Behind the scenes with Ron Ben-Israel, cake maestro and star of TV hit Sweet Genius Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2045682/Behind-scenes-Ron-Ben-Israel-cake-maestro-star-TV-hit-Sweet-Genius.html#ixzz1eqQ29p7d

By DAISY DUMAS

Last updated at 9:02 PM on 5th October 2011 In a bright SoHo loft space, a massive fridge door swings open and two chefs deftly - if a little precariously - lift an extravagant four-tiered wedding cake from its cold darkness. 

Behind them, away from the industrial brushed steel, is a room full of white-clad figures hunched over intricate sugar filigree, pots of liquid gold and edible glitter lined up as they dip fine paint brushes, adding gilt to ornate icing.

We are in the private New York studio of Ron Ben-Israel, one of the world's leading cake makers and a master in the art of sugar decoration.

Master of sugar: Ron Ben-Israel is the star of new Food Network show, Sweet Genius. He has made spectacular cakes for royalty, Elton John and movie hits

Ron has produced edible spectacles for royal families, Elton John's 60th, Uma Thurman's family and Robert Downey Junior's wedding in the past and is the star judge of new TV show, Sweet Genius, which pitches four cake makers against each other to win $10,000 each episode.

'I love the process, I've learnt a lot,' he says of the Food Network programme. 'I have to taste everything and some things are amazing and some things are not so good.'

But then, he is a hard man to impress.

In the words of New York magazine, the 'Manolo Blahnik of cake makers' was fittingly responsible for the stunning, gravity-defying cake featured in Sex and the City 2 (a replica of which can be yours for a cool $32,000) and his creations have been used at movie premieres and many a star-studded wedding.

Born in Israel, Ron, 54, has lived in Manhattan since his 30s. He fell into cake making 15 years ago after a successful career in modern dance that he always knew would not last forever. 'I had to retire, I baked a lot at home - I was fascinated with the visuals and the chemistry of it.

Edible art: Ron specialises in sugar flowers and decorations. His cakes start at around $1,500 and can cost many times that - especially if a private jet is needed to transport the creation

'The cakes just started happening, it wasn't planned.'

Here in the kitchen, smells are the stuff of Willy Wonka-esque dreams - dulce de lecce and chocolatey vanilla mix with blackberry creams, velvety ganache and orange butter. It's not hard to see why Ron admits that, although a luxury item, he has to eat cake every day.

A giant vase of orchids, complete with a gold and pink flowered pattern is, it turns out, edible. Shelf upon shelf is crammed with boxes of sugar petals, leaves and tea roses in pinks, reds, white, and orange.

Cakes start at around $1,500 and can run into the many thousands - especially if private jets are needed to transport the creation, as recently happened for a client in Sweden.

The productions can take up to half a year to plan - special moulds are created and sugar details can be made weeks or months in advance of the cake being baked.

Behind the scenes: Cakes are intricately decorated by a team of specialists. Many months of planning goes into the creations, which must be baked, decorated and delivered within just three days to stay fresh

The layered confections then take just three days to make, from baking to delivery, the process a careful balance of deadlines and controlled temperatures.

His largest project was a 12 foot high replica of The Plaza Hotel, a gift from the exclusive Central Park-view institution to the city of New York in celebration of its 100th birthday.

And no matter who the client is, or how much pressure the team is under, the ethos is always the same.

'Ultimately, the philosophy is that every bride should fee like she is famous - it's her moment.'

Still, he is modest. The logistical operation of producing one cake - let alone 15 a week during the busy wedding season - is not simply about luck.

He puts a hefty portion of his success down to his Israeli military training, the discipline of which, he says, stood him in good stead for the precision needed to create such seemingly fantastical works.

Alice in Wonderland: Ron's team created the cakes for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland premiere. A hookah pip and mushrooms sit alongside the Queen of Hearts' crown and a hand of playing cards

He knows how much drive it takes to do well in the highly competitive cake industry - and has seen on Sweet Genius how far some are willing to go.

'I've seen people who will do anything to win. I've seen people who hope so much that my heart breaks when I have to eliminate them. Some people I've rooted for have made mistakes...

'You have to be ready for surprises. People either rise to the challenge or they don't.'

Star judge: As chosen by Ron, one pastry chef from four hopefuls wins $10,000 on each episode of Sweet Genius

Perhaps easier said than done given that he confesses that 'pastry chefs are very particular people - we like a controlled environment, we don't like an audience.'

This, coming from a man who once made a cake for a Sri Lankan family on the proviso that he could ride an elephant when he delivered the cake. Sure enough, he entered the town on elephant back - his cake not far behind.

As humble as Ron may be, he clearly does enjoy an audience at times: TV shows, foreign travel, royal clients - it all seems a long way from his days at art college, tinkering with baking. 

'I sometimes have to remind myself: These are cakes.'

It's not all sweetness every day - he has seen an extravagant cake delivered to the wrong address in upstate New York, a local truck company saved the day that time - and has been approached by more than a handful of 'minor celebrities who would like cakes for free.'

Still, he says, 'it's a happy profession - when you're doing something you love and you're being paid to do that...' He pauses and changes tangents, '...but if you think you're good, you're in trouble.'

Sweet Genius contestants, take note.

Sweet Genius airs Thursdays at 10pm on the Food Network.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2045682/Behind-scenes-Ron-Ben-Israel-cake-maestro-star-TV-hit-Sweet-Genius.html

Chocolate Pinecone Cake and How-to

This week I got to do a wedding cake that had sugared pine cones on it. It was based on a design from MS weddings, but the original cake had real pine cones and pine needles, which just made me think "eeeew" to myself.







I made the cones and needles out of chocolate, and I wanted to share the method that I used, since it gave a more realistic pine cone than the methods I've seen before. This is the finished cake...The icing was a pale ice blue with bands of blue chocolate at the base of the tiers.

When I see tutorials on how to make pine cones, they always start with making a cone shape out of fondant or marzipan, then sticking slivered almonds into the cone. If you look at a real pine cone, though, that isn't how they're shaped. The scales, which are the "leaves" so to speak, are attached to the center stem, and the size of the scales themselves is what gives the cone its shape. The center stem isn't cone shaped, it's fairly cylindrical.

So, I decided to try it a different way. I piped a bunch of chocolate scales and let them cool off. The trick to this, though, was that I heated the chocolate up way too much, in order to make it bloom when it cooled off. The bloom is the powdery look that chocolate gets when it hasn't been tempered correctly. For pine cones, I wanted a rough, woody look, so the bloom was what I wanted in this case.

When they cooled off, I shaped some center stems from chocolate clay and started attaching the scales with melted chocolate. When they cooled off I turned them over and did the other side so that they were actually cone-shaped.

After the cones were completely cooled off, I used some meringue powder dissolved in water to attach sugar to the ends of the scales for the sugared look.

And this is the final product, with the chocolate pine needles also added. I like the way that these cones look, as opposed to the usual way that I see them done. Everyone at the reception site came over to look at them because they looked so realistic, and I was very happy with how the cake turned out.  http://acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/2009/12/chocolate-pinecone-cake-and-how-to.html

Bûche de Noël

  Bûche de Noël is a traditional French Christmas cake shaped and decorated to look like a tree log. It's filled and frosted with silky chocolate buttercream. Crunchy meringue mushrooms are the perfect contrast. Chopped pistachios scattered around resemble moss growing on the (chocolate) log.  

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup sifted cake flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Dash of salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• Rich Chocolate Buttercream
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• Meringue Mushrooms (optional)

Preparation

Grease bottom and sides of a 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan; line with wax paper, and grease and flour wax paper. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks in a large mixing bowl at high speed with an electric mixer 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating well. Add water and vanilla. Fold in ground almonds. Gradually fold in cake flour and cocoa.

Beat egg whites at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into egg yolk mixture.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until top springs back when touched.

Sift powdered sugar in a 15- x 10-inch rectangle on a cloth towel. When cake is done, immediately loosen from sides of pan, and turn out onto sugared towel. Peel off wax paper. Starting at narrow end, roll up cake and towel together; cool completely on a wire rack, seam side down.

Unroll cake, and remove towel. Spread cake with half of Rich Chocolate Buttercream; carefully reroll. Cover and chill. Cut a 1-inch-thick diagonal slice from 1 end of cake roll.

Place cake roll on a serving plate, seam side down; position cut piece against side of cake roll to resemble a knot. Spread remaining Rich Chocolate Buttercream over cake.

Score frosting with the tines of a fork or a cake comb to resemble tree bark. Garnish with pistachios and, if desired, Meringue Mushrooms. Store cake (but not mushrooms) in refrigerator.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bche-de-nol-10000000521114/

Baby crib cake tutorial

http://thecakeprocess.weebly.com/ 

This cake was so much fun to make!!  I saw one made about 8 months ago and have been positively SEARCHING for an excuse to make it.  Finally a baby shower presented itself.  It was a combined shower for myself and a friend.  It was made quite clear to me that I was making the cake for my friend.  I was not allowed to make my own shower cake.  Someone else made me a cake, which was heaven.  I don't think anyone has actually made a cake for me since I was a kid.  

I started by making two 1 1/2 inch thick sheetcakes, lemon flavor.

I trimmed them down to just over an inch and a quarter thick and cut three pieces out approximately 6X8 1/2 inches.  The piece on the top right was left over and my family enjoyed it a few night before the shower. 

Then I started frosting and filling.  I have taken to frosting a thing layer, then adding the filling on top of the frosting.  It's much easier than torting the layers and having to deal with more layers.  This lemon cake had raspberry filling, one of my new favorite combinations.

Layer number two.

I did my usual three small layers.

Then I add a crumb coat to hold it all together.

Next I pipe on the frosting.  Most people say only use a thin layer of frosting when decorating with fondant, but I feel that since most adults don't actually eat the fondant, I like to have more frosting underneath.

And smooth it out....

I didn't worry about getting it perfectly smooth because I knew that I would be covering it up (and I had lent out both my fondant smoothers, which I use to do the final smoothing).  Then the cake goes in the fridge for the night to harden up.

Now starts the fun part.  I dyed some fondant light and bright pink.

I started by rolling out and cutting some light pink fondant to go around the center of the cake.  This was one of those projects where I didn't have any instructions, so I just creatively thought about how I could get the look I was going for and used trial and error to find my way.

After lightly spritzing the cake with water so the fondant would adhere, I applied the light pink around the entire cake.

Then I measured out how big I needed the blanket that was going to be on top.  I used my cake comb (a real comb that I bought for the purpose of cake and use solely on cakes) and made indentions (my life will be so much easier when I finally get that fondant kit that allows one to texture, or make indentions or cute borders...I really need to pick one of those up).  

Then I made a billion little tiny dots that would be used on the quilt (okay, about 60).

I stuck the dots on with a bit of water and pressed them down slightly.

When I was done with the dots, I laid the blanket across the top of the cake.  I just trimmed the corners because I knew they would be covered up by the frame of the crib anyway.

Then I added a white strip for the bottom sheet.

And a thinner light pink strip to look like I'd folded down the blanket. 

Next we needed a billion little flowers for the skirt.

I then went to work cutting out strips for the skirt.  I measured how thick I wanted them to be and went to work decorating them with the flowers (held on with a bit of water).

Then I moistened the bottom of the middle light pink strip and started attaching the crib skirt.

I took care to keep the corners pretty flat so I could put on the frame without too much interference.

Now I intentionally kept the frame until last.  I wanted to measure it exactly once the cake was made so it fit well.  I'm not much of an artist, but I got the measurements where I wanted them, then I sort of sketched the crib around those measurements.

Then I went to work making the frame.  First I taped my drawings to the bottom of the small cookie sheet.  Then I taped parchment paper over the top of the drawings (so I could see the pictures through the parchment).  I'm a HUGE fan of Candyquik, so I used that.  I melted it and put it in a piping bag with a 3 tip.  Then it was mostly trial and error, but I filled in the forms for the front, back, and both sides.  If I make this cake again, I will make them a bit thicker next time.  This worked okay, but I think they would look better and work better if they are a bit thicker.

After I was done with the frame, I set to work putting it all together.  I used royal icing to hold the first side in place, then the opposite side.  I then added the headboard and used the candy coating to hold one corner together.  I put the cake in the fridge to let it harden, then glued the second corner.  I repeated this process until all four corners were stuck, then I went and added a bit more on the corners to refine the look and strengthen it, and viola.  The cake turned out really cute!

I added a couple of details like a pillow and teddy bear, and it was finished.

BAUBLE CAKES

I have seen these little sphere cakes before but I didn’t know what to call them. After a bit of research I found out that they are called bauble cakes. They are especially popular around Christmas time, where you can decorate them as Christmas ornaments. I think they are so unique and make exceptionally beautiful cakes. This was my first time making them and I wasn’t sure what the best way to make them ways. I did some research and there wasn’t a whole lot of help out there. So I am going to share with you a couple tips that I found worked good as I experimented with making them.

First off let me say that they aren’t as tricky as they look. They look a little intimidating but they aren’t so bad. The trick is to take your time.

If you want your cakes to have a perfect sphere shape the trick is to bake them in sphere pans.Wilton sells one that will do the trick. After baking the cakes, trim off the tops so you have two perfect half spheres.

Join them together with buttercream frosting and then frost the outsides with a thin layer of frosting. Try to make them as smooth as you can. Once frosted, refrigerate them until the frosting hardens. After the frosting is hard you will be able to smooth it out better and eliminate the ridges.

If your buttercream is not smooth your final product won’t be smooth either, so take your time and make it as smooth as you can.

Cover them in fondant the way you would cover any cake. For the best results cover them right after removing them from the fridge, when the frosting is cold and hard. The process of frosting and decorating them is the same as any cake, it just take a bit more time due to the shape.

The only trick I found to get them smooth is to take your time and rub, rub, rub them.

  http://www.emmalee-design.com/cakes/bauble-cakes/

SNOWFLAKE COOKIE

Sugar cookies are a staple around Christmas time. Even though they are as simple as you can get as far as cookies go, I still love them because of their endless decorating possibilities. These snowflake cookies are one of my favorites. I’m including a very good sugar cookie recipe below, but if decorating is more your thing and you want to skip the baking there is no shame in using store bought cookie dough.

Rolled Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Make sure that the butter is at room temperature before beating it. Creaming the butter and sugar adds air to the mixture and  is one of the most important steps to follow if you want a good result.

Tip: It may take up to 8 minutes to get a smooth mixture.

Next, mix in the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla.  Mix in the flower, baking powder and salt.

Rap the dough in saran wrap and cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably overnight. I prefer to divide the dough into three sections and wrapping them individually. That way you can keep the dough cool as you work with part of it.

Tip: Roll the dough into tubes  before cooling if you are going to make round cookies. Then all you have to do is slice off 1/4 inch slices and bake.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the cooled dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut out using your favorite cookie cutter shapes. I really like snowflakes for winter time. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 6–8 minutes. Cool completely before decorating.

Now the trick to a well decorated cookie is all in the icing. If you can master the right consistency you will be able to make some really neat designs.

Royal Icing

1 egg white
3.5–4 cups powdered sugar (you probably won’t use it all)
.5 tsp lemon juice (you can always substitute and extract like vanilla)
1–2 Tbs. water
Food Coloring

Add the egg white and lemon together in a mixer. Using the paddle attachment start mixing. Slowly add small amounts of  powdered sugar at a time to the mixture making sure it is well incorporated before adding more. You may need to add a bit of water in order to get a good piping consistency which will look like whipped cream (or toothpaste), having soft peaks. Add a small amount of food coloring to create the color that you want.

Don’t worry about how much of each ingredient you are using. It is more about the consistency of the end product than it is about exact measurements. It’s a feel. It gets easier the more you make it.

To make a frosting to ‘flood’ the cookie with all you need to do is add a small amount of water to the royal icing until it becomes runny and pourable.

Tip: Before you just pour the flooding frosting over the cookie consider piping a small outline around the cookie with the piping frosting. By outlining it first with the thicker frosting you will be able to pour the flooding frosting over the cookie without it running over the sides.   http://www.emmalee-design.com/cooking/snowflake-cookies/