Bummed Out By Ace of Cakes...

[LeeS]

I love this Ace of Cakes show but I'm watching the "Harry Potter" show tonight and they are cheating...they are using styrofoam for the castle! This seems like more an exercise in decorating and not cakemaking.

Anyone else like this show? Shouldn't a cake be edible?

Okay so my wife has me watching way too much of the Food Channel...

[Butterfly Blue]

I would not buy a cake that has a starting price of a couple hundred bucks when most of it is pipes, fondant, styrofoam and rice crispies treats.

[rmos]

I find this show very entertaining ... especially counting how many times Mary Alice's hair-do changes during an episode!:laugh:

I'm looking forward to the new season which starts Thursday.

[Jay F]

I would not buy a cake that has a starting price of a couple hundred bucks when most of it is pipes, fondant, styrofoam and rice crispies treats.
I hate fondant, and the rest of it ain't a cake. Feh, ace of cakes. Feh, I say.

[Jamie Tate]

We watch the show too but their cakes usually look like a high school student did them.

[indy mike]

I hate fondant, and the rest of it ain't a cake. Feh, ace of cakes. Feh, I say.

Amen on that fondant stuff - buttercream belongs on top of cake...

[reechie]

Okay, a couple of defenses here:

The cake was mainly styrofoam, because that's what the people who paid for the cake (ie, the movie studio, etc.) ASKED for. At the beginning of the show, it was made clear that the studio didn't want the castle to be smashed or destroyed, so they made a model. The model was placed on a cake base, and you could see the cake being eaten at the end. You can hardly blame them for making a styrofoam model when that's exactly what they were being paid to do.

Also, for those who complain about the prices of their cakes, their use of fondant, etc. This is not the bakery at Safeways, you're not going to go and get a standard birthday cake here. These guys make WEDDING CAKES. They'll do custom jobs for whatever occasion, and that's mostly what you see on the show, but their bread and butter is wedding cakes, and anyone who's gotten married recently will tell you, that's what wedding cakes cost these days. You're going to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a wedding cake no matter where you buy it, their prices are pretty much in line with the rest of the industry. The rest of the industry uses fondant as well, and it's used mainly for a smooth look, not for its flavor. Most folks don't eat it. If you want butter cream on your cake, they'll be glad to use it...they love it! If you want your cake to look like Camden Yards, or a Baltimore row house, they've gotta use fondant.

Looks like the show has become popular enough for the Phil Collins backlash to begin. :wtf:

[phallumontis]

I like watching the show, but it cracks me up how many vegetarian hipsters work at that bakery. The lone meat-eater sure catches a lot of flack.

[phish]

the cakes look quite good, but watching them make them sometimes makes me not want to eat them.

actually, even on the cake competitions they show, after watching the cake be made and what it's made of and how it's made, i wouldn't dare take a bit out of them. i've literally seen them wad cake up and stick it places to fill holes and gaps. that's pretty nasty actually.

[indy mike]

If most folks don't eat it, why not just use modeling clay - it's probably cheaper and will smooth right out. Why not just make it all from stryofoam or styrene and glue if it's mainly to look at? I'd say it's fair to use dowels and such for support purposes, but if the bulk of the finished product is made from inedible components I'd say it's not really a cake at all but an architectural model made with some edible components. I want cake to taste good, and fondant just doesn't taste that good to me - just one person's opinion... ;)

[indy mike]

I like watching the show, but it cracks me up how many vegetarian hipsters work at that bakery. The lone meat-eater sure catches a lot of flack.

They can be rather snide...

[plickfu]

I don't really get this show either. Sure, the cakes look kind of cool, but you can't eat them. They're not really cakes.

[RoyalScam]

I don't watch the show, but this thread's title would make a perfect Steely Dan lyric! :winkgrin:

[Sneaky Pete]

All of these sculpture type cakes are not about the "pastry." They are more about the decorative centerpiece aspect. Yes everyone can eat a little bite but that is almost incidental. Using some syrofoam is kind of cheating, unless as reechie says the client requested it.

I enjoy watching it just for the creative problem solving, but not as a cooking show. I think they generally get good results.

[reechie]

If most folks don't eat it, why not just use modeling clay - it's probably cheaper and will smooth right out. Why not just make it all from stryofoam or styrene and glue if it's mainly to look at? I'd say it's fair to use dowels and such for support purposes, but if the bulk of the finished product is made from inedible components I'd say it's not really a cake at all but an architectural model made with some edible components. I want cake to taste good, and fondant just doesn't taste that good to me - just one person's opinion... ;)
That's all fine and good, but why criticize Charm City Cakes specifically, when pretty much EVERY wedding cake bakery uses the stuff, all over the world? Just ask them to use butter cream instead. :wtf:

I enjoy watching it just for the creative problem solving, but not as a cooking show. I think they generally get good results.
It really is just an entertainment show. It's more about the personalities of the people working there, how they get around various difficulties and problems, than a show about how to make a cake. Of course, they only show the more unusual cakes they make, not the standard every day wedding cakes they put together most of the time. I like to use it as an example for out of town friends of mine who ask me what Baltimore is like, as the show a lot of the city.

[indy mike]

That's all fine and good, but why criticize Charm City Cakes specifically, when pretty much EVERY wedding cake bakery uses the stuff, all over the world? Just ask them to use butter cream instead. :wtf:

They have a tv show and other folks don't. Someone before me posted and opined they didn't care for fondant and I added my two cents worth. I've watched some of those Food Network contest shows and have watched folks slather on icing and smooth it out nice and level. I've had cake with fondant covering the goods a few times, and when I have I didn't care for it - it's really pretty simple, YMMV... :wave:

[Butterfly Blue]

Okay, a couple of defenses here:

The cake was mainly styrofoam, because that's what the people who paid for the cake (ie, the movie studio, etc.) ASKED for. At the beginning of the show, it was made clear that the studio didn't want the castle to be smashed or destroyed, so they made a model. The model was placed on a cake base, and you could see the cake being eaten at the end. You can hardly blame them for making a styrofoam model when that's exactly what they were being paid to do.

Also, for those who complain about the prices of their cakes, their use of fondant, etc. This is not the bakery at Safeways, you're not going to go and get a standard birthday cake here. These guys make WEDDING CAKES. They'll do custom jobs for whatever occasion, and that's mostly what you see on the show, but their bread and butter is wedding cakes, and anyone who's gotten married recently will tell you, that's what wedding cakes cost these days. You're going to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a wedding cake no matter where you buy it, their prices are pretty much in line with the rest of the industry. The rest of the industry uses fondant as well, and it's used mainly for a smooth look, not for its flavor. Most folks don't eat it. If you want butter cream on your cake, they'll be glad to use it...they love it! If you want your cake to look like Camden Yards, or a Baltimore row house, they've gotta use fondant.

Looks like the show has become popular enough for the Phil Collins backlash to begin. :wtf:

I guess I forgot to mention that I do enjoy watching Ace of Cakes. I did know they do wedding cakes too but maybe from the website I mistakenly thought that they charge hundreds for every cake, not just wedding.
Maybe when they use pipes and rice crispy treats they can call it a cake-like structure. heh

[scott palmiter]

my eleven year old loves the show, but that fondant stuff is cheating in my book.:winkgrin:

[LeeS]

Okay, a couple of defenses here:

The cake was mainly styrofoam, because that's what the people who paid for the cake (ie, the movie studio, etc.) ASKED for. At the beginning of the show, it was made clear that the studio didn't want the castle to be smashed or destroyed, so they made a model. The model was placed on a cake base, and you could see the cake being eaten at the end. You can hardly blame them for making a styrofoam model when that's exactly what they were being paid to do.


I did not hear that. That makes some sense then...

[reechie]

I did not hear that. That makes some sense then...
Tom Clancy's family did the same thing when they made a "sculpture" for his birthday. Turned out, they were having three separate birthday parties for him, and they wanted the "cake" to be on display for all three of them, so they made a styrofoam battleship.

Sure, the cakes look kind of cool, but you can't eat them. They're not really cakes.
Why not? 90% of what they use is carved cake. :confused:

[Butterfly Blue]

Last post about this...:D
I just saw this on the Charm City Cakes website. The starting price used to be $300.00, I believe. TV makes for a nice increase.

From the FAQ section...

"How much are your cakes?"

Because all of our cakes are priced individually by the complexity of their design, we do not have a standard price list.
Due to the care we give to each cake and the one-of-a-kind nature of each order, we require a minimum of $1000 on all of our cakes.

[minerwerks]

I've watched a lot of "Ace of Cakes" and I do see where it's a bit confusing sometimes just what is going on with the cake parts (components). I've seen other episodes where a large part of a "cake" is covered styrofoam that wasn't explicitly explained. And I've also seen plenty of cakes where the bulk IS made of edible material. (I don't necessarily consider Rice Krispies treats to be cheating, either.) In some cases, I have seen a cake that was not really meant to be eaten but then they also provide basic sheet cakes to serve to an event's attendees.

Primarily, I agree with those who say the interesting part of the show is watching the people and the personalities.

[johmbolaya]

I don't watch the show, but this thread's title would make a perfect Steely Dan lyric! :winkgrin:

Climbing hills and remembering thrills
Can't buy it and I don't want to try it...again
Just say when and I think of the night at the lake
Right now I'm bummed out by ace of cakes
Cap Nirvana and someone else's sauna
The heat to the touch of the skin, it conflicts the mind
I ask no questions and I tell no lies
Maple cruller sweetness with the hazel of her eyes

Then the song would get into "purple helmet battles" and "open ended cave hunts" :laugh:

[indy mike]

Climbing hills and remembering thrills
Can't buy it and I don't want to try it...again
Just say when and I think of the night at the lake
Right now I'm bummed out by ace of cakes
Cap Nirvana and someone else's sauna
The heat to the touch of the skin, it conflicts the mind
I ask no questions and I tell no lies
Maple cruller sweetness with the hazel of her eyes

Then the song would get into "purple helmet battles" and "open ended cave hunts" :laugh:

Could you rhyme something with fondant? :winkgrin:

[reechie]

Because all of our cakes are priced individually by the complexity of their design, we do not have a standard price list.
Due to the care we give to each cake and the one-of-a-kind nature of each order, we require a minimum of $1000 on all of our cakes.
Cuts down on the non-serious inquiries, and joke orders, I imagine.