Anyone in here decorate cakes?

[MrsKreamer]

I made a St Patrick's day cake for a crawfish boil today.

I took the rainbow design from the Wilton workbook, and just made a few changes.
I thought I did OK, for being a beginner. The border is sloppy, I am working on that. The cake crumbed, which kind of ticked me off! How do you ladies prevent that?

 

[scarlett873]

Very cute MrsKreamer!!

I'm sitting here in the hospital. Mom's going in for a full hysterectomy. I'm a bundle of nerves right now...so any positive thoughts and prayers would be appreciated!

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Very cute MrsKreamer!!

I'm sitting here in the hospital. Mom's going in for a full hysterectomy. I'm a bundle of nerves right now...so any positive thoughts and prayers would be appreciated!

Great Job MrsKreamer!

(((Brandie)))Thoughts and prayers coming your way!

 

[MosMom]

Brandie, you've got it! She'll be okay!

MrsKreamer, that cake is adorable! You should go post it on Cake Central. I think that is one of the cuter St. Patricks Day cakes I've seen. I haven't been too thrilled about most of them I've seen.

 

[D&DDisney]

I made a St Patrick's day cake for a crawfish boil today.
I took the rainbow design from the Wilton workbook, and just made a few changes.
I thought I did OK, for being a beginner. The border is sloppy, I am working on that. The cake crumbed, which kind of ticked me off! How do you ladies prevent that?

You did a great job. Looks yummy!

 

[Plantlady]

I'm a long time admirer of this tread.

So, here's my first attempt with fondant.

DS9 wanted a pokemon cake for his birthday. My main thing, every time I look at this photo, is I can't hold my hand still enough to trace things.. i.e. the lines on the poke ball drive me up the wall..

But.. He said it was better than he expected.. so, that's something.

 

[MosMom]

My tip for having wobbly hands is to move your whole arm and not just your wrist like you do when you write something on paper. You can lift your hand further away from the surface and just let the icing find its way around. It will lay down where you aim it but it will look cleaner. Just add steady pressure while you move. If I try to write (or do lines) with icing like I do with a pen, it comes out looking horrible.

 

[MrsKreamer]

Very cute MrsKreamer!!

I'm sitting here in the hospital. Mom's going in for a full hysterectomy. I'm a bundle of nerves right now...so any positive thoughts and prayers would be appreciated!

Thanks.

My mom had a full hysterectomy a few years ago. The worst part is the recovery.

 

[fraggle551]

hi everyone

im going to attempt to make a cake for my best friends birthday. A NY yankees cake. I was wondering if anyone had a really good recipe for fondant? Or should I just buy the premade stuff? This is going to be my first attempt at fondant, so the easier the better.

Thanks!
Kate

 

[cryssi]

Kate, I recommend that you buy premade for your first time with fondant. It may not taste the best, but you will know what the consistency should be. After that, go with MMF for taste...lol

 

[MosMom]

I agree with cryssi. Wilton fondant may not taste good but it is forgiving. It is pliable and easy to work with.

Go on YouTube and search Fondant for some videos on how people apply it to the cake. Watching it can be the best learning tool.

 

[cryssi]

hey dis-cakers...has anyone tried a marshmallow buttercream frosting? I'm on a search for a not so sweet buttercream (buttercream dream is great but tooooo sweet)...perhaps marshmallow flavored...I want to make a peeps cake for easter...not a cake with peeps but a cake shaped like a peep. I think it would be so hilarious. Anyway, marshmallow buttercream sounds good, but my main concern is whether or not it will crust...

any ideas?

 

[fraggle551]

thank you for the answers! I wasnt able to get to michaels today, so I actually attempted to make my own fondant. WOW is that stuff messy! I think it came out really good though! Its in the fridge now. It didn't seem to break when I was rolling it into the ball to store, so I have high hopes. Im waiting for my cake to cool. Ill post pictures when im done. Thanks again!

Kate

 

[scarlett873]

hi everyone

im going to attempt to make a cake for my best friends birthday. A NY yankees cake. I was wondering if anyone had a really good recipe for fondant? Or should I just buy the premade stuff? This is going to be my first attempt at fondant, so the easier the better.

Thanks!
Kate

You can flavor the pre-made stuff a little. I have used the little bottles of LorAnn Oils to add at least some kind of flavor to it...I just knead it into the fondant until i'm satisfied with the flavor. But Cryssi's right on with her suggestion. I would use the pre-made stuff for your first go at it. Good luck!!

Cryssi...I'm not sure on the crusting factor as I was too impatient to wait for it, but Toba Garrett's Decorator Buttercream was not sweet at all! Well, a little sweet, but not that overpowering sweet. I'm not at home right now, and won't be for another day or two, but I think you can find the recipe online. AHutton found it...Let me dig through my PM's for the link.

Here's the link...

 

[cryssi]

thanks Brandie! I'll check it out...

 

[fraggle551]

Ok, here is my first ever attempt at fondant. I have never ever taken a class, I just like to bake. This is a trial run for a cake ill be doing over the next two days. Please be kind! Like I said I have never ever ever done fondant before, or taken a class.

For my first attempt, I simply did a rectangle. I needed to start off easy!

Here goes:

notice all the cornstarch marks? and the giant crack? I worked with it too much. I was a little discouraged at this point.

heres the second half of the cake (I cut a 9x13 in half)

(this is the same cake, I turned the flash off for the second picture)

this time went much better. I think because I worked with it a lot less, and didn't color it.

you're constructive criticism is more than welcome! Im off to clean my kitchen, which has been taken over by cornstarch and buttercream.


kate

 

[N&B'smom]

I love to bake but since we have a favorite cake from a bakery (chocolate chip cake with chocolate ganache frosting) I haven't made any lately! Here's a picture of my first and last attempt...this is from 7 years ago! It's far from fabulous but my son sure loved it!!

Shelby

 

[MosMom]

Here are some fondant tips...

1. Watch a YouTube video on how they smooth the fondant out.

2. Do not put your buttercream on too thick and make sure it dries a little before putting the fondant on. Otherwise you will have slipping and tearing.

3. Color the fondant while it is in melted marshmallow stage. Then you won't have the texture issues you are having with the blue fondant. Your other option is to buy fondant. You will be shocked how much easier it is. Once you get the hang of it, try your own again.

4. You can practice smoothing fondant edges on just the pan. Peel it off and start over. This way you don't get icing in it and you can get a feel for how to smooth it.


5. As long as you can get general application down, you can always hide mistakes.

 

[MosMom]

Cryssi...I was browsing frosting recipes and saw this...

Crisco - 492 grams
Salt - 1 tsp
Sour Cream - 2/3 Cup
Clear Vanilla - 2 tsp
Lorann Champagne Flavor - 2 tsp
Powdered Coffee Creamer, DRY - 1/2 Cup
Powdered Sugar - 2 pounds

Sift powdered sugar. Combine with powdered creamer and set aside.

Beat shortening with salt until smooth and creamy. Add half of sour cream and flavorings. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add half of powdered sugar mixture and beat until well-combined and creamy. Add remaining sour cream mixture, beat until combined. Add last of powdered sugar mixture and beat until smooth and creamy. Continue beating if a fluffier icing is desired.

This makes a very slightly ivory icing. You may wish to add a bit of icing whitener or a tiny touch of violet coloring if ivory is not the desired outcome.

Crusts...but not heavily. Can be smoothed with Viva or Melvira method after about a half-hour. If using another Lorann flavoring instead of Champagne, add sparingly, a little at a time, as not all Lorann flavors impart the same degree of flavor. 2 Teaspoons would be awful if using their Almond, for instance.


---

It has no butter so I'm not sure how it would taste but it has 5 stars.

When you make frosting do you use salted or unsalted butter? Salt enhances sweetness so if you use a recipe that calls for salt or you use salted butter, your recipe will be sweeter.

I use unsalted butter and omit salt from my recipe. I get comments about how nice and not too sweet my frosting is. I don't do this for baked goods as salt helps leavening.

 

[Passions71203]

here is a pic from DS birthday party this weekend. He was having a Harry Potter Theme..I know, it doesn't look that good but i tried