Mike McCarey was here!

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!!!

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

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!

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???

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

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

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!