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stevo9er posted:That apple tart looks good. I am about to slip into a diabetic coma just looking at it. It is quite good, and you can use the leftover tart dough to make palmiers   Click here for the full 640x480 image.
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Nov 17, 2008 02:01
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So, since we all can obviously bake, are you guys ever taken advantage of? Tonight I made a "friend"'s birthday cake for her 18th birthday (marking of the day she can drop out of school and -officailly- be moved in with her 23-year-old boyfriend.) She wanted one just like a cake I made for my friend's birthday a few months ago: (that was decorated in an hour, btw. It looks awesome when you add that detail, but if I had had more time, the bow would look a lot nicer.) But, fondant costs a lot of money -and she TOLD me she wanted the cake. So I made her a nice chocolate chocolate chip cake with vanilla and mocha buttercream and she wasn't grateful at all - but she's just an utter bitch. But, how often do you guys do free cakes? This year was my big year of cakes, so basically all of my friends got free birthday cakes, but February/March/April/May sucked. It was birthday after birthday after birthday.
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Nov 17, 2008 05:27
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I just got back home from signing up and doing the supply shopping for the first Wilton class at Joann's. The class fee was marked down to $21 this month, and I got a coupon for 30% off the supply kit. I still managed to drop $80 on the supply kit and extras like icing colors, those strips that you wrap around your pans to make the cakes bake more evenly, a cake carrier, and a Wilton Ultimate tool caddy. I've been decorating cakes for a while, but they all look very much like they were made by an amateur with a little practice (since they were). I'm thinking if nothing else, I'll make a lot more progress in an actual class with an instructor to correct my technique than watching YouTube videos of people making icing roses and trying to copy them. I decided Wilton classes would be a good way to make myself feel better about backing out of culinary school two weeks before I was supposed to start. If there's interest, I can add my camera to the tool kit and post about my classes. The first class is December 1, and because of the holidays it's two 3-hour classes and one 2-hour class, instead of the usual four 2-hour sessions.
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Nov 17, 2008 05:45
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Flantastic posted:
I made a cake instead of a gift for my friend's party. It was a three tiered black forest cake with actual good whipping cream and surrounded by a wall of chocolate. The thing was mammoth. Everyone was suitably impressed, but not so much as a thank you from my "best friend" at the time.
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Nov 17, 2008 06:07
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BostonCreamTerrier posted:What are people's experiences with mixing extracts/flavors with cake or frosting? We've got a well stocked bar at the moment, so I'm trying to decide whether to try an amaretto or Cointreau icing on my fiance's birthday cake in a few weeks...
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Nov 17, 2008 13:08
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foogrrl posted:
Cake craft? I'll have to try them out too... I usually am limited by what I find online/craft stores. I get too excited and usually use a big glob before really knowing what it will look like. It's like buying lipstick online: the picture doesn't look like what you'll get. Question for most people that posted pics here... how do I get my icing to look shiny? Some examples of "shiny" are the pokemon cakes and fight club's pink decorative border. My buttercream sure tastes freaking lovely... but I find it's lacking in the shine department. Should I use shortening instead of butter? (I hate doing that because I KNOW I'm eating uncooked shortening and it bothers me for some reason) thanks! I always worry about thinning down my buttercream too much, I hope that's not how to do it!
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Nov 17, 2008 18:18
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Someone needs to make this cake, and then send it to me, because I'll be damned if I pay Dean and Deluca $130 for it.
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Nov 17, 2008 18:21
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I just finished my first ever layer cake! It's a coconut cake, but I had to use dried coconut on the outside because I think one of the coconuts I bought was bad, it tasted like soap. 
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Nov 17, 2008 22:24
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Next time just get regular ole shredded coconut and toast it in the oven for a little texture and color.
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Nov 18, 2008 02:15
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Yes, it's a couple weeks late, but I was able to get my friend to send me the pics he took of the Obama cake I made for the election night party at his house. I used the Wilton sprayable frosting (because I'm not confident in my abilities to make frosting without having it come out weird) for the logo. I had some difficulty with the red.  It's not AS neat looking as those of people who used fondant, but I like my cakes to have an edible outside. I'm not particularly fond of fondant. Besides...  Mine was red, white and blue on the inside. 
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Nov 18, 2008 04:30
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Pooptron2003 posted:Question for most people that posted pics here... how do I get my icing to look shiny? Some examples of "shiny" are the pokemon cakes and fight club's pink decorative border. My buttercream sure tastes freaking lovely... but I find it's lacking in the shine department. Should I use shortening instead of butter? (I hate doing that because I KNOW I'm eating uncooked shortening and it bothers me for some reason) Hehehe...my "shiny" border was actually a mistake. I'd mostly run out of buttercream, and I didn't have anymore butter/shortening in the house (I use a half and half mix in my buttercream). However, I did have about a half cup of white royal icing left. I mixed together my buttercream (~1/8 cup?) with the royal, plus some more powdered sugar and water, until it was a little bit thinner than my usual buttercream. So maybe a greater amount of water with slightly less fat is the way to go? It was completely by accident...
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Nov 18, 2008 07:51
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Drum posted:Hoo boy, so very "Change!  "Hahahaa, love it.
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Nov 18, 2008 14:11
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Pooptron2003 posted:Question for most people that posted pics here... how do I get my icing to look shiny? Some examples of "shiny" are the pokemon cakes and fight club's pink decorative border. My buttercream sure tastes freaking lovely... but I find it's lacking in the shine department. Should I use shortening instead of butter? (I hate doing that because I KNOW I'm eating uncooked shortening and it bothers me for some reason) Alright, blackflare isn't actually around to answer this but I'd figure I'd answer for him. He just uses canned icing because he can't make it himself without it tasting like crap. I don't know how he made it shiny; I assume it was just the lighting.
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Nov 19, 2008 04:24
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Hey guys, I'm planning on making my first cake this coming weekend and was thinging I'd make a two tiered chocolate cake and was wondering if anyone had a really good stock recipe they'd be willing to share? Also any sort of filling to go in between the tiers would be helpful as well.
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Nov 19, 2008 05:09
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I'm glad this thread is around - I've just began caking as a hobby and I'd love to get some new ideas. This is the first fondant cake. I made marshmallow fondant, which was a disaster, but it was a learning experience.  This was a birthday cake for my roommate, who's a Calgary-native. Moo!  Purple Darth - alas, I did not yet know the wonders of black colour gel. (Sorry for the stupid faces, the only picture I could find of it was off facebook)  My latest, a dam for my electrical engineering boyfriend. The water was cream cheese icing and, boy, did it go fast. I was really proud of my homemade green fondant - it was the easiest I had worked with.  I have also made an array of penis cakes, but I think this thread is a bit too classy for those.
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Nov 19, 2008 05:57
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PezMaster posted:I made marshmallow fondant, which was a disaster, but it was a learning experience. 
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Nov 19, 2008 06:37
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Fight Club posted: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! What is the red tube looking thing? How did you make it? Pooptron2003 posted:
That is really impressive.
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Nov 19, 2008 07:32
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Sam_I_Am posted:Ooh! What did you learn from your learning experience? I've been looking at that mashmellow fondant recipe, and even have a bag of pillowy goodness in the pantry. Do you have guesses as to how I'll mess this up? It’s really hard to get the right consistency with marshmallow fondant. You’ve just got to experiment with different amounts of icing sugar until you get it perfect. During my first time working with it, the fondant started out way too wet and sticky and then ended up being way too dry (because I added too much sugar). It takes a while (and a couple of cakes) to really get to know what the correct texture looks and feels like. Now that I've made the fondant several times, I really can read it. I put the melted marshmallow in a mixer and slowly add just over a half to three-quarters of the icing sugar (until it starts looking like a really really thick cake batter) - then I take it out of the mixer and use my hands (covered in a gently caress load of butter!) to mould the rest of the icing sugar in. The fondant isn't ready until it stop sticking to your hands – but, if it starts ripping, then you’ve made it too dry. Just add bits of water (or butter) to fix that. Also, when you're rolling out the fondant, I would suggest putting a layer of saran wrap underneath -- The first time I rolled it out on wooden chopping block and I was scrubbing bits of hot pink fondant off the surface for weeks. The wrap will help you pick it up and flip it over onto the cake. Let us know how it turns out! Good luck! EDIT: I've been thinking of trying marzipan in the future - does anyone have any experience making and working with it? (A nice, simple recipe would be lovely, too) PezMaster fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Nov 19, 2008 |
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Nov 19, 2008 07:34
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PezMaster posted:I'm glad this thread is around - I've just began caking as a hobby and I'd love to get some new ideas. I feel I need to see these penis cakes...last one I made I was half cut and couldn't find my flesh colored dye, so it was just really pink.
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Nov 19, 2008 08:40
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Tai-Pan posted:What is the red tube looking thing? How did you make it? It's sugar (it's supposed to be representing the prion). I just heated up sugar, water, and a little red food coloring to hard crack stage, let it cool so it wasn't screaming hot, and drizzled it over a rolling pin wrapped in parchment paper. After it set, I just slid it off the rolling pin, took out the parchment, and it stood on its own. Oh, also, some peppermint extract to make it tasty! Corrupt Cypher posted:Hey guys, I'm planning on making my first cake this coming weekend and was thinging I'd make a two tiered chocolate cake and was wondering if anyone had a really good stock recipe they'd be willing to share? Also any sort of filling to go in between the tiers would be helpful as well. You can never go wrong with chocolate ganache as a filling. Bring about a cup of heavy cream just to a simmer and pour over a bag of chocolate chips. Whisk gently until all the chocolate is melted. After it cools, you can add flavoring to it if you'd like. My favorites are mint extract or raspberry liqueur (although not at the same time). Add about a tablespoon. Less for extracts and more for flavored liqueurs. Fight Club fucked around with this message at 10:12 on Nov 19, 2008 |
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Nov 19, 2008 10:08
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Fight Club posted:You can never go wrong with chocolate ganache as a filling. Bring about a cup of heavy cream just to a simmer and pour over a bag of chocolate chips. Whisk gently until all the chocolate is melted. After it cools, you can add flavoring to it if you'd like. My favorites are mint extract or raspberry liqueur (although not at the same time). Add about a tablespoon. Less for extracts and more for flavored liqueurs. Cognac is my favorite flavoring for ganache. It gives it that little bit of complex flavor without being too overpowering, as long as you only use a tablespoon or so. Also, ganache is faster if you simmer the cream, then pour it hot into a food processor and blend the chips in using a low setting.
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Nov 20, 2008 17:18
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Russes Sister posted:Cognac is my favorite flavoring for ganache. It gives it that little bit of complex flavor without being too overpowering, as long as you only use a tablespoon or so. I have not made a ganache yet. Is it usually a runny consistency? If this is true then the filling layers would be thin correct? I want to try some with the next cake I make. I can't wait.
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Nov 20, 2008 18:41
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Pooptron2003 posted:I have not made a ganache yet. Is it usually a runny consistency? If this is true then the filling layers would be thin correct? I want to try some with the next cake I make. I can't wait. You can make it as thick or thin as you want. Thin stuff is great for pouring over cakes for a smooth shiny icing or the thick stuff can be used to frost and fill layers.
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Nov 20, 2008 19:49
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Lixer posted:You can make it as thick or thin as you want. Thin stuff is great for pouring over cakes for a smooth shiny icing or the thick stuff can be used to frost and fill layers. So I would just increase the thickness by adding more chocolate right? Mmm, that shouldn't be a problem.
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Nov 20, 2008 20:06
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Pooptron2003 posted:So I would just increase the thickness by adding more chocolate right? Mmm, that shouldn't be a problem. Yep, it's hard to judge til you've made it though, because it thickens as the cream cools. I've never had an unspreadably thick ganache--I think it would be hard to add that much chocolate!
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Nov 20, 2008 20:32
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Is it possible to make a large, well-decorated baumkuchen? I have fallen in love with these little cakes. I like the simple, buttery flavor, and the texture of every baumkuchen I've had is great. The only problem is that they're so small. I'm engaged, and if it's possible I would like to have this kind of cake, even if it's not exactly the same, but the same flavor and texture, used as a groom's cake. How would you do it?
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Nov 21, 2008 00:56
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eden_nova posted:I feel I need to see these penis cakes...last one I made I was half cut and couldn't find my flesh coloured dye, so it was just really pink.  Click here for the full 604x453 image.I used rice-krispie treats for the head - I wanted something light so it wouldn't topple over. the fondant for the shaft is a light pinky-peach (I bought the colour gel at the local craft store). If you really want to get disgusting, use condensed milk for some spunk - it looks a bit too real, if you ask me. it came out pretty good -the birthday girl was pretty happy about it. Bonus bukkake cake for my Asian friend's birthday  Click here for the full 604x453 image.(I'm so very very sorry) PezMaster fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Nov 21, 2008 |
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Nov 21, 2008 05:34
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Russes Sister posted:Cognac is my favorite flavoring for ganache. It gives it that little bit of complex flavor without being too overpowering, as long as you only use a tablespoon or so. Really? I just pour the cream over the chips, let it sit for 2 minutes, then whisk by hand. Wouldn't it take longer to clean the food processor, or have I been doing this wrong?
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Nov 21, 2008 07:10
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signalnoise posted:Is it possible to make a large, well-decorated baumkuchen? I have fallen in love with these little cakes. I like the simple, buttery flavor, and the texture of every baumkuchen I've had is great. The only problem is that they're so small. I'm engaged, and if it's possible I would like to have this kind of cake, even if it's not exactly the same, but the same flavor and texture, used as a groom's cake. How would you do it? Small? Baumkuchen is now most commonly sold in slices or pieces, but a whole cake can be pretty large. It's made on a spit (see this image from Wikipedia), so really the limit to its height is the length of your spit (although of course it probably takes considerably more skill to manage a very long cake). Here's what they typically look like; image stolen from a German bakery's website:  As for more complex decoration... I don't doubt it's possible, but having no talent myself I really only read this thread to look at other people's cakes, so I don't have any suggestions.
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Nov 21, 2008 14:23
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Well I know they are large in the sense that they can easily be very long because they can be cooked on all kinds of spit lengths, but as far as using one in place of a traditional wedding cake, that's what I'm wondering about. Like, I would rather not have a wedding log. signalnoise fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Nov 21, 2008 |
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Nov 21, 2008 15:29
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signalnoise posted:Well I know they are large in the sense that they can easily be very long because they can be cooked on all kinds of spit lengths, but as far as using one in place of a traditional wedding cake, that's what I'm wondering about. Oh, right. Well, from what I hear it's really quite difficult to make them very wide, so I guess that would be a problem... (also: the last wedding I went to didn't have a classical primary wedding cake, it just had a huge dessert table including several "normal" cakes, all centered around an amazing mountain of ice cream) Hamiltonian Bicycle fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Nov 21, 2008 |
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Nov 21, 2008 15:40
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I've never heard of these before but Wikipedia says they can be made flat by doing the layering/baking thing in a normal cake pan.
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Nov 21, 2008 16:12
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Hamiltonian Bicycle posted:Oh, right. Well, from what I hear it's really quite difficult to make them very wide, so I guess that would be a problem... That could work too, and would probably be cheaper actually. Lixer posted:I've never heard of these before but Wikipedia says they can be made flat by doing the layering/baking thing in a normal cake pan. So now I just need a recipe. Also, go out and find one. They're absolutely delicious and the texture you get from the layering is fantastic.
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Nov 21, 2008 16:38
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Hamiltonian Bicycle posted:I kept thinking, "Why would anyone want to eat tissue boxes???" So confused. Maybe if they were holding CANDY we could talk...
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Nov 21, 2008 21:16
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PezMaster posted:I could only find one on facebook (the other ones were just your standard penis cake - I didn't save pictures of them because they were pretty bad) I never thought of making a 3d one! This is how mine turned out: 
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Nov 22, 2008 09:56
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Oh yay!  my daughter's 1st birthday cake. (The rest are linked for hugeness) This one's kinda self explanatory. Wedding cake Wedding close up I love decorating. It's so much fun!
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Nov 22, 2008 22:17
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Corrupt Cypher posted:Hey guys, I'm planning on making my first cake this coming weekend and was thinging I'd make a two tiered chocolate cake and was wondering if anyone had a really good stock recipe they'd be willing to share? Also any sort of filling to go in between the tiers would be helpful as well. This response might be too late, but I just made a layered chocolate cake on Tuesday for my bf's bday. The filling was chocolate ganache and white chocolate whipped cream (which I also used as icing for the cake). I highly recommend the white chocolate whipped cream. It's made like ganache but after you whip the hot cream into the white chocolate chips, put it in the fridge for about 4 hours. Then add two cups of cold cream and whip until peaks form. It was my first time making whipped cream and my first layered cake too. 
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Nov 22, 2008 23:47
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Fight Club posted:Really? I just pour the cream over the chips, let it sit for 2 minutes, then whisk by hand. Wouldn't it take longer to clean the food processor, or have I been doing this wrong? Good point. I stand corrected! Next time I'll have to try it your way.
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Nov 25, 2008 20:37
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 Valentine's day surprise for my girlfriend. I spent the entire day working on this cake: Devils food and angel food cakes in alternating layers, with pink buttercream frosting. Each layer was baked in springform pans (the angel food turned out surprisingly well for not being in an "angel food cake pan") and then cut in half for additional layering. Overall height of cake topped out at just under 8 inches, times (1/2*9.5*pi^2) equals one hell of a lot of cake. It would have been taller if not for the compression of lower layers: i probably hit maximum height before needing structural support. It was delicious. None of it came from box mix.
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Nov 26, 2008 04:14
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Jarp Habib posted:
Holy crap. That looks awesome. How long were you eating cake?
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Nov 26, 2008 08:20
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