Just found these pictures - the best of the Valentine's Day cupcakes my younger son and I made together:
Yes, I realize they're derivative.
In case you were wondering whether the whole Kelly Ripa / Cake Boss thing gave my cake decorating skills a big boost: uh, no. I had to make three batches of frosting to get one that came out right, and I never did get it stiff enough to pipe into elaborate swirls and stars, which was my original plan. The writing above is in white chocolate. Let's just say that these two were the best of the several dozen I tried writing on.
Ovarian cancer research is about to get a big boost from Kelly Ripa and Electrolux, and you and I are going to help at http://www.kelly-confidential.com. Watch the video below, then see the end of this post for details.
We gathered the night before the Cake-Off at a private dinner with chef April Bloomfield at The Spotted Pig, a gastropub in the West Village. On the third floor, there's a private room with a demo kitchen, outfitted with Electrolux professional-grade appliances. So what was the first thing our food blogger group did when we got there? Whipped out our cameras, of course, and took pictures of all the food.
Chef Bloomfield and her crew made some delicious things that night, but my favorites were a rustic root vegetable soup and duck leg confit with cabbage:
The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the ABC studios for the broadcast of Live! with Regis and Kelly. It's been a long time since I was on a TV set, and I was struck by how much smaller the whole thing looked in real life. We didn't get on TV, but even so it was fun to be in the audience.
A few hours later, we met on the top floor of Chelsea Market, which houses several studios. The area for the Cake-Off was curtained off, but there were so many lights that it was positively glowing through the door opening. When we went inside we saw why: white set, gleaming stainless Electrolux appliances at one end, and more lights than I've ever seen in one room. It was like an operating room times 100. (In a good way, I mean.) When we went in, Kelly Ripa and Buddy "the Cake Boss" Valastro were posing for a group of photographers who were there to get publicity shots for online news sites and wire services.
Then it was time to get to work. We were divided into teams; my team included Jessie of Cakespy and Kelly of Evil Shenanigans. There were five cake themes. We were assigned the Snow Day cake, which was covered in blue fondant, dusted with coarse sparkling sugar, and decorated with embossed snowflakes cut out of white fondant. If you've never worked with fondant, here's a hint: It's edible Play-doh, and it's fun. You can roll it, cut shapes out of it, sculpt it, and then pop it in your mouth. Except you probably don't want to eat it straight, because it tastes like pure corn syrup. Sure is pretty, though.
Chris, one of the guys in Buddy's bake shop (in the black shirt, below), helped us with our fondant rolling and draping techniques - he was a sweetheart. While we worked, Kelly and Buddy wandered around, chatting and giving advice. Oh, and posing for pictures, of course.
I've decided that if I ever become a famous food personality (or, I guess, a famous anything), the part I will hate the most is posing for all the pictures. Buddy looks gorgeous, and pretty much the same, in every single one. How does he do that without looking totally plastic? I'm in awe.
Here's our team with our finished Snow Day cake:
And a close-up of our masterpiece:
All in all, a really spectacular day I'll remember for a long time. Meeting the other bloggers, chatting with Kelly Ripa and the Cake Boss, getting to know the Electrolux team - the whole experience was really special, and I feel lucky to have been part of it.
So now we're down to the important bit, raising money to beat ovarian cancer. I need you to do two things:
First, go to http://www.kelly-confidential.com and vote for our Snow Day cake. You can vote once a day until the end of February. Next, on the same site, click on the "Cakery" and send an e-cake to a friend. For every vote you cast and e-cake you send, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. That's a really painless way to raise money for an important cause, don't you agree? What's more, you'll be entered into a drawing for a fantastic Electrolux induction range. I saw it in action. It's incredible: energy-efficient, easy to use, and beautiful to boot.
I would really like to tell you all about today's Kelly Ripa's Cake-Off for a Cause, which was loads of fun and is going to raise TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund with your help! However, I am so exhausted that falling into bed is about all I will be able to handle tonight. I'll post more details soon. For now, let me share with you the top 10 reasons why I think Buddy "the Cake Boss" Valastro is a total dude. And thanks, Rachel, for getting me hooked on the Top 10 genre.
10. He sat on the couch after the event and chatted with our group of starry-eyed food bloggers for a good half-hour with no indication whatsoever that he felt it to be an imposition.
9. He stood next to me in our group photo.
8. He brought his crew to help us with the cake decorating, and they were all dolls.
7. Even after the competition was over, he and his boys helped those of us who still wanted to practice our buttercream and fondant skills. (Notice the overturned bucket covered with buttercream borders in this photo of my teammates Jessie from Cakespy and Kelly from Evil Shenanigans.)
6. He admitted that he curses like a sailor in the shop (this New York native has a soft spot for rough-mouthed men - reminds me of my early days in magazine publishing, for some reason).
5. He can make buttercream roses like you've never seen before.
4. He signed the aprons Electrolux gave us to wear at the event, Cake Boss t-shirts, publicity shots, and I think even a few napkins. Ad infinitum, gladly and without complaint.
3. He posed for pictures with each of us individually, in our teams, as a large group, with many cameras. Ad infinitum, gladly and without complaint.
2. When one of the members of the Electrolux marketing team called her mother to tell her she was standing next to the Cake Boss, he took the phone and left a message on her mother's voice mail.
