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30
Oct

1

Gourmet Chocolate Covered Strawberries

By admin | Filed in Other Yummy Treats, Recipes, Tips, Techniques & Tutorials

Yum!  These little treats are amazing and so simple to make!  I bought milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and almonds.   To begin, wash your strawberries and then leave them out to dry.  They must be completely dry in order for your chocolate to stick.  Then,  put the different types of chocolate chips into two separate bowls and microwave them each for 45 seconds to 1 minute.   Stir the chocolate chips and then you are ready to begin dipping.  Hold the strawberries by their leaves and gently roll them into the chocolate.  Place the dipped strawberries on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and then serve.  Tip:  If you would like to dress up your strawberries a bit, try rolling them in crushed almonds right after you roll them in the chocolate.  You may even want to try adding some chocolate chips.  Enjoy!

 

 

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10
Jul

0

Daisy Cake

By admin | Filed in Birthday Cakes, Cakes, Fondant Cakes

This fun little cake was something I made for one of my Wilton demos.  Daisies are one of the designs my students will learn in the Fondant and Gum Paste Course so I thought it would be a great cake to use in a demo.  All you need to create this design yourself, is a fondant covered cake and one daisy cutter.   Attach your flowers with a dab of royal icing or gum glue.   Super easy!

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10
Jul

2

Curious George Cake with Handmade Fondant and Gumpaste Figures

By admin | Filed in Birthday Cakes, Cakes, Kids Cakes

  

 

Who doesn’t love Curious George?  I had a blast making this cake as I have such fond memories of this fantastic character from my own childhood.  A client picked out this design from a photo they had seen and asked if I could replicate the design.  I used Rice Krispy treats covered with fondant for Curious George, the present, and the hat on top of the cake.  I sculpted the palm trees around 1/4″ dowels so they would not be too heavy when placed on the cake.  The palm trees were made with gumpaste.  Cakes should look good, but more importantly, they should taste good!  For this particular cake, I made a yellow cake and filled/covered it with chocolate buttercream frosting.  Everyone loved the cake, both inside and out!!! 

  

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8
Jul

0

My Fender Stratocaster Guitar Cake Has Arrived!!!

By admin | Filed in Birthday Cakes, Cakes, Man Cakes

This was such a fun cake to make!  I did hit a major speed bump with my design though.  Oops!!!  I forgot to account for the thickness of the fondant on the sides of the neck of the guitar so, once the cake was assembled and covered it was a tiny bit too thick to fit on my guitar stand.  Thus, my cake became a flat cake instead of a stand up cake.  That is a mistake I will not make again.  The cake was still really awesome though and my dad loved it!  Here are a couple of photos from during the process of making the cake as well as a final shot.  I’ll also include some tips and tricks in the captions.

This is the final cake and I love it!!!

 

Before putting any of the cake onto my base, I had to round out the corners with krispy treats. I also used them on the neck of the guitar.

 

I used silver luster dust mixed with a little bit of vodka to make an edible luster paint. It worked super well. When turning a luster dust into an edible paint, make sure you use alcohol or some sort of extract. They will evaporate faster than water.

 

I used real guitar strings for the cake which added a "realistic" touch to the cake. The guy in the music store got a good laugh when I told him these were for a cake.

 

Finally, a close up of the base of the guitar cake.

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22
Jun

0

Frozen Buttercream Transfer

By admin | Filed in Buttercream Cakes, Cakes, Tips, Techniques & Tutorials

I love frozen buttercream transfers.  They are so simple and are an effective way to put a large design on top of a cake if you are too nervous to pipe it directly on the cake the first time. 

To make a frozen buttercream transfer, place a pattern under a sheet of wax paper, or parchment paper, and tape them both to a cookie sheet.  You can find really great patterns online or even use a coloring book image for a kids cake.  Outline your pattern with buttercream and then fill in the design with your desired colors. I prefer to use a medium consistency buttercream for this.

I piped this cupcake without a pattern directly onto a sheet of parchment paper.

 

After you fill in your design, stick it in the freezer for 30-35 minutes.   Special note:  if you forget that you put your transfer in the freezer and leave it over night it will still be ok.  Oops!!!  That’s exactly what I did.  Peel off the wax paper and you will have a fab buttercream design!

If your design sticks a bit, just take a small angled spatula and gently wiggle it free.

 

Now you are ready to put your design on your cake!  Use a large flat spatula to lift and place your design on your cake! 

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22
Jun

0

Fender Stratocaster Guitar Cake: Part 2

By admin | Filed in Birthday Cakes, Cakes, Fondant Cakes, Man Cakes, Tips, Techniques & Tutorials

 It’s almost officially guitar cake time!!!!  I’ve covered my wooden Fender Stratocaster base that I made with Fanci-Foil.  This way, the cake will not be touching the wood.  You must always remember to keep things sanitary when baking!  I’ve decided to use an actual guitar stand instead of the wooden stand I made.  I think it will offer better support.  We’ll see :) !!!  Check back soon for pics and tips of my guitar cake journey!   

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15
Jun

0

My fabulous Wilton display for open house!

By admin | Filed in Wilton Decorating

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2
Jun

1

Whooo hooo!!! I’m now a Wilton Method Instructor!

By admin | Filed in Cakes, Wilton Decorating

I’m extremely excited today!  I’m putting together items for my first open house demo as a Wilton Method Instructor.  I found out a few days ago that I was selected to teach the courses at my local craft store.  I’ll keep tabs on what it is like to be an instructor and fill you all in.  Check out my demo cakes and cupcakes below.  I tried to incorporate the different techniques from the three courses. 

 

 

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30
May

0

Fender Stratocaster Guitar Cake: Part 1

By admin | Filed in Cakes, Man Cakes

I could not be more excited to make this cake!  My dad is turning 60 and I have been telling him for years that I want to make him a guitar cake for his 60th birthday.  I’m going over the top with this one!  It will stand up like you see in the picture below.  My dad has so many guitars that it would appear that it would be difficult to just pick one for a cake.  Not the case though!  One guitar stands out in my mind……his Fender Stratocaster.  I can remember him playing it all the time when I was a kid and it was my favorite.

So now let’s get down to some cake business!!!  I’m going to do several posts for this cake over the next month.  I’m not making the cake for a few more weeks but I thought it would be cool to share the process with all of you.

Last weekend I visited Home Depot and purchased my materials for the support structure.  Then I traced my dad’s actual guitar onto the wood and used an orbital jigsaw to cut out the shape.  I secured some support shelves using “L” brackets and the rest is history!

Enjoy the post :)

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29
May

0

Fresh Blueberry and Cream Cupcakes – A Perfect Summer Dessert!!!!

By admin | Filed in Cakes, Cupcakes, Recipes, Tips, Techniques & Tutorials

These fresh blueberry and cream cupcakes are a perfect finale to any summer dining festivity!  All you need to do is make your favorite vanilla cake recipe and add a cup to a cup and-a-half of fresh blueberries before baking.   Make sure you are using a more dense cake recipe like a pound cake or your blueberries will sink during the baking process.  After your treats come out of the oven, allow them to cool and make your whipped cream topping.  Just spoon on the whipped cream topping or use a pastry bag to give it a more professional look and serve!  Don’t forget to garnish with a few fresh blueberries!! 

****Tip:  Keep the whipped cream topped cupcakes in the refigerator until ready to serve so they don’t melt!

Whipped Cream Topping:

Take heavy whipping cream and beat on medium high until stiff peaks form.  Add a bit of sifted powdered sugar or vanilla to flavor.

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