I had some fun making the Corelli lace pattern and then topping it with the pink hearts I had leftover from another cake. The nice thing is that this cake a year or two ago would have taken me much longer to do. My skills are getting better!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Just Foolin' Around
I had some fun making the Corelli lace pattern and then topping it with the pink hearts I had leftover from another cake. The nice thing is that this cake a year or two ago would have taken me much longer to do. My skills are getting better!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
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!
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!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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! :-)
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! :-)
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