Masterpiece

The end of the semester has finally arrived. It is nice to have some free time, but class is fun too because I get to bake. I will just have to make the most of winter break. Wednesday was my final practical for cake decorating. Our task was to create a two-tiered wedding cake with fondant and gum paste flowers. But because I am me, and I am crazy, I made a three-tiered wedding cake. I didn't want to go the super traditional route - white cake, roses, etc. - so I used chocolate fondant instead. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cake. I think it turned out beautifully and I couldn't be happier.

The prep work took quite a bit of time...more than I had anticipated. First, I had to cut the individual layers out of sheet cake and each tier had to be two layers (2 12-in., 2 8-in., & 2 4-in.). Second, there was the frosting each layers with a buttercream crumb coat. Third, there was the bead border - individually fondant beads in three signature colors [espresso, bone & champagne], which also meant hand coloring white fondant. I think I made about 300 beads (to be on the safe side). And finally, there were the gum paste flowers which is a painstakingly delicate process...and nearly drove me to insanity. Just ask my roommate.

The crumb coat...

Here are some full view pictures from a couple different angles...

And some close-up shots...

The "champagne" beads [gold] were dusted with a gold luster. I don't have the exact bead count, but it was very close to 200.

Now I need to focus on baking for my work holiday party. There is a $100 prize and I intend to win. I am entering two desserts: Mint Chocolate Cupcakes and Andes Mint Cheesecake. I figured it would increase my chances to take home the prize. If you don't know, I am a bit competitive so I won't be very happy if I don't walk away a winner.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...

Here are some of my latest cakes. There are only two because last week we were introduced gum paste flowers and this week was cut short by Thanksgiving. I am disappointed that the pictures of the sea shell cake are a little off. It just doesn't do the cake justice.

Moon & Stars

Seashell Cake

Seashell Cake -- aerial view

Oh, how I miss the beach. Why did I move?

Fun with Fondant

YAY! It's finally here! FONDANT!

So we started working with fondant. I don't really have much commentary so I will just share some cakes. I have included some other cakes from class because I thought they were so pretty.

Front view

Side view

Back view

Alecia's Leaf Cake

Whitney Sprinkle's Flower Cake

Thursday was our first practical for cake decorating II. For several weeks now I have been dying to make a Hungry, Hungry Hippo cake. Originally I was going to do it two weeks ago, but that was the week I was sick. I decided it would be the perfect cake for my midterm. Creative, fun, and requiring multiple techniques. I used buttercream icing, but I kinda wish I had waited and made it with fondant. I guess it's cute enough, but it could have been better.

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

P.S.: My first attempt at a poll has garnered little attention and even fewer votes. It's making me sad...

How Can I Be a Better Blogger?

1. It would probably help if I stayed up-to-date with the blogging...So in my quest to be a better blogger, I will give a little cake decorating update.

Last week we did doll cakes (which are a little creepy to me) and petits fours (which are pretty much the biggest pain in the ass ever.) The fun part about the [creepy] doll cakes was deciding what to make - after all I wasn't just going to do the run-of-the-mill, plain jane barbie-looking cake. Instead I decided to decorate mine like a Disney Princess (I know, so much more original). I chose Snow White, in part because I was inspired by a friend's Halloween costume. I decided to dye the doll's auburn colored hair black (which was truly a terrible idea) to achieve the full effect.

Snow White

I wasn't crazy about the outcome, but I think it was pretty cute. My friend Dani (she's been wanting some blog love) made a Wonder Woman cake which was truly adorable and original, but boxed it up before I could take a picture.

Thursday was petits fours day. For those of you who might be wondering why petits fours are somewhat pricey, I have an answer: they are messy, time consuming, and NOT fun. Never again, my friends, never again. Plus, the icing is so ridiculously sweet it made me almost sick just eating one. By the time I was done icing the darned things I didn't even want to decorate so they are kind of boring looking.

2. One of the things I love about blogging is the inspiration it provides. I have actually come across some really great & creative blogs* searching for a recipe idea. I also have a dear friend who is somewhat of a blogger savant. I don't know how she finds them, but she has turned me on to some of my favorite blogs. I was thinking about how much I can take away from other people's daily musings, I hope I can provide the same to people who might come across my little internet home. With that in mind, I was thinking I should share a little more of the techniques I learn on a daily basis and some of the recipes we use in class. I think I will start a poll to see what my readers would like to see in the future.

So please, tell me, how can I be a better blogger?

*Sometimes I worry my cakes will end up on Cake Wrecks...please don't submit them.

A Plethora of Cakes

This week has been exhausting. And has not provided ample time for posting. Actually, the only things I have had time for has been school and work...what a glamorous life I lead! But I do have some great cakes to share. There are quite a few pictures so I will keep the words to a minimum. Cake Decorating I ended a couple weeks ago with a two-tiered wedding cake practical; Cake Decorating II commenced last week with more fun character cakes - football helmets, sports balls & dinosaurs. We have a lot more freedom to create all types of fun cakes and I have so many fun ideas! But until then, here is a look at my most recent work.

The "practice" cake

Roses...

...and Rosebuds

The Final

Side View

The Other Side

Front View

and the back

I like to think this is why Texas is still ranked #1

Is this the number of a Heisman winner?

If you know my family, then this cake needs no explanation...

"FORE!"

One of my new favorites...I even gave her a name!

"Lola" the Princess Dinosaur

T H E E N D.

Wedding Cake Techniques

Cake Decorating I is coming to an end...but fear not, because Cake Decorating 2 will commence next week so there will be plenty more cake pictures and a lot of new techniques.

To prepare for the end of the class we started learning wedding cake techniques. On Wednesday, we worked on cornelli lace. I applied other techniques I have learned over the past several weeks (six?) to add detail to the cake.

Thursday, we learned how to stack. Let me first say, this might be my LEAST favorite cake. I did a poor job icing the cake, I am not really satisfied with the color palette, and during the decorating of the cake there were several disasters. And I am not being overly dramatic with that statement. At one point my parchment paper broke and the icing and tip fell on the side of the cake. It was not pretty, but I just did what I could since I didn't really have enough time to stack, ice and decorate another cake.

Two tiered "Wedding" cake

String work, Rosebuds, Reverse Shell Border

After I admitted to myself this cake would never live up to my standards I just through some decorations and borders on the top layer to practice and so I would have a finished product.**

Our final class period is on Thursday, so I will really need to refine my game on Wednesday so I can do well on the Final practical.


**If we decided not to bring our cakes home, they are sold at a bake sale.

Cooper in Cake

Last week we learned some new techniques in cake decorating. On Wednesday we used the projector to create an image on cake. The cards we used were stock images from a file box our instructor provided us...they were all a little cheesy...I think they might be thirty years old, but I decided to have a little fun with it. This is the image I chose:

After placing the image in the projector I used a black piping gel to outline wherever you see a black line. After the image was outlined, I used the airbrush to fill in the image with the appropriate colors. It kinda looked like a big mess because the rainbow colors were running into eachother and I, of course, could not deal with an ugly cake. I decided to pipe in the icing on the rainbow and flowers so the final product was a blend of airbrush and buttercream piping. The clouds I actually always planned to pipe with white icing to give it some texture.

"Have a Great Day!!" Cake

Our instructor encouraged write a message on the cake to practice our writing. It reads, "Have a Great Day!!" I thought it went with the image. An check out this shell border:

Two-tone color shell border

On Thursday our task was to create a shaggy dog cake. Now anyone who knows me knows that as soon as our instructor charged us with a dog cake my cake had to look like my own adorable dog. Since Cooper is not a shaggy mutt, I had to do some improvising. Using the techniques I learned from the hamburger cake I was able to create a smooth, round dog. I then used an airbrush for the coloring. I think it turned out so cute! You can hardly tell the difference between the cake and the actual dog...ok, maybe that's going a little to far.

Cooper the cake

Cooper the dog

Look at that handsome pup!

Au revoir, basketweave

I feel like it's been a million years since I talked about cake decorating (on the blog. because I talk about cake decorating in my everyday life all the time). And I have some cake pictures to share.

Last Wednesday was our midterm which involved a written portion and practical. The requirements for the practical were the following: a.) Basketweave; b.) border; and c.) flowers. Obviously our instructor looked at other details, like whether our colors compliment each other, if our cake is centered on the cake board and icing the cake.

the basketweave midterm

For my cake, I did a white on white basketweave so I could easily hide any mistakes. I did a dual border I did a shell border (in aqua) and just a dot border (not really a technical term, in yellow). I did some half daisies around the edges with a chrysanthemum in the middle.

On Thursday, we moved onto new techniques: baby shower cakes and figure piping. Our instructor asked us to try and do two cakes so we could do a baby shower cake and to a cake practicing other figure piping (like cute little bears, dogs, piggies, etc.). There are some people in class who can decorate two to three cakes each class period. I am not one of those people. But I was able to on Thursday.

the baby shower cake

The baby cake is a little cheesy, but my rosettes and border look great! And the cake says, "Babylicious" Why, you ask? Why not?! I didn't really know what else to write and I didn't want to say, "It's a Girl!"

My second cake, on the other hand, was totally cute! It is definitely one of my faves from this semester. Oh, notice how there are NO figure piped animals? That's because I suck at figure piping. After three attempts of a cute little bear that someone mistook for a cat (true story) at one point I just decided accept that figure piping is not for everyone.

the cake without figure piping

Plus, I got so many more compliments on this cake than the strange looking blue bear/cat type animal. The only issue I have is my center design is way off center. But I think the color palette, borders and dots totally make up for that, don't you?

Bluebonnets in September?!

Are you tired of the basket weave cakes? Because I am. We have our practical midterm next Wednesday and have to do a basket weave cake with flowers so Thursday was our last day to practice. I did take this opportunity to work on the Bluebonnet. Actually, this cake might be my favorite to date. I love the colors, I love the flowers and I worked with buttercream icing instead of whipped icing. Usually I don't take my cakes home (with the exception of Kathryn's birthday cake) but I thought this cake was too cute to leave for the bake sale. Laura came over to bake cupcakes on Thursday evening (more on that in a future post) so I gave the cake to Laura and James. I hope it was yummy!

Bluebonnets

Chrysanthemums

Hamburger & Fries

Yesterday in cake deco we were introduced to "character" cakes. Our task was to create a hamburger, french fries, and milkshake. It was a lot of fun and I was totally pleased with my final product.

Hamburger, French Fries and a Milk Shake

Back of the Cake

The bun and french fries were colored using an airbrush. It's a little difficult to see all the items, but my burger is decked out with cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and topped off with a little ketchup, mustard & mayo. You can't really see the burger pattie (chocolate fudge icing. not a real burger. but I am sure you knew that), but it's in there, I promise.