Finally ... a cake leveler that really works!

I received my new cake decorating toy yesterday ... my new Agbay cake leveler. It is amazing! I absolutely love it. Yes, it was expensive, but worth every penny. Sometimes, you just have to pay for quality tools and equipment. This thing is heavy, solid, steel, and MADE IN AMERICA!! Check it out at:

http://www.agbayproducts.com/products.html

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

A client from Alabama that found my name online, called to order a cowboy baby shower cake for her daughter who lives here in the Springs. Her order was for a small 2-tier cake...the bottom tier should be white fondant with black cow spots, the top tier, denim look with a belt and buckle that says "Milam," the baby's name. On top of the cake she wanted baby cowboy boots and anything else western plus some daisies, since they were decorating with daisies. I had to do allot of research for this one. I actually ordered 3 chocolate molds that I thought might help. 2 out of the 3 arrived in time...the horseshoe mold is still on its way. The 3-D boot mold ended up being "life-size," so was definitely too large for the 6" inch top tier. My husband's idea was to scan the mold and then make it smaller. I'm still trying to figure that one out, since the mold is clear plastic and 2 part 3-D...hmmm. Anyway, I found an adorable baby cowboy boot pattern online, and just cut the horseshoes, belt buckle, and cow spots out with my Cricut Cake. I made modeling chocolate, and used half chocolate fondant, and half modeling chocolate for the belt, cowboy hat (which I pressed into a mold and then reshaped a bit), and rope border. I ordered a special basketweave rolling pin to make a denim texture, which didn't really work that well. The one thing I would have done different on this cake is to paint the denim color on with a brush instead of airbrushing it on. I think it would have looked more like denim. I played around a little more after the cake was completed, and that's what I decided. 

This is what I think I will do next time... basically same color, just a little different texture since you can see some of the white fondant through. Color is brushed on instead of airbrushed. I used navy gel paste instead of airbrush color. 

You can see how large this mold is by comparing it to my hand... and scanning it? I don't think so.

Cake Pops for 1 Year Old...

Wow, this little girl must be loved allot...6 dozen cake pops and cake for her first birthday! Cake pops ... just a little bit of cake, but a whole lot of work. Colors were basically brown and pink with a little green accent. Four different flavors, each designated by a different color ribbon. Happy Birthday Hosanna!

 And her very own cake to smash and eat...

Graduation season

Graduation...always the start of my busy season with graduation, change of command, weddings, and birthdays. Here's the latest graduation cake for a graduate from the AF Academy. The AF seal is made from my homemade gumpaste  and cut out on my Cricut Cake. All lettering is freehand except for the "United States of America." That is cut out of an icing sheet, using a scrapbook punch. The letters are then attached to the gumpaste with just a tiny bit of water. If you use too much water, the letters will dissolve. Next on the agenda... change of command cake for Thursday, and 6 dozen cake pops for Saturday.

Experimenting with New Recipes

I never tire of experimenting with new recipes, so when I get a request for a new appetizer for a catering job, I get really excited. Today, I tweaked a recipe for stuffed cucumber cups...turned out so yummy. I decided these could be done with a variety of nuts, even though the original recipe called for walnuts. So I tried almonds also, but still liked the taste of the walnuts when it was combined with the taste of the blue cheese. 

Here's the recipe...

Stuffed Cucumber Cups

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

3 T. sour cream

1 T. minced green onions or chives

1/4 t. seasoning salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 cucumbers

Using a zester, score the length of each cucumber to create a striped effect. Remove the ends and cut each cucumber into 3/4 inch rounds. Using a small melon baller, scoop out the seeds from the center of each round to form a cup. Reserve a few of the walnuts as a garnish. Combine remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Spoon the mixture into the cucumber cups and sprinkle with remaining nuts. Chill until serving time. 

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. 

Having fun with veggies ...

As I have mentioned before, I love learning new skills. Last week, I wanted to try something different for a veggie display we were doing for a catering job. So I purchased several inexpensive glass containers and a mirror, and put the veggies with green glass marbles and ice .... to keep the veggies cool ... into the different containers, along with a fun edible veggie arrangement. We always serve our veggies with a yummy dill dip. Here's the final results ...

The menu also included two warm appetizers, a fruit display, chocolate peanut butter rounds, mint rounds, and a small wedding cake. The flavor was yellow with Bavarian creme filling, which is always a big hit with the guests.

 Spinach spirals and pepperoni pizza puffs

 Chocolate peanut butter rounds and mint rounds, both made with Ritz crackers

 Yellow cake with Bavarian creme filling