Off we go into the wild blue yonder...

It's that time again... USAFA graduation time. I think this year there were 990 + cadets that graduated and became 2nd Lieutenants in the United State Air Force. A proud time indeed for the graduates and their families. I have only had the privilege and opportunity once to attend an Air Force Academy graduation, and it was amazing! Of course, my favorite part was the hat toss at the end and then watching the Thunderbirds fly over. Last year because of budget cuts, they cut the flyover... very disappointing. I was glad to see that this year they were back! Residing here in Colorado Springs, I always end up designing several AF cakes throughout the year for promotions and retirements, but at this time of year, I especially enjoy designing cakes for the new 2nd Lieutenants. When I originally started designing these cakes, everything was done with patterns pressed into the icing and filled with buttercream. The details became so much more precise and clean when I got my Cricut Electric cutter. But now... oh my gosh... with my new Zing electric cutter, I can cut out so much better details, especially with the lettering, than I ever have before. Thank you Klik-n-Kut for a great piece of equipment! And congratulations to all of the 2014 USAFA graduates!

One of the first AF seal cakes that I designed-all in buttercream... not bad, but not as precise and clean as this..

I use Tappits to cut out the letters outside of the seal.

Again, before cutter-nice, but not as precise as this...

One more... AF bars in buttercream...

AF bars in gumpaste with cutter

My Zing cutter makes it all possible. I LOVE my Zing!

Some of my other favorite AF cakes...

AF flag cake... one of my most popular retirement cakes

These are the planes he piloted... all edible images

USAFA Chapel for retiring chaplain

How's your penmanship?

Is your handwriting less than desirable? Do you stress out whenever you need to write on a cake? Here are some ideas that might help...

• Writing on paper and writing on a cake are not the same. You write differently for each. When using a decorating bag, you must use your entire arm, from the shoulder down, instead of  just moving your hand and wrist, as you would with writing on paper. 
• Make sure your icing is the proper consistency...not too stiff, but not too runny either.
• Measure or eyeball where your letters will be so you can space them evenly. Sometimes it's easier to work from the outside in, or from both ends of the lettering to the middle.
• Try using different fonts. Have your message printed out on a piece of paper just like you want it on the cake, so you can use it as a guide.
• Practice, practice, practice! Write your message several times on a practice board, if necessary, before writing on the cake. 
• Don't be afraid to scrape your lettering off with a small spatula and try again, if necessary. It's easier to do repair work on crusting buttercream or fondant.
• When your letters need to be exact, use some sort of letter cutters. I like to use "Tappits." They work best with a very stiff, slightly dry gumpaste or modeling chocolate, rolled out very thin. I love modeling chocolate. Recently, I cut out very small letters with my scrapbook letter punches using modeling chocolate rolled out very very thin. You can also use letter punches with icing sheets. (The modeling chocolate tastes much better, of course.)

Here are some examples of lettering, some done freehand, and others using letter cutters or punches. Remember, I have been decorating cakes for over 35 years and my first lettering on cakes did not look like what it does now. Practice, practice, practice!

"Department of the Air Force" on seal and capital letters on cake all done free hand.

All lettering done with Tappits except "United States of America" punched out with scrapbooking punch.

Air Force Seal-all parts except for lettering cut out with Cricut Cake. Border piped with royal icing.

Upper and lower case Tappits. Upper case set comes with strip cutter.

"Dept. of AF" and "USA" cut out of modeling chocolate. The rest cut out of gumpaste.

Scrapbook punches

 

Another font...upper and lower case funky letter Tappits

Click here for a You Tube video on using Tappits.

Graduation cakes for twin sisters...a little different font for each...all done free hand.

Don't let writing on cakes intimidate you. Just keep practicing and you'll eventually have beautiful writing on your cakes.

Graduation, Promotion, and Retirement Cakes

It's that time of year again...graduations, promotions, and retirements. This is a cake that I did last last night for an Air Force retirement. Of course, living here in Colorado Springs I have the opporturnity to decorate cakes for military celebrations, especially Air Force. These cakes usually involve alot of work since they usually deal with creating detailed emblems in icing. I can also design graduation cakes for specific schools--colleges, high schools, and middle schools--customizing your cake with a specific logo or emblem. Prior to relocating to Colorado, this was most often my busiest time of year. One year I baked and decorated about 20 cakes within a 3 day period. Of course, I didn't sleep much, and was beginning to run out of room to place the completed cakes, but some how I managed to get through. I'm not sure I could or would want to be that busy again, but I do enjoy the opportunity to do these special cakes. My skill and talent for detail comes through.