Anyone in here decorate cakes?

[stargrazer]

First off, your past cakes were good! I would never even have attempted something like that until recently.

I am not a good advice-giver in the fondant arena, my first foray into fondant will be Tuesday but from what I understand, after you smooth your buttercream the fondant shapes should stick pretty well (someone correct me if I'm wrong). You can buy pre-made/pre-colored fondant in small amounts boxed from Wilton at Micheals and Hobby Lobby (and probably Wal-Mart) if you don't want to make it. That way it will be mostly roll and cut.

I would think for tiers you will need to dowel your cakes; how many and placement depends on size of the cake.

I get lots of info from www.cakecentral.com and www.wilton.com forums but hopefully someone here can give you good answers as well. I know we have some cakemeisters hanging around somewhere...

Good luck! I'll check back in later and make sure and post pics from your cake when you're done, can't wait to see them. I'll post mine from class Tuesday, we're doing a gift cake wrapped and decorated with fondant.

 

[MosMom]

Here is a cake I just finished for a birthday party. I am adding some royal icing coral to it but it is still drying.

I had some extra cake leftover so I decided to add the treasure chest. Just cut it up and carved it. The jewels are jolly ranchers, the gold coins are rolos, and the pearls are fondant rolled in super pearl luster dust.

The shells are real. Chocolate molded with luster dust. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

 

[MosMom]

I've lurked on this thread for awhile now and you all are very talented! I hope you will give me some advice.

My daughter's 1st birthday is in a few weeks. We're just having a dinner/party with family, and I want to make her cake. This is my inspiration:

I am thinking of only doing 2 tiers, 2 layers each. The bottom tier would be for serving and the top tier would be her smash cake. I've never worked with fondant or layerd cakes before, so I'm not quite sure I'm up to this challenge. I need to figure that out soon so I can find someone else to make it, if not.

I would like to use icing in place of the fondant for the cakes. I know it will be tough to get it really smooth but I've had some success with the Viva paper towel method. I'd like to only use fondant for the decorations. Is anyone willing to walk me through this? Please??

I appreciate any and all advice

Very nice cakes. The football player is flawless! If you are just using fondant for the decoration, just buy some of the premade Wilton fondant. It doesn't taste great but just for decor, you'd be fine. You wouldn't have to get the buttercream perfect if you are decorating with fondant. I think it is adorable. Just take your time. I make mistakes when I try to rush. I find myself getting excited to see the finished product and I rush.

You can buy Wilton fondant that is already colored (look at Wilton.com to see all colors) or you can color it yourself. Use gel colors and wear gloves, it is messy. I like to put my cornstartch in a stocking and then tap my work surface to get the right amount of cornstartch for working with the fondant.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

My son's birthday party is tomorrow and I've got the cakes all made and in the freezer. I just got to pull them out to defrost and then frost. I've got 2 8" rounds and I used the ball pan to make a baseball to put on the top...I'll take a pic later once I'm done. But wish me luck that it comes out ok...


Oh I found the pic that I'm going to do, its this one (ignore the little blur in the cake, I was scanning the picture and it got a little jammed, lol):

Next week my dd's birthday party is going on and we bought an edible High School Musical thing (personalized on ebay). So, we will decorate around that

 

[Maleficent13]

Mo, that cake is fabulous!!

I'm a Duncan Hines mix/frosting from the jar girl, but I like lurking here!

 

[stargrazer]

Here is a cake I just finished for a birthday party. I am adding some royal icing coral to it but it is still drying.
I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Mo, you just keep turning out the BEST stuff, I love to see your creations!

My son's birthday party is tomorrow and I've got the cakes all made and in the freezer.

Next week my dd's birthday party is going on and we bought an edible High School Musical thing (personalized on ebay). So, we will decorate around that

Disneynutbsv, that cake is so cute. I can't wait to see yours when it's done. Good cake vibes going out to you~~~

Mo, that cake is fabulous!!

I'm a Duncan Hines mix/frosting from the jar girl, but I like lurking here!

Girl, if it's cake then it's ALWAYS right!

 

[dani0622]

Great thread! I am subscribing! Everyone's pics are great! I just took my first Wilton class this week. I posted a little recap on my food blog (the link is below for The Average Cook). If you want to read about someone who's just finished up Course I for Wilton, on my blogroll there is a blog called Cake Batter and Crumbs and she talks about it too which pics.

 

[bengalbelle]

First off, your past cakes were good! I would never even have attempted something like that until recently.

I am not a good advice-giver in the fondant arena, my first foray into fondant will be Tuesday but from what I understand, after you smooth your buttercream the fondant shapes should stick pretty well (someone correct me if I'm wrong). You can buy pre-made/pre-colored fondant in small amounts boxed from Wilton at Micheals and Hobby Lobby (and probably Wal-Mart) if you don't want to make it. That way it will be mostly roll and cut.

I would think for tiers you will need to dowel your cakes; how many and placement depends on size of the cake.

I get lots of info from www.cakecentral.com and www.wilton.com forums but hopefully someone here can give you good answers as well. I know we have some cakemeisters hanging around somewhere...

Good luck! I'll check back in later and make sure and post pics from your cake when you're done, can't wait to see them. I'll post mine from class Tuesday, we're doing a gift cake wrapped and decorated with fondant.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I read both of those sites, it's just hard digging for the specific information I need. DS starts school Monday so maybe I'll have more time.

Here is a cake I just finished for a birthday party. I am adding some royal icing coral to it but it is still drying.

I had some extra cake leftover so I decided to add the treasure chest. Just cut it up and carved it. The jewels are jolly ranchers, the gold coins are rolos, and the pearls are fondant rolled in super pearl luster dust.

The shells are real. Chocolate molded with luster dust. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

It's gorgeous!! What size pans did you use for the top two tiers? To layer like you did I assume I level the cakes and then stack each tier with a filling or icing in the middle to hold them together. I'm unsure after this. I have read about doweling the cakes, but do you put anything between each tier? Like a cardboard circle or something?

Very nice cakes. The football player is flawless! If you are just using fondant for the decoration, just buy some of the premade Wilton fondant. It doesn't taste great but just for decor, you'd be fine. You wouldn't have to get the buttercream perfect if you are decorating with fondant. I think it is adorable. Just take your time. I make mistakes when I try to rush. I find myself getting excited to see the finished product and I rush.

You can buy Wilton fondant that is already colored (look at Wilton.com to see all colors) or you can color it yourself. Use gel colors and wear gloves, it is messy. I like to put my cornstartch in a stocking and then tap my work surface to get the right amount of cornstartch for working with the fondant.

Thank you! The football player was actually my first cake and I really took a lot of time decorating it. I hated to do the stars, but since it was my first I didn't want to be too ambitious. LOL. The other two cakes were more rushed and the snowman, which should have been the easiest, gave me fits.

So here are some specific questions about the fondant. I just bought a cutter on eBay for the daisies. I noticed in lots of auctions for fondant tools they had (sorry I don't know the correct names for these) something that pushed the fondant out of the cutter and another tool that had a ball on the end and you used it to shape the flower after cutting. Does anyone think these are necessary?

For the ribbon, can I just cut the strips with a pizza cutter?

Has anyone ever found a premade fondant that they will actually eat?

How far in advance can I make the fondant pieces?

My son's birthday party is tomorrow and I've got the cakes all made and in the freezer. I just got to pull them out to defrost and then frost. I've got 2 8" rounds and I used the ball pan to make a baseball to put on the top...I'll take a pic later once I'm done. But wish me luck that it comes out ok...


Oh I found the pic that I'm going to do, its this one (ignore the little blur in the cake, I was scanning the picture and it got a little jammed, lol):

Next week my dd's birthday party is going on and we bought an edible High School Musical thing (personalized on ebay). So, we will decorate around that

Good luck!

 

[stargrazer]

Great thread! I am subscribing! Everyone's pics are great! I just took my first Wilton class this week. I posted a little recap on my food blog (the link is below for The Average Cook). If you want to read about someone who's just finished up Course I for Wilton, on my blogroll there is a blog called Cake Batter and Crumbs and she talks about it too which pics.

Hi Dani, welcome to our thread! That's pretty much the story how this thread got started, too; I decided to take Wilton I and here we be. All the cakes posted by me here are my progress thru Wilton; I'll have pics from Course III on Tues/Wednesday Hope you'll settle in and stay awhile.

To layer like you did I assume I level the cakes and then stack each tier with a filling or icing in the middle to hold them together. I'm unsure after this. I have read about doweling the cakes, but do you put anything between each tier? Like a cardboard circle or something?

Stacking/Tiered Construction
http://www.cakecentral.com/article23-Teired-Stacked-Cake-Construction.html

I'll let the more experienced answer your other questions

 

[OK!]

Here is a cake I just finished for a birthday party. I am adding some royal icing coral to it but it is still drying.

I had some extra cake leftover so I decided to add the treasure chest. Just cut it up and carved it. The jewels are jolly ranchers, the gold coins are rolos, and the pearls are fondant rolled in super pearl luster dust.

The shells are real. Chocolate molded with luster dust. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I haven't even been lurking on this thread because I'm dieting and, therefore, these pics would be torturous to me, but that cake is AMAZING. I'm so impressed!!

My only experience with decorating was a few family cakes several years ago, and then helping my mom make a tractor cake for my dad's birthday 2 summers ago. We used the Wilton cake pan and all their coloring for the frosting....let's just say the black frosting color seems to have a bit of an interesting effect the next day, and leave it at that.

 

[friend of pooh]

A friend and I are going to take the Wilton I classes starting in Sept. I've been inspired by all of you.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Ok, well here it is, my "first" cake that I've done myself in over 8 years, lol. Please excuse the picture, I had to take it with my cell phone as my I can't find my cord to upload from my digital camera.

I don't think it came out too bad, I unfortunately didn't have a 12" pan, just two 8" pans, so the baseball was a bit big, but other than that....not too bad

 

[MosMom]

What size pans did you use for the top two tiers? To layer like you did I assume I level the cakes and then stack each tier with a filling or icing in the middle to hold them together. I'm unsure after this. I have read about doweling the cakes, but do you put anything between each tier? Like a cardboard circle or something?

The tiers are 10", 8", & 6". Each tier has 2 cakes that are torted (sliced in the middle and filled with filling) and filled. So you end up with 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of filling. When I bake cakes, I put a flower nail in the middle of the pan so the middle will bake evenly then when they come out, I gently push them down level with the pan. This combined with placing my top cake upside down means I really don't have to level at all. My tiers are about 5" once torted, filled, and has fondant.

I buy cardboard cake rounds for the bottom of all the cakes. It supports them. In the bottom and middle round, I used cake straws to support. Easier to cut than wooden dowels or plastic. For a really big cake I wouldn't use straws though. The cardboard cake circle rests on the straws so no support from the cake is actually sitting on the cake below it (or very little).

The top tier is Pina Colada with a pineapple, coconut, & macademia nut filling iced in pineapple buttercream. Middle tier is Rich Chocolate with a cannoli cream filling covered in ganache instead of icing. The bottom tier is plain vanilla butter cake covered in buttercream.

So here are some specific questions about the fondant. I just bought a cutter on eBay for the daisies. I noticed in lots of auctions for fondant tools they had (sorry I don't know the correct names for these) something that pushed the fondant out of the cutter and another tool that had a ball on the end and you used it to shape the flower after cutting. Does anyone think these are necessary?

Hobby Lobby also sells cake supplies and you might get a better deal when you consider shipping. I know they sell the daisy cutters as well as others. When I do a daisy, I use the corn end of a corn cob holder to indent the leaves. I like the way it looks. You know the corn cob holders that look like an ear of corn? It works perfectly. I would say for the cake you want to do, you don't need those tools. You can get around it.

For the ribbon, can I just cut the strips with a pizza cutter?

Has anyone ever found a premade fondant that they will actually eat?

How far in advance can I make the fondant pieces?

Yes, use a pizza cutter and a ruler. For the ribbons, you might want to do half fondant half gum paste or all gum paste. You can also add some meringue powder to your fondant to stiffen it. Work with it quickly.

A really good premade fondant is Satin Ice. It is kind of expensive though. Marshmallow fondant is easy to make. Just make sure you knead it enough. When you take a small piece of it between your fingers it shouldn't crack.

You can make the fondant pieces a few days out. In fact, I would do that anyway since it needs at least a day to REALLY harden up. You want it to be set before you put it on your cake so it doesn't droop.

--------

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm proud of this one!


ETA: I just looked again at that cake. The daisies are different than the ones I use the corn cob holder for. I use those more for the gerbera daisies. It doesn't look like they shaped those daisies at all. They just cut them out.

 

[MosMom]

Ok, well here it is, my "first" cake that I've done myself in over 8 years, lol. Please excuse the picture, I had to take it with my cell phone as my I can't find my cord to upload from my digital camera.

I don't think it came out too bad, I unfortunately didn't have a 12" pan, just two 8" pans, so the baseball was a bit big, but other than that....not too bad

I like it! I don't think the difference in pan size makes a huge difference. The baseball is the cool part!

 

[stargrazer]

I haven't even been lurking on this thread because I'm dieting and, therefore, these pics would be torturous to me, but that cake is AMAZING. I'm so impressed!!

Welcome OK!, hope you will make a point to come by. Just pretend the cakes are just foam dummies, lol.

A friend and I are going to take the Wilton I classes starting in Sept. I've been inspired by all of you.

YAY! More cakers!

Ok, well here it is, my "first" cake that I've done myself in over 8 years, lol. Please excuse the picture, I had to take it with my cell phone as my I can't find my cord to upload from my digital camera.

I don't think it came out too bad, I unfortunately didn't have a 12" pan, just two 8" pans, so the baseball was a bit big, but other than that....not too bad

Congrats and good job! I think it turned out well and no one will know any better on the pan sizes if ya don't tell them

MO, your shells are just great. I bet the coral is just as FAB.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

I like it! I don't think the difference in pan size makes a huge difference. The baseball is the cool part!

Thanks! My son loves it, he said its very 3d, lol.

The sad thing is when I got out of decorating, I gave away all of my pans So, now I need to start over again....oh well....I definately need to practice more though.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Congrats and good job! I think it turned out well and no one will know any better on the pan sizes if ya don't tell them

MO, your shells are just great. I bet the coral is just as FAB.

Thanks!

 

[dani0622]

Hi Dani, welcome to our thread! That's pretty much the story how this thread got started, too; I decided to take Wilton I and here we be. All the cakes posted by me here are my progress thru Wilton; I'll have pics from Course III on Tues/Wednesday Hope you'll settle in and stay awhile.

Thanks Stargrazer! Just finished up with my second class tonight and had our first hands-on experience. Let's just say you can tell I am a beginner by the looks of my cake after decorating! I'll be posting some pics on my blog later this week!

 

[bengalbelle]

Does anyone have a good recipe for raspberry filling? I've found some online, but I'm looking for tried and true. Someone suggested I just use raspberry jam, sugar and cream cheese. Any thoughts on that?

Has anyone tried adding rolled buttercream to fondant?

I love the baseball cake!

 

[Ms.Grumpy]

You have all inspired me!

Ready or not, Wilton here I come!