All You Need is Cake!

A Life Long Wedding

I was given the distinct opportunity to be a part of a wedding for some dear friends.  Many years ago I babysat this bride as a youngster. 

What a fabulous event it was, but more importantly I had the pleasure of collaborating with my wonderfully talented mother and sister. They are talented, beautiful and wonderful to work with.  

My sister Summer, designed the cake and did the cake tastings. My mother, SK on Elderberry, planned the entire event, plus created the expansive floral designs. And the florals on the cake. 

We started by baking, filling and crumb coating all five layers of the cakes. You can see more of this process at: SK on Elderberry

This cake was huge and just to give you an idea of the scope of this project, we made 76 cups of chocolate cake batter and 60 cups of French vanilla batter. That is a Hell of a lot of cake batter. After all was filled, stacked, and frosted, we began the decorations.

We used an edible silver spray for the largest and bottom tier.  The bride and groom love chocolate and wanted chocolate icing and of course we wanted them to love their cake. But we also needed to make the cake blend and fit the color scheme of gray and pinks.  The silver Degrees would not cover the chocolate color of the frosting. Thus the edible silver spray.

Summer was clearly better at this step.  It turned out amazing. These little balls of silver sugar will be bouncing around the kitchen for months.

We then continued with the other tiers. With textured white Buttercream frosting, a trickle, raining down of pink and silver Dragees, ribbon and pink lace covered tiers.

After this bit of backbreaking work, it was time to box it up and deliver this 130 lb. cake to the venue. We boxed the cakes into 3 separate boxes for safety and stacked it on location.  We were on a tight photographers schedule, so very little fussy was required. Mom needed at least an hour to finish the floral creations on the cake.

With hearts tapping double time, we finished the frosting, ribbon and lace. My mom, artist SK Sartell finished it off with her beautiful florals.  After all was said and done this mammoth of a cake weighed 135 lbs + and over 50" inches tall.  

Mom actually needed a ladder to reach the top. Battery powered fairy lights entangled the bottom tier and the florals giving it a last little sparkle.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with two of the most talented women I know. And no surprise here, this beautiful creation tasted a wonderful as she looked.

Being part of this magnificent event has been the biggest challenge so far in my career.  

Chef Darcy

Silver Spoon Cakes. 

https://www.facebook.com/chefdarcy.silverspooncatering

Chef Darcy & Google Plus

SK on Elderberry 

http://sksartell.blogspot.com/

Super Saturday

Sometimes in my crazy life in the midst of all the pretty cakes, I need an outlet of creativity of a different kind.

  I love making home decor for holidays and have a long history in the arts and as such I have been given a calling in my church, to be the activities chair, this give me the opportunity to plan and put on fun activities.  

  This month my committee and I have decided we would have a super Saturday. This activity is when woman get together and do all kinds of crafts.  The committee gathered last night and put together some really cute crafts for each of the next few holidays.  This is so we can take them with us to church to display, giving woman an opportunity to choose their crafts.  

We will collect all the supplies and have a great time creating with others on this Super Saturday!  We are very lucky here in Utah to have a great inexpensive source for these great supplies.  The Wood Connection.

You can buy the pre-cut wood and create your own style craft or you can buy their kit and make it look just like theirs.  

It;'s time for those holiday fun crafts. This is a creative process that is generational in my own family. Mom, sister, aunts and cousins with a few friends traditionally have one time a year we gather, laugh, talk and create (eat).We have such fun seeing each different end creation. It's amazing how different each is.

Make a tradition in your own circles. It can be a wonderfully joyful memory. Make sure to take pictures. They are precious.

You know when an event is successful when people leave with a smile and a bit of excitement from creating something they have never tried.

Thanks For Visiting.
Darcy
(385)209-8249
http://www.silverspooncake.com/
silverspooncake@gmail.com

Salt Lake Valley Chef Darcy's Customized Cooking Parties.

How Fun! Darcy is specializing in custom themes cooking parties for individual occasions.

Darcy does all the planning, and the shopping, She will create your special event. Coming to your kitchen she will teach a group or several couples how to create and then enjoy an evening of delightful culinary creations.

Whether it is a children's birthday party with hands-on creative pizzas or a beautifully set dinner and learning with a couples evening. How about a seniors graduation party. Let your guests entertain themselves with learning and enjoying a new food creation.

Your guests will receive an old-fashioned paperbag invitation, festooned with ribbons and party goodies to bring to your party. It's a win before they even arrive. 

Your occasion will be remembered as a treat and something very special.

Have Darcy plan your next amazing occasion.

Thanks For Visiting.

Darcy

(385)209-8249

http://www.silverspooncake.com/

silverspooncake@gmail.com

Captivating Cake

 There is one thing in the culinary world that will always be true. You never stop learning and growing as a culinary artist.  And that is exactly what it is, an Art.  Especially when it comes to cake.  There are so many possibilities and mediums you can work with, butter cream, fondant, gum past, pulled sugar. 

For this post I am highlighting the beautiful work of a close friend.  She is not a culinary artist, but she is an artist for sure!  Her work is beautiful and inspiring.  She motivates me to be more daring, to reach a little further in my passion.  So for this I thank you Acacia Tanner.
  So the project we worked on was a trade, she wanted to learn the art of baking a cake as well as putting it together and frosting, and in return without her knowledge I learned her painting technique.  She wanted to decorate this cake like a painting, but use the frosting as the paint.

 First she smeared "paint" frosting on her pallet then began  to dip her brush in gel food coloring then into the frosting, mixing the color she desired,

  She then began to apply her colors to the cake almost like a stucco.  she layered the colors starting with the darkest of shades and building up from there, lighter and lighter.

   Here, she is tinting the frosting and adding it in layers to the base frosted cake, using the frosting on the cake and picking up her colored frosting and creating texture and movement.

 

  This masterpiece cake begins to take on the life from which it was inspired, starting to look more and more like the famous "Water Lilies" by Monet.                  

                        

  I was fascinated to watch this artist at work and if you know me, you know I have many talents, but painting is not one I have yet to acquirer.  But after watching this masterpiece take life, it inspires me to take that leap into the darkness and try something new.  And what an asset it would be to my portfolio of skills. My mom is an artist so this shouldn't be such a leap. I just need inspiration like Acacia watercolor cake.

Have an adventure. Try something new and get out of your comfort zone.

See ya next time. Darcy 

MOVIES ON THE GREEN

  To most people putting together a party or an event is torturous, time consuming and not fun at all.  For me, it is complete bliss.  I love preparing for events, putting them together and seeing other people enjoy the results.  Nothing makes me happier,  knowing  I put on an event which was loved and will be remembered.  It does not matter if it is an event for a client or a personal party.  The joy that comes is immeasurable. 
    I recently hosted a Movie Party.  Great for an end of summer and back to school night. Nothing too fancy, just a great movie, some yummy popcorn, candy and water.  I knew  it would be great fun, but I wanted to bring it up a notch. This was also a great event to bring a community together for a simple night out.  I made some cute tickets and invitations for each family in the complex,  tags for the treats and hung twinkle lights for ambiance

  Lets talk about how you can put on a party like this on your own.  It is simple really, 5 simple rules to follow will make a successful party every time..I will use this party as an example.

1. Choose a Theme
  You need to think about what kind of party you want, the feel of the party, the color scheme, and stick with it!
                
a. I chose Movies on the Green as my theme and wanted the old  Hollywood feel. I chose red, black and white as the colors I would stick to. My inspiration came from old time popcorn boxes.

2. Time and Date.
            It is important to think about the type of party and the date you want it on.  Once you have picked a date it is important to stick to it.  Changing the date will and does effect the attendance.
                  a. The date I chose had to be warm enough to still have outside but also when it got darker earlier in the evening, Sept. was perfect for this.

3. Decorations

            You can go as simple or elaborate as you choose, or your budget for the event allows. I tend to  do more then most would, but this is how I do things.  I enjoy the technical and design of a well planned event. Choose decor based on your theme, colors, and feeling you want to convey. 
                    a .I wanted to have fun with the decorations, so I made labels for the water bottles, the candy, and the different types of popcorn we would serve, and keeping with the movie theme made them  look like film strips.  Also, I used books covered in different patterned red cloth napkins.for height changes on the serving table which gives a little more interest for the eye.  I hand made popcorn boxes, and hung Twinkle lights above the lawn. Your own party or events theme is just a picture away. I never seem to run out of inspiration for events.

4. Food
          This obviously is an important part of most parties.  You should again choose foods which fit your theme, whether it is in color or type of food. Think about your guests and what would be appropriate for the occasion and the guests.

                   a. I chose to do flavored popcorns, candy and water.  I served 3 different varieties of popcorn in large bell jars, with flavors for every type of person. Marshmallow popcorn, Parmesan Cheese popcorn and a Buttered popcorn.  Candy for all types, I put them in little condiment cups with lids so guests could take one or more of their favorite kinds of candy., this also made it easy for cleanup. Mini water bottles were perfect for the kids and the adults, we did not have lots of waste.

5. Execution of Event
           Along with the other points, execution is important to think about when putting together your event.  I make lists of all the things I need done and when, so it is orderly and I can check things off as they are completed.  I try to do as much as possible before the day of the event so the execution of the event goes smoothly and quickly. 
a. With exception of the popcorn I was able to have everything for my party done in advance, so I could sit back and relax with my guests at the party.

 Don't forget to have fun when putting together a party or it is just not worth it.  Pick a theme you will love, invite people you enjoy and food that is irresistible and you will have a great party every time.



   I have attached the downloads of the tags I made so you can have a party like this one.,  Just right click on the picture and click save as!  


          Label for Cany                                                                                      Large Label for water

. 

  I used this Label to Customize for   each of the Popcorn Flavors

Movie Tickets   With Date and Time                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Individual Water Bottle Labels

Have fun with your party.

Thanks and see you next time.
Darcy

Thanks For Visiting.

Darcy

(385)209-8249

http://www.silverspooncake.com/

silverspooncake@gmail.com