WOW Ron Ben Israel's Master class wedding cake decorating

As I told you just a week ago (time flies!) I went to a 2-day cake (or should I say flower) workshop-master class with Ron Ben Israel.

 
The class was hosted by Satin Ice (sugar and gum paste) because bringing Ron Ben Israel to Israel is very costly and no one cake decorator could pull that off. and I assure you many have tried.

First, I have to admit I had a lot of fun! When you're busy all day with brides, grooms and creating wedding cakes, taking a break to learn new and exciting things is so great!
Living in Israel (and I'm not bitching about it) but we are secluded when it comes to having cake masters teach us new stuff, but that's for another post...

So Ron was finally here and felt free enough to ask us to call him Ron (very normal and common in Israel+ he is a former Israeli ) rather then Chef Ron etc'.

We had 2 very very busy days:
Day 1- We learned how to create his beautiful JFK roses. Ron told us that when he learned cake decorating with the master Ms. Betty VanNordsrand see encouraged each of her students to find their "rose", so he did just that, and found the JFK roses to be his personal favorite. 






we learned how to create sugar poppy leafs, that waited along with the sugar poppy flower center, to dry over night (sadly they didn't dry properly due to the rain and very high humidity in the class room)
 

We learned  how to create a lace design using real lace, with a pasta machine.

We also learned how to create dots on a cake with royal icing, we actually had a romantic class... because the power went off at that point( it was one of the biggest storms ever, rain, and hail trees falling and stuff, while we were all cozy inside)

Here Ron is telling us a spooky story...on how royal icing dots won't turn into dots if you don't flatten their tips.










Gotta go now, I'll add the second half of Ron Ben Israel's Master class tomorrow.
Cake Away!
Sharon

Just a quick word to let you know how excited I am!

Tomorrow I'm going to participate in a 2 day class held by one of the best cake decorators in the US, Ron Ben-Israel.
I'm really looking forward to this class, I've been following his magnificent work, for several years, I love his wedding cakes, and I can't wait to learn !
I'm going to be very busy for the next two days, so for now, check out these photos of his work, his web site and a closeup on this flowers

Ron Ben-Israel web site 
Ron Ben-Israel sugar orchids

Cake away!
Sharon

Welcome cake decorators!

Hi my name is Sharon and I have a confession to make I am addicted to cakes. But not just any cakes; they must be beautiful, decorated cakes.

My biggest addiction is to wedding cakes! (I guess it's a good thing that I make them all the time for weddings J )

My story begins many, many, years ago; 35 years ago to be exact.

I was 4 years old, and a rather typical 4 year old girl, demanding just about everything, you know the saying 4 going on forty...

I don't remember every thing I wanted or asked for at that particular age, but I can tell you one thing, at 4 years old I first laid eyes on a wedding cake at a wedding reception in Boston Massachusetts. My dad was doing his post PHD in physics at Harverd UNI. My mom worked as a teacher and I spent my happy days at kindergarten.

Everything in that wedding reception was sheer amazement to me. But above all I was mesmerized with the bride and her beautiful wedding gown, a long lacey train and the bride's amazing beauty and grace, but then I laid eyes on the WEDDING CAKE!!!

I stopped, I couldn't move, I never saw such an amazing creation. At that moment I decided I want to get married and I want my own perfect wedding cake....

Wedding cake Topsy Turvy, create for a special couple

Oh yes, I wanted a 3 layer wedding cake with angels and roses and a cute couple- bride and groom on the top layer. A topper to represent me and my soon to be husband.

At that point in my life the groom had little to no importance, but I already knew that there will definitely be a wedding cake.

Obviously in my mind at the age of 4 my wedding was just around the corner, but it took another 21 real years to actually happen.

I found my groom (or should I say he found me?!) and skipped the lovely couple on top of the cake (we were lovely enough :-))

I asked my cake decorator for lots of roses (and got them) angels, drapes, the works.

My wedding cake was very classic, very elegant, very beautiful and very tasty!

Being such an artsy person I was intrigued by the material that covered my cake, the stuff the roses, angels and drapes were made from, so I asked my cake decorator how to use it and where to buy it and she told me that it was called rolled fondant or sugar paste. She also told me that I should use cornstarch to avoid stickiness, and that was about all I knew.

I bought some and fooled around with it for a bit..

Then came an offer I couldn't refuse, I was request to create a 3 layer wedding cake as a gift for a relative. I didn't know that I could use the same stuff to sculpt the bride and groom so I used marzipan (almond paste), I didn't know the right type of food colors so I bought the watered down stuff at the market. Let's just say that I'm very happy there is no evidence left to prove that cake actually existed and I'm free to have my own memory of the cake....

But truth be told, I was struck, struck by the SUGAR virus. (They say there is no cure).

From that moment I never let my decorating tools out of my hands.

I create, and create and create. A day without the thrill and excitement of creating a cake is a lost day. That's why I always check out the newest styles, trends, ideas, and methods. I never stop learning. I studied with the best, among them Nicolas Lodge and Collette peters, and I'm planning on going back for seconds.

wedding cake gold rose cascade

During these many years (14 years of marriage, so far so very good J) I worked in a leading PR firm as a PR spokeswoman for leading Israeli and International companies, for over 9 years. During this time I created many cakes for my kids, family and friends, and eventually the word spread and I opened a cake business, eventually leaving my PR days behind. (well I still do PR for my business, of course).

I didn’t tell you but my second addiction is teaching cake classes. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing with my own eyes, how my explanations and demonstrations turn into cake creations, beautiful decorated cakes, created by my students!

That’s actually the reason my cake decorating website and blog came to life. You can read all about it here in CakeOpedia

If you want to view some of my wedding cakes, click on an image and view an enlarged image and sometimes 2-3 images of the same cake: 

The classic wedding cakes

The designed wedding cakes

The Magnificent wedding cakes  

That’s me, I’d love to hear about you!

sharon