SEPTEMBER 2013 NY Cake Club Newsletter

Greetings Cake Enthusiasts!    Welcome to our very first monthly newsletter. We're so glad you could join us, and we look forward to providing you with lots of information and inspiration to make your cake adventures easier, more rewarding and more fun. And if you have any feedback for us, we'd love to hear it....this is YOUR club, and we aim to make this newsletter an interactive forum, where members can help shape the content.   Please submit any comments, suggestion, or topics you'd like covered to nycakeclub@yahoo.com.       How Do I Use...? Tylose    Every month we'll de-mystify a product or tool that many people consider intimidating, complicated, or just plain confusing. Feel free to nominate ingredients for future issues by emailing suggestions to nycakeclub@yahoo.com.    Tylose is a powdered synthetic gum used to make homemade gumpaste, either from scratch or by adding to fondant to make a gumpaste-like substance. There are many recipes available online for scratch gumpaste (Nicolas Lodge's is a favorite in the cake decorating community), so we'll focus on the simpler process of using Tylose as an additive to achieve various effects. September Specialty Classes Gumpaste Flowers 1:  Peonies & Poppies   Date: Monday, September 16th Time: 11:00am-4pm Location: NY Cake, 56 W 22nd St, NYC Cost: $200 Learn to make gorgeous, realistic Peony and Poppy flowers by hand. You'll discover how to create the centers, shape the petals, assemble the flowers and add finishing touches with petal dust.  Cutters and veiners included. You will be expected to bring a basic decorator's tool kit, as well as James Rosselle brand gumpaste, as this brand will dry the same day (it is available at NY Cake for purchase).   Building a Macaron Tower with Chef Kathryn Gordon    Date: Thursday, September 19th Time: 1:00pm-3:30pm Location: NY Cake, 56 W 22nd St, NYC Cost: $60    Join Chef Kathryn Gordon, author of Les Petits Macarons, Colorful French Confections to Make at Home, to learn how to design a macaron tower.  Chef Kathryn will discuss how to lay out the macarons in patterns, and (edible) options for glueing it together.   While you are helping to glue together the tower, Chef Kathryn will explain how to bake macarons.  A NY Cake materials list will be provided so you will be able to create your own tower at home with a styrofoam base and fondant covering.    New Products Available      We strive to bring you the latest merchandise available in the cake decorating world. Here are a few items we've just added to our shelves (pictured from left):    1. Geometric plunger fondant cutters in oval, square, and diamond shapes  2. 3D figure molds that make modeling lifelike people out of fondant or gumpaste a snap. Comes in male and female varieties. 3. Paper straws in a multitude of fun colors and patterns that come in two sizes...use as cake pop sticks, cupcake toppers (the longer size comes with coordinating paper flags), or just jazz up your summery drinks

Start-to-Finish    We often wonder what will become of the many tools and ingredients customers purchase in our store. Provide inspiration  to your fellow cake enthusiasts (and get some serious bragging rights) by submitting pictures of your finished products made using supplies available  at NY Cake! Each month we'll feature before-and-after pics showing the raw materials and the edible art created from them Take a pic of the products you used (fondant, molds, cutters, food colors, you name it) Snap a photo of your finished cake, cupcakes, candy or other creation Email both to us along with your name, phone number, city and state to nycakeclub@yahoo.com    Fondant Amounts    Estimating the amount of fondant you need can be tricky...especially if you don't have access to a scale. Use the rules of thumb below and you won't be caught short. The estimates are for 3 to 4" high round tiers. If covering square cakes, add about 25% to the number:    6" - 1.5 lbs 8" - 2 lbs 9" - 2.5 lbs 10" - 3 lbs 12" - 4 lbs 14" - 5 lbs    To guestimate weights without a scale, a ball of fondant the size of a large fist is about 3/4 of a pound (12 oz), and a golf-ball sized piece is approximately 2 oz.        August's Featured Blogger: ______________    Every month we'll introduce you to a new cake blogger we love.    Have one yourself? Shoot us an email and tell us about it! It could be your turn next month: nycakeclub@yahoo.com       Welcome Susan Carberry! Join us in welcoming award-winning cake artist Susan Carberry from the Cake Cottage in Murrieta, California! Susan will be with us September 7th-9th teaching 3 fabulous classes. September 7th Topsy Turvey with a Twist! September 8th Tea Party! September 9th Garden Critters Cake For more information and to sign up visit: www.nycakeacademy.com