Let's Get Caking!: cake

Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Improvised Chocolate Fudge Cake

Some wonderful friends from church recently adopted four children from Latvia. They are truly amazing parents and people, and are wonderful examples to me of selfless love and service.

We surprised Valerie with an adoption shower a few weeks before she and her husband would travel to Latvia to bring their children home. I planned to make a chocolate cake with strawberry filling and to decorate it with red and turquoise flowers (since those are Valerie's favorite colors).

It was a busy week, and I realized the night before that I wouldn't be able to bake and decorate a cake in time. I decided to get a chocolate fudge cake from Sam's Club and then decorate the top myself. I'd had it before and knew it was a delicious cake.

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/artisan-fresh-chocolate-fudge-cake/prod4660165.ip

I scraped off the chocolate decoration from the middle and then smoothed out the top so that I could have a flat surface to pipe the message on. I made the flowers out of modeling chocolate and Sixlets candies. You can find Sixlets in most grocery stores (near the cake mixes and birthday candles). I love using Sixlets to decorate cakes! They look like pearls, and you can get them in almost any color.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Celebration-Shimmer-Powder-Blue-Sixlets-Candy-1.75-oz/32282501

This cake was a good reminder to me that it's okay to improvise when things don't go as planned. At first, I felt a little guilty for not actually baking the cake myself, but I shouldn't have. Valerie knows I care about her, and I heard so many people talk about how delicious the cake was, and someone even asked for the recipe later. 😊

STATS:

Modeling Chocolate

Melt 10 ounces of chocolate chips (or candy melts in the color of your choice) in a microwave or in a double boiler. Stir in 2 ounces of light corn syrup. Stir for about a minute until well combined. Spread on waxed paper and allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours. When cool, break large chunks off and knead until soft. Store in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag for up to a month. Break off small pieces and knead when you are ready to make something with your modeling chocolate. Return to refrigerator for 10-15 minutes if it starts to get too warm and sticky from the heat of your hands.

Royal Icing

http://www.marthastewart.com/316888/royal-icing-for-sugar-cookies

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Professional Photography Makes a HUGE Difference!

I've done my fair share of research online, trying to find the best tips for taking nice pictures of my cakes. Those tips have definitely helped my pictures improve (things like having a nice backdrop, natural lighting, interesting angles, etc.). However, I have to say that professional photographs really make a huge difference.

My talented photographer friend Rebecca attended the party where these cakes were served, and I'm so grateful she shared her photos with me. I LOVE how clean and bright the cakes look in these pictures.

I love this sign that Aubree's mom made. Isn't it cute?!

I created polka dots inside the cake by first baking some cake balls and then baking them into the cake layers. I'm so glad Rebecca got a picture of the cake after it was cut.

Polka Dot Cake Tutorial

Just to give you some perspective, here's one of the pictures I tried to take of my cake:

So, yeah. The colors look off and the whole photo is grainy. Something about it just isn't as fun, either.

If you're working on creating a cake portfolio, try hiring a professional photographer.

You really will see a difference.

Rebecca Fedele is a Family Photographer who also specializes in Birth Photography.

She is based in Illinois.

http://rebeccafedelephotography.com/

https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaFedelePhotography

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Happy Birthday, Aubree!

Aubree's mom, Lindsay, requested a candy themed cake for Aubree's first birthday party. Lindsay had so many great ideas, and I really had fun going over cake designs with her.

The (nearly) completed cake.

Here it is with the little smash cake...

...and here they are at the party. I waited until I set up the cakes at the venue before I added the fondant lollipops. I didn't want to risk travelling with them attached to the cake.

I LOVE how Lindsay decorated this table - that sign is seriously cool!

The party was held in an indoor bounce area. I was really worried that the weight of the lollipops - along with the expected bounce turbulence - would cause the lollipop sticks to pull through the cake. I asked for advice on how to prevent this problem on a cake forum, and (thankfully!) a talented cake decorator came to my rescue. Her name is Kara Buntin (owner of A Cake to Remember in Richmond, VA). She even made a video that was a great help to me.

Brilliant, right? Thank you, Ms. Buntin!

You can check out her amazing work here: http://www.acaketoremember.com/.

I ended up using cardboard covered with foil, and it worked beautifully. Once the fondant ball border was in place, you couldn't see the support at all.

I used gold luster dust mixed with a little water to "paint" Aubree's name (piped with royal icing).

A closeup of the large bow:

The small bow:

The cake board:

We took extra care designing the inside of the cakes, too. The smash cake had pink layers inside, and the large cake had colorful polka dots baked into it. I don't have pictures of the cakes once they were cut, but I promise they were cute. :)

STATS:

How to Make a Striped Fondant Bow

http://bronniebakes.com/2011/09/21/how-to-make-a-striped-fondant-bow/

How to Make a Polka Dot Cake

http://once-upon-a-pedestal.blogspot.com/2012/05/polka-dot-cake-from-bake-pop-pan.html

How to Cover a Cake Board with Fondant

http://cakejournal.com/tutorials/how-to-cover-a-cake-board-with-rolled-fondant/

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Welcome, Baby Jenna!

My friends and I had a great time putting together a baby shower for our sweet friend, Shelly. The expectant parents already have a name picked out for their new baby girl...Jenna. I love her name, and I can't wait to meet Jenna when she comes!

Laura was in charge of the decorations, and the room looked so good! I wish I was able to take pictures of all of the decorations she put together. She decorated the walls with huge cactus plants, a boot and a sheriff's badge made from colorful butcher paper. The tables were covered in pink and brown tablecloths and pretty cowboy hats decorated with girly bows. Everything was so cute! Luckily, I was able to get a picture of the cute welcome banner she made.

We planned a western-themed shower and made western food to go along with it. We had Mexican Lasagne (courtesy of Colleen), Creamy Tortilla Soup (This soup was SO good, and Colleen posted her recipe here: http://myfoodiefavorites.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/creamy-tortilla-soup/), cornbread muffins (courtesy of Lesley), barbecue meatballs (courtesy of Amelia), Russian potato salad (courtesy of Liliya), fruit (Liliya again), homemade salsa and chips (courtesy of Kelly), and root beer floats for the drinks (Lesley again). I loved that Lesley called them "Sarsaparilla Floats." I am so grateful to have such fun and talented friends!

Amelia and Lesley planned some great games for the baby shower. Here's the cute sign Lesley made for the "Do You Know Your Baby Vittles?" game. We don't use the term "vittles" nearly enough, in my opinion.

Here's the cake I made for the shower. It's strawberry cake, filled with cream cheese frosting, covered with a thin crumb coat of cream cheese frosting, and then completely covered with chocolate ganache.

Here's a closeup of the baby cowgirl boots. I'll post a link to the template I used to make the fondant boots in the STATS section at the bottom of this post.

*UPDATE* I just realized as I posted this, that I attached the boot waist incorrectly onto the sole of the boots. The downward scallop should be at the front and back of the boot, not at the sides under the pull straps. And to think I so carefully placed the pieces exactly wrong. LOL! Oh, well. Live and learn.

Cake Anatomy

Strawberry Cake

1 (16.5 oz.) box of white cake mix
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 (3 oz.) package of strawberry gelatin
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 cup citrus soda
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar, and strawberry gelatin in a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, beat together sour cream, pureed strawberries, citrus soda, and eggs. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, mixing on low speed at first. Then, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until well combined. Line a 9x13" baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes then raise oven temperature to 350 degrees for another 20 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

STATS:

Kathy's Custom Cakes Baby Cowboy Boots Template

http://media.cakecentral.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/510013/BootTemplate2C.jpg

Ganache Recipe, Tips, and Videos at Art and Appetite

http://www.artandappetite.com/2009/11/ganache-instead-of-buttercream/

Cream Cheese Frosting

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/Resources/Recipes/TraditionalCreamCheeseFrosting.aspx