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.

Air Force Flag cakes...labor of love

I had another order for one of my Air Force flag cakes that went out this morning. These cakes are a little more pricey for my customers...just because there is allot of work involved. It is a several days project whenever I decorate one of these cakes. First, I cut out all of the emblem pieces from gumpaste on my Cricut Cake. After they are all dry, I airbrush them, and again let the pieces dry. Once they are dry, I assemble all of the pieces together...it's kinda like a puzzle. I try to get these done a few days ahead of time. Two days before the cake needs to be ready, I mix up the Sugarveil, because the mixture has to set awhile before you can spread it out. That same day, I bake the cakes, so they can set overnight. The day I decorate, I make the fillings and icing, and then fill, ice, assemble, and decorate the cake...everything except the flag and emblems. Several hours before I'm ready to lay the flag and emblems on the cake, I spread the different colors of Sugarveil onto my silicone mats. This is the tricky part. The amount of time it takes for the Sugarveil to set depends on the weather conditions...how hot it is and mainly the humidity. So, usually it takes several hours, anywhere from 3-4 hours to overnight. You have to keep checking it because it has to be at the stage where it is set, but still pliable so you can work with it. If you let it set too long, it becomes brittle. So because I want the flag to drape nicely on the cake like a real fabric flag, I watch the Sugarveil very closely to make sure I catch it at the correct stage to cut and assemble the pieces. I recently purchased a new mini star scrapbooking punch, which is the perfect size for the stars I need. I cut out all of the pieces, and then assemble the flag. The pieces just stick to each other without adding anything special. I then position the flag on the cake, and put the emblems on top with a bit of icing. Each flag cake that I have done thus far, has something a bit different. This latest order had an oak leaf emblem that was half in gold and half silver, signifying the promotion from major to Lt. Col. So yes, the price is extra for the customer, but the the final product is a real showstopper!

Two flags, two emblems...different materials

Last time I did my Air Force flag cake, it was before I was introduced to the amazing capabilities of SugarVeil . The first flag was made from fondant...looked nice, but was very heavy and hard to place on the cake. I needed to add extra support in the cake so the flag would not crush it. This time, the flag was made from SugarVeil and no extra support was needed. The flag resembled even more closely an actual fabric flag, complete with weight and texture. The colors were also more vivid. The only thing I would have done differently were the stars. I cut them out of gumpaste...they looked great, but had a difficult time sticking to the SugarVeil material. I will be looking for a star punch to cut the stars out of the SugarVeil next time. I'm still having a difficult time using SugarVeil in my Cricut Cake. The SugarVeil pieces just adhered to each other without much problem. I didn't even need to use water. And the flag draped very nicely on the cake...just like an actual fabric flag. 


I used to make all of my Air Force emblems out of royal icing...looked OK, but now even more exact when cut from gumpaste with the Cricut Cake. In the pictures, you can see the differences.

How Awesome Is This!

When I got my new Cricut Cake machine, what I was really hoping to accomplish is to cut out some of my own patterns. Well, now I can do that...I purchased Make the Cut software which lets you cut out anything you want. You just import any pictures from your computer onto a virtual cutting mat, plug your computer into the Cricut Cake with a USB printer cable, and let the machine do the rest. It is truly amazing! Instead of creating my Air Force emblems from royal icing, I can now cut all the pieces out of gumpaste with the Cricut, airbrush them, and stick the pieces together with a little water. It still takes some time, but the design is so much more exact. I'm still experimenting with what food materials I can cut well...so far gumpaste is the best.

Gumpaste pieces layered and cut out

More pieces...

Look at how detailed some of the pieces are...

It's amazing how well it cuts out the tiny letters

Completed seal after airbrushing

and wing emblems...

Finished product with SugarVeil flag...chocolate with chocolate mousse and vanilla with raspberry mousse

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Chocolate cake with fudge filling

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