Sugar Skulls!

Hello Friends!
The preparations for Dia de los Muertos are almost complete!
We've made dozens of sugar skulls:

And whipped up some royal icing, dyed with natural pigments like turmeric and beet powder:



And we've prepared a station for decorating skulls with icing, sequins, and glitter. This is a skull I decorated for my sister, who passed eight years ago. She had a beautiful singing voice, and a great sense of humor, and and I put the skull on the altar in her honor.

The altar is set, and ready for offerings... in Mexican tradition the souls of the dead have to travel a long way to get back to this world, so they are weary, thirsty and hungry. Please bring offerings of food, drink, and treats that your loved ones who've passed enjoyed in this life (I need to go get some candy corn, because that was my friend Charlotte's favorite Halloween treat, cigars for my Papa, Pabst Blue Ribbon for my Granddaddy, and some chocolate for my Mopsey) and pictures, flowers, and other things to beautify the space and honor our ancestors.


Blank sugar skulls are $5 each, and a portion of proceeds will benefit Defensa Comunitaria, a local grassroots immigrants rights organization. We will decorate the altar and sell skulls from noon to six on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Monday night, we are going to bring the contents of the altar to add to the one at Mayfels, where we will feast and dance with the dead, in costumes!
I feel so happy to be sharing this celebration with the community at the Cake Shop for the second year in a row, and, already feel how important repeating rituals and celebrations is for rooting ourselves in time and place.
Much love!
xo
jodi

Autumn News from Short Street Cakes!

Click here to read our Autumn Newsletter, which is full of useful information such as: Winter Hours, Halloween Cupcakes, Kitchen Space for Rent, and three new books involving Short Street Cakes!

We thank you and we love you.

Bookish Happenings

Well, Hello there! Now that I've completed the writing portion of my forthcoming Cake Ladies book from Lark Books (due out in October 2011), I will have more time and energy to give to my old friend, My Life in Cake. So, without further ado, let me first turn your attention to another project I participated in by the lovely folks at Lark, Craft-In!

Craft-In, by Kathleen McCafferty, is a "box-set of 12 craft booklets featuring all indie crafters. Each booklet features a craft project by a different indie designer, with step-by-step photos, tips, inspiration, and suggestions for your own crafty gatherings. Projects include jar lid masterpieces, natural cupcake makeovers, cruiser hula hoops, sock creatures, crochet cacti, pet portrait embroidery, mint tin worlds, felt strawberries, shrinkable plastic jewelry, terrariums with sheep, retro paper dolls, and culture logs."
Indeed. And guess who wrote the book(let) on cupcakes? That's right, little old me. The Cupcake booklet, with photography by Steve Mann and design by Suzie Millions, features recipes and inspiration for making and decorating all-natural cupcakes.

Craft-In is available now from your local bookseller (like Malaprops, for example, if you are in Asheville) or online.
To celebrate the release of the book, Lark is hosting a Craft-In Book Release Party at Barnes and Noble, by the mall.
Kathleen also made this lovely little video about it:

And can I just get an Amen for Lark? Lark has been employing crafters, artists, writers and thinkers in this town for as long as I have been here, doing their part to make Asheville a place where artists can survive and thrive.
Thank you, Lark, and Thank you, Asheville!

Short Street Cakes + Dripolator = Love!

Hey Friends!
I just wanted to let you know that I will be bringing two dozen cupcakes over to the Dripolator today, thus inaugurating our relationship with Dripolator as the exclusive downtown location for procuring Short Street Cakes Cupcakes! We will be bringing in fresh cupcakes daily, in a variety of flavors, meaning you can enjoy a Short Street Cupcake from 7am to 9pm every day!

Also, don't forget that Short Street Cakes by the slice are available at these fine local Asheville establishments: Marco's Pizzeria, 444 Gallery Cafe, and Carmel's!
Thanks and love!

Happy 5th Birthday, Jasper!

This week, we celebrated Jasper's 5th birthday! We started the day with birthday pancakes:

And made birthday decorations with his friends.

We had birthday dinner:

Consisting of Jasper's preferred menu of cheeseburgers, oatmeal, and "soft carrots with honey." And cake.
The next day, we went to the FAIR!

And had a party, with many of Jasper's besties (and their moms and dads) in attendance.

We had more cake! (Jasper chose Strawberry Cake with a Ganache Topping)

And there were presents (with a definite Star Wars theme).


We rode rides and ate fair food. I was giddy... I love the fair. And this birthday seemed so much to me to be a milestone- for Jasper and for me. I feel like I'm catching my breath and marveling at the beautiful child he has become in just 5 short years. At the same time, I'm marveling at the fact that 5 years seems so LONG- sometimes it feels like just months ago that he was born. In keeping with that theme- that five years is a long time- I'm realizing that the past is over, as much as I keep trying to go back and make sense of the whirlwind of the last couple of decades. I'm ready to make some changes in my life- to get more grounded in the here and now, and to grow my business and my relationships. I feel so psyched about Jasper and the adventures we have ahead of us! And I'm grateful to our family, and family of friends, for giving him such a web of love in which to grow.

So Happy Birthday to the coolest, sweetest, loveliest 5-year-old Jedi Knight in the universe. So much love!

Late Summer Cake!

We made these cakes today in the shop- there's a Raspberry Lemonade Cake by the slice, and Fresh, Local Fig Spice Cake Bundt Cake and Cupcakes!


The fresh figs came from my neighbor Sharon's backyard on Short Street in Montford- my son helped her pick them. So they're totally super local. And so fresh. And so yummy. As you can see, I'm excited about the figs.



Lemon curd filling and raspberry buttercream icing on sour cream pound cake layers!


Thank you, Sharon, for the beautiful figs!

Introducing: Community Coupons!

We're really excited to launch a new community endeavor here at the Cake Shop: "Community Coupons!" Here's the deal: every couple of months, we will chose a different non-profit group in the community as our Community Coupon recipient. The non-profit will distribute Short Street Cakes coupons, and, when you bring one in to the shop, we will donate 10% of your purchase price to that organization! WE love it when YOU come in and buy stuff from Short Street Cakes. YOU love supporting local non-profits while eating delicious cake! Win/Win, right? From now until October 31st, Our VOICE will be the recipient. Be on the lookout for community coupons starting next week. And, hey, if you are a business owner, you can do it too!