October | 2014 | Sundays at Lark

One of my favorite cakes to make for the non-cake people out there is this Buttery Raspberry Lemon Cake that I cut out of Sunset magazine. Do non-cake eaters really exist, you ask? Yes and my sister is one of them. I have made this cake on several occasions, including my sister’s birthday, and it is simple and delicious. It was also the perfect thing to make on a busy weekend when I was in charge of bringing dessert to a family dinner. But, the fact that I not only made the cake amidst the constant chaos that is my home on the weekends and managed to take a few photos is the small victory.

This is one of the most important things that I took home from the amazing workshop I did a few weeks ago. It doesn’t have to be some huge production to take a styled food photo. You just need great natural light (which fortunately I have an abundance of in my house), a nice surface (one of which I painted at the workshop) and a simple display of what you have made. While perhaps someday I will have the time to shoot beautiful step-by-step instructions like Joy the Baker, another favorite of mine, for now I will be happy with a few shots I am proud of and a very tasty cake.

Click here for the recipe.

Buttery Raspberry Lemon Cake

PS – In additional support of this cake, I also submit to you my chocolate loving, lemon hating brother-in-law. His dessert of choice is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate and he loved this cake.

And of course, Ollie, my official taste tester, who is always happy to help “clean” the beaters.

My Official Taste Tester

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of (finally) attending Todd Porter & Diane Cu’s (whiteonricecouple.com) photography and food styling workshop. They are my favorite food stylists and photographers and I have been wanting to attend this for a very long time. I am so happy to say it completely exceeded my expectations.

I have been hesitant to write about the experience because it is almost too difficult to describe. It was this beautiful amalgamation of the most creative and generous instructors combined with an amazingly talented small group of artists, time and space to style and shoot as much as we wanted, delicious homemade meals and a prop room to die for. Then you top that off with boozy pops and sea salt iced coffee and you have yourself an incredible weekend workshop. Also, I had an added bonus because my talented and fabulous photographer friend, Cortney, come down from Olympia to attend with me.

The true joy of the workshop is the amount of heart and soul that Todd and Diane put in to it. Their passion for the work and the generosity in which they share their creativity was so refreshing and inspiring. I am proud of the work I did during the course of the weekend. I am also in awe of what the other students created. Below are a few of my favorite shots I took over two very rewarding days.

Macarons – It’s a Party

The Cookie Stack

Dark & Moody Herb Salt

Pears and my favorite color combination

A French Country Picnic

Persimmons

Persimmons

Carrots

Fresh Tomatoes & Basil (and I got it in one shot!)

Cocktail Hour

Now for the speed round. This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. Well this and the boozy pops. Diane styled 13 sets and we had 40 seconds per scene to analyze the light, set our camera and shoot. It was exhilarating and exhausting.