Random Thoughts

Everytime I write "Random Thoughts" I think of the old Saturday Night Live skit "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy". The thoughts were so corny and so unusable but I remember them very vividly.

Anywho..

While Hurricane Hannah was storming up the East Coast I was preparing for my Wilton's cupcake class at A.C. Moore. I thought a two-hour class for $15 on cupcake decorating basics shouldn't be too bad. I'm thinking about going into the cupcake craze as a side hustle. The only difference between selling cakes on the side and cupcakes is that cakes just have to taste good. But, as the cupcake game has seriously elevated, the main draw has become the taste but also the decor. When I discovered Bakerella blogs I learned that cupcakes have come a long way baby. And more specifically, when I saw her Care Bear cupcake made out of fondant, I realized that we weren't in Kansas anymore Toto. So I figured a cupcake class would be a good springboard.

Now granted, I was running to get my class materials together and it was, as I would say, raining pots and pans outside, I realized I still needed a few items. So I tried to

get on the road to pick-up wax paper and Wilton's decorators icing before class. Mission not accomplished. I got there about five minutes late without icing in hand (Drat!) I asked the instructor, Tina, if anymore icing was left on the shelf. The other two class participants, who were on time, said they had snagged the last two jars (Double Drat!) Tina said "Oh but there's chocolate back there" and I thought that was excellent since I love anything chocolate. And it was also appropriate since I was the only chocolate person in the class. (More on this interesting parallel later).

Learning how to thin the icing was the first step in class, which became a disaster because chocolate melts at a faster clip than vanilla. Tina went on to show us how to ice, how to do stars and extended stars, rosettes, leaves, dots, swirls and lettering.

The class was cool because it was a refresher course for some techniques I'd learned when I was younger. Also, seeing all the new tools and cupcakes ideas was a great inspiration for my future plans.

On the other hand, the class was geared towards the everyday homemaker or mom who bakes cupcakes for their children, their parties and for small religious or social functions. At one point the instructor Tina emphasized how "cupcakes are really big now, even at weddings". And I'm thinking to myself yeah, everybody knows that. Then she goes on "there are even cupcake cafes now like in Seattle and New York" and I said "yeah, they have one in Dupont Circle and two in Georgetown" to which she responded "yeah, well I don't go that way". At this point I'm thinking she can't be serious. Well, I say all that to say , I'm more interested in the contemporary, creative and chic cupcake style. I mean if I get a gig to make 30 cupcakes for a back-to-school kindergarten class then the multicolored caterpillar will work just fine. But, if I'm trying to sell my goods to adults and children for other things I want a more chic look which would include clear sprinkles, monograms from powdered sugar or sifted cocoa, cursive letter toppers, you get the idea.

At one point in the class, Tina was discussing how to get different colors for icing and more specifically black. She told us that the best way to get black is not by adding black dye to white icing but by making chocolate icing darker. She said if you use black dye in white icing it's hard to get a true black and you will most likely end up with a shade of gray. Then she said "just use chocolate because it's the closest thing to black, it's right next to black, it's the closest thing since I mean it's almost black, it's the closest thing to black , it's right there". I was the only black person in the class and the only one using chocolate icing. I felt slightly uncomfortable when they said brown is almost black, its the closest thing to black. I was thinking yeah brown is closer to black than most other colors when using icing but it's not right next to black, there are still a few variations until you get to black.

So I came home with knowledge about decorating techniques but practice surely makes perfect because my extended stars and leaves were pitiful. It's going to take a little longer than I thought to master the decorations. Using the basic flat style to cover the cupcake before putting on a decorative topping shouldn't be a problem. But, as far as anything that has dimension or height its going to be a problem.

The next thing I'll probably do is visit the cupcakes shops intown and sample their icing styles. Granted there are several ways to do it but the key will be the icing consistency and the style of decorating. Personally I like my entire cupcake top covered by icing, I feel as if something's missing when parts of the cupcake top are exposed. I feel like I'm getting robbed and instead of covering the face of the cupcake they just pile the icing to the sky. Icing is not all that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want more substance less fluff. Get the cupcake right, don't disguise it with a mountain of icing.

For me the joy of a cupcake is the perfect intersection of a moist cupcake and a complementary icing. Not just the cupcake itself and not just the icing. I like to take my first bit so I get the heavenly intersection of cake and icing. Additionally, I eat the entire cupcake so every bite provides me with this heavenly intersection. I get upset, or a little disappointed, when I have miscalculated my bites and I end up with an all-cake bite or an all-icing bite. Not cool, not having it.

Anyway, those are my random thoughts. Be sure to tip your waiter, thank you Denver. I'll be here all weekend.