Monday, March 29, 2010

return of the Baylist, this time it's personal!


So happy to announce that Debbie Does Cakes has been nominated again for Best specialty foods/Desserts In the Bay area on http://baylist.sfgate.com The competition is held every two years and DDC was the 2008 winner. Now we've got to protect the title, haha! If you are so inclined a vote would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

all about a board.......

Ok, Ok, I know I vowed not not be one of those set it and forget it type of bloggers so accept my apologies..........
So, this week, and so many weeks much of what keeps me busy is total immersion in the details.I have been cursed with this need for accuracy. I will go to great lengths to be as accurate as possible. Much of the time this means using a lot more math than I ever thought I'd be using (shoulda' paid more attention in geometry!) scaling projects up or down.I will spend countless hours researching a subject on the internet.Sometimes my quest for realism has me buying beverages that I'd never ever consume (anyone want a 12 pack of root beer?), eating in and out burgers , you know just for reference =) and sometimes, just sometimes I'll show my dedication
by watching a movie just for a glimpse of the scenery or some obscure element in the film. This week I watched a few episodes of "Gilligan's Island" to get a good look at their dining table. Yep, just the table.Now, I'll admit, as sacrifices go, this one was pretty easy. Anyone who knows me, is no doubt familiar with my obsession with television. Now I realize how that is not a particularly cool thing to admit, no erudite person would actually own up to enjoying the "idiot box". I think I'm living proof that this is pure bunk, see me use the word "erudite" above. I credit TV with exposing me to all kinds of things that were not just entertaining but educational. Alas, I digress.
I did in fact get the data I needed from watching the castaways . Bet you thought I was never going to get around to the subject of my blog title, but see? Thanks for sticking with me and my pro TV rant . I set out to create a special cake board or base for my Gilligan themed cake; now that I knew what it looked like I was obligated to faithfully recreate it . Even . If. It. Killed. Me.
I set out to replicate the woven tabletop with bamboo edging.A quarter of the way through, I was asking myself, "What was I thinking???" but it was too late then, I was too invested.
So a cramped hand and a few hours later I had a pretty nice island tabletop.I'd love to say that this is the first time I was so dedicated to a mere cake board but I remembered that I'd been here many times before. To me, nothing is more sad than to go so far to create some intricate sculpture only to have the board bring it back down to "cake", if you know what I mean.Don't get me wrong, I too will use simpler coverings when necessary, sometimes it's the best option but it kills my soul just a wee, little bit.
Here I've compiled some of my more interesting bases, a long overdue spotlight on the lowly cake board.