Sugar Paste Flowers: Gerbera Daisies

I love the process of flower making and so does our resident arist: Jodi. Although her original mediums of choice were clay and acrylic paint she has adapted well to sugarpaste and edible paint(food colors mixed with lemon extract).

Here are some pretty gerbera daisies she was in the process of making today....



Although she can spend up to 4 minutes on these little flowers and 2 hours on one large magnolia blossom, don't let her time fool you....she actually has the best spot in the bakery: climate controlled at 63 degrees with 50% humidity. And by the way, the rest of the bakery was running around 87 degrees today with 80% humidity.

The Artisan Kitchen @ Plato's Harvest

Plato's Harvest is a small organic farm in Middleboro, MA. Sasha & Dave, owners and farmers, invited us to their farm to do a "Bread Share" in their CSA (community supported agriculture, basically you "buy a share of the farm" and get a basket of veggies each week in return.

Here is a great shot of todays CSA Share for July 29, 2009- our Grain and Seed Loaf is right there on the left. Who could resist the whole lot!?



Thanks Dave & Sasha for inviting us to your farm and for allowing us to share in your CSA! If you have any questions regarding CSA or Plato's Harvest visit:
http://platosharvest.wordpress.com/

Seasonal Decor: Sunflowers

Well, it's summer here in the South Coast of Massachusetts and the sunflowers are blooming at the farm down the street. As I looked at the vase of them sitting on my front coutner today I realized-- we should really make some of those for birthday cakes.

College Graduation Horse Cake

Katie is an accomplished equestrian and now college graduate- Congrats Katie on your graduation from Johnson & Wales University!




Actually, I can remember watching her walk around, on a tiny pony, when she was a just a very little girl about 12 years ago (yikes!)...




Her mom asked us to create a simple "flat art" equestrian, horsey themed cake for her party with a splash of her college colors mixed in (navy blue and grey).

Monsterous CupCakes

We created these cupcakes for a Kids' Table at a wedding recently held at Wamsutta Club in New Bedford. I love the idea of a kids' table and for that matter "Kid's Only" CupCakes - can't you remember going to weddings as a youngster and waiting for the cake to be served and falling asleep well before the ceremonial cake cutting!

Lemon Meringue Bombe: Birthday Cake Alternative

My aunt, a.k.a. The Artisan Kitchen Secretary, always has a wild blueberry with a hint of lemon in the filling for her birthday "cake". It honestly throws everyone off that she wants the cake baker to make her a pie.

However, this year she threw me for a loop when she said "Meri, I think I'd like something lemon for my birthday"--WOW I thought! Then, I remembered my last trip to California and the wonderful lemon meringue cake I had at the famed San Fran bakery Tartine.



So we recreated this tangy dessert which we will enjoy at the brand new Mezza Luna Restaurant this evening- check out our holiday menus on the website www.theartisankitchen.com for our new Lemon Bombe!

Tinkerbelle Themed 4th Birthday

Fairy dust, mushrooms, whimsical flowers and leaves adorned this two tiered Tinkbelle themed 4th birthday cake.



Each year we create a spectacular cake for Ava- and this year she was able to choose her own theme-- Tinkerbelle! Jodi (our resident artist) created the mushrooms, daisies, and ribbon roses as well as trays and trays of leaves to cover the cake. My favorite part was the bow- a simple two loop classic bow in a pale lavendar.




Actually my most favorite part of the cake was Ava's individual cake- I think it would make a great topper for a cupcake stand with mushroom and daisy cupcakes below-- watch for that on the blog soon- I think we'll make a sample up for the studio!

Egg Free CupCakes

Our egg-free chocolate cupcakes were on the menu for a birthday this weekend, decorated with yellow crowns, orange and yellow daisies and pale green leaves we're sure they were a hit.



Our egg-free cupcakes are featured in a dark chocolate flavor with a bakery style icing- yum yum! No one can tell we left out the eggs!

Starfish Cake @ New Bedford Yacht Club

Our friend Lyn Keith from New England Clam Jams http://www.neclamjams.com/ and It's Thyme Catering sent us a wonderful photo of a cake we did quite a few years ago at the New Bedford Yacht Club in Padnaram. This three tiered buttercream cake featured a starfish topper and accents of tiny red starfish. The color scheme was a gorgeous ruby red and teal blue which we accented with a eight pointed napkin under the cake.

Lyn's events are always flawless, displays are gorgeous, and most importantly her food is to-die-for!

Two Happy Princesses

We received the most adorable pictures from a customer who ordered a cake for her two princesses- twins Sophie & Bella!



Their cake, featured a BIG pink crown with red accents wrapped around the entire cake. I love these cakes for little ones- first of all they have the appeal of a fondant cake without the fondant but they are totally adorable!

The cake flavor was altnerating layers of chocolate and vanilla cake with bakery style icing- yum!

Custom Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Althouth Wedding Cakes have become quite elaborate we're seeing a rather large trend in wedding dessert displays. We recently created this assortment of chocolate covered strawberries for a wedding tasting. They included chocolate dipped bride and grooms strawberries, sparkling pink chocolate covered strawberroes covered in white and dark chocolate, and finally milk chocolate strawberries striped in white and dark chocolate.



We choose only premium, completely unblemished berries for their superior flavor and use only couveture Callebaut chocolate for dipping which we temper by hand.

A chocolate covered strawberry bar is a fun alternative to a traditional cake or the bar can be accompanied by a small two or three tiered cake for the traditional cake cutting ceremony.

Here's the great note we received from the bride who ordered an assortment of chocolate covered strawberries for her wedding reception at Rotch-Duff House in New Bedford, Massachusetts....

Hi Meredith,
I just wanted to let you know that your strawberries were a big hit @ my wedding reception. Several guests commented that they were the best that they ever tasted.

They looked and tasted delicious! Thanks again.

Take care, S.

Chartreuse Stripes and SeaShells: CupCake Display

We created this CupCake Display for a Bridal Shower at the Halifax Country Club. Chartreuse green stripes covered the top cake while the cupcakes were simply frosted in pale green frosting and white buttercream.



The top cake featured a seashell topper, this time we used seashells straight from the beach so the bride could save them as a keepsake. Each cupcake was sprinkled with a tiny bit of turbinado sugar for a sandy look and the cupcake stand was decorated with a few shells and bit of sand as well.

Old Hollywood Wedding @ OceanCliff Hotel

This classic white fondant wedding cake featured an open peony which measured 6 1/2" in diameter. The bride asked for a simple white old hollywood theme. We also covered the board which the cake sat on in Navy Blue fondant and trimmed it our in black satin ribbon to match the Navy Blue and Black bridesmaid dresses.

The cake flavor was lemon buttermilk with alternating layers of seasonal berries and vanilla buttercream.

Here is what Nicole had to say about us on the wedding website www.TheKnot.com Message Board for Rhode Island:

"Cake - The Artisan Kitchen Rochester, MA A+
Very affordable, beautiful and extremely delicious cake. Way better than any of the cakes I tasted while looking at the high-end RI bakeries."

Vintage 1969 Antique Rambler Car Cake

We created this cake for a "car collector" this was his favorite in his collection. Even the color was true to the original and many of the little details including the bumper, lights, and grill were pulled from the original pictures.




The cake featured our devilish chocolate flavor.

Couture Stripes

We created this cake for a fun and fanciful wedding reception at The Kinsale Inn in Mattapoisett.



This buttercream cake featured extra-tall tiers, each measuring 6 inches in height and was decorated in fun swirls and dots. The couture ribbon around each tier coordinated with the centerpieces and bride's flowers. The topper is a hand made paste bouquet in fushias, yellows, blues and greens. The flowers were ribbon roses, simple five petal azaleas, green tendrils, and buds.

An Evening at Great Hill: Farm to Table Dinner

We are fortunate enough to be involved in supporting many charitable causes in South Eastern Massachusetts- but the Farm To Table Dinner is one of our favorites which supports SEMAP (South Eastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership). Although the Buzzard's Bay winds blew and the unseasonable rain sheeted sideways into the tent, we enjoyed every moment of the evening, held at Great Hill Farm in Marion Massachusetts.



This photo courtesy of Chad Michael Peters, the official photographer of the 2009 Farm to Table Dinner, features our Herb & Roasted Potato Loaf served at each table. We also prepared an Arruda's Dairy Panna Cotta Parfait with Goat's Milk Strawberry Yogurt Bavarian and Orange- Cervelli's Roasted Strawberry Gelee for dessert, one of our best customers commented--"I was licking the cup, but my husband told me to stop!"

Check out How on Earth: The Store to purchase our Panna Cotta Parfaits and Herb & Roasted Potato Bread on Fridays & Saturdays.

Abby Cadabby Cake

We sculpted this Abby Cadabby figure for the top of a birthday cake using sugarpaste and modeling chocolate. Her coloring and dress were made to match the plates at the party. The three dimensional frigures are a great alternative to our flat-art cakes and trust us-- kids love to eat them too!
The cake included fun multicolored borders along with a sprinkling of fairy dust over the entire cake!

A Baby "Animal" Shower: CupCake Stand & Top Cake

We created this pastel baby animal cupcake display for a baby shower at Cranebrook Tea Room in Carver, Massachusetts. Dark Chocolate Browns, Light Pinks, and Sage Greens were used as a color scheme for the affair. The cupcake stand held 35 cupcakes while the top cake was saved for the new mom and dad to enjoy after the shower. These cupcakes are in our boutique-cupcake-line, each animal, wired letter and pearl decor are each made by hand.

We created this cupcake cake for a 1st birthday in Tiverton Rhode Island this cake was frosted and decorated out of buttercream, a great altnernative to fondant!

Here is the note we received from the birthday girl's mom:

Good Morning, I would just like to say Thank You so much for the Beautiful Cake for my Daughter Olivia’s first birthday (Sat, May 30). Not only was it beautiful, it was DELICIOUS! It was the talk of the party…attached is a pic.

50th Anniversary Classic Buttercream Design

We created this classically decorated buttercream cake for a 50th Wedding Anniversary. The decorations included buttercream sqags, rosettes and swirls reminiscent of the 1940's and 1950's. The topper, a beautiful display of ivy, white sugarpaste calla lillies, and pale green lily of the valley was made by hand.



One of my multi-talented employees, Melissa Bliss, took some fantastic photos while working yesterday morning, she is available for kid's parties, birthday, and small weddings and can be contacted by Email at: deliriumgirl@gmail.com

Gecko Lizzard Grooms Cake

This colorful sugarpaste gecko caught everyone by surprise at Nick & Blaise's wedding in Poughkeepsie, NY. This groom's cake was created for a gecko-loving-groom as a gift from his bride. The house, rocks, sand, and lizzard are totally edible and realistic.



This cake would be a great centerpiece for a young boy's birthday party or as a gag gift if placed in an glass aquarium!

The cake flavor included devilish chocolate cake with vanilla Italian buttercream.

Seaside Classic in Little Compton Rhode Island

I always joke about how fortunate I am to be able to deliver beautiful cakes to beautiful vistas, each one is like a little vacation for me. From Southeastern Massachusetts, to Coastal Rhode Island to Cape Cod and the South Shore the views are fantastic. But beyond that- I love making cakes to match the views!



This classic cake with modern touches was delivered to a summer home on the Sakonnet River in Little Compton, Rhode Island. White and blue seasonal blossoms adorned the tables and this cake sat front and center on the buffet in front of the picture window. Cabbage roses handmade from sugarpaste sat atop the white fondant covered cake with a modern wave detail. We heard the bridal shower was a huge success and the ladies enjoyed the vanilla butter cake with vanilla Italian buttercream.

Tiny Rose CupCakes

Baby Showers have hit the bakery in the past few months and we do lots of baby shower cakes but I love cupcakes for a baby shower. We created 80 cupcakes for a Baby Shower for a little girl the tiny roses (only 1/2" in diameter) were in pink and also in white with a tiny sage green leaf. We sprinkled the cupcake with a tiny bit of sanding sugar for a little sparkle! The cupcakes were vanilla butter or devilish chocolate with vanilla bakery icing.

Callas & Pleats Wedding @ Oceancliff

The west coast bride met with me in December while home for the holidays she had a vision of pleats and calla lillies. After much sketching, we came up with the design with vertical pleated fondant on each tier. The cascading handmade sugarpaste calla lillies popped off of the pearlized white fondant. Danielle loved the idea of "a little bit of brown" somewhere on the cake. We decided on a dark chocolate covered cake drum, the rich chocolate color reminds me of leather, which is a great masculine play on a very feminine cake! We delivered this cake to the stunning Ocean Cliff Country Club in Plymouth, MA.

We know her guests enjoyed our signature Fiori di Sicilia Cake with Apricot Marmalade.

Twins Polka Dots Birthday Cake

We created these two birthday cakes for twins: a boy and a girl. One is a fan or chocolate cake, the other of vanilla. The mom who ordered the two cakes asked if they could match in style but have one in teals and blues and the other in girlie colors. Polka dots are a great design for all ages! The cakes were frosted in our Bakery Style Icing a much sweeter kid-friendly icing it is much much sweeter than our traditional Italian buttercream

Mod Blue Wave Cake for 50th Birthday

This 5oth Birthday Cake was created for a fisherman in New Bedford, his two children wanted something with a nautical theme but no an obvious nautical theme- so this mod design was it. Hand painted dark blue and silver deco patterns adorned the cake with overlays of blue waves.



This second cake was made specifically for candles to serve to the person of honor and was covered in marzpian.



We delivered this cake to The Sky Room at Hawthorne Place in New Bedford, am exquisitely restored mill, which has a great view of Buzzard's Bay and even out to the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard and Cuttyhunk.

Coastal Life Magazine

We were so fortunate to have Joe & Sarah Hopfenspirger of Coastal Life Magazine feature an exclusive story about The Artisan Kitchen in one of their last issues.

If you wondered how The Artisan Kitchen got its start, where we're going, what we do, or just wanted to get a look inside the bakery click the link below to read the entire article starting on page 63:

Our Article in Coastal Life Magazine

Signature Nastursham Cupcakes: Cupcakes decorated with edible organic flower blossoms

Signature CupCakes for a Wedding in South Dartmouth



We created 250 cupcakes for a wedding at Hawthorne Country Club in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The weddings colors were autumn shades of deep reds, burnt orange, cranberry, and hunter green we coordinated the nastursham and mallow flower blossoms from Lucky Field Organics farm with the wedding colors. We used three cupcake stands, two of our small stands (hold 40-70 cupcakes each) and one of our medium stands (holds 100-120 cupcakes. The blossoms are totally edible and taste a little peppery (yum)!

The cupcake flavors included: cafe mocha w/espresso buttercream, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

Baby Mickey Mouse Cake

We created this sugarpaste Baby Micket figurine, all dressed up in his jammies on a yellow blanket for a baby shower at Kinsale Inn in Mattapoisett, MA. We decorated the cake with polka dots and sugarpaste rubber duckies!
Make sure you check our the mickey mouse cookies we did for the event by clicking here
The cake flavor was our signature alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla with vanilla buttercream.

2009 Farmers Market Schedule

Farmers Market Schedule 2009
Visit us at one of our Famers Markets on the South Coast, South Shore, & Islands of Massachusetts!

Each market will stock a full line of breads, pastries, cookies, pies & tarts, tea cakes, granola, bars & brownies, quiche & other savories!

Tuesdays, Martha's Vineyard, 11am-2pm on the wharf
Wednesdays, Duxbury, Shurtliffe Park 12:30pm-4:30pm (July 1- October 14, 2009)
Thursdays, Plymouth, Stevens Field, 2:30pm-6:30pm (June-October 31)
Saturdays, Rochester, Plumb Corner Marketplace Field, 8am-Noon (June 13-October 17)
Sundays, Carver, (TBA)