How I Fell into Cakes

  About four years ago, a couple of friends and co-workers decided to take a cake decorating class at the local craft store. I had no real expectation for this class. I wasn't sure how well I would do. I did, however, have certain expectation of what I thought cake decorators did. I was a little disappointed to find out from the teacher that when someone orders a wedding cake from her, they receive a box cake and the big bucks are simply to pay for the time spent decorating. Box cake! Seriously! I was incensed. And, to make matters worse, we were instructed to make "butter cream icing" with Crisco Shortening. Box cake (aka, high-fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil) and Crisco (big ole' tub of hydrogenated oil)! No way was I to be a part of that. I decided then and there to make from scratch, whole-wheat cake with non-hydrogenated oil frosting (ideally butter whenever possible).
  I managed to get through the first class on butter cream decorating. My piping skills are not fantastic and I am horrible at making flowers, but I continued on to Royal Icing Flowers and then eventually fondant and gum paste. Having no artistic abilities makes cake decorating difficult, but for some reason I still really  like to do it. So, I specialized in weird or childish cakes.

For example: pink "puffy fish" cake for my daughter's 2nd birthday party. So what if it looks like an pink underwater sea mine.

And the purple octopus for my daughter's 3rd birthday. She has a thing for sea life.

 The bottom two cakes were actually my first cakes I was paid to make.

  Anyway, jump ahead a couple of years, I am on maternity leave with baby number 4 and starting to get into vegan and gluten-free baking. I like to accommodate people with allergies and my kids had friend who couldn't have dairy (amongst many other things) and my mom was experimenting with gluten-free. It was at this time that cupcakes began to take center stage in my baking life. I purchased the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and I discovered the joy of egg-free, butter- free cupcakes. Not only are they incredibly easy to make, but they are also super light and fluffy. Before I knew it, and much to my surprise, my cupcakes were becoming the talk of my friends and co-workers.