Skip to main content

Chef Cyndi

By now you should know that I love sharing.  For this Good Thing I want to introduce you to one of my favorites.  My dear and long-time friend, Cyndi, is a talented pastry chef who creates exquisite pastry & confections that are not only beautiful, but truly delicious.  Having trained at the California School of Culinary Arts, chef Cyndi bakes, cooks, caters & hosts television segments for morning television in Los Angeles.  What I love about her cakes, cookies and pastries is that she pays attention to the details.  Not only does she use the very best ingredients, she also provides great imagination & artistry in her work.  One of my all time favorite cakes from the many she's created & shared with me, is a wedding cake she made for a couple on the Mexican holiday, el dia de los muertos (the day of the dead).  I think you'll agree with me that it's quite special and unique.  Here's a small sampling of Chef Cyndi's work for you to enjoy. 

   

❧❧❧❧❧



This lovely cake was made for a Dia de Los Muertos birthday party.  The combination of royal icing, fondant and many bright colors make this cake unlike any other.




My favorite, a Dia de Los Muertos bridal shower cake.  This cake is cloaked in a beautiful shade of orange fondant and is given minimal flourishes.  The matching marigolds, called cempazuchitl or zempasuciti, are skillfully placed here and there.  The expressive and colorful sugar skulls, typical decor for Day of the Dead (celebrated November 2 in Mexico) crown the cake.  Simply beautiful!



This cake was truly special.  Chef Cyndi made it to celebrate her brother's wedding just last year.  A delicious 3 tiered cake decorated in a black & white theme, with two red flowers & a skeleton bride and groom cake topper (those were used in the wedding invitations), made it a memorable centerpiece.  A delicious work of art!  



For a baby's first birthday, Chef Cyndi created woodland themed confections.  This beautiful cupcake for the birthday girl was topped with an adorable chocolate doe.  How cute & special is this?



Whimsical sugar cookies hand decorated with such sweet mushrooms, sit on a cake stand for party guests.  I've never seen such lovely mushrooms in my life.



Wouldn't your sweet sixteen appreciate a cake like this one?  Angled layers almost make this cake seem Tim Burtonesque in style (very unique!).  It was a definite hit with all the party guests.



A seaside wedding in Malibu, California deserves nothing less than perfection.  This chocolate marble cake is given a raspberry filling and a coating of buttercream.  It is then cloaked in fondant tinted a beautiful shade of robin's egg blue and is given hand molded coral.   


A top view.  Beautiful, don't you think?



A croquembouche drizzled with caramel was provided for guests to pull apart.  The puffs themselves were filled chocolate, vanilla & coffee pastry cream.  Delicious! 



❧❧❧❧❧


If you happen to live in Southern California and wish to make your next celebration truly special, contact Chef Cyndi.  You can see more of her work on Facebook, by clicking here and liking her company page.  You can also email her for more information at: nala623@hotmail.com.  I love knowing talented people who create beauty and are willing to share; my friend Cyndi is such a person.  It's no wonder why I consider this talented pastry chef's work and creations, not only among my favorites, but also among the best Good Things.  Thank you Cyndi!


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank You for Posting!

Popular posts from this blog

Antique Salt Cellars

There was a time when salt cellars played an important role on the dining table for the host or hostess.  As a result of it being such an expensive commodity several hundred years ago, salt was seen as a luxury and it was the well to do that made salt cellars quite fashionable & a status symbol for the home.  A single salt cellar usually sat at the head of the table and was passed around throughout the meal.  The closer one sat to the salt cellar, the more important one was deemed by the head of the household.  Smaller cellars that were more accessible and with an open top became a part of Victorian table settings.  Fast forward to the 20th century when salt was no longer a luxury and when anti caking agents were added to make salt free-flowing, and one begins to see salt cellars fall out of fashion.  Luckily for the collector and for those of us who like to set a table with Good Things , this can prove to be a boon. Salt cellars for the table come in silver, porcelain, cut glass
50 comments
Read more

Collecting Jadeite

With its origins dating back to the 1930s, jadeite glassware began its mass production through the McKee Glass Co. in Pennsylvania. Their introduction of the Skokie green & Jade kitchenware lines ushered in our fascination with this jade color.  Glassmakers catered jadeite to the American public as an inexpensive alternative to earthenware soon after the Depression, both for the home and for its use in restaurants.  The Jeanette Glass Company and Anchor Hocking introduced their own patterns and styles, which for many collectors, produced some of the most sought after pieces.  Companies marketed this beautiful glass under the monikers of jadite , jadeite , jade glass , jad-ite , jade-ite , so however you want to spell it, let it draw you in for a closer look.  If you want a thorough history of the origins of jadeite, collectors’ pricing, patterns & shapes (don’t forget the reproductions in 2000), I highly suggest picking up the book by Joe Keller & David Ross called, Jadei
48 comments
Read more

A Tour of Turkey Hill with Martha Stewart and Friends

Martha Stewart led an intimate tour of her former Westport, Connecticut home and gardens for a few of my friends this past weekend.  From the photographs I've seen of that special day, it was an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime by those who were in attendance.  As much as I regret not going to this momentous occasion, my friends were kind enough to allow me to share their amazing photographs here on the blog. Let's take a tour of Turkey Hill with Martha Stewart and a few of my friends. Without the kindness of Jeffrey Reed, Dennis Landon, Darrin David, Anthony Picozzi and Colin Eastland, this post would not be possible.  It must also be stated that the fundraising event was graciously hosted by the current owners of Turkey Hill, the Bergs. Many thanks to the Berg family for opening up the property. Turkey Hill is the Federal style home that was purchased, renovated and landscaped by Martha Stewart and her then husband, Andy, back in 1970.  It was he
17 comments
Read more