Captivated by Cajun Cakery's Charity
Last week I was fortunate enough to have a little bird tweet in my ear out about a charity cake tasting event at the Vixen Lounge in downtown Orlando. All the money raised at the event went directly to the Second Harvest Food bank of Central Florida, so after a Bikram yoga class my friend Michelle and I quickly prepared to eat cake, be merry, and do some donating to charity.
Sarah Mason, the cake artist of Cajun Cakery, contacted the Second Harvest Food bank to find out more about how she could help and from that act of social awareness Sarah and the representatives from the food bank organized the cake tasting event raising $475.00 from the door and raffle ticket sales. $475.00 provides 1,900 meals to the Central Florida community and a bevy of beautiful cakes for the attendees to try!
Instantly after passing through the door, I went for as many tiny cakes as I could possibly hold in my hands while trying to also photograph the beautiful spread. As you can imagine my excitement raneth over as my eyes feasted only moments before my taste buds on the following Cajun Cakery specialties:
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Fresh Raspberry Buttercream with Vanilla Butter Cake
Cream Cheese Buttercream with Orange Zest with Chocolate and Vanilla Butter Cake
Key Lime Buttercream with Vanilla Butter Cake
Peanut Butter Mousse with Chocolate Cake
Mint Buttercream with Chocolate Cake (pictured below)
And of course, cake balls. Cake balls are an ingenious invention Sarah concocted with leftover scraps of cake post a carving and buttercream. She rolls the two together, then rolls the balls in another layer of buttercream, freezes them to firm, and finally dips them in either white or milk chocolate for a small, sweet treat. I am a firm believe in waste-not, want-not so Sarah got a gold star in my book for her conscientious ways. The cake balls were an excellent party favor to bring home to loved ones, but the cake was for tasting then and there! Being a southern straight from Louisiana Sarah’s Red Velvet cake was on point fulfilling all decadent red velvet expectations. Following stuffing a whole Red Velvet cupcake in my mouth in under five seconds, all of her fruit flavored confections were my favorite to taste with the Fresh Raspberry Buttercream with Vanilla Butter Cake topping the list with it’s zing of berry straight to the palette!
A grand time was had by all, and even if I didn’t win the raffled tickets to the Taste of the Nation dinner in two weeks I enjoyed every morsel of cake and every introduction made at the event. Sarah Mason’s bubbly energy is contagious and her talent for cake artistry un-deniable. After the event I was able to interview Sarah about her cakery ways.
Did you attend culinary school and if so which? Or, are you self-taught and if so, can you describe a bit about your personal training?
No I did not attend culinary school but I have always wanted to. I love food and love the Food Network. I always watch the cake challenges and one day while watching one I pretty much decided, hey I can do that. So I purchased a Kitchen Aid Mixer, made some fondant, and the rest is pretty much history. I have taught myself by watching others, reading blogs, and trial and error.
Do you consider yourself a pastry chef or a baker and why?
I don't really consider my self either, more of a cake artist. Yes baking and creating flavors is a main component and a big one but the thing that draws them in is the visual aspects of the cakes. That is also the part that takes the most time. Sometimes a cake can take a week or more from start to finish to complete.
Do you bake outside the cake box? Meaning, do you enjoy crafting cookies, breads, tarts, etc?
I love all sweets but mainly stick to cake. I would love to start doing more decorated cookies just haven't really found the time.
Have you found Orlando is receptive to the custom cake market?
My business is still new so I'm not really sure. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens J
How did you select your flavors for the tasting?
Most of the flavors I selected were for really selfish reasons. I wanted a bit of me to come out in the event so I sat down and just thought, "If I were to eat cake right now, what would I want."
What happened to the enormous multiple-tier cake with Second Harvest logo after the event?
HAHA! All of our cakes at the event were display cakes (meaning made out of Styrofoam and not real cake) all of the decorations were made of sugar, using the display pieces helps when doing events of this magnitude and the displays last for quite a while.
For more info: To find out more about Sarah and her Cajun Cakery, check out her website www.cajuncakery.com. To find out how you can follow her example and work with or donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, please also visit their website at www.foodbankcentralflorida.org. If you also adored the photography, please visit Harry Lim’s website at www.harrylimphotography.com.
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