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So I've been lurking this forum, waiting on a cake decorating thread. I've given up and decided to make one. Let us begin! Last night's cake:  Made for my friend's 18th birthday, he got to vote for the first time, on his birthday, on November 4th.   I won't load all of them on this, but here are some high lights from this year: The Moldovan exchange student's birthday cake:  My friend's Bob Dylan birthday cake:      I dig fondant, because I find it almost easier than buttercream. But I'm slowly trying to master butter cream. My first fondant cake was in January, and before then I had only baked a few times. I just started charging for cakes. First catering cake:  Share you cakes, recipes, stories, blah blah blah. I just want to see some cakes! (Carrot cakes are acceptable, too.  )
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Nov 6, 2008 01:44
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 03:23 |
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I'm no cake decorator, but I've made a teddy bear cake, Bert and Ernie, and the head of my kid's beloved stuffed duck. Let me dig for pictures.
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Nov 6, 2008 03:12
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I made this cake for my fiance's birthday last year. It's the BMW logo, because he had just bought another BMW before his birthday: Click here for the full 800x532 image. Your carrot cake looks pretty delicious.
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Nov 6, 2008 04:26
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Aww, I like it. Thats what i miss when I use fondant. Sometimes it looks too.. not like cake. I like it when things look creamy and home-madey. Plus it tastes bad.
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Nov 6, 2008 05:01
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Delicious lemony giant cupcake goodness:    and my old over the hill skull almond cake:    Next step: Death Metal Teddy Bear
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Nov 6, 2008 19:09
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I'll play! and  Made for my cake decorating class. I have a bunch of royal icing flowers lying around that I'll have to use up soon. Those giant cupcakes are awesome, btw. How much batter did they take?
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Nov 7, 2008 01:34
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Totally. Are those pans worth it? They look pretty cute. Did people enjoy it? Alssoo, Fight Club! Are Wilton classes worth it? I taught myself, just from watching TV. Have you got a lot of benefit from them?
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Nov 7, 2008 04:43
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Flantastic posted:Alssoo, Fight Club! Eh, Class 1, not so much. I pretty much knew everything we learned already, except for the rose. It did help me perfect my technique, and I had been doing some things the hard way. Plus, they're a lot of fun, especially when you go with a friend or two. The second class (royal icing flowers) was TOTALLY worth it. Of course, you have to take the first class before you can take any of the others. Fondant looks like fun, and I plan to take it next. Be prepared to spend more money than you'd planned to if you do take the class.
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Nov 7, 2008 06:57
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Hah, we celebrated Tuesday with a cake of the same idea. I rushed (running between rooms to check the television as states were being called) so did not really smooth out the cake and this is my first time using fondant but I think the idea came through enough.
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Nov 7, 2008 07:17
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The giant cupcake pans took one normal "cake" recipe each, or if you were to use one box of mix... I think. I was drinking a lot of wine that night so I'm not 100% on that Ahahahaaa. Also you assemble them because you bake them in two pieces. I had to cut some cake out to make the pieces smooth. I had a minor problem with the bottom portions creasing inward near the base, but I imagine this is luck of the draw as cakes aren't usually shaped like giant cupcakes.
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Nov 7, 2008 14:08
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More Wilton class fun here: My Course 2 final. I really wish I'd have made this a two-layer cake, because the balance is really off, and it just makes me sad now.  And my Course 3. The roses are a mix of fondant and gumpaste, and the cake itself is covered in fondant. Techincally, it's styrofoam dummies, as I wanted to keep this one as a display piece. There's no way I could get a real cake so level. I'll agree that Course 1 is fairly basic, but the next two are much better, if more expensive in the supply department. I never finished the newer Fondant and Gumpaste course, however. The flowers in the book were very basic, and the rest just seemed to be a repeat of things you do in Course 3.
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Nov 7, 2008 21:18
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Yay for giant cupcakes! I'll post my one and only foray into cake decorating, done a couple of weeks ago for a friend's daughter's 2nd birthday:  Not exactly super professional with the rough finish but I can only improve 
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Nov 8, 2008 04:52
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foogrrl posted:
Great looking cake! Question: How do you mix fondant and gum paste? I have only ever tried working with fondant once, for the skull cake above. What exactly IS gum paste and why would you mix it with fondant? I always imagined it as some chewy clay-like stuff. My main problem when I worked with the fondant was that I couldnt "close" seams; it wouldn't mold into itself like clay and make a smooth joint. Does gum paste fix this? I don't really have the funds to take a class so I'm trying to learn as much as possible on my own.
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Nov 10, 2008 15:03
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I'd been on a cupcake kick lately... Pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting  Double chocolate cake with chocolate sour cream frosting. Poor H:(  And a coconut cake! 
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Nov 10, 2008 15:58
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Pooptron2003 posted:Great looking cake! Thank you! I'm really happy with how that one came out. Gum-paste is a fair bit like fondant, except it dries harder and doesn't taste as good. I know the second is hard to believe if you've had some brands of fondant, but there are some that are actually rather nice - I haven't had a chance to work a cake with it yet, but Satin Ice is rather like vanilla Tootsie Rolls, from when I tasted it at the local cake shop. I like using gum paste for flowers because it dries harder than fondant does, and is at least a bit stronger, so you can roll it thinner, and thin your petal edges further, so your flowers look more real. I mixed it half and half for this cake because we were supposed to be using fondant, and I didn't want to deviate entirely. The technique's rather the same for both, though. The skull cake is awesome! I would never have thought it was your first work with fondant. And I've never had luck with seam repair in it myself. I don't think it really can be done. I've always been taught to roll it larger than what you need (cake diameter + height x 2 + extra), very carefully transfer it to the cake, and then gently work it over from the top down, stretching and smoothing. And if you rip or tear...well, that's where decide where the decorations go! I did find it helpful to practice on cake dummies - I just can't eat that much cake, and it ends up being cheaper since you can reuse them. And if you're interested, there's a good DVD on fondant basics out there, I'll dig up the name. And goodness, I've written a novel. But talking cake is one of my weaknesses.
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Nov 10, 2008 17:54
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I like making cakes.  
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Nov 11, 2008 03:52
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blackflare posted:I like making cakes. Oh my god, that's amazing.
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Nov 11, 2008 05:08
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Okay, I finally got around to using those flowers I made in Course 2. Made for a friend's daughter who's been sick. Nothing makes you feel better than chocolate cake with chocolate filling! Basketweave shot:  My favorite flowers: 
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Nov 12, 2008 08:47
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Fight Club posted:Okay, I finally got around to using those flowers I made in Course 2. Ok, with these little yellow and purple flowers, do you paint the black marks on them after they dry using gel coloring? I usually thin mine down with vodka first... Also also, the butterfly... made with royal icing on parchment/wax paper then peeled off? I'm just now getting into doing chocolate decorations like that and I wonder if the techniques are similar. Thanks!
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Nov 12, 2008 15:04
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I made a boredom cake last night. The problem with me and cakes is I don't usually start them until 9:00pm then by the time I'm getting ready to finish the decorations I get really lazy (and usually have three glasses of wine in me). I almost tried the "paper towel" method.... but it was late and I didn't feel like re-icing if I screwed it up. Regardless I think I got a pretty sweet Dr. Seuss-ish cake! (I drizzled some Cointreau in between the cake layers for some delicious adult goodness. It was a lemon/vanilla cake).   The work vultures finished it off in about 20 minutes... and it was a big rear end cake! I still need to learn how to use the tips properly; I haven't tried messing with them yet.
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Nov 13, 2008 22:58
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This ain't really a cake its more like a torte or whatever but decorating things is hella fun chocolate/ toasted almond/ raspberry torte thing with piped out firm whip cream w/cocoa & powdered sugar
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Nov 13, 2008 23:14
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Pooptron2003 posted:Ok, with these little yellow and purple flowers, do you paint the black marks on them after they dry using gel coloring? I usually thin mine down with vodka first... I know this wasn't directed at me, but I've done similar things - I think they were in one of my pictures. I tend to paint with paste color thinned with lemon extract. It doesn't matter exactly what you use as long as it's an alcohol base so it evaporates before it dissolves whatever it is you're painting. The butterflies I've done, and I would guess are similar (I can't remember if it was standard Wilton or something my instructor added in) is a royal or specialty icing outline piped on wax paper, then the icing is thinned and flooded in to fill the shape. Wilton makes a powder called Color Flow which is supposed to be a little harder and shinier than royal when it dries. I've only worked with the sample that came in my class kit, so I haven't done it with royal to compare. And I love the colors of that Dr. Seuss-ish cake! Between yours and the rainbow cake thread, next time I bake I'm going to have to throw some color into the batter.
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Nov 14, 2008 01:18
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Pooptron2003 posted:Ok, with these little yellow and purple flowers, do you paint the black marks on them after they dry using gel coloring? I usually thin mine down with vodka first... foogrrl is right, the butterfly is color flow. If it wasn't for the class, I probably would have just used thinned royal icing. Done on waxed paper and then peeled off. I've heard wax is better than parchment here and that it won't come off of some parchment brands at all. Apparently you can do similar things with buttercream if you freeze it before peeling it off the waxed paper. Haven't tried it for myself yet, but I don't see why it wouldn't work if you were gentle about it. For the flowers, I didn't have any alcohol in the house so I just used the gel colors straight up. Not ideal, but I was in a rush.
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Nov 14, 2008 02:50
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Lixer posted:I'd been on a cupcake kick lately... Also, Pooptron2003, amazing Dr.Seuss cake. It made me jump up from my reclined position, just to get a better look. How did you get your cake color to look so rich?
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Nov 14, 2008 05:57
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Thanks for the help everyone, I'll have to look into that color flow stuff (how's the taste?). I have yet to really try my hands at royal icing, but I love painting so maybe there will be some help there?polarbear_terrorist posted:Also, Pooptron2003, amazing Dr.Seuss cake. It made me jump up from my reclined position, just to get a better look. How did you get your cake color to look so rich? Thanks! I use a TON of gel color... probably more than I should, but I'm never satisfied until it's super colored. Question: Anyone have any good ideas for food color other than AmeriColor and Wilton? I find the AmeriColor don't look ANYTHING like the color they say they will look like on their top, so it's always a crap shoot what color I will really get. I want some good NEON colors dammit! 
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Nov 14, 2008 14:27
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This is my first try. Caillou cake for my daughter's Bday!
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Nov 14, 2008 15:29
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Pooptron2003 posted:The colors in this cake are beautiful!
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Nov 14, 2008 16:17
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Thanks youz!^^^ (next time greens)mentos posted:This is my first try. Caillou cake for my daughter's Bday! Whipped cream icing? It's adorable. I want a bald man cake too.
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Nov 14, 2008 20:58
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Pooptron2003 posted:Thanks youz!^^^ (next time greens) My great aunt used to ice cakes with icing made by mixing a tub of cool whip and a box of vanilla pudding powder. It probably tastes terrible but I remember it being delicious when I was little.
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Nov 15, 2008 00:26
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mediaphage posted:My great aunt used to ice cakes with icing made by mixing a tub of cool whip and a box of vanilla pudding powder. It probably tastes terrible but I remember it being delicious when I was little. My mom did the same thing, but with dream whip instead of cool whip. Still delicious. So fluffy and not as sweet as regular icing.
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Nov 15, 2008 21:17
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Pooptron2003 posted:cakes Those are absolutely amazing. I love the giant cupcakes. What are people's experiences with mixing extracts/flavors with cake or frosting? I want to make my brother a banana-flavored monkey-cake for his birthday and I don't know if I'd be better off just using slices of bananas as the filling or if I should experiment with flavoring.
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Nov 15, 2008 21:27
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BostonCreamTerrier posted:Those are absolutely amazing. I love the giant cupcakes. This is one of those things I'd recommend trying in advance first, of course. But I've had a lot of fun playing with flavored extracts in buttercream. Mint is very nice, and makes a dark chocolate cake more edible to me, when I'm not normally a fan. My favorite orange and vanilla, about half and half. I've toyed with almond mixed with, or in place of, the vanilla, as well. You will want to cut back whatever vanilla or other flavoring called for, or you'll throw off your consistency, and may end up with too strong a flavor. But it's cake, it should be fun! Now that I think about it, I've done some cakes that have had extract added to a doctored cake mix. I think you'd just need to keep in mind the flavors of the cake, and decrease/substitute the original extract as you would for icing. Here's the most lemon cake I ever made:  Lemon cake mix with Dream Whip and lemon pudding added, filled with a commercial lemon filling. Buttercream is made with a lemon confectioners sugar that I saw in the store at the time, a few years ago and I never have since, and I think it may have had lemon extract as well. The hearts are white summer coating with lemon flavoring. The recipient had the gall to tell me it wasn't lemony enough. Pooptron2003 posted:Question: Anyone have any good ideas for food color other than AmeriColor and Wilton? I find the AmeriColor don't look ANYTHING like the color they say they will look like on their top, so it's always a crap shoot what color I will really get. I have a fair bit of Cake Craft colors - it's what my local(ish) shop stocks, besides the Wilton. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anyone other than AmeriColor making a neon line of dyes. I've never worked with the brand, but I know about the crap shoot concept. What kinds of things are you trying to do? Maybe we can find a way to work around the wackiness that is food dye. Edited because my brain is not unlike a pasta strainer. foogrrl fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Nov 15, 2008 |
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Nov 15, 2008 22:12
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Could those of you who have done the Wilton classes talk about them a little more? It would be a pain for me to get to them right now (no car) but I've wanted to for a while. How are the classes structured, how much money did you end up spending in both fees and materials, would you take them again rather than teaching yourself? I have limited free time and I give up easily, so teaching myself hasn't worked that well. I'd like to learn how to pipe properly at least and make flowers and poo poo. Secondly, home made fondant seems to be made with marshmallows a lot. Any insight on vegetarian recipes (gelatin is the problem)? I love all these cakes, especially the Dr. Seuss one, and I'd LOVE to see a recipe for those pumpkin cupcakes.
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Nov 15, 2008 22:38
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exactduckwoman posted:Secondly, home made fondant seems to be made with marshmallows a lot. Any insight on vegetarian recipes (gelatin is the problem)? I know I've seen vegetarian marshmallows around...
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Nov 15, 2008 23:19
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exactduckwoman posted:I love all these cakes, especially the Dr. Seuss one, and I'd LOVE to see a recipe for those pumpkin cupcakes. I used the recipe from Martha Stewart.com. They came out similar to a pumpkin muffin recipe that I have and not light like a cupcake. I think this is probably due to the texture of the pumpkin added and can't be overcome. But if someone has another fluffy recipe let me know! * 2 cups all-purpose flour * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon baking powder * 1 teaspoon coarse salt * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 1 teaspoon ground ginger * 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg * 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice * 1 cup packed light-brown sugar * 1 cup granulated sugar * 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled * 4 large eggs, lightly beaten * 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree. 3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Then topped them with this * 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature * 1/4 C (half stick) butter, room temperature * 1 t vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste * 1 t cinnamon (add more to taste) * 2-3 C powdered sugar (add more or less to make it a stiffness that you like) 1. Mix cream cheese and butter well. 2. Add vanilla and cinnamon. 3. Add powdered sugar.
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Nov 15, 2008 23:38
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exactduckwoman posted:Could those of you who have done the Wilton classes talk about them a little more? It would be a pain for me to get to them right now (no car) but I've wanted to for a while. How are the classes structured, how much money did you end up spending in both fees and materials, would you take them again rather than teaching yourself? I have limited free time and I give up easily, so teaching myself hasn't worked that well. I'd like to learn how to pipe properly at least and make flowers and poo poo. I'll talk a bit more about the Wilton classes. As far as how much money I spent, the official price for a class is $35, but just about every month, Wilton will run a discount, usually 40-50%, so don't get suckered in to paying full price. On top of this, for the first class, you'll need decorating supplies (tips, bags, etc), and cake and icing for all but the first week. You can buy a Course 1 kit for $25 and it will have all the tips you need, plus a spatula, assorted decorating bags, and a practice board. However, watch your local paper for coupons. Michael's will often have 40 or 50% off deals. On the first night of class you'll also get a book that shows the decorating techniques you'll be learning, as well as templates to use with your practice board. For the first class I think I ended up paying $17.50 for the class, $12.50 for the kit (I already had most of the stuff, but it's nice to have extra, especially if you find a 50% off coupon), plus ~$20 (I'm guessing) for cake/icing supplies. You can, of course, spend WAY more than this if you start buying cake carriers, cake levelers, extra bags/tips, food coloring, and so on and so forth. I'm assuming you're taking them at Michael's. Understand that each class will be a little different depending upon the instructor. The first night, our instructor decorated a cake while we watched, talking about how to make icing, using the proper constancy of icing, and generally trying to make us spend more money on Wilton stuff. The other nights were MUCH better. You bring all your materials to the store with you, including icing made at home. We covered the basics including stars, lines, outlining, writing, figures (creepy clowns, ugh), drop flowers, borders, and of course, the Wilton Rose. I'd already taught myself a bunch of the stuff we learned, but the class really helped me perfect my technique, and now I can make a pretty awesome rose, if I do say so myself. Our teacher would demonstrate a technique for us, and then we'd have some time to practice it and ask questions. She'd walk around and make comments on how we were doing and checking our icing constancy. Class 2, royal icing flowers, covered a lot of stuff I didn't know before. I would definitely take them again as opposed to teaching myself. Keep in mind the class is lots more fun if you take a friend with you. And now for another picture of cake! Not a Wilton cake. One of the first I'd done. It was for a girl who works with me in my lab who was just finishing up her qualifying exams. She'd proposed that prions may affect the proteasome within cells, so I made her one in cake! 
Fight Club fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 00:13
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Lixer posted:I used the recipe from Martha Stewart.com. They came out similar to a pumpkin muffin recipe that I have and not light like a cupcake. I think this is probably due to the texture of the pumpkin added and can't be overcome. But if someone has another fluffy recipe let me know! I wanted to ask the recipe for your cupcakes, but I didn't know if it was appropriate. So, I looked them up online and I've been planning on trying out Martha's recipe. Glad to know it was a success! I made a chocolate cake (from the GWS Wiki) with peanut butter icing (recipe from a goon) today. It's not elaborate by any means to these. It was my first not-from-a-box cake
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Nov 16, 2008 01:55
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I made a mocha cake last night, but it's not a pretty one, just tasty. I do, however, have a few pictures from my Food Prep classes. A carrot cake (with really crappy icing, wow): https://wi.somethingawful.com/80/8088c5efd64c1444b2c83c51fcbfdd3c99e5d89d.jpg Blueberry Clafoutis: https://wi.somethingawful.com/1a/1a193657b24284b83965c656a11c21d868f43196.jpg Freeform Apple Tarts: https://wi.somethingawful.com/ae/aef61d2bb2709e44880c1b39aef19f87433759fe.jpg As you can see, I'm not a baker. I'm a cook, but I do enjoy baking sometimes.
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Nov 16, 2008 16:34
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That apple tart looks good. I am about to slip into a diabetic coma just looking at it.
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Nov 16, 2008 21:50
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 03:23 |
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Thanks for the answers and the recipe guys I don't know when I'll get a chance to take a class, but I am more eager to now that I know they're actually useful and not ENTIRELY product demos. I fully intend to make those pumpkin cupcakes sometime soon, too.
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Nov 16, 2008 23:07
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