Wedding cake or party cake?

So, if you are a big superhero fan, why not have a superhero party for your wedding reception? That's exactly what this bride and groom did, and the wedding cake reflected the rest of the decorations. Here is the cake with logos from their 4 favorite superheros... Deadpool, Green Lantern, Captain America, and Batman. The logos and side decorations were all cut out with my Cricut Cake. The most time consuming part, other than coloring and assembling the pieces, was putting all of the little windows around the four sides of the 14 inch square Batman tier. The top and bottom tiers were covered with dark chocolate fondant. I must say that this was the most unique wedding cake I have ever designed. 

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. 

Update on December 3 blog post...

I put all 6 cups of sifted powdered sugar in the new Kitchenaid bowl and let it run on the low speed until it was all combined and pulled from the sides and bottom of the bowl. I let it knead for just a little longer, then took it out of the bowl, covered it with Crisco, and put it into the Ziplock bags to rest overnight. The Kitchenaid did everything...no kneading by hand...what a time and energy saver. Did I mention, I love my Kitchenaids?

If you believe in prayer...

If you pray, you know that sometimes prayers aren't answered in exactly the way you plan. Such was the case last weekend when I was finishing up on a wedding cake. This was a 3-tier 6, 10, and 14 inch cake. The top tier and the bottom tier were done. The only decorations on the middle tier were a swagged ribbon and large bow. I had originally planned to use SugarVeil to make these with, but for some reason (probably because it was so cold in the kitchen), the SugarVeil was not setting up as quickly as I hoped. Finally, I said a prayer that basically asked that the SugarVeil set up quickly so that I could finish the cake. I waited as long as I could, tried finishing up on the decorations, and I was just not happy with the way they were turning out as the SugarVeil was still not set up as well as it should have been. Next idea... make the ribbon and bow from fondant... too limp. Last resort, make the ribbon and bow with part gumpaste and part fondant for added stiffness. I rolled the ribbon out and placed it on the cake with a little water, then cut out the bow and tails and put them in a plastic container to put on the cake after the tiers were set up. Final result... so much nicer than I would have ever expected. So you see, the answer to the prayer was that the SugarVeil did not set up, but I was forced to use my creativity for something that turned out much better. I later said a prayer of gratitude for the help I had received.

I love my new KitchenAid!!

I know, you're probably saying "she bought another KitchenAid?" Well, I have had my other ones for an eternity and yes, they still work, but...this one was on sale at Costco for $50 off...and it's a professional model, so it's more heavy duty...and it has a larger, wider bowl...and it matches my KitchenAid food processor and my KitchenAid blender...and I used my cake money...and I think I deserved it...and, and, and... Anyway, I absolutely love it! It's very easy to work with, and the speeds start out very slow, especially compared to my old ones, which really means less mess. 

So I needed to make a batch of fondant last night for a cake I was doing today, so I thought I would check out how the new mixer would handle the job...oh wow! It was perfect! I first slightly greased the bowl, then put in 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar. I poured in the melted marshmallow mixture after putting on the heavy duty spiral dough hook, and on a low speed, let the mixer do it's thing. You will notice that part of the sugar looks like it will be stuck to the bottom of the bowl, but a little at a time the dough hook will pick up the sugar, and eventually incorporate all of the sugar into the dough. At that point, is when I transferred the dough onto my silicone mat and kneaded the last 1 cup of sugar into the dough by hand. It turned out so smooth and perfect after letting it set overnight, and no air bubbles whatsoever. I'm wondering now what would happen if I kneaded the final cup of sugar with the dough hook instead of by hand... I was always afraid to do that before because the dough gets so stiff, but with this pro model, I may be able to do the entire kneading with the mixer. It would sure save time. I will try next week with my next wedding cake. 

Just for the record, I now have 4 KitchenAid mixers plus my other KitchenAid appliances, and we just bought a classic KA mixer for my oldest son's family for Christmas. Both of my other children have KA mixers. I should have a share in the company.

Here is a picture of the cute shower cake I did today...just so happened that the shower was postponed until next weekend because of inclement weather, so we packaged it up for the customer to put in the freezer until then.

Cute pink and white wedding cake...

This cute little cake was for a bride that loves pink. The wedding reception was on Sunday, so I delivered it Saturday night to the groom's parents' home, and they transported it to the reception site on Sunday, and arranged the flowers on top.   I made sure that I stabilized it with a wooden dowel going down the center of all 3 tiers. The cake was lemon with raspberry filling. Because it was decorated with fondant, and had a filling that did not need to be refrigerated, I knew they would be fine in transporting it, even though they were a little nervous. As you can see, it arrived safely. I airbrushed the fondant pieces with pink and pearl airbrush colors, which made the pieces glisten. My new airbrush works great with the thicker colors like the pearl and the metallics.

"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

Silicone Fondant Molds

Sometimes I get excited over simple little things. One decorating tool that I really LOVE is my blue silicone fondant bead mold. There are lots of these silicone fondant molds, but I really love this bead mold. I used it for the first time on the cake I did yesterday, and it was so simple to use and the results were even greater than I expected. So much easier to put on a fondant covered cake than to try to pipe a perfect bead border in buttercream at the reception site after the cake is stacked. 

Here are a few hints when working with the silicone molds...

• Use half fondant and half gumpaste...work together thoroughly until smooth and pliable
• Roll the fondant/gumpaste mixture into a rope the length you need, then push it into the mold
• Trim the excess off with a small spatula
• Put in the freezer for approx. 3-5 minutes before unmolding
• Unmold onto a non stick surface and store in ziplock bag until ready to use
• Attach to fondant covered cake with a small amount of water...apply with a small paint brush around entire border area

New Toys...

Yes, cake decorators get excited about new toys too...they are just different than what the average person may get excited about. My newest toy is my new Cricut Cake machine. For those of you familiar with the scrapbooking Cricut machines, this is the same except you use it to cut food products with. Instead of using a self-adhesive cutting mat like you would use with paper products, you use shortening to adhere your material to the mat. I'm still learning how to use it...experimenting with different materials and settings to get the results I want. I get a little frustrated sometimes when I can't get it to cut the way I want, but that's usually when I'm working on only a couple of hours or so of sleep after doing a wedding cake the night before. I've only had the machine for a couple of weeks...so far the things that I've been able to cut really well are Cricut frosting sheets, gumpaste, chocolate fondant with Tylose (if I can get it to the proper consistency after freezing it), and cheese slices...yes, cheddar cheese slices. It's really too bad that I can't decorate cakes with cheese, because that actually worked out better than anything thus far...unfortunately most customers don't want cheese on their cakes. I've done quite a bit of on-line research to see what seems to work. I ordered one product called Sugarveil that I will be experimenting with this week. If I can get it to work like I want, I will be posting the results with the instructions...a somewhat lengthy process, but worth the time if I can get it to work. 

I have decorated two cakes so far using the Cricut Cake...the first with gumpaste and the second with the frosting sheets. I've been pretty happy with both results, but don't care much for the taste of the frosting sheets...and they are very pricey, so hope to use other products.

I am persistent, so I will keep working until I get the desired results, and then share my knowledge on my blog.

Outside of Cricut Cake...pretty red

Inside...all completely food safe

Two cartridges that I have used so far...any of the Cricut cartridges work on the Cricut Cake.

Wedding cake using gumpaste scroll cutouts

Closeup of scroll work

Mini wedding cake using frosting sheet cutouts

Closeup of heart design

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. 

Brown and cream...nice wedding colors!

On Saturday afternoon, I delivered a wedding cake to Black Forest Community Center. This was the first time I had a delivery there, since the last wedding I had scheduled there was moved to another venue and time that I could not work with. The bride's wedding colors were chocolate brown and cream...very nice. The decorations and flowers on the cake were very simple, as well as the flavors...vanilla with vanilla cream and chocolate with chocolate mousse. The venue was kind of rustic, woodsy, and log cabiney...very different, but I liked it...an older building, but very usable for a wedding...good sized kitchen with very adequate facilities. One draw-back...no A/C, but in Black Forest, it doesn't really get all that warm, even in the heat of the day. They just had a fan blowing.

The quilt design on the cake is made with a plastic template that you press into the sides of the cake and then go over with a small fondant cutting tool. Chocolate buttercream dots were added where the diamond shapes came together. This design would not work well on a round cake, but turns out nice on square tiers.

Quilt template

Fondant cutting tool

The Best of Both Worlds...

On Friday, I decorated and delivered cakes for a friend of ours from church. They were getting married in Denver and returning to Colorado Springs for a 6 pm reception. Only problem was that we had one of our April snowstorms, so the bride and groom didn't get to the reception until 7. In the meantime, I had also made 3 specialty cakes - carrot, chocolate lover's, and Shirley Temple. So, since we didn't want to cut the wedding cake until after the bride and groom arrived, we had plenty of other cake to serve. Actually, it worked out much better this way. You see, the wedding cake was just plain vanilla with no filling...good, but not nearly as good as the 3 other cakes. The wedding cake turned out beautifully, so we had the beautiful wedding cake PLUS the great tasting specialty cakes, without cutting the wedding cake. Granted, the family had lots of wedding cake left over that I understand they were able to share with friends, but it was really having the "best of both worlds."

Gumpaste flowers

After all these years, I'm finally learning how to make gumpaste flowers. So here is my first attempt...the last wedding cake I did had royal blue and white roses, and other flowers and was accented with chocolate brown satin ribbon. I also tried out my new pearl airbrush color on all the flowers, and it gave them all a beautiful glisten-look. 

Using new silicone fondant mat

My new fondant mat arrived just in time for me to use to decorate my wedding cake for this weekend. It worked like a charm...just as I had hoped. I applied a very thin coat of Crisco before rolling out the fondant and it worked perfectly. No more sticking fondant or cornstarch all over my kitchen.

It was so fun to deliver this cake and see that the scroll work matched the design on the tablecloth overlays and the color of the roses matched almost perfectly to the color of the other silk roses they had used in the decorations. I was very pleased with the results. I also delivered 3 specialty cakes along with the wedding cake...Shirley Temple cake, but used white chocolate shavings instead of curls for easier cutting, Luscious Lemon, and Chocolate Mint Mousse. The flavors of the wedding cake were chocolate mint with chocolate mint mousse filling, and yellow with cream cheese and fresh strawberries. The flowers were done in royal icing, and the red was airbrushed on, leaving the bottom of the roses white, so as not to bleed on the white cake.

Finding old cake patterns on line

I hadn't put this design on a wedding cake since we left AZ and I needed to find the pattern so I could get approximately the correct size of scallops. Since I knew which Wilton yearbook it came from, I just googled Wilton cake patterns and then typed in scallop pattern, and walla...there it was. Don't you just love the internet? This was a cake I delivered to Fort Carson. In previous years, I always put this design on a buttercream frosted cake, even though the design was originally meant to be on a fondant covered cake. It always looked OK before, but even looked nicer this time around on the fondant. This was a yellow cake filled with cream cheese and fresh strawberries...yumm. Also, it seems each time I do a cake in fondant, I learn something new. Last night, I discovered that I would probably save time and allot of cornstarch if I had a no stick mat, so I will invest in a silicone treated mat before I do my next fondant cake. The mat that I made myself from clear vinyl ends up sticking when I thought it wouldn't.