Here's a sweet little tip ...

I saw on Pinterest awhile back how someone had used push pins to elevate something they were painting so that the bottom side would not touch the surface while it dried. So, when I was doing this baby shower cake last week, I thought, "why not try that with my cake decorating?" So when I was covering these cute little baby blocks, after I piped the icing on the bottom of the rice krispie blocks, I put 4 push pins in the bottom, and then decorated the rest of the blocks ... perfect. I left them there until I was ready to assemble the cake. 

Opposites...chocolate and vanilla fondants...same design

 

Look at these two cakes... very similar, yet very different... like night and day. Chocolate fondant with vanilla buttercream dots on quilted pattern, and vanilla fondant, with chocolate dots on quilted pattern... interesting comparison.

Arizona Wedding

Last week I went to my friend LaDelle's wedding in Glendale, AZ. She requested that I come and do her wedding cake, so... because I had very limited time, I prepared everything except the cake itself before hand, and packed it into 2 check-in bags, and off I went to the airport. I made sure everything was labelled ... icings, fillings, fondants, flour, crisco, etc. ... along with cake pans and business card in each bag. Yes, both bags were inspected, but at least everything arrived intact. I got to AZ about 8 PM on Tuesday night, baked the cake, went to bed around 1:30 AM, got up at 8 AM on Wednesday to start decorating, and finished the cake about 10 minutes before time to deliver the cake... with a little help from my new friend Sara, who wanted to observe me as I decorated. I had an enjoyable time at the wedding, visiting with old friends while cutting the cake and giving best wishes and congratulations to my dear friend. Thursday morning I got up a little after 4 AM, and off we went to the airport for my trip back home to CO. Thanks bunches to my friend Denise, for letting me take over her kitchen to decorate, and for cleaning up my decorating mess and cake pans that I left because I ran out of time. A quick trip, but glad I could be a part of LaDelle's special day.

The happy bride and groom... LaDelle and Phil

Cake was chocolate with fudge nut filling and chocolate buttercream, and yellow with cream cheese and raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream, all covered in chocolate fondant.

Satin ribbon with antique gold embellishment, quilted pattern with ivory dots, and fondant rope border

Peacock feathers included in fresh flower arrangement on cake top. Sahuaro Ranch Park (where the wedding was held), is known for its peacocks which roam freely throughout the park and roost on the roofs of the building at night.

New Friends...

I love making new friends through my blog. During the last week, I have had several conversations with someone who has been reading my blog to get information about making chocolate fondant, this being her first attempt at doing so. Project...a camera cake for her husband's 40th birthday. So, in the process of talking her through the whole thing, she ended up buying a 600 pro model Kitchenaid mixer. That's even larger than my 550 model. Of course, that mixed up the fondant and buttercream icing really well, and she ended up with a great finished product for her first attempt. I was very impressed...and so was her husband.

Thanks Jyoti for reading my blog and becoming my new friend, and again, great job on the cake!

Using Kitchen Aid mixer to make marshmallow fondant...

The last time I made marshmallow fondant, I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for mixing most of the sugar in, since I wanted to save time, and then just added a bit more sugar while kneading it on my silicone mat. It worked well, except the one thing you have to make sure of is that you add enough sugar and knead it long enough, or you will have air bubbles in your fondant when you roll it out. I have found out, that you can add more sifted sugar and knead it longer after you have let it set overnight. This way, you will have a nicer finish to your fondant. Click on this link for the complete fondant recipe:
http://cakeideas.blogspot.com/2011/05/tweaked-marshmallow-fondant-recipe.html

Making marshmallow fondant

Melt mini marshmallows with water in microwave at 40 second increments, stirring after each.

When marshmallows are completely melted, add the corn syrup and flavoring. The mixture will look very soupy at this stage.

Sift powdered sugar into Kitchen Aid bowl. I use a simple metal strainer...works better than a sifter.

Pour melted marshmallow mixture into Kitchen Aid bowl with sugar.

Use dough hook on low speed to mix fondant mixture.

This is the consistency it should be when you are done mixing.

Scrape the fondant mixture out of the bowl with a plastic scraper onto a greased silicone mat.

Dust with sifted powdered sugar and begin kneading.

Knead until you have a smooth and elastic ball and the fondant no longer spreads as it sets.

Cover with Crisco and store in ziploc bag to rest overnight.

This is some black fondant made with Hershey's Special Dark cocoa.

"Tweaked" marshmallow fondant recipe

Now that I've been making marshmallow fondant for some time, I've tweaked the recipe, and it comes out perfect every time. Of course, if you're new at making fondant, it will take a little practice like anything else. A couple of things I really like about marshmallow fondant is that you can basically add any flavor you want to it while the marshmallows are in the "soupy" stage, and I love the easy handling of the fondant because of the elasticity of the marshmallows. I have tried several "ready to use" fondants, and I always go back to using the marshmallow fondant.

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe
1 lb. mini marshmallows (use a good brand, and make sure they are fresh)
2 T. water
2 tsp. corn syrup
flavoring
5-6 cups sifted powdered sugar
Crisco

Pour marshmallows into a large microwave safe bowl. Add the 2 T. of water and mix. Heat on high for 40 seconds, stir and heat again for 40 seconds, stir one more time and heat another 40 seconds. Stir well, and add desired flavoring and 2 tsp. corn syrup. This mixture will be "soupy." Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and stir well. In the meantime, measure out 4 cups of sugar onto a well greased surface. I have a silicone mat that works really well, but any surface will do. Make a well in the center to pour marshmallow mixture into. With a greased scraper, scrape the marshmallow mixture out of the bowl into the "sugar well." Grease hands generously and knead in the powdered sugar completely, scraping the surface as necessary, and adding more Crisco to your hands if it becomes sticky. Continue to knead until very smooth and elastic. You know you have added enough sugar if your fondant does not spread when you let it set for a few seconds. It will depend on the humidity...you will need to add more sugar if you are in a humid climate. I never add more than 5 cups total because we are in a very dry area. Once your fondant is done, coat the entire fondant with a layer of Crisco and then put it in a zip-lock bag and let it rest at room temperature overnight. When you are ready to roll it out, put it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it. (I usually do it for about 20 sec., but it will depend on your microwave.) Knead it a little to make it pliable, and then roll it out on a lightly greased silicone mat. The reason I love the silicone mats is because the fondant will stick to the mat until you peel it off. This makes it easier to get the correct placement on your cake and you can also roll it out thinner without it tearing. Some decorators roll fondant out with cornstarch if they don't have a mat, but that tends to dry out your fondant. If you use this method, you will just want to drape it over the rolling pin and then position it on your cake. Before you put the fondant on your cake, be sure to have a good layer of buttercream frosting so the fondant will adhere to the cake. Smooth the fondant out carefully with hands, cut off excess with a pizza cutter, and then smooth again. Again, remove any excess around bottom. You can also use a fondant smoother, but I prefer the control and feel of using my hands. 

Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant
1 lb. mini marshmallows
2 T. water
2 tsp. corn syrup
1/4 - 1/2 cup baking cocoa (regular for rich brown, special dark for dark brown)
4-5 cups sifted powdered sugar
Crisco

Follow the directions for the regular marshmallow fondant, except mix in 1/4 cup cocoa along with the corn syrup. Mix 1 cup sugar into marshmallow/cocoa mixture and then pour into remaining 3 cups of sugar. After completely mixed and kneaded, coat with Crisco and let rest overnight. At this point, your fondant will be a medium brown color. The next day when ready to use, soften your fondant in the microwave, and then you will want to grease your surface well, and add about another 1/4 cup cocoa (a little at a time) with very well-greased hands and knead it in until smooth and shiny, and desired color. Keep adding Crisco to your hands to work in the excess cocoa. 

Marshmallow fondant...very smooth and easy to handle

Chocolate fondant...my favorite...smooth and shiny...almost resembles chocolate ganache...tastes like a tootsie roll

USAFA Bridal Faire...

After some mis-communications and not being able to participate last year, I was able to have a booth at this year's Bridal Faire at the Air Force Academy. I prepared most of the week (amid a house full of visiting grandchildren), and then set up on Friday morning. The event took place on Saturday between 10 and 3. I felt that it was successful and got some good contacts and leads, both prospective brides and vendors that will hopefully refer me. I was able to experiment some more with SugarVeil, which seemed to be very interesting to several visitors. Overall, a successful and hopefully profitable day...

My friend Nancy and I at our booth, getting ready for the Bridal Faire to begin.

Background display for booth, set up day before

Display cake

Display cake with SugarVeil lace over chocolate fondant. Lace made in SugarVeil silicone mat

3 out of 6 of sample cakes to taste...

SugarVeil heart piped on greased parchment over printed design...placed on chocolate fondant.

Cake was fudge marble with Bavarian Creme.

Chocolate mint with chocolate mint mousse and vanilla fondant.

Strawberry shortcake...yellow cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Tried new Chantilly whipped cream stabilizer which worked like a charm...whipped cream held up through entire show.

Experimenting with SugarVeil...

Today I delivered a wedding cake all done in chocolate fondant (which I love by the way), and SugarVeil ribbons and bows. I'm still learning allot about SugarVeil. I really like this product, but it can be a little tricky to use. Some things I learned this time around are...

1. Always make extra SugarVeil for your project...just in case you need it.

2. If you're making bows, make extra as a backup.

3. When SugarVeil dries completely, it is very, very fragile.

4. I need to get a larger air-tight container to store my set SugarVeil pieces, so I don't need to make so many seams in my ribbons.

5. I did not use wafer paper to make my bows; I will try using it next time to give the bows more stability. 

Who says you can't have a chocolate wedding cake...look at this...

We catered a large wedding last weekend and the bride wanted a cake covered in chocolate fondant. The decorations were simple, yet elegant. The bride's mom was originally a little concerned that it wouldn't  look right or match the other decorations, but it was just fine. We substituted some snowflakes on the second tier instead of using the original flower motif. All of the decorations were cut with my Cricut Cake. We used fresh hydrangeas and miniature roses to complete the decorations. We also served 3 other specialty cakes and cheesecake. All of those were eaten, but not much of the wedding cake was gone by the end of the reception. Part of the reason for that was possibly because the cake was not cut until half way through the reception. This is the first wedding cake I have decorated using chocolate fondant. For this one, I used the Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder.

 All designs cut out with Cricut Cake

Shirley Temple (chocolate and vanilla layers with chocolate mousse and whipped cream with white chocolate shavings), Carrot cake with pecans, and Chocolate Lover's (chocolate layers with fudge filling covered in dark chocolate ganache). Also cheesecake with caramel and raspberry sauce.

Two weddings...one tiny and one big!

Yesterday I delivered two wedding cakes. One was for a very small intimate wedding. I designed an 8 inch round cake for a couple from Austin, TX that were coming to the Springs to get married. They wanted a cake just for them and their kids. So anyway, the flavor was German chocolate with two layers of coconut pecan filling and one layer of fudge filling, all covered in a white chocolate ganache. This is the first time that I have made a white chocolate ganache. I really like the way it turned out...set up well, but didn't get too hard, so it was easy to cut, and tasted great! Just added a little ribbon and fresh flowers. I delivered the cake to the Pineview Grille at the Colorado Country Club.

The other cake I designed was delivered to the Falcon Officer's Club at the AF Academy. It was a very large cake...8, 12, and 16 inch square tiers...all done in black and white with a beautiful fresh floral cake top  in hot pink roses. I was very happy with the finished product, and so was my customer. The cake was done in 3 flavors...fudge marble with bavarian cream, yellow with strawberry mousse, and chocolate with raspberry and fudge. Again, the black portions were all done with Hershey's special dark chocolate fondant. The people at the Falcon Club were so wonderful to work with. When I got there, they let us use one of their carts, and helped to roll the cake in. The cake table was loaded with plates and a white table linen (two of my pet peeves...see older post), but they were so kind as to get another small table to put the plates on, and also put a black tablecloth overlay on top of the white linen. I also set this cake up on my new 22 inch square silver cake plateau...it made the cake look even prettier. 

Patriotic Cakes...a flag should look like a flag

I just finished an AF retirement cake that was very involved with several different icing pieces, including an American flag, 2 different Air Force emblems, and a plaque...some made out of royal icing, and some out of fondant and gum paste. The cake itself was iced in buttercream frosting. Most cakes that I have seen using a similar design, all have something that sort of resembles a flag, kind of patchwork, or not enough stars or stripes, or something. I personally think "Old Glory" should look as close to the real thing as possible, so that's what I put on this cake...complete with all 50 stars. The scariest part of decorating this cake was placing the heavy fondant flag on the cake. I made sure that both single layer tiers had plenty of support.

More black and white...it's graduation season!!

As I was decorating this cake today, it brought back memories of decorating days gone by...back in Arizona in my baking kitchen when I would decorate 8-10 cakes each day during graduation time. Not that I would want to do that again...I'm too old and too tired. Some of my decorating techniques have changed or improved. For one thing, I'm using fondant allot more. This cake that I did today was done in fondant and buttercream. The silhoutettes and diploma ribbon were done in chocolate fondant, using Hershey's special dark chocolate to resemble black.The diploma was done out of regular fondant, but I added a bit of Tylose powder to it to make it  harden slightly. Then I painted the edges with gold highlighter dust that I added clear vanilla extract to. The rest of the decorations were done in dark chocolate buttercream. This was a full sheet, so I put two half sheets together...one was yellow with raspberry mousse and the other was chocolate with peanut butter mousse. 

Happy Birthday, Carissa!

Today is my youngest granddaughter, Carissa's 1st birthday. We had a party for her the week before they moved to Hawaii, and here is a picture of the cake I did for her. It was done in chocolate marshmallow fondant with a gumpaste bow. Baking cocoa is added to the soupy marshmallow mixture before adding the powdered sugar. It's yummy. The rest of the pink decorations were done in pink marshmallow fondant. The cake flavor was vanilla with raspberry mousse filling. I don't know which she enjoyed more...the cake or the ice cream.