabulous classes with Bronwen Weber. Well, she and Francois had such a fabulous time (as did we) that they wanted to make it an annual event!

And now it's that time of year again - Bronwen Weber is here!!! Today we hosted a special event for the ICES chapter of Ontario and for the MS Society of Canada. Bronwen & Francois graciously donated their time to do a demonstration with all proceeds going to the MS Society.

Today's demo: A carved dragon in 1 hour!

Using 2 1/2 sheets, some buttercream, fondant, a knife and an imagination - Bronwen took us through the process and how NOT to fear carving cake!

Attendees were in awe of how quickly a sheet of cake became a cute & creative dragon!

Bronwen demonstrates how you need VERY fancy tools to create details in your cake!

Now for a touch of colour...

A few more final details.....

TA - DA!! A fun loving dragon anyone would love to receive!

Thank you so much Bronwen & Francois for an amazing demonstration. Together we raised over $850 for the MS Society of Canada!

Off to San Diego

2010-08-09T11:14:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday my family & I will be off to San Diego California to attend the ICES convention - we are so excited to be seeing our friends and finding out what is new in the world of sugar!

Upon our return, we will be hosting classes with Bronwen Weber but we will be sure to keep you posted to any exciting new finds!

While we are away, the store will still be open for business - both in store and on-line - so don't despair!

Lots more exciting things happening in the coming months ....stay tuned.....

Bronwen's Comin Back!

2010-07-25T10:31:00.004-04:00

Things never stop here at Flour Confections!

On the heels of our last guest class with Lorraine McKay, we have a short break, a quick trip to the ICES convention in San Diego, then right into classes with the fabulously fun duo Bronwen Weber & Francois Long of Frosted Art Bakery.

Last year we hosted 2 classes with Bronwen - Airbrushing Skills & a 3D Standing Clown. Our classes were hugely successful and everyone walked away with amazing creations! Bronwen had such as wonderful time last year, that she wanted to return again.

This year we will have 2 more fabulous classes:

On Monday August 23rd Bronwen will be teaching how to sculpt freehand a bulldog out of cake! She will then teach her tips & tricks to icing a 3 dimensional piece, covering with fondant and bringing it to life with an airbrush. Anyone who fears the knife won't want to miss this class! For more information or to register online, please visit our website. Space is limited!

class: http://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/carved-bull-dog-with-bronwen-weber-p-1645.html

On Tuesday August 24th Bronwen will be back to teach her gravity defying Caddy Wampus cake! Each student will receive the stand TO KEEP! You won't want to miss this class - not only will you learn how to construct these show stopping cakes, you will also learn a wide variety of side designs - 16 different techniques! For more information or to register online, please visit our website. Space is limited!

class: http://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/caddy-wampus-cake-with-bronwen-weber-p-1646.html

And we have another special treat! Last year Bronwen graciously donated her time to offer a free demonstration in support of the food bank. We raised over 200 lbs of food!!!

This year we decided we wanted to give back yet again. On Sunday August 22nd, Flour Confections in conjunction with the Ontario ICES Day of Sharing, Bronwen will be offering another free demonstration in support of the MS Society. Seating is limited. To reserve your seat, you must register in advance with a $20 donation, with all proceeds going directly to the MS Society.

To register, please complete the attached form and forward to Flour Confections via fax or post. As seating is limited, forms/donations will be time stamped in the order in which they were received. Please ensure that all forms are completed properly and donations are included at the time of registration.

Form: http://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/DOSAugust222010.pdf

August is gonna be HOT! We hope to see you all soon!

Sugar Figures with Lorraine McKay!

2010-07-22T10:55:00.009-04:00

What a fabulous last few days at Flour Confections!

We had the privilege to host the extremely talented & funny Lorraine McKay of The Icing on the Cake. Students were treated to two classes, the famous "Bride & Groom" and "Claire" AKA "Girl's Best Friend". Lorraine took us through the step by step process of creating her fabulous & charming characters, and all the while she kept us laughing.

On the Sunday, students were welcome to coffee, tea & juice before settling in to learn how to create a stunning bride & groom topper. As always, all tools were supplied, students were only asked to bring a willingness to learn!

students Monja & Nancy working on their brides

Lorraine took us through the step by step process of creating a standing bride and a sitting groom -it was wonderful seeing each character come to life!

Lorraine working on her famous faces

On the Tuesday, students learned how to create a charming topper called "Girls best friend" - a sitting girl complete with a pair of cute little dogs.

Student Siobhan (who attended both classes) putting some of the finishing touches on her figure

Lorraine helping a student with the finer details

And like all good things, the fun ended way too soon! Lorraine is now safely back in Scotland, but has plans to return in 2012!!

Thank you Lorraine for some wonderful classes!

Lorraine McKay is crossing the pond!!!

2010-07-15T08:54:00.004-04:00

We are excited that Lorraine McKay of Scotland will be crossing the pond tomorrow as her sold out classes are taking place this coming Sunday & Tuesday!

Lorraine is a very talented sugar artist who specializes in fabulous figure models. If you are not familiar with her work, you need to check out her website. She will be teaching her famous Bride & Groom class along with "Claire" as seen in the image above. Students will learn how Lorraine gives life and personality to her sugar figures.

She travels around the world to teach her craft, and she is finally coming to Canada!! Lorraine and I have been friends for several years now, so I'm very excited to finally be able to meet her in person.

Class pictures will be posted soon - so stay tuned!

In Her Shoes....

2010-07-11T10:11:00.005-04:00

Lorene was celebrating a very special birthday - her 65th. Her daughters wanted to present her with a fun, stylish cake that suited her personality.

The Request:
a sexy shoe, zebra print and pink accents.

The Cake:
An open gift box airbrushed in a zebra print, pink tissue paper & sugar bow, and a life sized custom sugar shoe complete with the birthday girl's name in the style of the Louboutin logo. The inscription written in lipstick was inspired by Planet Cake.

The Result:

"I just want to say thanks for the great job, it was the highlight of the evening.....it was quite a surprise to see my mom with her eyes bulging out of her head with her jaw dropped. first time I have seen her speechless in a very long time!!!! To say the least she loved it and I am sure it is a memory that will last forever.

Thanks Again
Denyse"

Happy Birthday Lorene!

And the winner is........

2010-06-30T15:29:00.002-04:00

April Lee of Toronto!!!

April is the winner of our Write A Review - Win a CricutCake contest!

Thank you to everyone who participated - we really value your feedback.

If you would like to know about upcoming contests, sales, new products and guest classes, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter!

The HST is coming! The HST is coming!!

2010-06-29T20:30:00.004-04:00

Yes if you live in Ontario or BC - you are well aware that come July 1st, we will have a new tax - called the Harmonized Sales Tax.

For all you cakers out there - do not fear - HST is not applicable to wedding cakes or event cakes.

Check out this humourous article about the HST

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100628/business/hst_looms_tax_quirks

Do YOU have what it takes???

2010-06-28T22:31:00.003-04:00

I just received this email and thought it best to share it with all of you:

Dear Lisa,

My name is Megan and I work for TLC. I wanted to share with you some big, sweet news from TLC -- Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss himself, is starring in a new competition series on TLC! The eight episode series will follow ten aspiring cake makers as they compete in a series of challenges that will reveal if they have what it takes to run a shop as successful as Buddy's. Each episode will be feature weekly lessons, challenges and eliminations, with the winner becoming an apprentice at the Hoboken-based Carlo’s Bakery, the setting of TLC's Cake Boss.

While the series won't debut until winter, TLC is actively casting contestants now. Click here for more information on how to apply, and please feel free to share the details with your readers! If I can provide any additional information or answer questions, please let me know.

Thanks, Megan

Megan Garafola ● Digital Publicist, Digital Communications ● Discovery Communications

2nd Class with Ron Ben-Israel - November 2010

2010-06-28T08:29:00.007-04:00

Due to OVERWHELMING demand - we are happy to announce that Ron has agreed to a 2nd set of dates. We have now contacted all those that were on the waiting list, and the few seats that remain are now open to the public.

Our first class sold out within 36hrs of announcement - WOW! Due to the speed, unfortunately we had many disappointed students. As the US Thanksgiving holiday falls in the week after our first set of dates, we had to schedule our "2nd class" during the week prior.

Ron will share his knowledge and expertise of running of a successful specialty-cake operation in the heart of New York City.Students will not only learn the fine points of making sugar flowers; but will also be coached in Ron's innovative production procedures.

During the 3 day class, Ron will be teaching his signature flowers including: Rose in all stages of bloom + leaves, Peony, Cattleya Orchid, Sweet Pea & Calla.

As Ron limits his teaching engagements, you do not want to miss out this opportunity to learn from the incredibly talented Maestro of Sugar Flowers!

Space is VERY limited! Only a few seats remain! All supplies & tools will be furnished for use in class. A light lunch will be provided for each day of class.

For more information, please visit our website www.flourconfections.ca/shop

3 day Master Class in Sugarpaste Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel

Monday November 15th-Wednesday November 17th 2010

9am-5pm

$1200 + HST

Lay Lay Baby Event: Keziah’s First Birthday Party

2010-06-27T23:04:00.001-04:00

I recently created a fun 3D bumblebee cake for Keziah's first birthday. The event was recently posted on Lay Lay Baby's Blog - to see the adorable Keziah and her fun themed birthday featuring our cake & cupcakes, please visit their blog below:

Lay Lay Baby Event: Keziah’s First Birthday Party

3 day Master Class on Sugarpaste Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel

2010-06-23T16:15:00.007-04:00

photo courtesy of Brian Dorsey Studios

Flour Confections is proud to announce that the master of sugarpaste flowers & top wedding cake designer Ron Ben-Israel will be teaching a 3 day sugarpaste flower class this November!

Ron is known for his incredibly life-like sugarpaste flowers which have graced the pages of numerous national magazines. You may have recently seen his work on the cover of Oprah’s 10th Anniversary issue, the May issue Cake Central Magazine, issue 35 of Wedding Cakes a Design Source and on the big screen in Sex and the City 2!

cover cake created by Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Ron will share his knowledge and expertise of running of a successful specialty-cake operation in the heart of New York City.
Students will not only learn the fine points of making sugar flowers; but will also be coached in Ron's innovative production procedures.

cover cake created by Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

During the 3 day class, Ron will be teaching his signature flowers including: Rose in all stages of bloom + leaves, Peony, Cattleya Orchid, Sweet Pea & Calla.

As Ron limits his teaching engagements, you do not want to miss out this opportunity to learn from the incredibly talented Maestro of Sugar Flowers!

Space is limited! All supplies & tools will be furnished for use in class. A light lunch will be provided for each day of class.

For more information, please visit our website www.flourconfections.ca/shop

3 day Master Class in Sugarpaste Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel
Friday November 19th-Sunday November 21st 2010 9am-5pm
$1200 + HST

Marina Sousa of Just Cake coming to Flour Confections April 2011!

2010-06-07T21:59:00.005-04:00

photo courtesy of Marina Sousa

We are so excited to announce another fabulous celebrity guest class for 2011! You may have just seen her & her fabulous cake yesterday on the Oprah Winfrey Show!

If you are an avid Food Network Challenge viewer, you will be excited to hear that Marina Sousa of Just Cake will be coming to teach 2 AMAZING classes in April of 2011.

Marina Sousa is owner and designer of Just Cake, located in the Monterey Bay area of California.
Marina’s work has been featured in numerous national magazines including InStyle, Brides, Modern Bride, Wedding Style and Dessert Professional. Most recently, Marina was thrilled to be a guest on the “Oprah Winfrey Show”, acknowledged as one of the top cake designers in the country. Marina is often seen on the Food Network where she has served as a judge and most impressively clinched first place multiple times on "Food Network - Challenge". The Food Network has featured her work on several specials; She was chosen to create the wedding cake for the winners of "Food Network Caters your Las Vegas Wedding" as well as create a showpiece cake for the first ever “Food Network Awards” at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Marina’s favorite appearance was “Fantasy Weddings” where she had the honor of making the wedding cake for her friends, Keegan Gerhard & Lisa Baily, pastry chefs, owners of D Bar Desserts and host of the Food Network “Challenge” series. Additionally, she has had the privilege of designing cakes for high-profile celebrities and celebrity events including wedding cakes for Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston, Rachel Welch and a sweet 16 cake for Miley Cyrus.

Marina brings a unique perspective to the art of designing cakes. Her background in theatre and fashion allow her to envision designs through an uncommon lens. Experimenting with structure and defying gravity are equally as intriguing to her as replicating intricate lace. Sugar art has proved to be the perfect medium for exploring all facets of the arts – for Marina, the ideal merging of artistry and passion.

Marina will be teaching the following classes in 2011:

Structuring Sugar Beads Friday April 8th 2011
Fun & Funky Structures Saturday April 9th & Sunday April 10th 2011
To see more about Marina & the Oprah cake you can view a video HERE and HERE

It's going to be very hard to wait until next year......

Amore at Atlantis

2010-05-30T13:34:00.011-04:00

Leigh & Jesse have been really great clients....starting from her coming into the shop well over a year ago to order custom cookies to present to her bridesmaids, she then ordered on the spot her wedding cake & Jesse's surprise 30th birthday cake (giant Tim Hortons' cup) - since that day they continue to come back for more!

Finally their wedding day arrived - this week we've experienced a heat wave with sunny skies every single day - fortunately their wedding day was a bit cooler, with a slight breeze, yet still gorgeous! Since they were getting married at Atlantis - an event centre on the water in downtown Toronto, they wanted to go along with that theme and include white starfish, tropical blue colours & silver.

Leigh & Jesse really wanted to also include a candy bar - so we created that for them as well. They chose candies to suit the theme including: 2 colours of rock candy on sticks, salt water taffy, tropical blue jellybeans & coconut jellybeans. The blues I choose for the candies matched the gorgeous signs created by Laura K Design PERFECTLY!

When doing a delivery such as this, it's always best to have help - fortunately my BFF cake friend Karey was there to save the day! As the venue is perched above the water, in order to get to it, you need to go up a steep hill and then unload all your gear onto a golf cart. They then drive you across a long bridge/walkway. Needless to say having a candy bar which consists of jars, candy, serving pieces, cupcake tower, 125 cupcakes and a top tier was A LOT to load into this cart! However, I must say the final result was fabulous! I only hope the photographer gets better shots than I did with my tiny camera as I didn't have room for my DSLR!

The cupcake tower consisted of 125 BananaRama w/chocolate chip cupcakes & white chocolate cream cheese buttercream. Each cupcake featured handmade pearlized gumpaste starfish from a mould I created using a real starfish. The 2 tier top tier was same flavour, super tall, finished in Swiss Meringue buttercream and encrusted with sanding sugar. It also has sugar starfish that I made from a mould I created.

Jesse had proposed to Leigh by placing the ring in a Kinder Surprise, so on the welcome table we did jars of Kinder Eggs - too cute!

Congratulations Leigh & Jesse! It was a great day & a fabulous display for a wonderful couple

3 days with James Rosselle

2010-05-24T12:42:00.023-04:00

3 days of making sugar flowers with the talented, adorable & lovable James Rosselle was a fabulous way to spend the first long weekend of the summer! We Canadians are pretty dedicated to this weekend, lovingly called the May 2-4 - it's a time to get away to the cottage, spend time outside with friends & family enjoying the BBQ & drinking beer. However last year when we announced that James Rosselle would be making his first trip to Canada to teach a 3 day course entitled "To Have & To Hold", registrations came pouring in!

For someone as young as James, he has an impeccable resume - his journey began with an opportunity to work for the "king of sugar flowers" Ron Ben-Israel , he then moved on to Chicago where he worked in the pastry kitchen for Gale Gand at TRU restaurant, then an opportunity came along where he could get into teaching as an instructor at the famous Notter School in Orlando. And as if that was not enough, James has participated in numerous Food Network Challenges, winning Gold 4 times out of 4!

On our first day of class, students settled in to fresh coffee, tea & croissants while James showed us his techniques to a flawless fondant finish & how to create gorgeous sugarpaste roses & ranunculus. Our colour scheme for the weekend was purple, fuchsia, black & white - stunning!

Here is Susan stacking her 3 tier wedding cake

James demonstrating his sugar ranunculus

students hard at work making sugar flowers

On day 2, the sugar work continued with the finishing stages of the ranunculus and hydrangeas. We then started to decorate our cakes with textured sugar bands and a variety of Patchwork cutters. Taking from James' lead, students got creative and put their own touches to each cake - the variety of designs while still in the same colour scheme was amazing!

On day 3, we brought life to our flowers with dusting. James taught us all how to finish our cakes with a stunning crown of sugar flowers that would make any bride weep.

Lisa creating her sugar flower crown

James with his finished creation!

Thank you James for an amazingly sweet 3 days!

James Rosselle was here...

2010-05-23T23:55:00.005-04:00

Flour Confections has just finished hosting 3 fabulous days of sugar flowers & a 3 tier wedding cake with the talented & radiant James Rosselle.

Stay tuned for more about our 3 day class.....

Lauren Kitchens is coming to Flour Confections!

2010-05-20T23:33:00.006-04:00

As Canadians, we don't often get to see a Food Network Challenge on the same date as it airs in the US. We sometimes don't get to see it for quite some time -months or possibly never! Such a shame for Canadian cake enthusiasts!

Fortunately, as of late, we have not been kept waiting in the dark for too long. This past Sunday, the SpongeBob Challenge finally aired (it made it's debut back at the beginning of April in the US).

The competitors were fierce:

Bronwen Weber of Frosted Art Bakery

Kristen Davison

Lauren Kitchens of Fancy Cakes By Lauren

Rick Reichart of Cakelava

The competition was tough, and everyone brought their A game - but alas, like all Challenges, there can only be one winner.

Lauren Kitchens created a spot on flawless Mr. Crabs - it was perfect - even Kerry Vincent saluted her!

And we are proud to announce that the talented, award winning Lauren will be coming in February to Canada to teach her fabulous Character Cakes 101 & Character Cakes 201 classes! Everywhere Lauren has taught, the classes have sold out - so be sure to reserve your seat so you don't miss out!

We are working on the final details of some more amazing celebrity guest classes for 2011 - so stay tuned!

To read more about Lauren's experience, visit her blog here

To read about Rick's experience, visit his blog here

Demo with Nicholas Lodge

2010-05-18T20:10:00.003-04:00

Wow I've been neglecting my blog lately - not intentionally, just so many different things on the go and only so many hours in the day!

So I'm taking a moment to keep you all up to date on what has been going on in my cake world lately!

First off - the amazing demo I attended on May 8th. Although the day was very cold (I mean there was snow!), I made the drive to Cambridge Ontario to attend a Nicholas Lodge (ooo he has a new website!) demonstration organized by our local ICES group and Klara Johnson. Nick was demonstrating a tropical flower display including birds of paradise, anthuriums and tropical leaves. I have said it before, and I will say it again - Nick is an amazing teacher - he is thorough, straight forward, calm, and funny! I can't wait to sit down and make some of these flowers!

If you ever have the opportunity to take any of his classes, I highly recommend it.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T09:05:00.002-04:00

To all the mother's - please have a sweet Mother's Day - we wouldn't be here without you!

And please take a moment to enjoy this song :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXgoJ0f5EsQ

A Dog Gone Wedding Day!

2010-04-30T15:55:00.005-04:00

Today is absolutely GORGEOUS! What a fabulous Spring day for a wedding.

When Kim & Chris first came to me, they were to be married last June. However with the hard economic times, their wedding became postponed for the following Spring. Even though the date had changed, the vision for their wedding cake had not. A life-sized replica of their dog "Pugsley" complete with a miniature 2 tier wedding cake for them! I love it when couples personalize their cakes. I've been looking forward to creating this unique 3D art piece for their wedding for quite some time - so when I started to make it yesterday, I was a happy camper in the kitchen.

Pugsley is entirely cake and entirely edible. Working off pictures and after some consultation with a good friend of mine and dog cake maker extraordinaire Debbie of Debbie Does Cakes, I took my cake tools in hand and sculpted away bringing Pugsley to life!

Congratulations Kim & Chris - I hope you enjoy your cake as much as I enjoyed creating it!

East of the City - Flour Power

2010-04-28T00:08:00.004-04:00

photo credit: Jason Chow Photography

Recently I had the privilege to have been interviewed for East of the City Magazine - Durham Region's premier lifestyle magazine. During the hour long interview, we talked about all things cake! It was fun to look back at all that has transpired over the past 8+ years!

For those of you interested in reading the web based article, you can find it here:

http://www.eastofthecity.com/dining/3158.html

Thanks to all my clients who have helped make Flour Confections what it is today!

I heart Ron Ben - and this is why...

2010-04-09T00:14:00.002-04:00

As most of you know, I recently took my 2nd class with Ron Ben-Israel, and I loved every minute of it.
Ron has such a wonderful personality and fun spirit - he is really passionate about what he does and it shows in everything he does. Watch this video clip and you will see why I heart him!

Mike McCarey was here!

2010-03-26T22:06:00.016-04:00

WOW it's been an AMAZING week! I'm still trying to process all the information I've learned this last week working side by side with the talented, the "AMAZING" Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes!

Firstly - Mike & Mike (the dynamic duo!) are both fabulous - they are so funny, talented, sharing, personable and full of information. We were honoured to host them and hope that they will return really soon! For those of you who don't know, Mike is a 4 time Gold medal winner of Food Network Challenge. Be sure to check out his website to see all that he can do!

For the last 4 days we hosted 2 classes. The first 2 days focused on Modeling Chocolate - one of Mike's favourite mediums. After this 2 day class I can certainly see why! Students were wowed by all that you can do with modeling chocolate - from designs, to figures, to covering cakes - you can do almost anything with modeling chocolate!

Our next session was on Cake Structures - this is Mike's newest class - and MAN is it AMAZING! I now feel I can take on just about any cake with confidence. We learned how to take any object - ANY object - and recreate it in cake. Using materials such as wood, steel, PVC piping, cake, buttercream and modeling chocolate - students recreated a 3 foot tall Big Bird EXACTLY like his winning cake on the Sesame Street Challenge!

Here are some pictures from the 2 day Modeling Chocolate class:And pictures from our 2 day Cake Structures Class:

Thanks to everyone who joined us! We hope you had fun, learned lots, and hope you come back to see us again soon!!

Mike McCarey is coming to town!!!

2010-03-20T16:02:00.003-04:00

Everyone at Flour Confections is sooooo excited because Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes is arriving THIS WEEK!!! Yes the time has FINALLY come for 4 days of AMAZING classes with this ultra talented cake artist!

On March 26th & 27th we are hosting our first class - Modeling Chocolate with Mike McCarey. We do have 2 spots remaining - be sure to sign up RIGHT AWAY so you can learn from one of the best in the buisness!!! You don't want to miss out!

On March 28th & 29th Mike will be teaching us all we need to know about building gravity defying cakes! Mike is known for his cake structures and this class is going to be awesome!

Stay tuned for pictures!

Bling Bling Bling with Ron Ben-Israel

2010-03-10T21:24:00.005-05:00

My class with the fabulously talented Ron Ben-Israel has now come and gone - but WOW what a class! I haven't even made it home yet but I'm dying to blog about my amazing time in class & in Savannah!

I was fortunate enough to have flown in a day early so that I could visit Savannah - wow so beautiful! What a city! I had a wonderful day with friends taking in the sites, enjoying great food & conversation - such a fabulous day! After our day, we quickly changed and went off to enjoy and AMAZING dinner at Sapphire Grill - I had the chef's tasting menu and it was divine! As an added bonus we were all treated to a private Opera performance by the talented Kate Essenberg! WOW

The following morning - EARLY I might add, we were off to start our 3 day class with Ron. In keeping with Southern hospitality, Minette and the staff at Custom Cakes greeted students with coffee, tea, pastries and bagels - mmmm just what I needed after a couple of Mojitos the night prior! I then took my seat ready to learn all I could about BLING, design & silicone mould making!

This was my second class with Ron and I hope not my last - he is an amazing instructor and so incredibly talented - and funny too!!! I also had the pleasure of seeing some old friends and meeting new ones - so much talent in one room - it was amazing to see all the cakes come to life on the last day!

Here are some pictures of the class - I cannot wait to get back home and put my new skills to work! Thank you Ron for sharing your talent with us, Minette for hosting such a fabulous class & the staff at Custom Cakes for the wonderful lunches & help! Looking forward to the next class!

Here is Ron demonstrating how to pour the liquid silicone. This is my final cake design. I created the silicone moulds for the square jewels from some buttons I found while shopping in a vintage store in Savannah. A close up of my "bling" poppies
Not only can Kate sing like an angel - she can click a mean shutter too! Group photo courtesy of Kate Essenberg.

Off to Savannah!

2010-03-02T20:43:00.006-05:00

OMG I'm so excited! Last March I had the privilege to travel to Savannah, Georgia where I studied for 3 days with the talented Ron Ben-Israel. Tomorrow, I will be making yet another trip to Savannah where I will be studying for another 3 days with Chef Ron!

This year it's all about the BLING baby! And that is exactly the subject I'm studying - the art of BLING - sugar bling that is! Chef Ron will be teaching us how he creates the most stunning sugar bling for cakes - I cannot wait!

To see the sugar flower master in action, here he is featured on the show Sugar Rush - enjoy!

CLICK HERE

And for more eye candy, take a look at some other videos by Ron Ben-Israel

Don't know what to watch???

2010-03-01T22:44:00.002-05:00

Here's a run down on what you'll find when cake hits the tube!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAMhHYzE0no&feature=player_embedded#

Flour Confections featured on The Sugar Cove Blog

2010-02-14T13:44:00.002-05:00

Flour Confections is honoured to be featured on The Sugar Cove Blog's Cake Shoe Diaries - to read our feature, click HERE

Congratulations Pam & Luke

2010-02-14T13:22:00.007-05:00

My cousin Pamela got married this past weekend. Being the resident cake artist in the family, I had the honour to create their wedding cake. Pamela's tastes were simple & sophisticated, she wanted a tall elegant cake which captured some of the unique features of her bridal gown - the burgundy gathered fabric of the bodice and the beautiful brooch and piping details. So I created a 4 tier square cake - each tier was 6" tall! All tiers were finished in an ivory fondant with burgundy sugar fabric gathered at the base of each tier, in the corners I added the brooch which was made from gumpaste.

Pam also wanted to surprise Luke (her husband-to-be) with a unique groom's cake which showed his love of hockey and her passion for ballet & dance. Originally the design was a bit simple, and in this last week, with her permission, I decided to take it up a notch and surprise them both with a showpiece cake that they will remember for years to come. With the help of my husband (now my resident cake engineer!) I created a standing life size hockey skate and ballet toe shoe. Personal touches such as Luke's nickname, were added to the design in the form of the skate logo.

Congratulations Pam & Luke - thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T01:27:00.003-05:00

I hope you are sharing something sweet with your Valentine today!

Bakers Journal Visits Flour Confections!

2010-02-04T16:21:00.002-05:00

Last fall, Brian Hartz of The Bakers Journal visited Flour Confections to interview me for an upcoming article.
The article was published in the November issue, and since then he has created a slide show of some of my creations & our shoppe. To view the slide show, please click HERE

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!!

2010-02-04T15:23:00.004-05:00

For those of you who missed out last year, you now have another opportunity to study with Bronwen Weber. Bronwen was recently name as one of Pastry Professional's Top Ten Cake Designers in America!

Back by popular demand, Bronwen & Francois will be joining us again August 23rd & 24th for another 2 days of AMAZING classes.

Our first class on Monday August 23rd will be learning the art of freehand carving. Students will each be given cakes and from those they will be sculpting an amazing bull dog. By the end of the class, students will feel confident to take on their new found skills and apply them to any future project. Space in the class is limited. Fees include ALL SUPPLIES and a catered lunch. To registser online, please follow the link below

3D Carved Bull Dog Class with Bronwen Weber

Our second class on Tuesday August 24th is an exciting one! Students will each be given (yours to keep!) the Caddy Wampus square stand to create a 3 tier topsy turvy style cake. Each side will focus on a different design - 12 designs in all. This class is perfect for those wanting to learn how to create a gravity defying topsy turvy cake! Space is limited. Fees include ALL SUPPLIES INCLUDING the Caddy Wampus and a catered lunch. To register online, please follow the link below

3 tier Caddy Wampus Class with Bronwen Weber

NEWS FLASH - TLC Ultimate Cake OFF Starts TONIGHT!

2010-02-01T15:53:00.003-05:00

For all you cake fans (and I know there are LOTS of you out there), season 2 of TLC's Ultimate Cake Off starts tonight at 10pm. So set your PVR (or VCR!!) and get out the popcorn!

For more information about the show, click here

Great interview with Marina Sousa of Just Cake

2010-01-26T18:42:00.003-05:00

For those of you heavily involved in the sugar world, you will definitely know the name Marina Sousa. And for those of you who don't recognize the name, you may recognize her from her Food Network Challenge appearances or her recent appearance on Oprah. She is the owner & artist behind Just Cake located in California - simply stunning work!

She has recently been honoured with a Nextie Award - celebrating young people doing extraordinary work in the Santa Cruz area. To see her interview, click the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL-sueL8IfI

Classes at Custom Cakes Savannah Georgia

2010-01-06T09:44:00.004-05:00

So if you are as addicted to the world of sugar as I am, then most likely you have made a pilgrimage or two to learn from some of the masters.

Last year I jumped on an airplane to Savannah's Custom Cakes to make such a pilgrimage to learn from the Maestro of Sugar Flowers - Ron Ben-Israel

Let me tell you the experience was nothing short of AMAZING! For those of you who don't know Minette Rushing, she is a fabulously talented cake artist located in the beautiful & historic city of Savannah, Georgia. Her staff are equally talented as well, two of which have recently competed in 3 Food Network Challenges!

This year I will be jumping back on another airplane to make the journey once more, this time to learn the art of Bling with Ron. Ron will be teaching 3 sessions this year, the first Bring on the Bling will take place February 26th, 27th & 28th. The second session Sugarpaste Flowers will be held on March 2nd, 3rd & 4th. The third session, a repeat of Bring on the Bling will be held on March 6th, 7th & 8th - this is the session I have registered for.

So if you have the time, the desire to learn from the best, and the love to travel, I encourage you to join me in my trek to Savannah! You won't be disappointed!

Memories of 2009

2009-12-31T08:43:00.098-05:00

As we enter a new year & new decade, I wanted to take a moment and remember all that has happened this past year. In 2009 Flour Confections met many new clients, some amazingly talented artists, and saw many changes - read below as we share a few :

In 2009 Flour Confections got a whole new look with the launch of our new website

In February, I started off the 2009 wedding season by creating a stunning vintage glamour 4 tier wedding cake for a wonderful couple Leslie & Mike - who have now had a baby boy! Congrats to you both and all the best in the years to come! (photo courtesy of Xero Digital)

In March we graced the pages of the April issue BRIDES Magazine & website

(photo courtesy of BRIDES magazine)

Our biggest change in 2009 came in April - on April Fool's Day actually, as we opened our doors to our brand new location - a specialty cake supply store, custom cake shop & edible arts school! And in May we launched our online store offering specialty cake supplies to everyone across Canada, the USA and abroad!

Just before our grand opening, I took a few moments to myself and whisked down to Savannah, Georgia to attend the most amazing sugar art class - A Master Class of Sugarpaste Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel at Minette Rushings' studio
April was a busy month with all the new changes, but I managed to find time to create a few entries for the CSSA Sugar Art Show held at Markville Mall. My wedding cake entry took 3rd place and my baby cake entry took 1st.

Heading into May, we hosted a fabulous class with the talented Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes
Students spent 2 days with Elisa learning her amazing techniques while creating her open gift box cake & safari animals.

Some wonderful cakes were also created in May for some great clients - including this ode to a police officer - a giant Tim Horton's cup, police badge & mega chocolate chip cookies!

June was filled with some wonderful weddings & events, here are a couple of highlights: a Poker themed 40th birthday, and I worked with Cindy Johnson of Platinum Events Group to create this sophisticated wedding cake for a stylish wedding at Trinity College.

(photo courtesy of Andrew Adams Photography)

In July, the Lifestyles with Rita Nave crew visited our shop to film a segment on cookie & cupcake decorating, it aired on Chex Durham. This was my first TV segment...with more to come later in the year.....

August was a very busy month! I traveled to the ICES convention in Chicago with my colleague Karey to see all the latest and greatest tools & techniques in the world of cake! We had a fabulous time learning & laughing, making new friends and hanging out with fellow cake chics!

Coming back from Chicago, I went into full gear creating a 5 tier hot pink, black & silver anniversary cake & cupcakes for the 20th anniversary of the Pink Pages Directory.

Later that month our store was graced with 2 very talented celebrity guests, Bronwen Weber & Francois Long of Frosted Art Bakery. Bronwen taught 2 classes and also donated her time & talent to our free night of sharing where we raised over 200lbs of food for a local food bank.

The first class was an entire day of airbrush skills - the amount of information gained that day was incredible - my airbrush is now my friend in the kitchen! All our new skills culminated in a 2D carved fish, brought to life using an airbrush.

On day 2, students learned how to create a free standing cake using a support structure created by Bronwen & Francois called "Cake Bones". In class we created a 3D clown, but the skills learned that day could be applied to anything that stands on two feet - wait until the November update to see how I applied my new found skills.....

Just after Bronwen left, I took my airbrush in hand and created a really fun cupcake tower for a fabulous couple with a sense of humour! Tom & Tammy (aka TNT) had a fun idea for their introduction as a married couple - they were going to walk into the hall while TNT by AC/DC played! This sparked my idea - I was going to create a barrel of TNT for their top tier cutting cake complete with a cake sparkler, and each cupcake would be adorned with a sugar dynamite stick! They loved the idea and we ran with it, resulting in one of my favourite cupcake towers.

The Fall is always busy season for weddings, and this year was no exception. Here are a few highlights from our fall weddings:

(photo courtesy of Angela Cook Photography)

October began with my annual trek to Tulsa Oklahoma to participate in the OSSAS show, again with my driving partner & colleague Karey by my side. This year I entered again in both the Grand Wedding Cake Competition as well as the Sugar Art Show. The judging was tough this year, but I was pleased to have my wedding cake entitled "Tying the Knot" place in the Silver ranking, while my divisional entries all placed as well. I was awarded first for my cookies, first for my baby entry, and second for my special techniques entry. And now the work begins for my 2010 entries.....

After creating some beautiful fall wedding cakes, I joined my family for our annual vacation to Disney World in Orlando.

Highlights in November were birthday cakes & classes & press. My husband celebrated his 36th birthday, and what birthday is not complete without a cake?? And when you are married to a cake artist, you don't just get any old cake, you get art! Expanding on the skills I learned with Bronwen, I modified the Cake Bones system to create a standing Taz cake - entirely edible made from lots of modeling chocolate and lots of cake!

Continuing with birthdays, I then created a cake for another family member, my father, who celebrated his 65th in 2009. Again my classes with Bronwen did not go to waste - taking my airbrush in hand, I created this full sized rainbow trout cake for this avid fisherman. After covering the cake with white fondant and creating a blank canvas, the colour and details were achieved via the airbrush.

We taught some great classes in November including Cookie Couture, Cupcake Couture & Airbrushing Basics.

And we were featured in Canada's leading trade magazine for the baking industry, Bakers Journal

December went by in a flash! Besides the regular hectic nature of the season, I was asked to do a live segment on Canada AM for their Holiday Treats & Sweets week. We featured the sugar cookie and filled the studio with tantalizing treats!

Right after the segment, we hosted our first annual Holiday Open House & Product Play Day at the store - we opened our kitchen to anyone who wanted to try out some of our favourite products including the airbrush, silicone moulds & tappits. We also gave away some amazing prizes to some very happy customers! Thank you to everyone who came out!

So that brings us to the end of 2009, but boy those are some amazing highlights!

Now we've come to a new year, a new decade and some exciting times at Flour Confections! This year we will be hosting some more fabulous classes including ones with Mike McCarey, James Rosselle, Lorraine McKay and Bronwen Weber!

Here's to a sweet 2010!

Canada AM - Thursday December 17th

2009-12-17T14:00:00.003-05:00

If you are not a morning person like me (wow 6am is EARLY!), you may have missed our spot on Canada AM this morning featuring the sugar cookie!

So if you did miss it, here is direct link to our spot - enjoy!

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/holiday-guide/#clip247495

Holiday Sweets & Treats Week - Canada AM

2009-12-14T09:07:00.004-05:00

All week on Canada AM - Holiday Sweets & Treats! Today was shortbread....tomorrow is gingerbread....wonder what will be next? If you love to bake, tune in every morning!

Do your holiday shopping online!

2009-12-11T23:30:00.002-05:00

We have been busy busy busy reorganizing the store to make room for so many new products - just in time for the holidays!

First off - GIFT CARDS ARE HERE! If you are looking for the perfect gift or stocking stuffer - why not buy them something they REALLY want?? A shopping spree for cake toys!!! Get them in store now!

New products:
We have a huge selection of coloured cupcake liners in both standard and mini sizes - perfect to jazz up any party or event!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/index.php?cPath=26

New patchwork cutters:
Lots of fabulous holiday and Christmas designs are now available - check out what we have in store!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1501

New sugarpaste cutters:
Including musical notes and an adorable reindeer!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1490
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1489

THE most ADORABLE Princess Pig & Prince Frog cookie cutters! Get em while they are HOT!
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1480
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1479

Fabulous metal ball tools for sugarpaste work - one of my favourite tools!https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1461

The ENTIRE line of Americolor Soft Gel & Amerimist colours in 4.5 oz bottles!

Many new Designer Stencils including the latest design featured in the most recent Martha Stewart Weddings
https://www.flourconfections.ca/shop/pr ... ts_id=1476

The list goes on and one - you'll just have to stop by the store or shop online to see all that we have to offer!

Cheers!

2010 Classes at Flour Confections!

2009-12-07T09:03:00.008-05:00

We have recently updated our website to show our 2010 Winter/Spring class schedule including the ever requested certificate courses.

We now have the following new courses available:

Baking for Profit or Pleasure - 4 day course or 1 day only options

January 11th-14th or February 8th-11th

Creative Canvas - Cake Design Basics - 4 day course or 1 day only options

January 18th-21st or February 1st-4th

The Art of Sugarpaste Flowers -3 day course learning a wide variety of sugarpaste flowers

January 25th-27th or February 22nd-24th

**********************************

We also have rescheduled the Wilton courses - all 4 courses will be running again from January to April

Wilton Course 1 Discover Cake Decorating

Wilton Course 2 Flowers & Borders

Wilton Course 3 Fondant & Tiered Cakes

Wilton Course 4 Fondant & Gumpaste

*****************************************

And of course we have rescheduled our workshops:

Airbrushing Basics Thursday March 18th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required

Basic Sugar Animals Sunday February 28th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required

Cookie Couture Sunday April 18th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required

Cupcake Couture Sunday February 21st HANDS ON workshop no supplies required

Flour Power - Baking Basics Wed April 21st & Thurs April 22nd HANDS ON workshop

Fondant FUN-damentals Sunday March 14th HANDS ON workshop including lunch

Roses Roses Roses Thurs March 11th HANDS ON workshop no supplies required

Sugarpaste Flower Basics Sunday March 7th HANDS ON workshop including lunch

The Royal Treatment - Piping Skills Thurs March 4th HANDS ON workshop

Holiday Open House December 17th 10-7:30pm

2009-12-04T23:41:00.003-05:00

Join us for a day of sharing

On Thursday December 17th we would like to invite you all to join us for a day of sharing during our Holiday Open House! From 10am until 7:30pm we will be enjoying a "Product Play Day" where you can come and try out some of our favourite products and learn a few new skills. Light snacks & refreshments will be provided as well as prizes.

We look forward to seeing you all in store!

Cake - The Essentials

2009-11-30T20:03:00.003-05:00

For those of you who love baking, you really should have a copy of The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. And if you already have it, then a great addition is her new book Rose's Heavenly Cakes.
A great article about cake was recently written by Rose for the New York Times. To read this article, follow the link below:

Cake: The Essentials
By Rose Levy Beranbaum
Published: Monday, November 30, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/info/cake/

December Newsletter now available

2009-11-27T11:21:00.003-05:00

To view our December newsletter - please follow this link

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=ead91db26255a73558a9befff&id=b1c10bb2dc

Don't forget our Cyber Monday Free Shipping Promotion taking place Monday November 30th for orders within Canada and the US! See the newsletter for more details.

No Joke!

2009-11-24T23:35:00.003-05:00

Flour Confections was recently interviewed by the Baker's Journal - a trade magazine which "highlights the successes, the trends and the people of Canada's baking industry."

To read our feature article please visit the Baker's Journal website.

And if you don't already subscribe to the journal, be sure to sign up for a subscription as it is a wonderful source for people in the baking industry.

Death of a cake = Birth of a smile!

2009-11-09T09:16:00.004-05:00

People often ask me "Doesn't it kill you to cut into this??" or "How could you dare cut this?" - my answer is always the same "But eating it is part of the experience!"

How could you NOT eat the cake?? Why wouldn't you?

All that hard work was done for 2 reasons:

1) to create an amazing centerpiece for your special event - one that will make your event memorable

2) to create an amazing dessert for your special event - one that will make your event memorable

Did you notice that the reasons are: Centerpiece & Dessert??

It doesn't matter how gorgeous or amazing that cake is, I expect you to eat it because bottom line - it's a CAKE! What good is it if you don't eat it?? My job as a cake artist is to make amazing custom cake centerpieces that taste as good as they look - if you don't eat it, you won't know if I'm doing my job!

So to all of you that have been fortunate enough to have a Flour Confections centerpiece at your event, I hope that you had the strength to cut into it - as eating it is all part of the experience!

Happy Birthday Scott!

2009-11-06T11:38:00.005-05:00

Today is my husband Scott's birthday.....so of course I need to make him a cake!

Instead of some ho hum cake that will be "fine" for a family dinner....I had to do something FUN!

The minute he left the shop yesterday - I got to work on his SURPRISE!

He's a big fan of Warner Bros, and so I thought this would be my challenge - how to turn some frozen chocolate cake tops, some frozen chocolate ganache and some time into a masterpiece!!!

The internal structure is the Cake Bones System by Cake Study - we got this fabulous set in Bronwens' class hosted here this past August! I converted it a bit and got to work on Taz!

His legs and arms are A LOT of modeling chocolate, the body is all cake, covered in chocolate fondant and lots and lots of love!

Now off to show my hubby his present!

Oprah - Tune in Thursday October 29th!

2009-10-28T21:51:00.003-04:00

If you love cake (and I know you do!) then be sure to tune into Oprah on Thursday to see cake stars Marina Sousa of Just Cake, James Rosselle of Elle Cakes (yes THE James coming to teach classes at Flour Confections in May 2010) Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes & The Cake Girls Mary & Brenda Maher for Oprah's Cake Off!!!

And can someone PVR it for me? LOL!

To Tulsa and Back

2009-10-08T11:07:00.012-04:00

Another amazing Oklahoma Sugar Art Show (OSSAS) has come and gone and I'm already excited to start my cake for next year!

My co-worker Karey and I set out on October 1st for our 20hr long adventure to Tulsa Oklahoma. The drive was long and tiring, but our excitement kept us going and thankfully the drive was "stress free".

This year, I didn't manage to finish all my divisional entries, but the few I did accomplish, I managed to place with all of them! My masters baby cake & cookies both placed 1st and my masters special techniques not on a cake placed 2nd!

I also entered in the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition - this year's theme was Of Sea & Shore. So many gorgeous cakes were created this year, the competition was tough! My goal this year was to be as clean and precise as possible - and to score as well if not better than last year. My cake placed as a Silver Finalist! For those of you that do not know how the scoring works, the entries each earn a score out of 100 - there are ranges for those scores for Bronze, Silver & Gold finalists - with Grand being the top prize, and 1st runner, 2nd runner, 3rd runner, 4th runner and 5th runner rounding out the top 6. I was so pleased to have been recognized for my work this year.

My cake, entitled Tying The Knot was inspired by my grandparents who were both in the British Royal Navy and were married during WWII. Everything on the cake is edible and painstakingly done by hand. The sweet peas on the table were also made from sugarpaste and were my grandmothers favourite flower.

Now off to plan my entries for next year!!!

Tips & Tricks from the Pros!

2009-09-14T23:54:00.004-04:00

Satin Ice fondant has created some wonderful HOW TO videos with some of the biggest names in the cake industry such as: Elisa Strauss, Ron Ben-Israel, Anne Heap, Colette Peters, Buddy Valastro & Jorge Amsler.

To view these great videos, visit the Satin Ice website.

To purchase Satin Ice fondant in Canada, visit our online store!

Evening of Sharing with Bronwen Weber

2009-08-26T20:22:00.012-04:00

In the spirit of sharing & caring, Flour Confections offered a free Evening of Sharing with Bronwen Weber this past Monday. Bronwen loves to be able to share her artistry with others and she graciously offered her time for this free demonstration. In return, we asked that participants bring non-perishable food donations for our local food bank.

Within 2hrs of announcing this unique evening, we filled all 40 spaces! Thank you everyone for your enthusiastic response and for such generous donations! We easily collected over 200 lbs of food!

Bronwen demonstrated her unique style of cake sculpting by creating the cutest sculpted dog named "Lucky". Within less than an hour, she had a completed dog from merely 3 1/2 sheets of cake, buttercream, fondant & an airbrush! It was amazing to watch the transformation!

We are very thankful to Bronwen & Francois for donating their time and skills to such an amazing event and worthwhile cause. Thank you everyone who made our event such a success! We hope to bring you more events such as this one in the future!