A Food Lover’s Cake Blog Review
Being the avid foodie that I am, I immediately knew what kind of blog my review would pay homage to. A food blog!! Food is something that I believe brings people together, either online or in person. I find myself constantly on Pinterest searching through recipes that I could use and share with my friends and family. Thus, I knew that Pinterest would be a wonderful source for the kind of blog that I was looking for. And to no surprise, I found this gem:
Created by Chef Eileen Gray, the owner of The Cake Art Studio in Paoli, PA, this blog documents all of Gray’s cake creations for her clients (usually coming in for wedding and birthday requests). The eye candy has been regularly flowing since January 2010, the site’s birth date.
I find that the blog itself isn’t as decorative as the other cooking/baking blogs that I’ve come across, but its content certainly makes up for any loss in that department. The Cake Art Studio’s blog is 100% adverstiment-free, so browsing the site is pleasant. The site’s layout is simple: contributors, favorite sites, followers, and blog archives are on the left, while the blog posts are to the right. There is nothing complicated about it whatsoever. Other than the blog’s banner, there aren’t any fancy graphics to make note of, so the blog posts are the real stars of the show here.
To be honest, I didn’t pay attention to the date of the last Cake Art Studio blog post until I started writing this review, so I had no idea that the last upload was on December 10, 2011. Chef Eileen has probably been super busy these past two years!! Anyway, prior to the blog’s current hiatus, Gray posted randomly. Usually, it was once every 2-3 weeks, give or take a few. However, when she did upload a post, there was a lot of content in it. The cool thing about her posts is that she gives a detailed background story to each cake (i.e, who the client was, what the occasion was). She even posted photos of some of the creation process:
As an artist, it’s really cool for me to see the process by which art is created. Through her step-by-step photos, I could even try making this stuff myself.
I like that Gray is casual and funny in her writing (example: “I sometimes have a very strange job. I just finished painting pink and green plaid onto tiny sugar pants on a tiny sugar golfer”) yet manages to be very instructive and detailed in her posts. Judging by her last upload date, it doesn’t seem she’s too intent on building a social media empire through this blog. There aren’t many comments, either; usually the commentators are the clients for whom the cakes were made. Popular or not, this simplistic blog is great. The only negative feedback I would give it is that Chef Eileen should consider uploading a LOT more, because otherwise it would be a waste to let the blog sit there untouched. Other than that, though, I recommend everyone reading this to give this lovely blog a scroll.
This might be a bit of a stretch, but when I saw this photo on Gray’s facebook extension,
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151686068423856&set=pb.315324648855.-2207520000.1379288343.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-frc1%2F1013485_10151686068423856_868087044_n.jpg&size=960%2C793
I couldn’t help thinking of PaperPastels.If you haven’t already watched her videos, she makes and reviews small candy kits that are created to resemble other foods. The kits are sort of like less expensive Japanese versions of Easy Bake ovens. Definitely recommend her channel, and the fact that she speaks English is a plus.
Here is a link to a PaperPastels tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxH4Izlp3RQ
I would love to try this one, but I don’t think they sell these in the US.
Oh my gosh thank you so much for introducing me to PaperPastels!!! I looooove Asian goods and all the interesting gadgets they have, so these videos are going to be fun to watch.
Yay! You have just made my day. I think PaperPastels also provides information on where you can buy the Popin Cookin Kits. They look so fun to make.
Knowing Anna I am not surprised that her review was based on a food blog. It is actually amazing how chefs create decorations such as that flower above. Personally, I would probably never put any of these hints and tips to use but knowing Anna she most likely will, and when she does hopefully I will be around to taste some of her creations. When reading or watching something food related I usually get hungry. Also Anna mentioned that her last post was in December 2011, Do u think maybe she just abandoned the blog since then or perhaps she will randomly post again one day?
As a cake baker/decorator myself, I was intrigued while scrolling down this blog page. Even though the traffic on this page is not much, this does not take away from the page’s appealing, simplistic format and comments. What really caught my attention was the quality of the photographs; they really zoomed right in to display the intricacies and painstaking details of the cakes. I also loved that the language of the blog was very casual–almost as if the blogger was talking directly to me. But, I do agree with you that the number of posts is quite insufficient for my liking. I loved what was there though–it just would be cool if there was more of it. 🙂
Chef Gray’s blog kind of reminds me of the show Cake Boss. I really love how for certain posts there are multiple pictures that show step by step how the cakes were constructed. Some of them look extremely difficult, like the baby head from the post entitled Jessica’s Doppleganger. Although I do like baking from time to time, it’s also fun to just look at how others do it. It’s too bad that Gray didn’t continue posting. This is one of those blogs I can continue scrolling through without getting bored.
Susan, thanks for putting me on the spot!! Just kidding. I’m sorry if I made you hungry, but I also think that I can take some ideas from this blog and make them come true!
I agree with everyone when they say that they wish that Grey didn’t put her blog on hiatus. I would have loved to see more, too. Luckily, there are many other cake blogs out there that we can ogle!
If anyone else has watched “Cake Boss” on TLC before, you’d know how much effort and creativity is involved in making these eye-catching and edible masterpieces. This blog does a great job of displaying the cakes through the photography, especially in the step-by-step photos of how to make the roses that you linked. It’s true that the layout is very simple but I feel like that brought out the details and intricate decorations of all the cakes. Normally I don’t put a lot of attention towards cooking as art but this blog opened my eyes, showing me how food can be aesthetically pleasing while being delicious.
Thanks Anna for opening up my eyes to the world of food blogs. I love cooking and baking, and eating my food. But I also LOVE watchings chefs make different types of food. When I was younger I used to watch Food Network all the time. I was fascinated by all the different cuisines. I was also mesmerized by the all the cake competitions. I truly believe that cooking is an art. However, I never really thought to look at blog sites on food. I really like this blog and I hope to continue looking at food blogs.
I like that you posted step by step photos of the creation of a rose. It captured me in to the blog even more.
I personally enjoy baking so this site was awesome and inspirational. Like Anna mentioned, it should be posted on more often so the audience can see Gray’s creations. I must admit I was skeptical as to how a cake blog would incorporate art, however, after seeing the “Call of Duty” cake and her many other creations, I’ve been reminded why it is referred to as “culinary arts”.