Time to step onto my soapbox...

Don't you hate it when people expect something for nothing? Or in my case, a wonderful cake for next to nothing. I would hope that after 34 years of decorating, that my experience and time and quality product are worth something. I'm getting tired of selling myself short. Not only that, my prices are still lower than most. It may mean a few less orders right now, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my time for pennies. If you want a beautiful and great tasting product, you've come to the right place when you call me. If you're satisfied with less, then so be it. There, I will now step off my soap box.

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?

Free Cake Tasting Scheduled for Saturday, February 11, 2012

Just in time for Valentine's Day...one of my free cake tasting days! If you are a prospective bride, call me to schedule a time to sample several of my most popular cake flavors. Also, compare different icings...buttercream, whipped cream, and fondants. If you haven't decided on the style of cake you want yet, you can view my portfolio to get some ideas. And because it's close to Valentine's Day, I usually have at least a couple of other tasty treats to sample too. While here, you can also review our catering menu, and schedule a time for a free consultation and tasting. Call me at 719.597.6918 or 719.510.8731. Hope to see you!

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.

And you thought I was on vacation...

In November I was in Hawaii, visiting my daughter after the birth of third baby...little Hunter Owen. While there I played maid, nanny, grandma, mom, and of course, cake decorator. I was able to attend Hunter's baby shower while there and this is the cake that we came up with...

Dad is in the Air Force, hence the little camo outfit and dog tag. We had extra cake, so we made a few cake pops for the kids also. I used the buttercream flow-in method for the design, and chocolate buttercream for outlining and trim. I grabbed one of dad's hats to use as a sample for the camouflage pattern.

Here is a picture of little Hunter in his Hawaiian outfit that mom made for him...

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.

The best cream cheese icing recipe...

Updated 4/6/18

A follower of my blog asked me if you could put fondant over cream cheese icing. I have learned from experience that it is best not to use cream cheese icing under fondant. The icing tends to have some kind of an interaction with the fondant, making it a little "slimy" and not very appetizing. If you want the flavor of the cream cheese icing, you can always use that as a filling and then put buttercream under the fondant.  This is a great tasting cream cheese icing recipe I have found. It's actually Wilton's recipe with a little tweaking. If you have followed my blog in the past, you know I am not a huge fan of Wilton, but there are a few things that I do like about their recipes and other things...and they are getting better with the products they offer.    

Cream Cheese Icing

(2) 8 oz. packages cream cheese

1 cup butter (2sticks) -slightly softened

8 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter and cream cheese and butter together for a few minutes. Be sure the butter is not too soft. Gradually add the powdered sugar and then beat until fluffy. The Wilton recipe calls for adding 1 T. of milk, but I skip this step and like the way it turns out. It's not too soft and holds it's shape for borders and other simple decorations, and even simple roses. 

Recently, I have found another cream cheese icing recipe that hold up much better to decorate with.

Decorator's Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup (4 oz,) hi-ratio cake shortening
1/2 cup (4 oz.) butter at room temperature
1 8 oz. brick cream cheese
2 lb. sifted powdered sugar
1-2 T. cream
2-3 t. clear vanilla or butter vanilla
1/4 -1/2 t. salt (use lesser amount if using salted butter)

Beat shortening, butter, and cream cheese together with salt and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and cream and beat until smooth, but do not over beat. 

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing and pecans

Lemon Berry Delight - lemon cake with raspberry and lemon fillings, iced in cream cheese icing