Fake Cake Float: The Conclusion of the Failure Tour (Hartford City, IN)

I tried to see many of these pools on the list above, but after careful research, some were not what I was initially searching for (too much like a water park, copious amounts of people, etc.) and the weather was certainly not on my side. Today was the most relaxing, fun day of the entire summer (and that's saying a lot since I've been on vacation since Cinco de Mayo). Muncie produced a few failures but thirty minutes north in Scott and Kim Anderson's inflatable pool in Hartford City was a success!



There were a lot of experiments of things that had potential on previous photo shoots and of course, Hannah and I answered the question on how much arm power it would take to submerge one of the largest cakes (standing on it proved impossible). I love how it looks like real glaze the moment the "chocolate" is wet.







I have also been thinking about having a person holding the cake while under water and this is the better one of those images.



Here is one way to photograph Natalie's little cakes (though the best way will be posted on this blog at the completion of the ninth cake float). Kim and Hannah are in the background.



Hannah, by the way, is using the best pool toy ever, the crab!



Strawberries delivered straight to the pool via Kim.



The calm before the storm (which blew all the inflatable pool toys in the yard) and the ladder that I used to take most of today's photographs.



After spending seven hours in and out of the pool, eating a three course meal plus dessert, we spent some time with the chickens (Hannah is holding Buffy):



Hannah and Scott spent some quality time with the guitar.



We examined the new "moss boulder" which looked to me like a well manicured bush growing in the fish tank.



Feeding time!





Needless to say, Hannah and I are contemplating a trip to that heinous store Rural King just to look at inflatable pools because this one defined "paradise" if not for one day.

... and FINALLY... In celebration of many things... the last day Hannah has to wake up at 6:30 AM, it's nearly the longest day of the year, and the very last of all the swimming pool photo shoots, I bought a waterproof camera (to be developed this weekend). We'll see if anything comes from that but in the meantime...



I am over half way done with the cakes! Three more trips to go! The slice was shipped to the NW today and I'm gearing up for the next, most impossible float yet. Forewarning: Yikes!

Glazed Avocado Cupcake

Just in case I lose this cake over the falls...

...here is a photograph. "Hey Laura, wanna come over and pose for me wearing a white dress, a blond wig and holding a fake cake?" turned into "Crap! Hide from the census taker and ooh let's spy on my cop neighbors through the blinds in the living room until they all go away."



I have way too many rules with this project. Even the photographs that don't involve a cake in the water need to be photographed outdoors in the sunshine. Thanks for squinting into the light, letting my cats sniff every inch of your clothing/props, and putting up with my idiosyncrasies Laura!

An amazing thing....

Apparently I brought so little to Austin that the cake fit in my suitcase on the way back. I thought about trying to carry-on these cakes numerous times but fear the sharp sticks pounded into them when they were drying would be deemed knives.


Also.... Maura Jasper suggested, in the spirit of documentation, to write each float on the bottom (location, date, etc.). Adios Texas! Four times in one year... who would have thought?

Hey Cupcake!

It's ironic how floating fake cakes makes everyone famished for a real dessert. On the way home from Barton Springs, Nicole and I stopped at Hey Cupcake! It beat "Big Fat Donuts" by a small margin (I thought the cupcake sign would be more aesthetically pleasing than the doughnut food truck). There are a couple locations (the other is in an actual Airstream but this incorporates it in another way).



I was really going to get the 24 Carrot which is a rarity for me but they were out. Michael Jackson (chocolate on the inside and white on the outside) was the next best bet.



Clockwise from the left: Vanilla Dream, Sweetberry, and Michael Jackson for the road.



The sun was not positioned well to take a good photograph of the rotating cupcake. Instead here is one floating in the sky. FYI: This location is near the Little Longhorn Saloon which specializes in Chicken Shit Bingo on Sunday nights. It's world famous - you should go (Shannon, ahem).

Fake Cake Float: Barton Springs, Austin, Texas

My previous two visits to Austin nine years ago featured visiting the Hotel San Jose (so someone else could write a feature about it in Canvas magazine and then we had the luxury of staying there as a gift for the published article). Nicole and I happened to have lunch across the street before heading to Barton Springs and the complex was tempting me to trespass. So we did. The pool was just as small and dark as I remember it to be but this time not so inviting and full of leaves.



It was a VERY crowded day at Barton Springs so parking was difficult. We lucked out and found a space moderately close and the sun was also shining more often than not. The springs were freezing as usual and Nicole's expression tells all.



Food is NOT allowed in the springs and we were nearly scolded twice for bringing cake onto the premises. If you juggle it in your hand like you are going to drop it, lifeguards come to believe it's fake pretty fast. Texas wins first prize with nosy/confused/questioning people though. Nicole and I even caught a woman touching the cake when she thought no one was looking. She jumped considerably when Nicole yelled, "Hey! Couldn't resist huh?" and I wagged my finger at her.



More "people watching."



I knew I had to bring a green cake to Texas, particularly Barton Springs (and little did I know Hamilton Pool would fit so well). Once the sun was out, the different hues in the water and the cake went together perfectly.



This was the first time the fishing line was used and it brought a pleasant aesthetic surprise: the ripples around it were circular when dragged around. In the final two photographs (still deciding which to print), the fishing line is not visible. The sun was behind the clouds for this image as well.



Unfortunately, the fishing line collected a lot of algae which does not fall under the "enticing" category.





This cake was the toughest one to photograph. It spent so much time in the water because the exposures were so difficult to get, the "frosting" along the bottom is now deteriorating. So now it is officially retired as of the 13th June 2010.

Greetings from Barton Springs

I learned that the cake decorating ladies at Marsh on Tillotson in Muncie were accommodating to unusual requests. "Would you write this text on this piece of matboard for me?" "I guess." "It's for a photograph." "Ohhhhh! Okay." I asked for the color that most closely resembles "swimming pool blue." It needed a refill (a popular color for graduation cakes). There was a pause in the handwriting on an account of an air bubble and most significantly, she would not place it in a box with Marsh's name on it because they could get sued if anyone got sick eating a cake that wasn't made by them. My response: "Even if this is a piece of matboard?" "Yes." So she hunted through the garbage and found a box that had cake particles adhered to the edges and placed my text inside.

















Although I liked Hamilton Pool better, the cake was truly made to be photographed at Barton Springs.

Two fitting attachments in the inbox today...

From Molly:



From Randy:

Fake Cake Float: Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve, Travis County, Texas

We started the day off with my favorite pancakes on the planet (we are talking about potential last meal here: Banana and Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes at the Magnolia Cafe on Congress in Austin, Texas). It was also Nicole's birthday. Happy 30th!!!



The Lime Green cake arrived safely and was packed in the back seat ready for our drive to Hamilton Pool.







It was a muggy 94 degrees with sporadic sun. Let's just say the water felt great after the 1/4 mile steep hike down to the pool.



We spotted a couple LARGE catfish (visible in the middleground) and three small turtles swimming in the water.



Although I took the camera in the water for the first time today (yikes), I was not this person who had her non waterproof camera submerged half way in the water for over 20 minutes.



Nicole jumped in too only after we had to answer the question, "Is your cake a container?" i.e. are we hiding alcohol or a dog in it? No.



Hamilton Pool is beautiful though hard to photograph with such a dark cave-like background and bright sky above.





Nicole's amazing photo of Lime Green along the path to the falls.



"Is this a wedding cake?" "Excuse me. I don't mean to bother you but is that a cake?"







Dragonflies were attracted to the cake today.



This was the hardest photo shoot yet: sporadic sun, bad exposures because of the very dark background and very light top of the cake, and the focus is off. Not a successful day but I have one more option on Sunday (come on sunshine!!!).

OBSESSED!

I've become a great deal obsessed lately. No surprise there but no worries: my new interest involves my next acquisition coming soon to an Apple store near me on the 24th June. In the meantime, here are two of my favorite edible Natalie Phillips cakes (she considers the barrel cactus one of her best cake decorations and I would have to agree - viva the Sonoran desert!):






Tired of styrofoam and caulk? Try this recipe. [Unfortunately a photograph did not exist of this appalling, I mean appealing creation.]

"Fake cakes are often used for display purposes in restaurants and bakeries, and fake cakes can be used to create an everlasting decorative display at home. A fake cake displayed on a kitchen counter or dining room table is especially appealing when a home is for sale and on display for potential buyers. The appearance of a freshly baked cake, fake or otherwise, provides an inviting feeling of warmth and comfort.

Ingredients:

To make a fake cake for display purposes you will need black and white newspaper, a paper shredder, water, a blender, table salt, white craft glue, a rubber spatula, cooking spray, a bundt pan, scissors, acrylic craft paint, talcum powder, and a pretty cake plate to display your finished fake display cake. You might also consider buying a cake scented candle to add realism to your fake cake display. The scent of cake wafting through the air will confirm the authenticity of the fake cake on display in your home or place of business.

Procedure

Begin making your fake cake by pouring two cups of warm water in an electric blender. Add about three cups of shredded black and white newspaper, and blend the mixture on high speed. Stir the mixture and push it down as necessary. Blend in additional shredded newspaper until the paper pulp is the consistency of thick batter. Pour or spoon the newspaper pulp into a bowl, and mix in three tablespoons of white craft glue, and three tablespoons of table salt. The salt will keep the paper mixture from becoming moldy.

After making the fake cake batter, spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press the fake cake batter onto the sides and bottom of the bundt pan. Make the edges as neat and as even as possible. Keep in mind this fake display cake will be hollow inside, and the fake cake batter should completely cover the sides.

Allow the fake display cake to dry and harden in a warm location such as outside in the sun. After the fake cake is completely dry, turn the bundt pan over, and the fake display cake should fall out. If the fake cake requires a little help, simply loosen the edges with a rubber spatula. If the base of the fake display cake is jagged or makes the cake lopsided, trim it accordingly with scissors.

Paint the fake display cake a realistic shade of golden brown so it looks like it just came out of the oven. Allow the paint to dry completely, and finish making the fake display cake by placing it on a cake plate, and powder the top with a light dusting of talcum powder."

Floating Like a Cork

Part of me longs for a return trip back to the Great Salt Lake to float a cake off Smithson's Spiral Jetty. I found this postcard my father gave me to me a couple years ago tonight and it made me think of Jerry Saltz spotting a "big fat naked man" upon his visit to the famous earthwork. In addition, I wonder whether the cakes would even sink an inch in salt water, hovering just over the surface reading the New Yorker. I bet it would leave a nice white residue over the caulk frosting.