Cup of Cocoa

Did I mention that I got a new airbrush for Christmas?!  LOL - I have a feeling that a LOT of my cakes this year will feature airbrushing, for a couple of reasons.... 1.  I must learn to use my new (toy) tool!  2.  Because its fun to use! 

I am fortunate to have a work place that allows me to make the monthly office birthday cakes.  They purchase the supplies, I get to make whatever cake I want.  This allows me to practice different techniques and build my skills up.  Occasionally, I will get requests for cake flavors or a specific design from the birthday people.  This month's birthday girl wanted a cake with snowmen on it somewhere. 

This cake is my best fondant work to date.  Usually I have trouble with the fondant ripping, tearing, cracking  - you name it - when I try to cover a cake.  I got a new mat over the holidays, which I think played a big part in how I roll out my fondant.  Also, I was given a tip to use shortening instead of cornstarch on my fondant - cornstarch dries it out.  Amazing difference!  While it is not perfect - I feel much better about my ability to get the one piece of fondant to cover my cakes.  It's gonna be a great year for cakes! 

On this cake - lemon with raspberry filling - I experimented with the airbrush some more.  By moving in closer, I was able to get the dark blue color (the actual color in the bottle is a sky blue).  If I moved in TOO close, I got darker patches and spatter marks.  Turns out the birthday girl has a mug with those same type of markings.  LOL! 

The snowmen are fondant that I cut out with a cookie cutter and then decorated.  The snowflakes are white edible pearls adhered with a dot of buttercream.  The "whipped cream" is just buttercream applied with a 2M tip and then sprinkles added.  The chocolate is actually a round bit of chocolate fondant that I put on the top of the cake and then applied the edge of the mug to later. 

Overall - liked the cake, loved the fondant work and absolutely am in love with the airbrush! 

Starting 2011 the right way!

First cake of the new year - I am loving it!  My grandmother turned 92 this month and requested that I create a work of edible art for her.  She is a big fan of roses - has tons of them growing in her garden.  I got a new airbrush for Christmas and was dying to use it.  Hmmm.... and idea was born! 

My friend Melissa recently showed me a super easy way to make fondant roses.  Much, much easier than the way I was making them before.  Sitting down one evening, I made a ton of roses, all different sizes out of plain white 50/50.  Once they dried, I used the airbrush to color them different colors. 

Something to note about the airbrush - the fine mist goes EVERYWHERE!  I have "constructed" a painting box and that caught most of it - but after I was done, there was a fine layer of colors on the counters. 

I have a large egg carton that I saved, which makes it perfect for putting the roses in to dry.  It took about 24 hours for things to completely dry and I was then able to make "paint" out of luster dust and vodka.  I painted the edges of the rose petals to make them pop just a bit and give it a little more definition.  The white roses I experimented with and painted the entire petals with a pearlized white - it made them come out sort of satiny looking.  Very pretty! 

Constructing the cake - triple chocolate fudge with raspberry filling - crumb coating and then airbrushed the cake brown.  I wanted it to match the color of the fondant strips I made to give it a basket look in case I had any large gaps.  The fondant strips I cut and then scored with my gumpaste tool to give it a wood grain look.  Each strip was applied and I made them long enough to overlap on the top and cause a "bump".  That way when I put the roses on the cake, I had a ready made height in the center.  Roses were added, gumpaste leaves added and voila!  One very happy grandmother - and me too!  :-)