Spring! That means lots of new things in the store! Wilton always comes out with new items at this time of year before the release of their Yearbook in June. We have a preview of lots of the new things and we even have some of them available in the store already!

We have finalized our class schedule through the summer - there are some fun new classes - Baking, Classic Petit Fours, Mom and Child Cookie Decorating and more. We also have some Kids Decorating Classes - see the schedule for classes below!

Look at the pictures from the 2008 That Takes the Cake - Capital Confectioners Cake and Sugar Art Show! There were amazing entries, informative demonstrations, fun onsite competitions and more. See below for a link to the pictures and more info about the Club's upcoming events!

I have a recipe below for a Lemon, Rosemary Cornmeal Cake - a great cake for the springtime!

Randy and I are going to the Mid Atlantic Cake Show later this week. This is a great show in Maryland - lots of great demos and events with their Show. We are also planning on attending the ICES Convention in July in Orlando, FL. This is a dream event for any cake decorator. It will be magical with all of the demonstrations, cakes to view, vendors and people to meet who share the same passion for cake decorating!

Have a great Spring. Wedding Season and Graduations will be upon us before we know it! Scroll down to see a fun idea for graduation cakes!

Some are new and some are just so good that eventhough we have had them for awhile, I want to make sure you know about them!

Brown cupcake liners - by popular demand!

Texture mats - brick, cobblestone, waves and more!

Dragees that you can make any color

and more!

This adorable dragon was the Best of Show 2008. Congratulations to Sylvia Hand from Plano! It was a beautifully done piece of sugar art! Thanks to all of the Capital Confectioner's Cake Club members for putting on such a great Show! The cakes that were entered into the competition were amazing. The onsite competitions and informal demonstrations on Saturday were so much fun to watch. There was a great variety of vendors with some wonderful products. And the demos on Sunday were so informative - many thanks to Bronwen Weber, Autumn Carpenter, Steven Stellingwerf, Nicholas Lodge and Earlene Moore for sharing their techniques with us! Check out the Capital Confectioners website for a follow-up of the Show and pictures of the entries - you will be inspired!

The Capital Confectioners Cake Club will be having a Day of Sharing on August 10th with some really great demonstrations. Mark your calendar now! There will be a great line-up of demonstrations including one by The Two Sweet Sisters - they are fun to watch and wow - they do some beautiful cakes! The sisters will also be teaching a 2-day class following the Day of Sharing Keep checking back to the Capital Confectioner's website for additional details about the Day of Sharing - or better yet - become a Club member and be in on the planning for the Day of Sharing and the 2009 Cake Show!

We have some great new classes coming up!

Kristie is going to be teaching some Baking Classes. She will cover different mixing methods and different recipes in this mostly lecture class. She will have cakes prepared so that students will be able to see and taste them.

I will be teaching a Classic Petit Four Class. We will make and bake frangipane layers, use a chocolate ganache and raspberry fillings to put the layers together, top with marzipan, cut and then coat with poured fondant glaze. Students will leave with the petit fours that they make in class.

Saturday May 10th - the day before Mother's Day I will be teaching a Cookie Decorating with Mom class in the morning and a Kids Cookie Decorating Class in the afternoon. These will be Mother's Day themed cookies - and everyone will leave with the cookies that they decorate in class.

Each month during the summer, we will have a few kid's classes.

Be sure to check the calendar for these fun classes and sign-up soon.

I love this cake! Kristie made a version of this for me for my birthday (yes, I still eat cake for my birthday) and it was so good. It has a nice citrus flavor and the savory flavor of the rosemary and the sweetness of the cornmeal work so well together.

We are going to be making these mini cupcakes for the Farm to Plate event on May 7th. Farm to Plate is the only fundraising event in Central Texas exclusively showcasing the fresh, local food and wine directly delivered from member farms of Austin Farmers' Market. There will be tastings by eight Texas wineries and more than a dozen of Central Texas' most outstanding chefs. Proceeds of the Farm to Plate event will benefit the Austin Farmers' Market and Sustainable Food Center. You can click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

We are making several other flavors of mini cupcakes that we will be serving - Peach and Honey Cakes, Goat Cheese Cheesecakes with fresh berries and Chocolate Decadence mini cakes studded with cacao nibs. We worked to make the recipes using fresh, wholesome local ingredients. This has been such a fun project to be involved in. I will be sharing these other recipes with you in future newsletters.

I hope to see you at Farm to Plate - don't forget to support your local farmer's market and buy locally!

I think this is such a fun graduation cake! Kristie, our Pastry Chef, colored the cake batter - burnt orange (Americolor Orange and a little Warm Brown). She used white buttercream as the filling - and voila - UT colors! She put an edible image of the UT Seal on the top and decorated with longhorns cut out of burnt orange colored fondant.

So if you are making a cake for an A&M grad - you could use maroon and white - or Baylor - green and white or scarlet and black for Texas Tech! The possibilities are endless! It is fun for even the inside of the cake to match the theme.

We have a few positions available. Part Time Retail Sales Associates and a Part Time Baker. Fill-out an application if you are interested!

Here are our Upcoming Classes for April and May. Check the link below for other classes scheduled into the summer.
Baking with Kristie
Thursday 4/24 - 6 pm to 9 pm
Cookie Bouquet with Jennifer
Monday 4/28 - 6 pm to 9 pm
Wilton Course 3 with Cathy
Tuesdays 4/29, 5/6 & 5/13 - 9 am to 12 pm
Wilton Course 1 with Michelle
Tuesdays 4/29, 5/6 & 5/13 - 6 pm to 9 pm
Wilton Course 1 with Cathy
Thursdays 5/1, 5/8 & 5/15 - 9 am to 12 pm
Basic Petit Fours with Michelle
Saturday 5/3 - 9 am to 12 pm
Classic Petit Fours with Jennifer
Monday 5/5 - 10 am to 1 pm or 6 pm to 9 pm
Course 3 with Michelle
Wednesdays 5/7, 5/14 & 5/21 - 6 pm to 9 pm
Cookies with Mom with Jennifer
Saturday 5/10 - 10 am to 12 pm
Kids Cookie Decorating with Jennifer
Saturday 5/10 - 1:30 pm am to 4 pm
Fondant Project with Jennifer
Monday 5/19 - 10 am to 1 pm
Baking with Kristie
Wednesday 5/21 - 10 am to 1 pm
Course 2 with Cathy
Thursdays 5/29, 6/5 & 6/12 - 10 am to 1 pm

Click the link below to see all of our scheduled classes.

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