This Weekend in Cake: Paris of the South, Old School Cake School, and, of course, Weddings.

I love summer. I especially love this lush, deep part of the summer, when the Crape Myrtle is in bloom, the cicadas are loud and obnoxious, and the storms are fast and furious in the afternoon. I love it because its my birthday time (Thursday!) and because I love swimming and because things just seem a little lazier. More things to love about summer: we've got peaches and raspberries and blueberries and wineberries- and lovely friends visiting from far-flung places.



Why, yes, it is Elyse Manning, one of the cake ladies featured in my book, Cake Ladies, which comes out in a mere 3 months from now!

Here's some highlights of our hot summer weekend at the Cake Shop:

1) Paris of the South Flea Market!



I love this little flea market. You will too. Food truck heaven, thrifty paradise. Cheap tables, live music, good times. Oh, and we're there too, selling cupcakes!



Phillipe, the fawn that stole Elyse's heart:



And some more scenes from the flea:






Paris of the South Flea Market is open Saturdays and Sundays, down on Lyman Street by the river, just past the candle factory.


2) Weddings.

Check out these from Oh, Darling! Photography, taken at Claxton Farms.




Then there was this wedding cake at Brahma Ridge:



Which, I hear tell, held up even in the summer mid-day heat.


3) Cake School!

We had our second installment of Old School Cake School Classes at the Cake Shop today! I'm very proud of today's three graduates, who successfully baked a cake from scratch, start to finish, for the first time in their lives!



However, I think the best part of Cake School was the mimosas.



Next installment of Cake School is Sunday, August 14th.

Thanks to everyone for such a beautiful weekend, especially the magical and amazing Cake Shop Cake Ladies, like Hannah, who made this awesome cake:



And Anna, who makes the Cake Shop awesome. Love.

Spring Cakes

Wedding Season is upon us and I'd like to share with you some of what we've been up to!



Cupcake wedding at the Grove Park Inn



Cupcake Wedding at Table Rock State Park in South Carolina

May Baskets!
Last weekend at the Grove Park Inn, the Cupcakes for Cures Competition ruled. Our entry (for which we won an honorable mention for flavor) was the celebration of spring that is the May Basket. Here is the explaination that was included in each May Basket:

May 1st, or May Day, has been celebrated since ancient times as the beginning of spring and started as a feast in honor of the goddess of flowers, Flora. It is a time to celebrate the joy of spring and the sweetness of love. Celebrations have grown through time to include dancing around the Maypole, crowning the Queen of the May, and honoring the Virgin Mary with flowers. In 19th century United States, celebrants would leave May Baskets, small baskets filled with sweets and flowers, on doorsteps, knock, and then run away. The recipient of the basket then would try to chase the giver and, if they were caught, the giver would have to give the recipient a kiss.

(Let us know if you would like for us to create a May Basket for your mayday shenanigans, by the way)
Love, and Happy Spring!

Walsh-Cwiok 2009. Or: Hula Love

Photo Credit Laura McKay Photography
Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of taking a week long vacation with my husband and son to the borough of Brooklyn to attend the wedding of my dear friends Jen Cwiok and Kristen Walsh. I had the esteemed position of cake lady at the wedding, and was proud to stand with so many talented vendors at the proclamation of Jen and Kristen's love.
I met Jen Cwiok in 1994, in my "Introduction to Women's Studies" class at UGA. It was love at first sight; Jen was my punk rock hero. She, and her bandmates Lysa and Noel, introduced me to Short Mountain, Food Not Bombs, and anarcha-feminism, a path that would eventually lead me to the Catholic Worker movement, a degree in Social Work, and work in the rape crisis, domestic violence, and community gardening movements- and ultimately, to Asheville. Jen moved to NYC a little while after I left Athens, became a librarian, and has rocked steady for the last 15 years. She has remained an inspiration to me. About five years ago, Jen met (and fell head over heels for) Kristen. Among many other things, Kristen is a Hula Dancer. She performs traditional Polynesian Hula in various venues in NYC, and for the first few years that she and Jen were dating, Jen referred to her simply as "Hula."
So when Jen announced 9 months ago that she and Hula were getting married, I cleared the deck and made sure that everyone that got hired in the Cake Shop knew that I was going to be gone for a week during peak fall wedding season.
And on Thursday, September 17, we baked five tiers of carrot spice cake in the shop, packed up the layers into plastic bins, and me and my family drove through the night to NYC. (We had the pleasure of the road trip company of Miss Ursula Gullow, of Art Seen Asheville fame. (have you checked out her excellent blog? I suggest that you do.) Ursula got me through the 10pm to 4am driving shift with dreams, schemes, and relationship processing, but that is another story.
Friday and Saturday were filled with getting lost in Brooklyn while Jasper slept in the back of the car, mixing icings in Jen and Kristen's kitchen, icing cake layers, and doing last-minute tasks for the brides. And then, Saturday afternoon, the magic began. Held at Smack Mellon gallery in Dumbo (DUMBO = Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), the wedding was GORGEOUS. The ceremony was lovely. I saw friends I hadn't seen in years.

The park across the street had a playground for Jasper, a river, and a big bridge with trains on it. (what more could a 4-year-old want?)



The food was amazing. The dance party rocked. And the cake went off without a hitch.

(They wanted me to help cut the cake...)
Photo Credit Makalina Abalos


And we mustn't forget the rockstar wedding cake shot of the evening:


But by far the most touching moment of the whole night was when Kristen, accompanied by two members of her South Pacific Island Dance Group performed a Hula Love Song for Jen. Swoon. Congratulations, Jen and Kristen. And thank you for inspiring me, including me, and being my friends, family, and inspiration!
Much Love,
Jodi
PS: there was a Michael and a Tim!
Michael Frey, on the left, is responsible for the Short Street Cakes logo and practically all of our design work, by the way. Tim, on the right, is responsible for being awesome.

Happy Anniversary Freddy and Nesiya!

I got a visit today at the cake shop from a bride from last fall, Nesiya. She, her mom, and her nephews came in for cupcakes and to order a birthday cake for her grandmother. We got to catch up on life since her October wedding last year, and then she sent me some wedding cake pictures that I hadn't yet seen (like the one above). it was so great to see Nesiya, and it made me think about all the brides and families that supported me in the early days before the cake shop- when I was baking cakes at home in my tiny kitchen with Jasper underfoot. Freddy and Nesiya were so wonderful to work with- Nesiya loves butterflies, so we did a butterfly motif on her cake- and hers is one of the rare square cakes that I have done- a little bit more of a challenge (those corners take time!) Happy Anniversary to Nesiya and Freddy, and thank you to all the Asheville Mamas, Brides, and friends that took a chance on me. Much Love.
Jodi

Pink-o-rama Wedding

Cute as all get-out, with pink and candy everywhere.

Aria Floral and this weekend's wedding...

This is Jess:

And this is Meredith:

Jess, owner and designer of Aria Floral, and Meredith, a designer with Aria, do a totally amazing job in their floral design. I always recommend them, and when they are doing a wedding, I am always more than happy to allow them to do the floral design on the cake. They have an extensive knowledge of edibles, use local botanicals whenever possible, and focus on sustainable design, which means they maintain a greenhouse with perennials and earth elements that they use continually for their events.
They're also friends of the family, and I've known Jess for many years, since before either of us became mamas or business owners. (and I'm not being paid to say any of this). I'm just very proud of the caliber of work that they are bringing to events here in Western North Carolina.


For this wedding, I created a two tier Peach Cake with Raspberry Filling and Cream Cheese Icing, as well as four large round cakes in two kinds of chocolate, and one Italian Cream Cake.

Then Aria decorated them with a lush display of local blueberry branches, mint sprigs, and borage branches. Beautiful!




As I watched them do the design work, I said, "I wish y'all could do the floral design on all my cakes!" To which Jess responded, "we can!" It got us thinking and talking about how easy it would be to hire Aria just to do the wedding cake floral design, even if you have another designer or farmer doing your flowers. So if you are interested, contact them at:
828.682.9971 or www.blueridgeflowers.com
And I hear tell that they are looking at sourcing some of their flowers from Katie Grear at Lady Luck Flower Farm!
Bonus!
xo

This weekend's Wedding

This is one of three weddings we did this weekend (whew!). The other two remain undocumented as my camera ran out of battery. But I really enjoyed this one: it took place at Melange B & B in Hendersonville- a very sweet and beautiful venue. I was happy doing this wedding- I had a good feeling about the bride and groom, their friends, the music, and I think the cakes reflected that. The orange roses were provided by the client and I think they had the perfect effect.
stay tuned for more pictures of the next 6 or 7 June weddings we have coming up.

May Wedding Cake

Strawberry Lemon Cake with fresh local strawberry and flower design!