Graduation Cakes

Children's Birthday Cakes: Sesame Street CupCakes

These Sesame Street character cupcakes were created this past weekend for a kid's birthday and let me tell you they were the hit of the bakery!

Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch were perched atop the cupcakes along with Cookie Monsters Cookies and Yellow Stars perched atop green icing (signature Sesame Street Colors)

The Sesame Street theme song along with Cookie Monsters theme song "C is for Cookie" were hummed all day long- we did apologize to all of our customers that day!

The cupcake flavors included vanilla butter, devilish chocolate and red velvet.

Christening, Baptism, First Communion Cakes

The Sentinel...Garden show will be a cake walk for local bakery

Read the article about our Boston Flower Show Cake from The Sentinel click HERE http://www.wickedlocal.com/rochester/news/business/x1499087363/Garden-show-will-be-a-cake-walk-for-local-bakery




The Artisan Kitchen to exhibit at 2010 Boston Flower & Garden Show
Photos
Courtesy of Gretchen Grundstrom.Cake artist Jody Church of The Artisan Kitchen in Rochester proudly displays her handiwork at the 2010 Boston Flower & Garden Show “Garden of Cakes” exhibit. After the show, the cake will be displayed at the 265 Walnut Plain Road bake shop.
Courtesy of Gretchen Grundstrom.A close up of the top tier of a cake on display at the 2010 Boston Flower & Garden Show “Garden of Cakes” exhibit
Courtesy of Gretchen Grundstrom.A cakes entered in the 2010 Boston Flower & Garden Show in Boston by The Artisan Kitchen in Rochester.
More Photos
.By Anonymous
Gatehouse News Service
Posted Mar 25, 2010 @ 12:35 PM
ROCHESTER — The Artisan Kitchen will participate in the “Garden of Cakes” exhibit as part of the 2010 Boston Flower & Garden Show at The Seaport World Trade Center.

The “Garden of Cakes” features 12 cake designers chosen from around New England with The Artisan Kitchen showcasing a show-stopping, hand painted four-tiered cake from March 24 to March 28.

Pastry chef Meredith Ciaburri and cake artist Jody Church collaborated to complete the design, which features a garden scene of New England spring blooms, and three dimensional sugar garden accessories, including a pail, boot and garden box with tiny sugar blooms.
The cake will also be on display in Artisan Kitchen’s shop after the completion of the Boston Flower & Garden Show. The Artisan’s Kitchen is located at 265 Walnut Plain Road in Rochester. Shop hours are Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, go online to: www.theartisankitchen.com





Copyright 2010 Wicked Local Rochester. Some rights reserved

The Artisan Kitchen Bakes: Local Eggs

Our two local egg sources Becky from Acushnet, MA and Dave and Sasha at Plato's Harvest Organic Farm in Middleboro supply us with the freshest and most gorgeous eggs for baking.

When customers ask "Do you make a white cake?" I always answer- "No, we have the freshest eggs of any bakery in Massachusetts and we like to take advantage with our Ultimate Vanilla Butter Cake!"

Local eggs have an incredibly vibrant yolk and a viscous egg white each of which provide the most incredible nature for baking.


The local egg on the left shows how "orange" the yolk from local eggs compares to the "pale yellow" yolk of the conventional egg.



We use lots of other local products including exclusively, Decas Cranberry Products, Kenyon's Milled Cornmeal, Local In Season Produce and Fruit.

Baking Class: Custom Cake Decorating Class

We had quite the busy day yesterday! Besides dropping our cake off at the Boston Flower Show we continued our Winter Baking Class Series with a "Custom Cake Decorating Class" our hybrid "Buttercream and Fondant" cake was the subject for our two students, who had very little cake decorating experience

Here is the cake design for the class:



Checking the level on our 7" cakes:


Here are our students while crumb coating their cakes:



Making fondant ribbon roses:




Our Cake Decorating students with the final cakes, aren't they beautiful?


Our next classes will run in the winter and early spring of 2011! Including baking classes in the following subject areas:

1) Cookies 101
2) Cupcakes 101
3)Cake Decorating 101
4)Cake Decorating 102
5) Breads and Rolls 101

Each class is 3 hours in length, we run two separate sessions of each class. One is on a Tuesday evening and the other is on a Sunday morning, in order to accomodate a number of schedules. We do recommend taking the CupCake 101 Class before taking the Cake Decorating 101 Class. Also, the Cake Decorating 102 Class must be taken in conjunction with the Cake Decorating 101 Class.

We love teaching and although we've been baking here at The Artisan Kitchen since 2005, our new expanded kitchen space has allowed us to begin teaching this year in 2010!

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

Our cake made it to the Boston Flower Show at the Seaport World Trade Center today. Although the rain caused an two and a half hour traffic jam, our cake is safely on display along with 11 other cake designers from around New England.

We must have gone through 40 different design ideas from birds and a nest to branches with small blossoms to an applique design and even a hand painted woodgrain "faux-bois" design. But in the end Jody worked her magic with a classic New England Spring Garden Theme, it was the Garden of Cakes! With all tolled over 20 hours of love, handpainting and sculpting of our completely edible garden adornments on the top of the cake was put into this design. Thank goodness the rain didn't stop us from getting to Boston!


Here is Jody our oh-so-talented artist with our cake in Boston:



A full view of our four tiered garden and a close up of the hand painted garden scene....and finally our Garden Cake Topper: tiny sugar adornments from a garden in bloom: a flower box, a wellie boot and even a trowel and bucket.....









We chose this particular design because we are a small bakery set in the pine trees and stonewalls of the woodland and country setting of the South Coast of Massachusetts, we are lucky to open our windows and hear the birds and look at our beautiful gardens on the property and our cake design reflects that!

A few other cake designers asked if the design was airbrushed, and absolutely not, this is handpainted in food coloring with a "OOO" and "00" brush!

Tiered Butercream Cake: 2nd Birthday Train Cake

This two tiered buttercream cake has a fondant wrap and cute train decor. The bold primary "crayola" colors are perfect for Aidian (you can see his first birthday cake below- a shamrock themed cake based on our Bold & Buttercream 1st Cake seen HERE)


Aidan's 2nd Birthday Cake:



Aidan's First Birthday Cake:

Easter Menu 2010

Pick-Up: Saturday April 3, 2008
Pick-Up Time: 10A-4P
Orders Close: Wed. March 31, 6:00pm

Lemon Tart: 9” Sweet & tangy lemon curd custard with whipped cream and candied lemon peel. Srvs 10. $25



Easter Cupcakes: 12 Assorted vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and fanciful easter décor. $21


Mini Pastries: Pistachio Cannoli, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Asst. Petit Fours, Lemon Tarts, Coconut Macaroons. 30 pieces. $27



Chocoate Mousse Cups: for Passover, Dark chocolate mousse with whipped cream. Srvs 1 $2.75 ea.



Strawberry Charlotte: Ring of ladyfingers layered w/Bavarian mousse & fresh strawberries. 7” Cake. Srvs 8-10 $28


Chocolate Mousse Pie: Dark chocolate mousse in ganache-glazed chocolate crust, w/whipped cream & chocolate shavings, Serves 8. $17


Carrot Cake: 7” round double layer torte with fresh carrots, pineapple, coconut & toasted nuts with cream cheese icing. Srvs 10-12. $28



9” Pies: Wild Blueberry $14.75 Key Lime $17



9” Quiche: Bacon Parmesan $14.75 Asparagus $14.75

Breads:
Rustic Ciabatta Rolls (1 dozen mini) $4.00
Buttermilk Rolls (1 dozen mini) $4.00

Personalized Easter Egg Sugar Cookie: 4” sugar cookie, white, yellow, & pale pink icing with polka dots & stripes, up to 8 characters, cello bag with wraphia ribbon tie. $3.75 each

Two Tiered Elmo Cake

This two tiered buttercream cake was created for a Elmo Sesame Street cake for a 2nd birthday party. Bright colors, tiny block letters, and balloons decorate the sides of the cake. A 3-D Elmo sits atop the top tier made out of sugarpaste. I love tiered cakes that include an inscription on the side, it stands out so well!

First Birthday: Round Buttercream Jungle Cake with Smash Cake

We created this first birthday cake based on our Baby Shower Jungle Cake HERE



We also included a first birthday smash cake.

Sculpted Cake: Submarine Cake for Lockheed Martin

We created this Submarine Cake for Lockheed Martin in Mario, Massachusetts.
The completion and success of a submarine contract was on the table for celebration and so was this cake!

Sculpted Cake: Pokemon Pikachu Cake

This is a blast from the past.....Pokemon Pikachu. This yellow character- one of a fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri.

Birthday Cake: Knitting Needles and Yarn

Quite frequently, customers watch shows on the Food Network or TLC such as Ace of Cakes, Cake Challenges, and Ultimate Cake Off. The cakes on these programs are quite elaborate and tend to be expensive. Here are a few pictures that one of our clients sent to us but only had $35.00 budget...we created this cake to fit into his budget.

It is a 7" Round Buttercream Cake with Custom Sugarpaste Decor of knitting needles and bright and bold balls of yarn:




These are the cake pictures that he originally sent us from Pink Cake Box and other fine cake establishments:

Wedding Cupcakes @ Cape Cod: Waves & Whales

We created this fun wedding cupcake display for a wedding on Cape Cod. Blue waves and little whimsical whale cupcake toppers were on the menu for the bride and groom who work for an institution which studies and saves whale and other ocean wildlife.



We created this stand with the large cupcake display.

Checklist for Our Custom Cake Clients & Brides

We created this checklist & FAQ list for our valued customers and new clients, it has some great info-- and may answer a lot of questions that you may have after looking through our website and browsing our blog.......

Checklist of items to bring to your consultation:
O Occasion Date
O If delivery: Street Address of Venue. We will not schedule a delivery without a street address!
O Contact name and phone number of event planner or venue
O Estimated number of guests attending
O Pictures of cakes or displays from wedding periodicals or websites
O Color swatches
O Any items that will give us a feel of the event
O A copy of your invitation
O Any other inspiration!
O A cake topper that you have purchased or a picture of the one you plan to use, if any.
Can I just stop in to talk with someone about a tiered or custom specialty cake or wedding cake? Generally, we ask that you make an appointment via telephone or email for any specialty, tiered cake, or wedding cake. We may be able to assist you on a walk-in basis, but it is best to call ahead.

What should I bring with me to my consultation? Before coming in for a consultation it is a good idea to have some kind of direction or basic idea for a cake as well as a guests count plus or minus 50 people. It is very difficult for us to give you a specific price if you’re not sure whether you’d like a simple three-tiered cake with fresh flowers or an extravagant five tiered fondant cake covered in gumpaste appliqué flowers with a large bow. So take a look at our website, or wedding websites such as www.theknot.com or www.weddingchannel.com or simply search “wedding cakes” and see if you come up with a few cakes, cupcakes, or dessert buffets that strike you.

How far in advance should I place a birthday cake order? Any special occasion cakes with basic designs or a photo should be ordered 2-3 weeks before your occasion. Please call and check for availability for tiered cakes.

Can I make changes to cake once the order has been placed? Additions, changes, and cancellations can be made up until 72 hours before the cake is to be picked up. Cakes which include custom sugarpaste décor require at least 4 days notice for any changes which may result in an increased price.

Do I need to pay for the cake in full when I place the order?Cakes priced over $125.00 require a 50% deposit at time of ordering. The balance is due before the date of delivery. We accept personal checks or cash- NO debit or credit cards.

Do you offer delivery?Yes, we offer delivery. Delivery fees are priced per location/town and range from $15.00 to $100.00 depending on the distance from our bakery to your venue. We charge $50.00 per hour with a half-hour minimum for waiting time. This means that if we have to wait for you at the location, you will be charged a minimum of $25.00.

How far ahead should I make my wedding cake appointment? We suggest you call to book your appointment a 1-2 weeks before you would like to come in, and plan to come in about 5-10 months before your occasion.

Is there a fee for a consultation?Consultations, which include basic cake flavor samples, are $10. That deposit will be deducted from your cake order. Additional sample cupcake boxes are available: the cost is $15.00 and includes 5 total cupcakes in five flavors of your choice.

What is the price range for specialty and wedding cakes? Any tiered specialty cake is priced per person (these are cakes that are stack on top of each other). Basic tiered buttercream cakes with simple decoration such as polka dots or a ribbon start at $2.50 per serving, our minimum price for a two tiered special occasion cake is $85.00. Wedding Cakes start at $3.50 per serving and range to $12.00 per serving. Fondant Topsy Tuvry and Sculpted Shaped Cakes start at $4.00 per serving and range to $15.00 per serving. A good rule of thumb is to look at cakes that are featured in any magazines or publications; they are usually priced in the $12.00 to $18.00 range per person. The more elaborate, intricate, and time consuming the cake design, the greater price.

I’m a bride on a budget. Do you have any suggestions?First of all, be honest with us from the beginning if you are on a budget, this is something that will help us narrow down the choices you have. But, there are a few tricks of the trade to get a beautiful cake without spending a ton of money. Say for instance, you are having 175 guests. As opposed to getting a 4 tiered cake that would actually serve 175 guests. We can make a 3 tiered cake that would feed 75 people, your florist would provide the fresh flowers. We would add a ‘back up’ kitchen cake that will be cut in the behind the scenes- your guests won’t even know. Basically what this means is if this cake was priced at $4.00 per person, instead of paying $700.00 you would be paying $300.00 plus the cost of the sheet cake (an additional $120) therefore saving $280. As long as you don’t mind seeing a smaller cake, this is a great way to get a more detailed cake while staying within your budget.

Do you make “fake” or Styrofoam layers?Some customers have asked if we could use Styrofoam as opposed to cake to ‘bump up’ the height of their cake or they think they’ll save money by having all the tiers but the top tier in styrofoam. We typically do not do this, just because of the simple fact that the same amount of work, time, and detail is put into your cake whether it is cake or Styrofoam.

Can I get a small cake from you and buy the rest of the cake I need at a Supermarket?We, at The Artisan Kitchen, take pride in the flavor and scratch-made nature of our cakes and will not take on orders which mix our product with other bakeries products in order to defer costs.
It is nearly impossible to identify to your guests where each cake originated from, we will not take on orders where a small cake is being purchased as a display and sheet cakes are purchased from a supermarket or other vendor to defer costs.

Can you send me some pictures of cakes you’ve done in the past?We suggest either looking at our website www.theartisankitchen.com or our blog www.theartisankitchen.blogspot.com, which are updated on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

What’s the best way to contact you? The fastest and easiest way to contact us is via telephone. Email is always an option as well, sometimes it can take 2-4 days for us to respond, if you do not hear from us--please call. Emails sometimes get stuck in our spam box!

Wedding Cupcakes @ Private Residence Padnaram, South Dartmouth, Massachusetts

We created this fun seaside cupcake stand for a wedding at a private residence in Padnaram, Massachusetts in the heart of South Dartmouth.

The casual tented wedding (which happened to be a tad windy and foggy!) celebrated the sea and local blooms and the cupcake display reflected those qualities.

Tiny wedgewood blue starfish and white chocolate sea shells topped each cupake and a Nantucket basket filled with fresh seasonal local flowers provided by Caterer, Lyn Keith of New England Clam Jams.



The custom white cupcake stand shown is our medium stand and holds 40-65 cupcakes.

Sugar Paste Flowers: Yellow Calla Lillies & Roses

This round buttercream cake was created for a 30th Anniversary Party a few weeks ago. Yellow sugarpaste calla lillies and ivory roses along with a bit of ivy top this 12" single tier cake. A white inscription rounds out the design.

Sugarpaste flowers can be created in any number of colors and different flower varieties and capture the essence of a real flower. They can be grouped on top of a single cake or arranged atop a tiered cake or a single flower can be place on the side, base or top of a cake for a more modern look.