I recently was blessed with the opportunity to attend Mike’s Amazing Cakes Structures Class. This was a two-day cake structure class, held right in Mike McCarey’s bakery located in Redmond, Washington (just outside of Seattle). And what an incredible, memorable learning experience it was!
This was one of my favourite masterpieces that he has on display:
As I’ve said many times before – the older I get, the more I realize there is so much to learn!
And I learned so much about internal cake structure over the two days. On the first day, Mike went over all the tools materials you could possible use in cake structures as well as their application and best use. He also went over numerous stands and internal structures of many of the cakes he has created in the past. Then Mike (& his assistant Michael) showed us how to get our stands together.
Day two began with carving, then decorating.
I realized right from the beginning of his class, Mike is a very humble person who simply loves what he does. I believe that he is a true master of his art. While observing his demonstrations, I wondered in my mind if renaissance artists are now re-incarcerated as cake decorators. While explaining some of the more complicated structures, he stated simply that his job is to figure out the “cake puzzle.”
Here is a photo of Mike’s completed cake:
It was apparent that he has consistently delivered successful, guaranteed results with even the most difficult of cakes. He has also won multiple Food Network Cake Challenges. Although he might not admit to it due to his humble personality, I believe he is quietly shaping and contributing to the cake culture in all of North America and all over the world.
He went well above and beyond in sharing his techniques with us and was very open to answering all of our questions. Mike even gave us some great insight on the exciting world of televised cake competitions. He calls himself a “chronic planner,” and it showed through the organization and preparation of the class. Mike’s great quality of instruction made the class fun and the results easily attainable for us. The class was a pleasure overall, and just what I needed to inspire me further in own personal career.
Here is my completed cake:
And here is a photo of all of them lined up. Don’t they look similar?
By the end of the two days, we went back to our hotels with our large 3-D cakes. Little Jesse was quite happy to pose with the cake!
I am happy to say that it was delicious for both the belly and mind.
To learn more:
Oh my God!!!!I love it,,love and love,,
What kind of cake recipe did you use to make a 3D cake?Can you tell me??
Congratulation ,your blog ,your cake…for everything .
Luciene Masironi
http://lucienemasironi.blogspot.com/
Hi Luciene,
I personally like using a butter based recipe for 3D cakes, the butter sets up well, which makes it easier to carve. You can use almost any recipe as long as it is dense enough. I find that the secret to carving is using cake that has been adequately cooled in the fridge or freezer, this way the cake is much less crumbly and holds together better.
Thanks for looking! I appreciate your feedback.
Rose
Hi Rose,
Do you have a good butter based recipe that you use for carved cakes. I just can’t seem to find one that works for me.
Appreicate you response.
Debbie
wales1@telusplanet.net
Hi Debbie,
I find that there are many recipes that work great for carving. If you are looking for a butter based recipe, any pound cake recipe should do. If you find that the cake is too crumbly to work with, try cooling the cake in the refrigerator or freezer until it sets up – a cold cake is much easier to carve.
If it’s the baking of the cake that is not working for you, maybe you could try a doctored mix recipe such as this one: http://cakecentral.com/recipes/durable-cake-for-3d-and-wedding-cakes/.
Hope that helps!
-Rose
Hi, I love your cake!! it is amazing!! could you please tell me what is the lower part of the big bird’s body (rounded , hemisphere part) (where the legs attach to to body) is made of? is it styrofoam? or is it cake?
thanks
mary
Hi Mary, it’s modelling chocolate. Thanks for looking!
Thank you, I will try .
I appreciate if you have a look my blog..
luciene masironi
http://lucienemasironi.blogspot.com/
Hi Rose!!! I just LOVE the Big Bird cake! You want to just hug him! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I was wondering if you have a good modeling chocolate recipe; can any white chocolate work or does it have to be a pure chocolate? Once again, thanks for the smiles!
Hi Toni, thank you for your question & I am glad you like the photos. I like this recipe by Marysol: http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/candies/candymaking/candyclay.html.
Hi Rose,
Awesome cake!!! congrats!!! is the head also made in cake or styrofoam? thank you and well done work!!!!
Hi, thank you for your question. The top 3/4 of the head is made of cake, and the bottom 1/4 is modelling chocolate.
Wher do you find modeling chocolate at? Is there a place you can order it from or how easy is it to make?
Hi Tracy, thank you for your question. Mike shares his recipe here:
http://www.craftsy.com/instructors/mike-mccarey
Hope that helps!
Your cakes are amazing.I never seen like that before.I like to see some more cakes and I like to learn how to make them. I’m Shanika from Sri Lanka
Congratulations!!!!! Your cakes are amazing.
Ho, ur a such a talented lade, I love d 3d cake of urs, may I knw what is d fondant ur using, can I have ur recipe if u dont mind