06/13/2016
It's Sunday evening and this whirlwind of a week has come to rest. Time to get back in the Monday morning swing of things.
I'm proud to say "Maxey's still got it!" But this time she's got it even better than she did 8 years ago. Yes, we've almost finished the first online class instructional video. This is the first of what I hope will be several. It's a very basic video, starting from the very beginning to the very end.
The scene: Lisa Craft's beautiful kitchen. Yes, I'm using a few friends' kitchens for different types of videos. We got the cake Iced and pipped the border on and I thought I would finish there. By that time the video was over 30 minutes. Looks like there will need to be about 15 minutes more -- or thereabouts. Anyway, this first video is going to be between 45 min. - 1 hr.
In this video we demonstrate mixing up the cake, baking the cake, testing the cake for done-ness (is that EVEN a word??), making it level (thus the ultimate trick for keeping it moist that nobody else will tell you (mainly because they either don't know OR they just think drenching the cake in a simple syrup does the trick) Yeah, that was a run-on sentence.
INTERJECTING A THOUGHT HERE GUYS - BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I DO! Have you ever watched the Cake Boss on TV? Well, if you have, I have to tell you - I think it's just about the oddest way to show a person how to handle a large layer of cake that I've ever seen. It's either so stale it's not about to break or it's not a cake fit for human consumption.
Anytime I can pick up a huge layer big enough that it takes two to lift it, by myself -- AND IT DOESN'T BREAK --- there's a problem. Any cake that easy to handle is about as dry as the Sahara Desert. Whew! Got that off my chest. Feeling much better now.
So, as we wind up the recording of the first online class ($9.99), we're looking forward to doing many more. I have a link to a website that I was going to place on here, and will after I get approval tomorrow. The link goes to a business where I get the majority of my supplies at a discount. Everything is already much cheaper but on top of the already- low price, they usually take off another 25% on most items. In perusing through the site because it's been a long time since I've purchased anything, I noticed their online classes are ON SALE for $19.95 from $39.95, double and triple what mine are. Maybe $10 doesn't sound so bad now, huh?
Anyway, at the very end of the video, when when the final decorations on the cake, we're going to cut into it so you can see how pretty it slices. I'm telling you -- presentation is everything. And even though I have a 'round about way of getting there - the final product is what counts.
I've said a thousand times if I've said it one time - "If you go to a wedding and the cake isn't fit to eat, you're going to remember that cake just long enough to tell about a dozen people. But if the wedding cake is "eh, so-so" in decoration but has a delicious taste, people are going to talk about that cake for years. I had so many customers over the years who said, "I want my cake just like that cake you made for (whomever it was) That was the best wedding cake I ever ate.
I'm looking to do a video class on different kinds of icings next. Among the list and other than my butttercream, you'll learn cooked buttercreams (yes, with pounds and pounds of butter), White chocolate Buttercream, Italian Meringue, etc. The importance of showing how these are made is simply because from the minute you read the recipe, you think to yourself, "there's no way this is really going to work." Proof right here folks. I amazed myself the first time I made them.
Well, I'm getting tired right now but we had a great time at Stephanie Thomas's Motives party, now I'm ready to "face" the world. No pun intended.
When the video is posted -- hopefully by Wednesday morning, I'll give you a quick update.
