2nd part from Ron Ben Israel's master class Sugar flowers!

(Sorry it took me so long- s many unplanned things interrupted... ) So without further ado-
I really have to start with a SCOOP! Ron Ben Israel is practicing his dance moves once again and has been seen dancing with a partner, Decmber 2010, in Israel! 

I obviously can't leave you with just that so here are the photos to prove my scoop:

 

Returning to the dance floor?

I actually have a few more,  but I think these will do...

If you're wondering what Ron was doing, he was actually explaining the form of his sugar rose, and how the leaves entwine together. 

Ron dusting the roses- 1st the cornflour and then the colors, this prevents color stains, a great solution for a big dusting problem.

In this photo you can see Ron's hands working on a sweet pea sugar bud. 

The great thing about the sweet pea he taught us, was theamazing all-in-1 cutter. 

   

I created many sweet pea sugar flowers for cakes, such as you can see in this sweet pea fairy cake, but they take soooo long to do, especially considering that it's a rather simple flower, that's suppose to be a filler flower in bouquets. 

you can probably imagine how happy I was to learn that each flower will only take me about 5 minutes, from now on!

Ron also showed us how to finalize the poppy sugar flower, I never considered it to be used for cakes, because the poppies we have here are cultivated and therefore much smaller and less interesting (to me, anyway) - here you can what I would usually see in nature:

poppy flowers

In the following photos, you can the poppies Ron Ben Israel taught us- which are based on the cultivated poppy flower, they are truly impressive and stunning!

(in the photos you can Ron's flowers of course...)

And last, but not least, Ron taught us how to create a sugar flower called Lisianthus. I have a special place in my heart for that flower because at my wedding, the center pieces on the tables included roses and lisianthus flowers. They are actually very easy to create, which is great because they can totally be the main flower in a bouquet or just laid down on a cake. they come in many colors and have a great look. unfortunately I didn't get any good photos from this one so you'll just have to wait to see my finalized demo cake.

Time was very short so we didn't get to do much regarding decorating the cake, during the class; But I took it back to my studio and finished the cake. But that's for another post.

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