Anemone Flower

Photo by Jordan Pique

Since the Food Network challenge aired this past weekend I have had many requests for how we make our Anemone Flowers. A large version of this flower was on the dress in the first episode (which will re-air this Weds. at 7pm and again on Sunday) and was featured in my last blog entry.

A wedding cake with small anemone flowers. You can vary the size.

We actually did an entire spread in Pastry and Baking magazine in the first issue of this year. We have been honored enough to be selected to do six separate spreads for this magazine and the Anemone flower is one of them. You can visit the entire magazine online if you don't have your very own copy. Here I give you small versions of the photo layout with the instructions. Good Luck!

Last Cake Standing

"Food Network Challenge: Last Cake Standing," premieres this Sunday!
In this series, six pastry chefs are thrown into a brutal four-round cake competition, where they are faced with a number of arduous tasks and weekly eliminations. The lucky winner takes home the biggest prize in Challenge history, $50,000!

When I was first invited to compete in this challenge I was extremely honored because it was called an All-Star Challenge. So we began the process of preparing for not ONE challenge but FOUR all at once. Along with my assistants Lauren, Liz, and Candice, we began to create a game plan. We even hired a professional sculptor to help with the armature supports. The more I planned, the more I couldn't believe what I got myself into. We had to ship ALL of our cake, and ALL of our equipment for FOUR challenges....and I used to think competing in one challenge was stressful.

But I became alarmingly concerned when I found out the weekend before we left that the name had changed from the "all-star challenge" to a much more dramatic one: The Last Cake Standing.

Regardless, this is one show that will be sure to please and will certainly be entertaining...I'm not sure I can watch it but if you do let me know what happens!


You can catch me and Lauren (and a bunch of amazing cake designers) this Sunday, April 5th at 8pm ET/PT on the Food Network for the first of four episodes.

And if you happen to be walking or driving by Chelsea Market look up...that's my face on a Billboard!

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