The Pike Gang! Just Too Much Fun!

UGH!! Has it been so long since I've last written? OMG I need to get on the ball with blogging, or else...

So much has been going on these last few weeks I dare not give out too much information (I'll definetly be keeping that info for several more posts, in due time;-) don't want to spill the confetti here...)

Let's put it this way: Miss Kitsch has plenty of open kitchen cupboards, full of sweet projects and surprises. It is all incredibly sweet and exciting and I'm just dying here, holding back.

However, the only bitter part has been the utter lack of sleep that comes with massive preparation. Tomorrow, Miss Kitsch heads out to ice hockey camp with Miles, my shining star. Despite me not being very "outdoorsy" or "adventurous" (as in sleeping in a room filled with bunk beds and several other people (who might snore:-O), I swear I am so sleep deprived at this point in time that I would happily sleep outside on the pavement if it meant that I could sleep a whole 6-7 hours all-in-one-piece!!!!

So really, this Ice Hockey Lager is exactly what I need right now! I can replenish my empty batteries and come back home with ideas galore!

Since July I've been wanting to post this, but never got around to it. I gave a private cupcake workshop to a fine bunch of Anglo ex-pats, including an Aussie! It was tooooo much fun! A fine bunch they were and among the group was a very skilled, artistic young man. He created some amazing designs. Ms Kitsch was impressed. He took plenty of pictures too! Here they are. Enjoy!

Introduction and orientation

Ms Kitsch demonstrating how to decorate...

Veryyyyyy concentrated

A sprinkle here, a sprinkle there...

What's that? LOL

Ahhhhhh, yes of course! Add some Royal Icing details and Presto!

This story was the best: This lovely lady from Australia works in a bakery that sells cupcakes--but she didn't know how to make them. The irony is that she had to come to Switzerland to learn how to make them (and they don't sell cupcakes in Swiss bakeries...LOL!!)

The Birthday girl checking out "The Best Of" finished product!

Verrrrryyy cute, guys!

"Say Kiiiiiitsch!" (for the camera)

It was fab meeting all of you! Keep in touch! :-D

Big Hugs and Sweet Cheers!

ModeinSwiss.ch

Since a couple of months now, I have had the pleasure of meeting many interesting people, mostly thanks to Kitschcakes.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Nancy, a "fashion Blogger", who had the idea of a fashion photo session in the whimsical environment of the Casa del Kitschcakes.

I agreed, despite knowing full well that I would be baking and decorating up a storm, just for the photo appeal.

So Miss Kitsch put on her apron and got baking...and decorating....for days! Then suddenly I stumbled across a party favor website here in Switzerland called: "confetti box".

I was super excited!! I found tons of cool, colorful party must have's: colorful table cloths, matching dishes, cool vintage banners, cake pics, balloons and the ULTIMATE dessert table MUST: paper vintage straws!!!!!! OMG!! I nearly lost it when I found these cute retro-looking straws! So I HAD to have 'em...in every color! (because you just never know...it's always good to have everything in every color...just in case;-)

Here they are, these pretty little things......

...standing next to my Vintage authentic bubble gum machine from the 1920's (It's a Ford brand, and all it cost back then was a penny!!) Can you say inflation?? ;-)

Cute cupcake pops in the background...

Nancy experimenting with those straws...

Tea party pops!

I'm a little teapot, short and stouts...

...eating the Cake, out of the Cup...

Nancy going for a little stroll in the garden, sipping her Kitsch Cocktail...

à la prochaine Nancy!!

photos by: Greg

A historical August 1st

Today is August 1st, which means Switzerland has its Birthday! Born in 1291, that would mean that our Confedera Helvetica is 720 years old!

For Kitschcakes, August 1st will always have a certain significance and this is why:

This time last year, I sent one of my favorite politicians, Christophe Blocher, a cookie collection made especially for him. Since I don't know him personally, it was difficult for me to come up with a personalized design. However, I do know that he loves his country.

Knowing this, I decided to create a "Blocher Cookie Collection", consisting of sacred Swiss cows, Edelweiss (the Swiss national flower), Swiss flags, and alps.

So I sent these cookies off to him and his wife, not really thinking much about it.

Well, 2 weeks later, to my shocking surprise, I received an email from a luxurious biscuit chain here in Switzerland: "Läckerli-Huus". It turns out that the CEO of Läckerli-Huus is Mr. Blocher's daughter! And as fate would have it, she was visiting her parents the weekend of August 1st and it is then and there that she discovered Kitschcakes!

To make a long story short, Mrs Blocher thought it would be great to incorporate my Kitschy cookies into her assortment. After many months of discussing designs, testing and controlling for quality, labelling etc, the very first collection was herded into all 11 Läckerli-Huus stores all around Switzerland in May 2011.

The first collection of cows and butterlies sold out within 3 weeks, and so a second bunch were produced and shipped out in July.

Fingers crossed that the Kitschcakes become a staple in all of Läckerli-Huus stores:-)

On a personal note, of all the incredible highlights I have experienced in my lifetime (and I assure you, there were many of them!), this episode definitely ranks up there near the top.

On Monday August 9th 2011 at 10:30, I picked up my iPhone to read my emails. I was working at the dental office at the time (dental hygiene). After reading the email from Läckerli-Huus, I remember vividly how I felt: it was one of those rare moments in my life where everything became suddenly blurry and I became weak in the knees. I thought "Thank You GOD", someone who sees what I see...

Somebody pinch me please..........

Swiss Helvetic Collection from my kitchen:

Sent off to Blocher's home:

Where they landed in their new home: Läckerli-Huus of Switzerland.

Life really is like a box of chocolates... (or in my case like a box of cookies)....you just never know what you're going to get!

Thank Goodness for those who walk through life with their eyes wide open!

The History of Cupcakes (or so the story goes...)

Stumbled across this cute little video not too long ago and it made me smile. Thought I'd share with you, in case you were ever wondering what was the story behind these cute little cakes.

N'Joy! :-D

Sweet Greetz,

Le Petit Prince

I think that one of the most gratifying things about what I do is the fact that I have met some pretty great people on my promenade "Off the Beaten Path" this past year.

One of the best things about cake decorating is that, people who find it as cool as I do are often a little crazy like myself! (so we immediately have something in common and usually hit it off straight away;-)

One particular person who comes to mind is "Miss Doudou", who is creator of something really cool called "La Doudouterie":

Her logo here:

One very fine day, Miss Doudou contacted Miss Kitsch, to inquire about getting a customized cake done for her baby boy's baptism. Ms Kitsch suggested they meet in person to discuss all the details about this fab cake and so they did...in the SugarCasa. Details here...

During our meeting, I discovered many interesting things about Miss Doudou. Mainly that she customizes "Doudous" (stuffed animals). According to your wishes, she can design and create your own unique stuffed animal that is truly one-of-a-kind. I found this concept to be too cool and I must also add that Miss D has a keen eye for design. Her creations are personalized to the last detail as you can see for yourself while browzing her Blog.

The cake featured above was to be the Masterpiece at the event, and it had tremendous success. The Event's color theme was blue in every shade, and golden crowns were to be seen everywhere. On top of that, mini Wespas with candies attached to them were being given out to all guests to take home as a little souvenir. The cake had to represent all of these elements and, as you can see, I think we managed to design it appropriately.

Making this cake was truly a pleasure for me, mainly because I have added another person to my répertoire of "Kindred Spirits". And to this fact, all I can say is:

"Que la vie est belle!"

Cookie Blues

I found something verrrry sweeeeeet, that I simply HAD to share.

Enjoy :-D

Los Cupcakes OLé!!! :-D

Last week was quite memorable. On Tuesday night, I had the great pleasure of greeting 7 guests at my SugaShack. The goal of the soirée was to surprise Aïda with a birthday outing. Apparently Aïda was (get this...) fan of Kitschcakes:-D so her friends/co-workers thought it would be a great idea to celebrate Kitsch-Style, which makes Miss Kitsch verrrrrry happy!

The soirée started out with a small tour of the SugaShack, followed by various technical demonstrations on cupcake decorating. Since Aïda was "La Star", the theme of the soirée revolved around her likes and interests. This took some much appreciated brain-storming from her friend and organizer "Karin", but we managed to decorate our cupcakes "Spanish-Style", since Aïda is from there originally.

We decorated los Cupcakes con Spanish flags, fans, a hat that Aïda had purchased one week before while in Madrid, and Spanish roses. Of course some of the creations ran wild!

A little glimpse right here:

A side view here:

Everyone arranging los Cupcakes on the stand and Miss Kitsch doing what she does best: Laughing LOUD ;-D

Miss Kitsch even created a couple give-aways for each guests: Cupcake Pops in rojo y amarillo:-) and Spanish Flag cookies written "Aïda" (souvenir:-)

Here is a group photo after having un poco Prosecco. Notice how several people are wearing PINK?? Gotta LOVE that! Aïda seemed SOOOO happy!! Gotta love that even more!!!

Aïda, let me mention once more: I am not at all surprised that your friends went to great lengths to make you feel special on your special day. You are un Rayon de Soleil! :-D

Your enthusiasm for life is so contagious and your positive attitude is numbing. May you never change how you are and may we meet again for more great times!

Au revoir Aïda y gracias por todo!!!

Funky Kitchen Club meets Kitschcakes VIDEO

Oh my Gosh! To say that this past week was insane would be an understatement. SO much has happened and it's been literally life-changing.

Last Wednesday the Funky Kitchen Club meets Kitschcakes episode finally aired. And little did I know, this historical cupcake episode came with lots of unexpected side effects.

For starters I received a phone call from Canal3, requesting a radio interview a few hours before the show...in GERMAN!! I was like "oh my goodness how the hell am I going to pull that one off??". As though the woman who phoned me could read my thoughts, she proposed to send me the interview questions in advance... (DUH??!!)

I happily accepted so I could very well prepare...

If that weren't enough, Mathias and I had to be at the Hotel Bellevue in Bern, to get ready with hair and make-up preparations to go on national TV / TSR "LIVE" (omg!!). The show was due at 20:10, and the Funky Kitchen Club was airing at 20:00.

Anyway, all of this stress and excitement was enough to last me a little while. While I was seated, waiting for the "Live" show to go on the air, I had my iPhone and was monitoring my emails and texts that were piling in. It was so exciting, but strange at the same time.

The few days following the Funky Kitchen Club meets Kitschcakes episode were spent answering the hundreds upon hundreds of emails from all over Switzerland. It's as though people were woken up out of their intense comas, and they suddenly discovered that there is a whole exciting Cake universe out there, ready to be explored!

On the night of the "Live" show I didn't want to show up empty-handed, but didn't really know who I should create something for. Then I thought of the make-up artist who I had to see first thing and then said to myself: "hey, why don't I create a kit for her!", and so I did,

and here is it:

Before I left I handed this over to her and said "Merci, for doing such a great job!". I think she was completely shocked, as this was totally unexpected. She was speechless, and so I was happy: Mission Accomplie! :-D

Funky Kitchen Club meets Kitschcakes preview...

Well here is it, a little written extract of what will be aired tomorrow night. I'm kinda nervous about it, but at least the pictures posted on this page are okay...(my hair, I mean ;-)

Check out the Funky Kitchen Club's homepage for more info!

Sweet Cheers!

Pro7 vs TSR

LOTS has been going on at the SugaShack these past few weeks. So much in fact, that I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be able to climb out alive!

A little over one year ago Kitschcakes was merely an idea that popped into my head after returning from Cake Mecca in Chicago. One year later, Miss Kitsch has a fully equipped SugaShack , a classroom and a stock room. It is exquisitely decorated and an inspirational location for all aspiring decorators!

These past few weeks were very hectic because, parallel to executing the many orders I received for customized cakes, cookies and cupcakes, I had workshops and classes going on. This is business as usual.
However, the unexpected events that unfolded were rare opportunities that I simply had to take in: an opportunity to take part in an episode of the Funky Kitchen Club with René Schudel

This amazing experience completely opened my eyes to what really goes on behind the scenes of reality TV. The crew filmed the entire day and even stayed until late evening in order to film the cake decorating class that took place that night. My girls were such great sports about it all! A little camera shy of course (Miss Kitsch included), but they were awesome and I am so happy that they were able to take part in this historical moment.

On Wednesday night, the episode will be aired on Prosieben Schweiz at 20:00, and on Sunday night at 18:00. Ironically, I won't even be able to watch it on Wednesday because I will be in Bern with Mat (my hub), taking part in a political show that will be filmed LIVE on TSR (national TV)
And ironically once again, because I will be in Bern on LIVE TV, I won't be able to view the "TSR Mégaphone" show (which will also bring a few minutes of Miss Kitsch in the SugaShack.)

So in a nutshell, Kitschcakes will be talked about on the most popular Swiss german TV cooking show in Switzerland as well as the most popular French Swiss TV channel on the same night, and Miss Kitsch will not be able to watch and judge if her hair looks good or not;-)

Thank goodness for YouTube, because in the end that's where I'm going to see if I made a fool out of myself or not;-)

Sweet Cheers to all!