Thursday, July 24, 2014

Making edible lace and fabric...

If you are a regular follower of my blog, you will know that I have used an edible lace product called Sugarveil to make my lace pieces, and flags for my military cakes. Suguarveil is a fine product, but my biggest problem with it is the fact that it takes forever to set up and then it becomes brittle with time. You have a window of time that you need to work with it, or it is no longer flexible. Problem solved... I have found 2 new products that I like better because the lace stays flexible for a very long time after you have made it, and with my busy schedule, that's what I needed.
 Cake Lace by Claire Bowman... product is made is UK
Sugar Dress by Martellato... product is made in Italy

Both products are available here in the US. through Amazon, Global Sugar Art, and Etsy.

 Mixing it is a 2-part process. First, you combine a powder with a little water and beat according to directions, and then you add a small amount of a liquid and continue beating until peaks form. The liquid is what keeps the lace flexible. 

After you have finished whipping it up, you can spread it into a lace mat or spread it out on the back of a lace mat or onto a silicone baking mat and use it as a piece of fabric. The edible fabric is what I use to make my flags for my Air Force cakes. After you have made your lace pieces or have combined fabric pieces to make a flag, you can fold up your pieces and store them in a zip-lock bag until you're ready to use them. The pieces stay flexible and do not stick to each other... literally like working with fabric. 



Many different lace mats are available. They are quite pricey, but the finished product is incredible. Here are some of the lace mats that I have.



Here are a couple of great videos to show how the whole process works...

Sugar Dress

Cake Lace

Here are some of the cakes I have done with edible lace products...









Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A Watermelon or a Cake? How about both!



















For my birthday this year, I wanted to keep on track with healthy eating, and definitely wanted to get away from the traditional cakes that I'm around most of my life, so I tried this new idea... a no-bake watermelon cake that I found online. Hubby wasn't too excited, but I LOVED it, and, after all, it was MY birthday, not his. :) 

After I posted a picture on Facebook, several of my friends requested the recipe, so here is the link. A special thank you to Jennifer Garza for posting this. 

To ice it, you can use real whipped cream, Cool-whip, or my favorite... coconut whipped cream. 
Here is the recipe for the coconut whipped cream... needs little or no sweetener. Yummy!


Enjoy!!!