Chef James finally gave us the low down on our practical assignment..
"It's going to be a 9inch birthday cake"
... I thought to myself.. SWEEt! it's not going to be a wedding cake! Thank goodness~
And then he went..."For a 7 year old girl"
.....erm; the 'girl' bit sounds great... but a 7 year old??!?!? I don't know what 7 year old's are up to these days!!! I knew babies and 3 year olds loved cuddly toys and building blocks; 10 to 12 year olds would probably be a little more into dolls; princesses; fashion and shiny jewelry. What goes in between? I'm not sure if the rest of my classmates were having issues with the whole '7' deal; but I was going out of my mind! *tsk tsk*
At the end of the day; I decided, I'd go with candy!... all kids of all ages LOVE candy.. no doubts there! I couldn't possibly go wrong with a sugary themed cake.
Here was my game plan: fill the top of the cake with heaps of different types of candy.
...and my 9inch "Candy-Land" was brought to life~
The funny thing is; I never knew a 'Candy Land' other than the one I dreamt up in my head. My girlfriends wondered if I loved the candy board game and toys... I reacted with a "what?...there's a CandyLand other than mine?!" Haha.. I've never heard of it; but I'm pretty intrigued to have a look down the toy aisle next time I'm at the mall.
My rendition of Candy Land on a cake included a pretty white winged fairy frolicking in a tiny pond of deliciously liquid chocolate created from a pile of stacked melting chocolate bars.
She dips her tiny toes into the flow of glossy lusciousness filled with chocolate covered strawberries and marshmallows ...oh~ and look! it all conveniently drips down into a silver spoon waiting on the other end. *YUM!*
Lollypops; cupcakes.. petite sweets wrapped in pretty pink and many juicy coloured swirly-s~ If I were 7; I would tear this cake UP!
Here were the other wonderful creations from my very talented classmates! We all have our individual styles; I thought they were excellent~
Now all we're missing is that 7 year old to come in for her birthday cake..*grin*Where did my cake go? Well...after Chef James had 'assessed' my little candy land; I took it over to my favourite sushi restaurant down the street to spread all that sweet love around. They loved it! I'll talk more about this quaint little Japanese-Korean sushi bar in my next post.. I love it so much!
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26 comments:
The cake is adorable! I started to miss those cute faces on your cakes. :)
Oh myyy, this is incredible!!
Hahaha, if you're back, mind doing my wedding cake? Just kidding but really, this is gorgeous!!
And as a 25 year old, I couldn't bear to tear into this cake; it's just too pretty!
Your candy land cake looks fantastic! What flavour was the actual cake?
I love you journal - your baking always looks so yummy so dose Chef James ;)
Wow, I love the detail you put into it! The tiny cupcakes are adorable and the chocolate pond reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
I love your cakee!! i'm not 7, but i would love to get that cake for my bday! ^_~
That is so amazing! I've also been missing your cakes with faces. I hope Chef James liked it!
xox Sarah
Hi Su Yin, I adore your blog and your cakes are so fantastic! This one is perfect for a 7 yr old, although I wouldn't want to give it away to anyone.
OMG- it looks so goooddd.
so creative and i love all the details you put into it.
Hmm...a 7 year old girl would probably love a fairy tale cake, like a castle or princess? Maybe I'm too old to understand a 7 yr old!
oh my gawd ... those cakes are just tooo pretty .. i want to be that missing 7 year old girl!!!
Food for thought.
I wonder why with the astounding range of new skills you have learnt at Notter's, you continue to stick to your pre-Notter model of decorating cakes.
I agree with the previous anonymous comment; you really top your cake with lots of detail as you have in the past. Don't forget that less is sometimes more.
Nevertheless, great job!
Gorgeous cake!
I just finished watching the latest Food Network Challenge episode; the task of creating a couple's wedding cake. Congrats to your Chef James for winning it.
In response to anonymous,
She has used the skills she's garnered, but she's still Su Yin, so the style of decorating will still be Su Yin-ish! And frankly, and i'm sure you wouldn't object, it's a great personal flair to have! You know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Your cake is really, really cute. Though, I have to agree with the previous anonymous poster ... why not incorporating new skills you learned.
However, I assume that it is pretty overwhelming learning so many things in a short amount of time, that it probably takes some time to incorporate the new techniques you learned. I expect that in the future we will see a change in your design - once you have time to reflect about your time at the Notter school.
I must agree with those who commented about incorporating new skills. If you were to compare this cake with her (pre-Notter training) previous ones, there seems little difference. The general impresssion is that Notter seems not to have hardly left its mark! Though, of course, the pictures may not have captured the finer Notter visual details.
Hey guys~ thanks for leaving comments; both compliments and criticisms. It's always nice to wake up in the morning to find a handful of people judging your work. *rolls eyes* hahaha.. just kidding guys~ I love it! It makes me a better decorator :). appreciate it.
I'm not exactly the type to sit back without being defensive about my work; so here's my part of the story if you're interest to know why I piled it up and left no place for simplicity.
We were told to do a cake for a 7 year old kid. If I were to make a cake for a 17, 27 or 37 year old; it would be way different. Children like colours and different shapes and over the top designs..that's just how it is. Ever seen a kids cake with one ribbon and a elegant flower on the top?
The NotterSchool has taught me alot about pastry and baking; photographs of a single cake is certainly not a gauge for the things I've learnt. The taste of the cake; the workmanship; the layering; the frosting techniques; support techniques; fondanting..all these are beyond anything I've ever learnt from doing it on my own. I'm much much better than I was; but my individual style will always be there.
If I were making a cake for a specific client; I can always adapt to his/her design preferences; but when I'm doing a cake for my practical exam, i'll stick to what I do well..and stick to what I was told to do. I've learnt pastilage, airbrushing and chocolate from Chef Ewald Notter and many other famous names; I could incorporate those techniques in a cake... but why do it on my "Cake" subject practical. I'm in Chef James class and I will acknowledge that. Plus.. he gave me my first 100% on my practical. He's a real hard marker; and rarely EVER gives anyone an A. That's enough for me.
ANd guys.. come on; I'm tired of negative 'anonymous' comments. If there were a face to the "anonymous" negativity; I would truly appreciate it knowing that I have people who care enough to tell me I should be improving. I don't care to know what 'anonymous' wants to say; but I want to know YOUR thoughts. It's okay to tell me that I suck! *laughs* we all have different perceptions and taste; It's cool to hear from different perspectives. I love 'food for thought's' *cheeky grin* :P
I promise I wont be pissed off or shitty at ya~ haha I'm not the type to be. Trust me!
lurve ur cake....
wanna get one for me... can i???
dear yin'
It is not often that I will comment on your blog but I must today.
I am very proud of you.You have shown me that you have grown up and a very capable person.
Glad that you have stick to your own creativity and not just copy what the school have taught you.
love'
mom
Hi Su Yin. :) I read your post about this cake a couple of days ago and was thinking that it was lovely to see a bit of a return to your more personal decorating style...after reading some of the 'anonymous' comments (and your response), I feel even more strongly about telling you this! Your style may not always be what all of us would make or choose for ourselves, but it certainly shows a pretty special creative flair, and there are those out there who recognise it as art, not just cake. Don't let the doubters get you down (although doesn't sound like you have anyway), and be sure to stick to your own style, just incorporating all that you're learning as you go along.
Right, I've said my piece and will leave you alone now! Keep up the great posts...
to those who down with negativity and hide behind the anonymous face, how bout YOU b different for a change and instead of saying what's wrong with something maybe a suggestion that isn't as vague as 'less is more'. ne idiot can tell u wats wrong with something, but only a few can tell u how to fix it! im not anonymous, im Jo, so if YOU want to reach me here is my email: joyoon87@hotmail.com
Su Yin, I love your cake! I think a 7 year old girl would love it. (This is Gayle from the 1st Notter Class) I remember after doing a week of wedding cake skills, then being told that our practical would be a cake for a 6 year old girl, that some of us kind of freaked out a little! You have wonderful talent, and you all did a great job! Enjoy the rest of your time at school. Say Hi to Chef James & Chef Notter for me!
Hey, it's me from O-town! I think you did an amazing job! Very creative. I have a 9, 3 and 2 year olds. Each would have loved the amazing detail that you incorporated in this cake.
Keep it up! Hope life is treating you well in Orlando!
Prudence :)
Really admire your skills, creativity and the passion you have for your art in cakery/bakery.
And the style of your works are distinctly yours, which could be your signature!
Keep it up!
The cakes are all adorable, but as a Chef that also teaches those uncovered boards just "IRK" me to no end and distract my eye from the creativity of the design.
Say it with me..
"NO NAKED CAKE BOARDS!" lol if you're not going to cover them at least trim them to the size of the cakes.
I think your cake was the best. I would have loved this cake on my 7th birthday :) I so want to be that 7 year old.
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