kim’s kitchen

Make these peanut butter chocolate cake morsels

By KIM M. SIMONS

Posted 4/26/23

“How did you get on TV?”

It’s a question I’m asked a lot.

The fact is, I was tapped to be on my first competitive Food Network TV show—Sugardome—practically …

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kim’s kitchen

Make these peanut butter chocolate cake morsels

RR photo by Kim M. Simons

Peanut butter chocolate morsels

Posted Wednesday, April 26, 2023 2:58 am

By KIM M. SIMONS

“How did you get on TV?”

It’s a question I’m asked a lot.

The fact is, I was tapped to be on my first competitive Food Network TV show—Sugardome—practically out of the blue. And I’d only been a cake artist for about three years.

True, I was always artistic—I was that kid who hung out in the art room any chance I could get (a big thanks to my teachers Linda Berkowitz and Lee Parks). And I was always good at cooking and baking. My father saw to that.

But the world of cake and food art was foreign to me—until I began watching some competitive baking shows.

“I can do that,” I remember thinking.

The power of belief—

So, I started recording shows and abusing the use of the pause button, teaching myself different techniques and combining them with my own methods. By 2010, I felt ready to enter my first cake show in Manhattan. I was so naïve that I’d forgotten to measure the trunk of my car. As it turned out, the cake I made wouldn’t fit, so I had to find another vehicle.

Of course, I entered as a beginner. But somewhere along the line, the judges got together and switched me to the professional category.

And then I won.

I was certainly not expecting that, and I was blown away. I entered other shows and started racking up wins. I was considered to be a master-level cake artist a year and a half after I started.

I’m not looking to brag. It actually blows me away to this day. I’ve heard it said that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. That’s true, but I also feel I was lucky because my work happened to get in front of influential cake and food artists, who were gracious enough to praise it while not being jealous.

Shortly after my 2013 Best-in-Show win at the Capital Area Cake Show in Virginia, Food Network reached out. Would I be interested in competing on “Sugardome”?

Wait, what? Me? From Liberty, NY? On national TV?

“Yes, you,” was basically their reply. They’d scouted out my work on my website, and the casting folks had taken notice.

As it turned out, “Sugardome” wasn’t my greatest moment; my team was the first to be eliminated. But I learned a lot, and vowed that if I ever got another opportunity to compete, I’d do better.

Lucky for me, those opportunities came. “Duff Till Dawn.” “Outrageous Wedding Cakes 2.” “Cake Wars: Christmas.” “The Big Bake.” Near-victories in “Cakealikes” and “Halloween Wars.” Actual victories in “Cake Wars: Star Wars” and “Holiday Wars.”

The power of belief!

Along the way, I’ve met a great many talented and upbeat people, who have become friends. All because I thought to myself, “I can do that.”

I think that one of the reasons I’ve been offered so many opportunities has to do with both my work and my sense of humor. It is TV, after all, and viewers want to be entertained.

But I’m also willing to try things, to experiment, even under the pressure and the hot lights of a Food Network set.

That’s how I came up with this month’s project, peanut butter chocolate cake morsels—through experimentation. As always, I encourage you to experiment as well. Use different flavor combinations. Decorate your morsels however you please. You know, utilize the power of belief. I’ll bet you surprise yourself.

For a step-by-step tutorial and video, visit www.riverreporter.com/kims-kitchen.

Kim M. Simons is an artist, food artist and cake artist. She is grateful to have been voted Best Local Celebrity by the readers of the River Reporter. Kim is available to teach classes, individually or in groups. Visit Kim at www.cakesbykimsimons.com.