Sleeping Beauty is another new one for me. And it also uses a technique I have never tried before.
Another Wilton instructor told me about frozen buttercream transfers. I found directions on the internet and went to work, foolishly only 3 hours before the cake was due. If the transfer had not worked, I would have been disappointing a group of 5 year old girls, not to mention the mother organizing the party.
Over all it went surprisingly well, and I will be using the technique again. It certainly saves time over the method of piping in all the stars to fill in character cakes.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Cookie Monster II
This cookie monster almost did not get made. I tried to use a pan mold for a stand up teddy bear cake and then alter it, but I've never used that pan before and I have to say, I did not like it. I followed the directions and baked for the required time, but it still fell completely apart because it was only half baked in the middle.
After throwing a temper tantrum in my kitchen, I started over with one 9x13 sheet cake and 2 9 inch square cakes. I stacked these ones and carved out the shape and put in the proper supports needed to help him stay upright.
In the end I was quite happy with the turnout. He is a little less than half the size of my original Cookie Monster, and all cake this time. The first one had a rice krispie treat head.
After throwing a temper tantrum in my kitchen, I started over with one 9x13 sheet cake and 2 9 inch square cakes. I stacked these ones and carved out the shape and put in the proper supports needed to help him stay upright.
In the end I was quite happy with the turnout. He is a little less than half the size of my original Cookie Monster, and all cake this time. The first one had a rice krispie treat head.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Madeleine's Baptism cake
My girlfriend's daughter was having her baptism, so of course I was happy to make the cake. The idea for this cake came from a two tiered version, but they didn't need that much cake so we altered the idea to this one.
Also, in the class I am teaching this month, I was teaching the students how to make decorations from Colorflow Icing. A substitute for colorflow can be Royal icing, but it doesn't dry as shiny. I did a demo on how to make Royal icing in class so I had the leftover icing to use up. Perfect for making the butterflies and flowers. The timing was good.
Also, in the class I am teaching this month, I was teaching the students how to make decorations from Colorflow Icing. A substitute for colorflow can be Royal icing, but it doesn't dry as shiny. I did a demo on how to make Royal icing in class so I had the leftover icing to use up. Perfect for making the butterflies and flowers. The timing was good.
3/4 view Thomas the Tank Engine
This is the 3rd cake of the month. I've done Thomas a few times now and I should have no problems with him. So of course I wanted to do another different version. Was it to make my life harder or just to keep things fresh and new?
There wasn't really any problems except that I am not much of an artist on paper, so I had to be careful to get the angle right before I put Thomas on the cake. He's not exactly as I would have wanted to have him turn out, but then again I am always my harshest critic. Besides, what 1 year old is going to tell me they don't like their cake?
There wasn't really any problems except that I am not much of an artist on paper, so I had to be careful to get the angle right before I put Thomas on the cake. He's not exactly as I would have wanted to have him turn out, but then again I am always my harshest critic. Besides, what 1 year old is going to tell me they don't like their cake?
Chocolate Cornelli Lace
The week that I made this cake was a gong show. On top of my full time job, I had the wedding cake to do which was to be delivered on a Friday. Then my youngest son got sick and was admitted to the hospital. I ended up staying the two nights there with him, and switching off with my husband after he was done work so that I could come home to work on the wedding cake. It did get delivered on time thankfully because my son got released form the hospital on the Friday morning.
I almost didn't have time to make this cake, but it was very important to me that I get it done, as it was for a good friend of ours who was being given a 50th birthday party surprise that we were attending.
I wanted to make it special and original. For the first time in my experience, I made the fondant for this cake. My intention was to make chocolate fondant, but it was a complete loss. Thankfully I hadn't turned all the marshmallow fondant chocolate, so I had enough left over to cover the cake in white. I then made the buttercream icing chocolate to do the Cornelli lace. That is a lot of piping to do on a cake, and this one was a small cake. I can't imagine doing a wedding cake this way. It would have to take days.
I only finished the final touches with a half hour to spare, barely enough time to get ready for the party.
I almost didn't have time to make this cake, but it was very important to me that I get it done, as it was for a good friend of ours who was being given a 50th birthday party surprise that we were attending.
I wanted to make it special and original. For the first time in my experience, I made the fondant for this cake. My intention was to make chocolate fondant, but it was a complete loss. Thankfully I hadn't turned all the marshmallow fondant chocolate, so I had enough left over to cover the cake in white. I then made the buttercream icing chocolate to do the Cornelli lace. That is a lot of piping to do on a cake, and this one was a small cake. I can't imagine doing a wedding cake this way. It would have to take days.
I only finished the final touches with a half hour to spare, barely enough time to get ready for the party.
Flowered Wedding cake
I am happy to say that I am making more wedding cakes these days. It's quite an improvement to go from one wedding cake in one year to two of them in the span of two months. Ha ha. Ah well, I am sure that eventually I will get more orders for them, but in the meantime, most of the requests are still for birthdays. I am happy to do them all though.
This is a busy month for me, as I will show you soon.
This is a busy month for me, as I will show you soon.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The rest of August
The summer has flown by, and now it's starting to get colder already. My oldest son started Kindergarten and he loves it so far. We have been so busy lately and I realized that I never posted anything for the other cakes that I finished in August.
I was so happy with the turn out of the wedding cake that I did in the middle of August. It was the largest cake that I have made so far. The base tier was a 14 inch round and the top was 8 inch. Each layer was about 4 inches tall. And man was it heavy. It weighed 32 pounds once completed. I guess 32 pounds isn't too much, but you try to carry that cake to the car and drive it to the venue. It wasn't easy, but I don't think that I am busy enough to warrant buying a delivery van yet.
The other cake that came before the wedding was Cinderella. I've done this one before, but I think that she turned out much better this time. Making a pretty face out of icing is not easy. Last time I think that I wiped off Cinderella's lips five times before I left it the way it was. She may have looked better with out them though.
I was so happy with the turn out of the wedding cake that I did in the middle of August. It was the largest cake that I have made so far. The base tier was a 14 inch round and the top was 8 inch. Each layer was about 4 inches tall. And man was it heavy. It weighed 32 pounds once completed. I guess 32 pounds isn't too much, but you try to carry that cake to the car and drive it to the venue. It wasn't easy, but I don't think that I am busy enough to warrant buying a delivery van yet.
The other cake that came before the wedding was Cinderella. I've done this one before, but I think that she turned out much better this time. Making a pretty face out of icing is not easy. Last time I think that I wiped off Cinderella's lips five times before I left it the way it was. She may have looked better with out them though.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
New Pablo
I decided to put a new twist on an old favorite. I think this is the 4th time I've made a Pablo cake, so I decided that he needed a change. I cruised through the Google images to find another picture, and thought this one was perfect for a birthday party. The stars weren't in the actual design but I thought that the background needed some flair.
The cake itself is quite large, 13 x 18 inches. There's a lot of marble cake under all that buttercream. Leftovers are always good.
The cake itself is quite large, 13 x 18 inches. There's a lot of marble cake under all that buttercream. Leftovers are always good.
Birthday Balloons
Oh, August is passing me by too fast. I was super busy last week and the week before. Usually I don't have more than 2 cakes to complete for a weekend. With a full time job, full time family, and also my one day a week teaching cake decorating, I don't have lots of spare time. Well, how smart of me was it to agree to make 3 cakes, for pick up on 2 days? The first two were not small cakes either.
I've done this cake before, but in a different way. It was actually almost exactly 3 years ago that I made the original for my niece's birthday. Only then, the three balloons were covered in fondant.
This time around I did the decorating all in buttercream icing. It just tastes so much better. The cake itself was all chocolate. I recently got a new recipe to try out, and wow is it ever good. I am not even a chocolate cake fan, but this one I'd definitely have a slice or two of. I have to thank one of the ladies in my July Wilton class for passing on the recipe to me. I don't think that I will be needing any other chocolate cake recipes for a long time.
The girls I made the cake for are twins, and really adorable ones at that. From what I saw in pictures they had a great time at their birthday. Such a fun age.
I've done this cake before, but in a different way. It was actually almost exactly 3 years ago that I made the original for my niece's birthday. Only then, the three balloons were covered in fondant.
This time around I did the decorating all in buttercream icing. It just tastes so much better. The cake itself was all chocolate. I recently got a new recipe to try out, and wow is it ever good. I am not even a chocolate cake fan, but this one I'd definitely have a slice or two of. I have to thank one of the ladies in my July Wilton class for passing on the recipe to me. I don't think that I will be needing any other chocolate cake recipes for a long time.
The girls I made the cake for are twins, and really adorable ones at that. From what I saw in pictures they had a great time at their birthday. Such a fun age.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Toopy and Binoo
Wow, it's already a busy August. My fridge is so full of cake, waiting to be assembled.
But still, I have to let you know about this cake that was finished at the end of July. Toopy and Binoo was done on a 13 x 18 inch cake. It seems to be a popular size the past few cakes (more pictures to come). The kids have their birthdays close together, so they shared the party, which as a mother I completely understand, but as kid I think I would be ticked that I had to share my day with my brother or sister.
Their mom was a great sport about the Treehouse cartoon that they love. She seems to know more than any sane adult should know about all the episodes of the show. Her email contact with me cracked me up. I guess that having kids definitely helps to keep your sense of humor intact. I should know that already.
But still, I have to let you know about this cake that was finished at the end of July. Toopy and Binoo was done on a 13 x 18 inch cake. It seems to be a popular size the past few cakes (more pictures to come). The kids have their birthdays close together, so they shared the party, which as a mother I completely understand, but as kid I think I would be ticked that I had to share my day with my brother or sister.
Their mom was a great sport about the Treehouse cartoon that they love. She seems to know more than any sane adult should know about all the episodes of the show. Her email contact with me cracked me up. I guess that having kids definitely helps to keep your sense of humor intact. I should know that already.
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