Fighting through a Dry Spell or Just Taking a Break

I have been in a creative dry spell, because of family commitments and Ms. Muse has been a little under the weather.

Unfortunately my Mapplethorpe/tulip tribute did not make it into Art Kudos. I do realize it is hard for me to cross artistic barriers and have judges actually look at the piece from purely art for art sake instead of a baked product, but I do know that my sculpture’s representation could have been better executed and next year I will devote more time and effort to bring it to a higher level.

Recently I have been experimenting with cake and frosting recipes, because I have submitted my official entry to my State Fair and the competition will be quite competitive. The actual design of the cake is rather simple in its execution and in order to follow the rules, which call for a round cake up to 9 inches with up to three layers tall, my greatest challenge would be the recipe itself and not the design. I have been going through some of grandmother’s recipes. Hopefully I will find the right combination. The rules state that there should not be fresh flowers, fresh or canned fruit in the entry. According to Tish Boyle and John Uher author’s of The Cake Book there are at least eight types of cakes.
1. Angel, Chiffon and Sponge
2. Pound and Coffee
3. Butter and Oil Based
4. Fruit Based
5. Flourless
6. Cheesecakes
7. Mousse and Ice Cream
8. Meringue

For this competition I have eliminated numbers one, four, five, six, seven and eight in order to either to follow their rules or because they are not the right type of cake to use along with Fondant icing. That leaves only number two the Pound and Coffee, and number three the Butter and Oil base cakes, which cuts down my recipe options considerably.

Besides the State Fair, I have searched out two other art shows and will be submitting sugar sculptures; both of them are due in September. So between the art shows I have previously identified, the two new shows I have just recently identified and along with the State Fair competition, August and September will be very productive months. I will have to call on Ms. Muse to see if she is feeling better and seek out her advice.