Baking
can be such a creative outlet. The cool
thing about the entire process is the memories one makes while making a one of
a kind sweet. My friend Crystal is one
of those people who does it all; home schools her kids, spends great quality
time with family, works out like a rock star and bakes her little heart
out! When I thought about this week’s
theme, Cooking as a Creative Endeavor, I immediately thought of her baking
creations. What makes her baked goods
so unique is that I can totally see a little part of her in every
creation. We all know someone in our
life whose qualities and attributes seem to reflect them in whatever they
do. That’s Crystal and her special
cakes. I decided to talk to her about
her passion, what inspires her baking and most of all, what makes some of her
featured cakes so special.
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| Frozen Cake made for Crystal's Daughter |
This
Frozen cake, she explains, is made of two layers of chocolate and vanilla covered in marshmallow fondant. All of her cakes have buttercream under the fondant and between the layers. Of course, it wouldn't be a totally awesome Frozen cake if we didn't have Elsa and Olaf. Made from ½ and 1/2 of Wilton and gum paste
mix, they grace the top of this cake. This special treat was made for Crystal's daughter and as you can imagine, she loved it!
The
Tangled cake is by far my favorite cake.
This is a chocolate and vanilla cake covered in marshmallow fondant that
Crystal makes herself, and buttercream flowers.
What makes the castle sturdy and smooth is cereal treats and modeling
chocolate, made from candy melts and corn syrup. The highlight of the cake, Rapunzel of
course, is made from fondant. Crystal
really enjoyed decorating with flowers, which gracefully tier down the cake.
And
since we’re on the topic of utter cuteness, I had to highlight this adorable
cake. The Teacup was made for a
sweet little girl. A strawberry cake
with buttercream and marshmallow fondant, the spout was created by using gum
paste and covered with the same purple marshmallow fondant. The handle is gum paste and the flowers
petals from gum paste and buttercream.
I
always wonder what inspires people to create such beautiful things so I asked
Crystal where her passion came from. She
explained that she always liked baking, although she had never tried working
with fondant. When the company her
husband worked for closed down and he was laid off from work, she was
determined to give their third and last child a memorable first birthday. Deciding to make a Thing from the Cat in The
Hat cake, she was shocked how beautiful it had turned out. When people asked her to make cakes for their
celebrations, Crystal realized that she had a talent to share with others. A lot of her creations have been trial and
error—which is the best way to learn—but now that her kids are older, she’d
love to take some baking classes.
Crystal
makes sure to involve her children when baking or cooking. She feels it’s important to spend time with
them. She says, “ I feel them
knowing how to bake and cook will help them so much later in life in many ways.
I think my favorite memory is last Christmas after we baked all of our
Christmas goodies and boxed them up for the neighbors they delivered them on
roller-skates.”
I look forward to seeing more of Crystal’s creations. I believe that people have talents to inspire
the people around them; Crystal is doing that…one cake at a time!
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