Wedding Cake @ Lebaron Hills Country Club

This simple four tiered hexagonal wedding cake was piped simply and classically for an elegant reception at the Lebaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville Massachusetts.

This design and piping technique is reminiscent of cakes from the late 1980's and early 1990's, many years before fondant and sugarpaste were popular options for wedding and celebration cakes.

Baking Class: Cookies 101

Last weekend we held a baking class entitled: "Cookies 101" where we explored different mixing methods, troubleshooting the cookie baking experience, and made 6 varieties of cookies. For a list of upcoming classes click HERE or visit http://www.theartisankitchen.com/classes.htm .

During the four hour class each student learned different measuring methods and the science behind the art of baking. Here is a sample recipe.

Thin & Lacey Tuile Oatmeal Cookies
42 – 1 oz cookies (1 generous Tablespoon)
Just like the thin chocolate chip cookies, these cookies will spread quite a bit on the sheet pan so be sure to only place 9 cookies on a tray at a time. I love to serve these as ice cream sandwiches with rum raisin ice cream.
Butter which is softened to a melting stage will yield a cookie that spreads and is thin & crispy.
Ingredients

By Cups
By Weight
Butter, unsalted, very, very soft. 1 ¼ c. 10 oz
Brown Sugar 1 ¾ c. 12 oz
Sugar ½ c 3 ¼ oz
Salt ¼ tsp ¼ tsp
Baking soda ¾ tsp ¾ tsp
Cinnamon ¼ tsp ¼ tsp
Nutmeg, freshly ground ¼ tsp ¼ tsp
Honey 2 T. 2 T.
Vanilla 1 tsp. 1 tsp
Eggs 2 2
All-Purpose Flour 1 ¾ c. 7.5 oz
Old-fashioned rolled oats 3 c. 10 oz
Method:
Place the butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, & honey in the bottom of a large mixing bowl or on your stand mixer. Cream with the paddle or beaters for 7 minutes on low or medium-low speed.
Turn off the mixer, scrape the bowl and add the vanilla and 2 eggs. Mix on medium speed for 1 ½ minutes or until the eggs are incorporated, and the mixture looks slightly curdled. DO NOT mix until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the flour and oats and mix until combined on low speed.
To make 1 oz cookies, scoop with the yellow handle scoop then divide each scoop in half or just use two tablespoons to scoop balls and scrape them onto the tray.
Using a plain aluminum cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, bake 375 °F for 10-13 minutes. They will be brown across almost the entire top, with a small ¼”- ½ ” coin of blonde in the center.
Cool completely on the tray.

The Artisan Kitchen @ Garden of Cakes, Boston Flower Show 2010

We are so excited to be showing our design at the Flower Show this year in Boston. I'm not quite sure what the design will bring, but I promise that it will be something not to be missed.

The Boston Flower & Garden Show
Wednesday, March 24 to Sunday March 28, 2010
Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, MA 02210



Here is a little bit about the cake display at the Boston Flower Show from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society:
A new feature - The Garden of Cakes - will offer yet another way to appreciate flowers, as adornment on dramatic and romantic creations by some of the region's top professional cake artists. See the latest designs from well-established Boston bakeries as well as the work of smaller, more boutique-oriented shops on the leading edge of cake design.

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=119890207765

Funny things happen when you use Google....

Just like every other cake designer, I find myself pouring over current issues of cake and wedding magazines for those new trends or ideas and just to get a head start on what pictures are going to be in my brides' hands this year. I also find myself "Googling" cake phrases & such. Ironically, as I googled "Blue Starfish Cake" today I found a familiar cake in a block of photos on www.squidoo.com which allows you to make single web pages.

This teal and red starfish cake has always been one of my favorites and thanks to New England Clam Jams, Lyn Keith, for the photos!

You can find the article here:
http://www.squidoo.com/beach-wedding-cakes

Our nautical starfish wedding cake is the one in the top left hand corner from a wedding at the New Bedford Yacht Club in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts!

Slot Machine Cake: Take 2

Anniversary Cake: Tiered Buttercream Cake with Sugar Flowers

The two tiered buttercream cake was created for a 40th Anniversary party in Marion, Massachusetts.

The color scheme: a classic kelly green and cranberry was mimicked in the hand dusted edible sugar calla lillies, roses, ivy, and and berry flowers.

A small sugar plaque was created with a "Happy 40th" inscription. You'll see a closeup of the flowers below, and yes they are all edible and made by hand. We can create a number of cake toppers from sugar flowers in tens of different flowers and any color scheme. Think gerbera daisies and orchids, roses and hydrangea, dogwood flowers, or even tulips with hyacinths.

Bar Mitzvah Cake: New England Patriots Cake

We created this round buttercream flat art cake for a Bar Mitzvah at Hawthorne Country Club in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Our talented artist created the logo, candle holders, and assorted theme colored footballs and silver pearls for the border. The silver plaques inscribed with "Mazel Tov Corey" are also edible, made of sugarpaste painted in edible silver.

Buttercream Flat Art Cakes: Daisies & Sailboats

We created this square buttercream cake for an 80th birthday this summer. Sailboats and daisies were the theme for the birthday girl. Classic white daisies with pale yellow centers are a favorite around here for that classic and feminine birthday cake. Topped off with a light sprinkle of tiny white non-pareils -- it is a simple and elegant combination.

Buttercream Kayak Cake

I am so lucky to have such a great artist right on staff, Jody Church doesn some amazing sculpting and if I give her a picture she has a realist eye that is utterly amazing! Here you'll see a simple two tiered buttercream cake with a kayak theme. Jody created not only the kayak out of sugarpaste but oars, life vests, and an "Happy Birthday" plaque for the top of the cake reminiscent of woodgrained signs at National parks.

Specialty CupCakes: Chocolate & Peanut Butter

When winter arrives we get a little bit of time to do some recipe testing and of course....tasting!

Here we created a Peanut-Butter-Cup CupCake: a devilish chocolate cake with an intense peanut butter buttercream topped with chocolate shards and chopped toasted peanuts....YUM!

Lily Pulizter Inspired Birthday Cake

This third birthday cake was inspired by Lily Pulitzer a clothing line known for its brights fushia pink and chartreuse lime green color palettes.



This simple round buttercream cake is decorated with hot pink and lime green sugarpaste polka dots. The hot pink whimsical "3" is a great substitute for a traditional birthday inscription.

Wedding Pies @ Eastover Farm, Rochester, Massachusetts

The Artisan Kitchen makes Boston Magazine Featured Weddings.....

We received a call from a prospective bride who started with...."I saw that you make tiny pies for weddings in Boston Magazine". The bakery was abuzz...."When were we in Boston Magazine?!"

We created individual pies, tiny cider donuts, and other tiny creations for the country chic dessert buffet along with tiny caramel and pecan apples from a local farm.

Below, are a few gorgeous photos from the wedding photographer Connie of Studio Atticus she can be reached via web or phone @......

http://www.studioatticus.com
making a soft poetry of the documentary tradition
Connie Allyson Miller
617.784.2780


Photo Courtesy of: Studio Atticus


Photo Courtesy of: Studio Atticus

Here is a little bit about Jaime & Mike's Wedding @ Eastover Farm in Rochester, Massachusetts


Photo Courtesy of: Studio Atticus

Real New England Weddings: Eastover Farm
Taking advantage of our region's diverse landscape, this couple ties the knot in style.
By Hillary Geronemus
Jaime Langione & Mike Endreny
October 11, 2008
Eastover Farm, Rochester, Massachusetts
Photographs by Studio Atticus


Photo Courtesy of: Studio Atticus

They may have found each other in Mexico, but Jaime and Mike's wedding was closer to home. Planning a ceremony at a working farm had its fair share of challenges, Jaime admits, but it was important to both of them that every detail be as local and sustainable as possible. Their caterer used organic, regional ingredients, the flowers were sourced from local farms, the centerpieces featured seasonal fruits and nuts, and the individual pies (in lieu of cake) came from a bakery down the road. The setting itself, a green field overlooking a pond, perfectly embodied the couple's green leanings. And with grasshoppers and butterflies following her down the "aisle" and two swans appearing out of nowhere during the vows, Jaime says, "nature came through for us."

VIEW THE SLIDE SHOW! Click HERE

Catering: Season to Taste, 617-921-9130, seasontotastecatering.com
Flowers: Stacey Daley, Bay End Farm, Buzzards Bay, 508-759-8050, bayendfarm.com
Desserts: The Artisan Kitchen, 265 Walnut Plain Rd., Rochester, 508-763-4905, theartisankitchen.com
Music: Ceremony and cocktails, the Pegheads, 401-247-0159; dinner and dancing, Soul Kitchen, 617-469-4381, soulkitchenband.com
Tents: Sperry Tents, 11 Marconi Ln., Marion, 508-748-1792, sperrytents.com

Summer Wedding: Plymouth Massachusetts Waterfront

With all of the recent snow on the South Coast of Massachusetts we decided to take a look back on summer and some of the wedding cakes that we created!

This four tier casual strawberry shortcake buttercream cake was the feature at a clambake reception on the waterfront in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The bride asked for us to create a swirl pattern in the buttercream for the look of a "homemade" cake iced in whipped cream.



The cake flavor included vanilla cake with strawberry filling, the top tier featured gluten-free cake!

Wedding Cake & CupCakes @ Whaling Museum

We created this unique cupcake display tier for a wedding at the Whaling Museum.
160 cupcakes covered the tiers of our large cupcake display tier topped with blue hydrangea blossoms, dark chocolate daisies and tiny forest green leaves.



The top cake, saved for the couples anniversary was a chocolate torte filled with buttercream and topped with a hand sculpted owl perched on a dark chocolate branch. Jody, our resident artist, created the owl and branch by by hand, her work is absolutely immaculate!



The cupcakes flavors included devilish chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing and was delivered to the Whaling Museum in Historic Downtown New Bedford.

Graduation Cake

A few weeks ago we sent one of our most valued employees off to Culinary School and my alma mater, The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Dana was here at The Artisan Kitchen from the age of 16 and although we'll really miss him, I couldn't be happier to see him follow his dream at the country's premier culinary college.

Below, is Dana's high school graduation cake, a chef's toque. These are the tall hats worn by students and chef instructors at the CIA- quite fitting don't you think!



Best Wishes Dana!

The Artisan Kitchen: Looking Back At 2009

We have lots of pictures of the bakery, our staff, and yummy things that we make but I never seem to be able to share them so here is a favorite....our artisan loaves and sandwich breads on a cooling rack!



All of our breads are scaled, formed, slashed and packaged by hand. Our list of varieties ranges from cheddar onion dill to classic semolina sesame loaves.