Happy New Year!

So 20II (aka the year of ME) has come to an end. It was a GREAT year for me. But I say out with the old and in with the new. I am ready to conquer 2012.

I had a pretty low key New Year's celebration due to a sick puppy. But Abby was right there by my side (struggling to stay awake) to help me countdown and kick off 2012.

2011

2012

I look forward to the experiences ahead of me this year. I plan to take more cake and sewing classes, work on my cupcake/cake business a bit more and have fun with Abby as she grows from a puppy (she is 16 weeks now) to a one-year-old dog. And if things goes awry along the way, I will just take one look at my little puppy's face and smile.

Flowers & Cake Design Class Complete

I know I keep saying it, but I am loving 20II. I completed another cake class this week - Wilton's Flowers & Cake Design. The last class was pretty fun. We brought in an iced 8 inch cake and any royal icing flowers we made. Then we learned a couple border techniques and were told to decorate. My finished cake turned out pretty good.

I was a little disappointed with my final cake though. I made 25 lilies to arrange on the cake. However, since it was very humid and rainy outside, the flowers did not hold up. When you tried to handle the flowers and move them to the cake, they would crack or fall apart. I managed to get five on there; however one or two were a little cracked in the center.

I finish class three on Thursday - Fondant & Gum Paste. I have made a few dozen daisies in different sizes to put on that cake. It should turn out to be a cute celebration of spring. I will be sure to post some photos.

Cake Flowers Class - Week 3

Week 3 in Flowers & Cake Design class was a busy one. I actually had to make this class up at a later date because I skipped it for my birthday. Class three was all royal icing flowers. We learned the daffodil, pansy, violet and lily.

Daffodils

Pansies

Violets

Lilies

The last class is this week. The goal is to bring in an iced cake that we will decorate with the flowers of our choice. I went with the lily. I made 25 of them in two different colors for class. Hopefully that is enough to fill the cake. 

We will also be practicing the basket weave icing technique.I am looking forward to learning that. Can't wait to post photos of the finished cake!

Fondant & Gum Paste Class - Week 3

Fondant and gum paste class was a little lackluster this week. We worked on two more flowers - Daisies and Mums.

We also started preparing for our final class project - a 8 inch double stacked cake. We will be covering this cake in fondant and then covering it in the gum paste flower creations of our choice. So before we left class, we covered our cake board in fondant. I chose a lovely shade of light blue. I actually ended up dying my hands blue while tinting the fondant, but I was able to take some nail polish remover and cure my Smurf problem. I also played around with an imprint mat, which allows you to put designs into the fondant. 

Since I ended up putting a daisy imprint on the cake board, I think I am going to stick with the daisy theme for the cake. Sure the flowers are really simple to make, but I think a cake covered in blue fondant with a nice assortment of daisies could end up looking real nice. Plus, it's just for class and then I will probably give it away. 

Fondant & Gum Paste Class - Week 2

As I mentioned in a previous post, week one of fondant & gum paste class was pretty boring. We just made bases for flowers. And when I say bases, I mean balls of gum paste in various shapes stuck to pieces of spaghetti. Nothing to write home about. But week two, we took those bases and created beautiful flowers. They look so real.

Roses

Calla Lilies and Carnations

The great thing about these flowers are they can last for years. The gum paste dries hard. You just have to worry about dust build-up if you use them for a cake display or something like that.

I am looking forward to my next class. We will be making a couple more flowers and then playing with fondant. More photos and posts to come.

Cake Flowers Class - Week 2

Flower & Cake Design class has finally gotten interesting. In week 2, we made flowers with royal icing. It is a stiff, sweet icing that hardens when it dries. We learned the rose, rosebud, primrose and apple blossom. 

The great thing about these flowers are that they last for weeks, years even (according to my instructor). So I can make a bunch in advance and bring them to the last class to decorate my final project (a round 8" cake).

We will be learning daffodils and violets next week. We will also get a refresher on the rose, which people seem to struggle with. I, on the other hand, have the rose down. But my favorite, so far, has been making primroses because the petals are little hearts. 

Cake Decorating Courses 2 and 3

This week, I started two new cake decorating courses: Flowers & Cake Design and Fondant & Gum Paste. The first week of class is usually pretty boring. You're told what you will be doing in class and learn a couple small things.

For example, in Flowers & Cake Design class we worked with gum paste. It will be the only time we work with gum paste in that class. The rest of the flowers will be made with royal icing. Our gum paste creations were the button flower and pansies. By the way, gum paste is not too tasty and dries hard as a rock. So it really is just for decoration.

The first day of Fondant & Gum Paste class was all about prep. We used gum paste to make bases for the roses, mums and carnations we will be creating next week in class. You actually build the bases on uncooked spaghetti and use that stick and secure the flowers into the case. Who knew? I will post pictures of the flowers once they are finished next week.

Cake Decorating Class - Week 4

20II (or the year of me) has been filled with some great accomplishments. The marathon, the Michelob Ultra Challenge and now I can add cake decorating class to the list. This week, I completed my four-week Wilton Cake Decorating Basics course.

We started the last class by practicing our writing skills. It was great to learn some of the tricks of the trade. I know feel much more comfortable writing with frosting. Next, we learned to make roses. This is why I took the class in the first place. Check out my first attempt:

After we made a few roses, it was time to create a cake. We each had to bring in a plain frosted cake that we would decoration at the end of class. We could use any of the techniques we had learned during the month. Here is my finished product:

 I am so happy I took the class. Not only did it get me out of the house once a week, it also taught me to use all the great cake decorating tools I have had for years. I was even inspired to sign up for the next two courses: Flowers & Cake Design and Fondant & Gum Paste. Classes start next week. I can't wait to share all the cool things I will learn. :)

Cake Decorating Class - Week 3

Week 3 of cake decorating class was all about cupcakes. I was kind of ahead of the curve on this one. At least when it comes to frosting. I have that down!

But we also got out the practice boards and learned some borders, flowers and leaves.

Shell Border with Drop Flowers

Drop Flowers with Leaves

Shaggy Mum Flower with Leaves

Next week is my final cake decorating class. I have to bring a filled and iced 8 inch cake to class with me. Then we will learn how to make some ribbon roses and some other flowers before finally making a complete cake. We were asked to pick something out of the book to recreate. I am trying to decide between these two:

 

They are actually pretty similar. I guess it will just depend on how confident I feel about my decorating skills that day. But I do have a cool new caddy to carry all my tools.

I will be sure to post photos of my final project. And now that I am about to graduate, I am ready to register for another class or two. Wilton offers two more classes - Flowers & Design and Fondant & Gum Paste. I am thinking about taking both at the same time. 

Cake Decorating Class - Week 2

As part of my 20II (yes those are I's... for me), I decided to sign up for a cake decorating. I decorate cupcakes all the time and can use a pastry bag, but I thought this would be a great way to learn how to use all the tips in my decorating kit. Also, the class teaches you how to make frosting flowers. Personally, I am not a fan of frosting, so I don't like the flowers. But I am sure it is a technique I can utilize in creations for friends (and maybe customers) in the future.

I had my second class this week and we actually go to do some decorating. The first class was just about loading a pastry bag with frosting, attaching the tip, etc. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited to get to work.

Here is what we were suppose to create:

Unfortunately, the instructor had us thin out our frosting a bit too much, so I didn't get the exact result. She also had us do a different border. Anyway, here is my finished product:

Not bad for my first try. I am excited to think of all the cool things I can do once I have better frosting to work with. Next week is all about cupcakes, which should be easy and fun. We are going to learn a filling technique and also start learning some of the flowers and border designs. I will be sure to post photos of that project too.