Slideshow of my baked goods (2009-2011) - Part III

Crowns and Jewels....oh the lovely princess cake for my niece Grace. I have the cutest little niece ever. She loves everything to do with princesses and the colors pink. For her four year-old birthday party, her mother commissioned me to do a two tiered princess cake. Since I just made a wedding cake for class, I was excited to practice my new fondant/decorating skills on a new cake (and get paid for it too!). I thought this would be a piece of cake - no pun intended - ok...maybe it was intended:). But this cake ended up being a lot more work than I thought.

Most of the problems were involved with baking the cake. For whatever reason, my cake layers would come up uncooked, sunk in or cracked. It was a nightmare. But at the end of the day, I was able to pull it off.

I used fondant for most of the cake, including the flowers and crown which took a week to make. The thing with working with fondant decorations is that you must think ahead. Fondant decorations require drying time. It's like working with clay - it's soft and pliable at first but it will harden as it dries over time.

Here is the finished cake...TA DAH....

Slideshow of my baked goods (2009-2011) - Part II

There are three cakes featured in Part II:

1) Golf course cake for one of my sister's boyfriend's birthday

2) Wedding cake for one of my Wilton Cake Class projects

3) Bow tie cake for one of my Wilton Cake Class projects

1. Golf Cake Overview

This is where my love for fondant began....the golf cake was probably one of my first cakes outside of class that I started to play with fondant. As you can see, I became very creative with the cake. I recreated a golf course with a yellow birdie (see, I love little birdies!) using fondant, brown sugar, and colored icing (for the grass and wording)

2. Wedding Cake with Pink Roses Overview

This cake started as a two tiered plain jane white cake but ended up being a simple yet elegant and classy wedding cake. I made a number of pink roses with fondant prior to class and didn't know how I was going to use them. I started decorating my plain white cake with the roses, strategically placing them on the tops of the cakes. Later on, I added some beadwork around the base of the cakes for a finished look but something was still missing...it needed more but I didn't know what or how much more. With the help of the teacher, I decided to keep the cake simple by adding a trio of white dots all around the side of the cakes, allowing the pink fondant flowers to be the focal point of the cake. It worked...sometimes keeping things simple and classic is better than over complicating things.

3. Square Bow-tie Birthday Cake Overview

We had to make a two layer square cake for class. Instead I was over zealous and baked a four layer cake. Probably because I wanted this cake to not only look good but taste good too. It was one of my sister's birthday that week and I wanted to bring a cake for her birthday dinner, which happened to be the following night. Instead of throwing out my class project cake (hard to eat a whole cake with just a hubbie and a newborn), I wanted to save and serve the cake.

We learned how to make a bow and decorate with fondant. It is a simple to use cut outs from rolled out fondant for decorations. I loved making this cake. I use some of the techniques I learned from the bow-tie cake and wedding cake to make my niece's princess cake - in a future post coming soon!

Slideshow of my baked goods (2009-2011)

My first cake after taking my first Wilton Cake class. I was trying to employ some of the techniques I learned in class. I made a chocolate birthday cake with vanilla buttercream for my brother's birthday. I love little birdies and found this whimsical bird design that I recreated as a sugar decoration. To add a bit of flavor to the cake, I did what our local Carvel use to do their cakes, add a bit of crushed almonds around the outside of the cake. I also added crushed almonds between the layers as well. Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake. I've come a long way since my first cake....but do have nostalgia over my first simple cake.....

hmmm....instead of a slideshow, I may just do short posts of some of my baked goods from the last year or two.....stay tuned for more...my fingers are getting antsy... :)

I'm BACK......it's 2011 - has it really been a year?

I was on sabbatical for a few months.....hmmm maybe for a FULL year:). Oh how time escapes us so quickly. Looking back at the year, I did work on a few more cakes/cupcakes but didn't get a chance to post about them. I'm going to post a slideshow of some of my cake/fondant work from this past year - so I can get you all up to speed.

As a side note, I've recently moved to a new state and have not had too many opportunities to work on a my beloved baked goods. My baking equipment are packaged away in cardboard boxes itching to be unpacked (soon I hope!). I'll be sure to get back to the baking once we move into our new home - expected move in date - June 2011! In the meantime, please enjoy my latest blogs on interior design, as that is my new hobby for the time being.

Cupcakes frosted with Italian Meringue Buttercream

Ever wonder how bakeries make those fancy cupcakes? Well you don't have to wonder anymore as I will tell you the secret! It's all about using the right frosting and piping tools. I am going to give you step by step instructions on making the cutest cupcakes.

1. Bake cupcakes (any kind you want) and let them cool for at least 15-20 minutes in the cake pan before releasing them. You don't want them to sit in the pans too long. Allow them to further cool until they are no longer warm to the touch.

2. While your cupcakes are cooling, start to prepare your frosting. I pledge my allegiance to Cake Love's Italian Meringue Buttercream. I was intimidated by this recipe for the longest time and for what reason, I don't know why. PLEASE try it! - I promise you will thank me later! The buttercream is light, not too sweet, stable, super easy to use, and holds it shape for all and any of your creative piping designs. Can I add it's super delicious and easily flavored to your palette's content? Warren Brown has a video on you tube that will take you through the entire process. I've made the buttercream with a handheld mixer and a kitchen aid mixer - either one works and produces equally delicious results! See link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxWmiHRTMz8

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites
• 4 sticks of butter (softened, room temperature)
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar (superfine or regular sugar)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Equipment:

• electric mixer (handheld or stand up mixer)
• candy thermometer (worth buying to make this buttercream - you'll use this over and over!)
• saucepan
• rubber spatula
• FAITH - you have to believe you can make this - during the process the buttercream can look curdled but as you continue to mix the buttercream, it will become this wonderfully silky creation that is heavenly. I can't give enough praise can I? :)

3. Once you've made the italian meringue buttercream, you can start frosting your cupcakes. I like to make fancy swirls with the 1M tip. 1M is the size/shape of piping tip from the Wilton cake piping equipment line. I also use Wilton disposable piping bags. A box of 100 disposable piping bags costs $20 at Wilton. But I always buy them using the weekly 40-50% coupon they have online or in their weekly circular. With the coupon, you can easily get a box of them for $10-$12, making each bag cost about 0.10 - $0.12. They are worth every penny.

How to set up a piping bag with the 1M piping tip"

Insert the tip inside the piping bag, with the pointy part of the tip first. Use a scissor to cut around the tip (half way of the tip length). This should expose the tip just enough for the frosting to come out yet not too far out so that the tip stays in place while you are piping.

Fill the piping bag with buttercream about 1/2-2/3 full. Twist the top and hold piping bag with your entire palm and the twist between your thumb and forefinger. Hold the piping bag straight up and down (not on an angle).

Make a swirl starting with the outside edge of the cupcake until you reach the center. As you reach the center, release and pull the piping bag up to make the peak. If you want a more loftier top, you can make another swirl starting further in from the edge and overlapping the frosting below it.

Top the cupcake with pre-made sugar decorations, fondant creations, sprinkles, or whatever you desire. Your decorating options are endless.

Cupcakes are probably one of the most simplest and rewarding desserts to make. They are absolutely versatile and easy to doll up!

Lollipops Anyone?

As I was shopping with my toddler son at CVS, we stumbled upon the most adorable looking lollipops. They looked yummy! (they say we eat with our eyes - so this was a good start for the lollipops). My son was immediately drawn to them - probably because they came in wonderfully whimsical colors and flavors such as cotton candy, banana split, bubble gum, wild cherry, watermelon, and grape.

They were 2 for $1 and I decided to buy 6, one in each available flavor. As I walked around the store, I decided to buy four more - this way my husband could sample them too (so I doubled up on the more unique flavors - cotton candy, bubble gum, banana split and watermelon).

The lollipops are so pleasing to the eye that I had a hard time eating them right away. They are almost too cute to eat! After a few days, I gave in and decided to try the bubble gum flavored lollipop. I was super curious....and to my surprise they were as good as they looked. They tasted creamy and true to its proclaimed flavor. They weren't too sweet, which is a good thing for me ( I don't like anything overly sweet). I couldn't finish the lollipop - it was big and it would have taken many licks to finish.

I had to post about the lollipops because I thought they were such a value at 50cents/each. They would make a great "just because" present. Go randomly cheer someone up with one of these tasty lollipops. Go crazy and buy a few of them! The response will be well worth it!

Edible Prints/Cake Topper: The Elvis Cake

I had a request to make a birthday cake for a friend's mother who loves Elvis Presley and red velvet cake. I was stumped at first as to how I would make an Elvis Presley cake. So I searched the web for ideas. For some reason, there aren't many Elvis themed cakes out there. The ones I found were either tacky, too complicated or just plain silly. Aren't there a ton of Elvis fans out there? Maybe they don't eat cake! :P

During my search, I stumbled upon Elvis Presley Edible Prints. I've seen cakes made with custom printed designs before but I didn't know how they were created. It's really not as complicated as I thought. Basically the cake topper is an image printed with edible inks and edible paper. All you have to do is to peel and attach the edible print on a freshly frosted cake and BAM-WOW...you instantly have a decorated cake! It was super easy! I thought the edible image would be very delicate and hard to work with but it was just the opposite. Perhaps I had beginner's luck? :)

I bought my edible print from an online company called cakeservice through www.offeritem.com. The price includes a customized message on the print. I didn't know what to expect but was very satisfied with the quality and quick response/delivery of my edible print. Below is the link to where I bought the edible cake topper. The cake topper includes easy to follow directions. If I was able to do this, so can anyone else! It was harder to ice the cake than it was to decorate it. Although I did place the image slightly crooked - my shaky nervous hands were probably to blame!

http://www.offeritem.com/elvis-presley-custom-stamp-photo-cake-edible-birthday-topper-description-60812.html

Now for the more serious stuff - how did the cake taste? The feedback I received was glowing (thank goodness!). Red velvet cake is hard to handle - it is delicate and crumbles easily. I had to chill my cake layers for a couple of hours before handling them.

If you are looking for a moist red velvet cake recipe and a tasty/easy- to-make cream cheese frosting, check out the recipes from Apple a Day blog:

http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2008/12/red-velvet-cake-with-cream-cheese.html

Happy Baking and Decorating!

ps. Note that the image of the edible print dictates the size of the cake. I had to bake a 10x7 cake to support the size of the cake topper. According to the instructions provided with the image, you can cut the image before placing it on the cake. I was too nervous so I made a cake to fit the image!