Simple Chevron Tutorial

I love chevron, but it is difficult to get crisp edges and perfect spacing.  I saw tons of videos online of stenciling with royal icing.  They made it look so easy, so I decided to try that technique on a cake that I made a few weeks ago, but I really didn't like the results:

I hated the texture of the dry royal icing (there's nothing appealing about crusty frosting) and the coverage was inconsistent, so it was dark in some spots, but barely visible in other spots, as you can see in the picture above.  Not only that, but it didn't apply as neatly as the instructors in the videos promised.  Keep in mind, this was my first attempt at stenciling with royal icing, so someone who has any stenciling experience would likely be much more successful, but I digress...

So anyway, for my most recent cake, I decided to try a different technique using a fondant cutter that I found on Amazon, hoping that the results would be much more successful.  Luckily, they were, and the technique was much quicker and simpler than stenciling.  The technique I used was designed by Jessica Harris, and can be used to lay out and transfer all types of fondant designs.

Materials:
* fondant cutter
* wax paper
* plastic wrap
* rotary cutter/pizza cutter
* shortening
* fondant (of course!)
* meter stick
* piping gel or edible glue

First, measure the circumference of your cake... or do a little math!  Remember, circumference = 3.14 x diameter - that was my "teacher moment" of the day. ;-)  Then cut a strip of wax paper a little bit longer than that length, just to be on the safe side.

Rub a thin layer of shortening all over the wax paper.  (I used a paper towel for this because I hate the feeling of Crisco on my hands.  You could also brush it on with a large paintbrush.)  This will help the design stick to the wax paper.  Then roll your fondant out onto the wax paper.  It should be close to the bottom edge of the wax paper, but not overlapping, because you'll need to be able to see the edge when it's time to cut the fondant.

Next, trim the bottom edge with a rotary cutter, using a meter stick as a guide.  Make sure that the edge of your fondant is parallel to the bottom of the wax paper.  As you can see in the photo below, the edge of my fondant is about 1/2 inch about the bottom of the wax paper because I wanted my design to start 1/2 inch above the base of my cake.  Don't worry, though... If it isn't perfectly parallel, you can always trim the wax paper afterward.

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the fondant (this prevents the fondant from sticking to the cutter).  

Starting at the bottom, press your cutter into the plastic wrap and fondant, and repeat until you reach the end of the row.  Then align the cutter with the top edge of the bottom row and proceed to cut the next row.  Continue until you have as many rows as you want.  (It is helpful to measure the height of the cake... I didn't and I ended up making an extra row.)

Once you've created all of the rows you want, remove the plastic wrap and gently peel the excess fondant away, leaving only the chevron design.  The shortening on the wax paper helps to hold the design in place as you remove the excess fondant.  Once I had removed all of the excess fondant, I trimmed the top of my wax paper, so that it didn't get in the way during the next step.

Next, use a paintbrush to spread a thin layer of piping gel or edible glue onto the design so that it will stick to your cake.  Then pick up the whole sheet of wax paper (don't worry... your design will stay in place) and wrap it around your cake, ensuring that the bottom of the wax paper is lined up with the bottom of your cake.

Press firmly with your hand, or with a fondant smoother, all around the cake to ensure that the design will stick to the cake.  (You can see my extra row in the photo below.)  

Gently peel the wax paper away from the cake.  The design should stick to the cake as you pull the wax paper away.  And that's it!  It probably took longer for me to write this blog than it will take you to complete the process. :-) 

The finished product:

Fondant Ruffles Tutorial

I love, love, LOVE making "girly" cakes (not to sound sexist... boys can love pink things too, of course!)... anything pink and frilly, especially bows and ruffles!  I made a frilly baby shower cake for a friend this weekend, and I took some pictures of the process so that I could share my ruffle tutorial with you!  I have made ruffle cakes using a few different techniques, but this one seems to be the easiest, and produces the most consistent results.  Here is a tutorial on the technique that I use to make them.  Just for the record, I did not invent this method, and I have no idea who did; I just refined a technique that I found online to meet my needs. :-)

This is a quick tutorial, but the process is not quick, by any means.  Ruffle-making is very time consuming.  It's totally worth it, though!

Roll fondant out on parchment paper.  Using two different-sized circle cutters, cut out some fondant "doughnuts."  (I used five four-inch circles per row on a 10" diameter cake.)  Next, cut a slit in each circle. *Note: if your fondant doesn't normally dry hard, or if it takes a long time to dry, mix a little bit of tylose powder into it.

Use a wooden skewer or a toothpick to roll along the edge of the circle.

This is what it looks like... Look at how frilly it is when you start to straighten it out!  This technique worked so much better for me than starting with straight strips of fondant, because the circular strips have a natural tendency to pleat/ruffle as you straighten them.

Attach it to the cake with some piping gel, edible glue, or water. (I used piping gel, and it worked like a charm!)

Use toothpicks to support your ruffles while they dry.  I recommend toothpicks with colored ends so that they're easy to see when it's time to remove them. Don't feel bad about poking holes in your pretty cake... no one will see them. :-)

Almost there!  I hope you have lots of toothpicks on hand!

Finally!  I ran out of toothpicks when I got to the top row.  Luckily, the bottom rows were dry by then, so I could use those toothpicks.

Is this a cake or a porcupine?

After a couple of hours, when the ruffles feel hard to the touch, it's safe to remove all of the toothpicks.  It's a time-consuming process, but it's totally worth it!

Here is the finished product:

Frog Cake Tutorial

My nephew, Daniel, has requested a frog cake for his birthday every year for the past three years.  This year, he saw a picture online (https://www.flickr.com/photos/lolopie/2436766839/in/faves-westsussexcupcakecompany/) and wanted me to replicate it.  I don't have much time for blogging right now, so here is the abridged version of the process...

I used four cake mixes, two cans of frosting, half of a large box of Wilton Decorator Preferred Fondant, and the pans pictured below to make the cake.  These are all Wilton pans (Doll Pan, Soccer Ball Pan, and Sports Ball Pan Set), but round, oven-safe bowls would probably work equally as well.  The only alteration that I made to the cake mixes, is I reduced the amount of oil per mix to just 1 tablespoon, to make the cake more firm/dense so that it would hold its shape.

When the cake was baked/cooled, I layered it, as pictured below.  Layers (from bottom to top): soccer ball (edges trimmed to line up with base of next layer), doll (cut in half for an additional layer of filling), and both halves of the sports ball with part of the bottom half removed to give it a wider base and to make the head less round.  I filled each layer with green-tinted vanilla frosting.  (The cake is actually green as well, but it's hard to tell!)

Next, I covered the whole cake with a thin layer of frosting.

I made facial features out of some leftover gray fondant (mixed with a little bit of tylose powder to help them harden).  I would have liked the lips to have been a little bit bigger, but the frosting wouldn't hold them up if they were heavier.

Next, I tinted my fondant with equal parts yellow and green, and I added a tiny amount of black.  I initially attempted to cover the entire frog with one big sheet of fondant, but it ended up tearing, wrinkling, and squishing the eye sockets, so I decided to 1.) let the eye sockets dry/harden for a little while and 2.) remove the head and cover the body and head separately, and then replace the head.  I ended up using straws in the frog's body to help support the weight of the head.

I used the curved, pointy fondant tool to make the crease for the mouth, and I used my small ball tool to make the indents for the nostrils and at the corners of the mouth. For the arms and legs, I rolled out long "sausages" of fondant and attached them with piping gel. The hands and feet were flattened balls of fondant with three cuts made in each for the fingers/toes, which I rounded/shaped. The dots were made with brown petal dust... of course, I didn't have brown, so I mixed red with light green.  The eyes were balls of yellow fondant with a circle of black and a small dot of yellow in the middle.  I rolled small pieces of fondant to drape over each eye.

Since I had some extra space in the front of my cake board, I made a little mini cake out of Rice Krispie Treats (which actually ended up being my nephew's favorite part).

The cattails were skewers that I covered with chocolate fondant and poked into Rice Krispie Treats.  Then I covered the Rice Krispie Treats with dark green fondant and poked it with my star frosting tip to make it look like grass.

Sleeping Santa Cake

I saw a super cute sleeping Santa cake on Cake Central, so I really wanted to make something similar.  Luckily, my Secret Santa was a chocolate lover, so I used her as an excuse to make this cake (Thanks, Meg!).  It was very quick and simple to make, so it would make a great last-minute Christmas gift for anyone who loves cake!

To start, I baked two eight-inch square cake layers (I ended up cutting one side of the cake so that the finished product was 8x6 inches).  While the cake was baking, I made all of the "cake parts,"  with the exception of the blanket.  I made the headboard/footboard first so that it would have time to harden before adhering it to the cake.

To create the headboard, I googled "headboard outline" and found an outline that I liked:

http://static.graciousstyle.com/images/Hudson_outline_fs.jpg

I adjusted the width of the picture to six inches and then printed it onto a piece of cardstock.  Then I mixed some Tylose powder (Gum-Tex) into some white fondant and added a little bit of brown food coloring, kneading it until the brown was mostly incorporated but still slightly swirly.  Then I rolled out the fondant, laid the template over it, and cut it out (I ended up cutting off the pointed parts of the headboard).  I left the bottom longer than the template because I wasn't sure how tall my cake would end up being.  I ended up using the leftover bottom portion of the headboard as the footboard later on.

Next, I pressed my wood grain impression mat onto the headboard (although this design could also be achieved with a knife), and then I used my mini star cookie cutter to cut star shapes into the headboard.  Then I used my clay extruder to create a border for the headboard and attached it with piping gel.

I set the headboard aside and began working on Santa and his pillow.  For the pillow, I used Leaf Green food coloring with a tiny bit of black to achieve the color.  I rolled the fondant out so that it was about a half of an inch thick, and then I shaped it a little bit with my fingers, pinching the corners and softening the edges.  I also made an indentation where Santa's head was going to rest.

Next, I made Santa's skin by adding a little bit of pink food coloring to my white fondant.  To make his head, I rolled out a ball of fondant and pressed it down so that the top was rounded, but the back was mostly flat.  Then I cut off the top portion of his head so that the top was flat.  Next, I used a little bit of red fondant, rolled it into a cone shape, and pressed it down on top of his head.  I bent the "tail" of his hat and used a knife to create crease marks in the bend of his hat.

I molded some white fondant around the bottom and sides of his head to make his beard.  Then I used a small ball tool to create texture by making small indentations all over his beard (I actually ended up adding more fondant to his beard in the end to make it fuller).  Once his beard was in place, I added a couple of small elongated triangles for his moustache, attaching them in the center of his face, and then I used the back of my knife to create lines in his moustache.  Then I pressed a ball of pink-tinted fondant onto the center of the moustache for his nose.  In the gap between his moustache and his beard, I added a tiny strip of fondant for Santa's bottom lip. Then I pressed a frosting tip into his skin to make indentations for his closed eyelids.  I used an edible black marker to draw his eyelashes, and I brushed a little bit of pink luster dust onto his cheeks and nose.

I finished his face and hat by adding a little ball of white fondant to the tip of his hat and a strip of fondant to the brim.  I used a toothbrush (clean and unused, I promise!) to create the texture on the brim and the ball of his hat.

Like I mentioned before, I ended up adding more fondant to Santa's beard in the end to make it fuller.  This is what it looked like after:

To make Santa's hands, I rolled two small balls of fondant and flattened them slightly.  Then I made four cuts, creating his fingers, and I smoothed the edges of his fingers.  For his feet, I created two jelly bean-shaped pieces of fondant, flattened them slightly, and made an indentation on each foot with my finger to create an arch.  Then I added five tiny balls of fondant to each foot for his toes.

For the stocking, I created another jelly-bean shaped piece of fondant and flattened it slightly on the back.  Then I cut the top so that it was flat, and added a ring of white fondant.

By this time, the cake had finished baking and cooling, so I leveled it, trimmed one side so that it was six inches wide and eight inches long (instead of 8"x8").  Then I filled it, frosted it, and covered it with white fondant.  I placed the pillow and Santa's head on the cake and began working on his body. I didn't attach his head and the pillow to the cake at that time, because I knew that I would need to remove it later on.

To make Santa's body, I rolled out a thick cylinder of fondant, cut the bottom section in half lengthwise to create his legs, and used my fingers to shape his legs and belly.  This part didn't need to be perfect or precise because I knew that it would be covered by the blanket.  In hindsight, I should have made his belly a little bit bigger... Santa does love cookies, after all. :-)

The last piece I made was the blanket.  I rolled out a piece of red fondant 8 inches wide by 6 inches long (the opposite dimensions of the bed).  I used my quilting tool to create the quilted effect, but a knife or a pizza cutter would work well for this, too.  Then I covered Santa with the blanket (just down to his ankles) and used my fingers to make ripples in the sides of the blanket that were draped over the edges of the bed.  Next, I took the pillow and head off of the bed so that I could add a strip of white fondant over the top of the blanket, creating ruffles with my fingers, and then I attached the pillow/head, hands, and feet to the cake.  I also added some sugar pearls to the blanket.

The last pieces I added were the headboard and footboard.  I attached the stocking to the footboard with a little bit of piping gel and that was it!

Merry Christmas!

Teapot Cake Tutorial

I made this teapot cake for a former student of mine, for her foster niece's third birthday.  She showed me a picture of a cake that she liked and asked me to make a similar cake with a bigger bottom tier, different flowers, and purple instead of pink (this particular color scheme was inspired by Sophia the First).

This was the photo that I used as my inspiration.  I tried to track down the original source, but all I could find was the image.

I started by baking the ball-shaped cake.  While the cake was in the oven, I prepared the cake board by gluing three cardboard cake circles together and adding purple ribbon around the edge.  Then I took a handful of the purple fondant and mixed it with tylose powder (to help it harden) so that I could make the handle, spout, and roses.  To make the spout and the handle, I rolled the fondant in my hands and manipulated it until I achieved the design that I liked.  Fortunately, I had a styrofoam ball, that was the same diameter as my cake pan, that I was able to use to check the sizing of the spout and handle.  It also helped me form the edges of the spout and handle so that they would fit snugly onto the round cake.  Since the spout seemed heavy, I decided to add a skewer to give it more support when I attached it to the cake.

To make each ribbon rose, I rolled out a thin strip of fondant (about two inches wide and ten inches long), folded it in half lengthwise so that there was no "raw edge" and then rolled it up, pinching it in places to make pleats.  (For a detailed tutorial on how to make ribbon roses, visit http://www.make-fabulous-cakes.com/fondant-ribbon-roses.html.  Her explanation is perfect!)

The other piece that I made while the cake was baking was the lid of the teapot.  I could have easily applied this directly to the cake, but I had time to waste while the cake was baking, so I decided to make it in advance.  For this, I just rolled a ball of fondant in my hands and then pressed it down onto the styrofoam ball, smoothing the edges down until it had the shape that I was looking for.

When the two ball-halves were cool enough, I cut off the bottom edge of one of the semispheres (so that there was about a three-inch flat spot on the bottom of the sphere), stuck it to a round piece of cardboard, piped a dam of frosting on top, and then filled it with vanilla frosting.  Then I placed the other half on top and placed the lid on top of that.  I covered the whole ball with a thin layer of frosting.

To make the lighter purple that I used as the primary color for the teapot and the table, I mixed some of the purple fondant with white fondant (1:1).  (I have used purple food coloring with white fondant to achieve this color before, but in my experience, fondant that I have tinted purple tends to fade to gray rather quickly.)  Once the fondant was the lavender color that I desired, I rolled it out and covered the teapot and lid.  Then I stuck a dowel down through the whole thing (lid, teapot, and cardboard).  This made it easier to transport later.  I also used my clay extruder to add a rim of dark purple fondant around the base of the lid.  Then I set the teapot aside and worked on the bottom (table) tier.

 
To make the table, I leveled, filled, and stacked three 10-inch round layers (about four inches tall).  Then I covered the cake with a thin layer of vanilla frosting.  I rolled out the remainder of the lavender-colored fondant and applied it to the cake.  To make the tablecloth, I rolled some white fondant onto a 14-inch cardboard cake circle, trimmed away the excess, and went around the edge with a cookie cutter (I had actually cut the cookie cutter in half to get the shape that I wanted).  If I had thought of it at the time, I might have used a frosting tip to make little holes around the edge to make it look like a lace tablecloth.  An impression mat could have given it some character, too.

The cardboard circle made it easy for me to transfer the tablecloth onto the cake.  All I had to do was flip it over, onto the cake.  Then I adjusted it to make sure that it was centered.  To give the tablecloth some dimension, I pulled the longer sections away from the cake with my finger.

Once the tablecloth was in place, I set the teapot on top and pushed the wooden dowel all the way down through the whole cake.  Then I cut off the top of the dowel and stuck one of my ribbon roses on top of the lid, over the dowel.  I used piping gel to attach the handle and spout, which were firm but pliable at that point.  I added a flat strip of dark purple fondant around the base of the teapot, and then I put a cylindrical strip (matching the strip around the lid) just above the flat strip to make it look like it was sitting on a base or saucer.

Next, I used a silicone mold to make the border around the base of the cake.  I added a cylindrical strip in front of it with my clay extruder.

I used some basic flower cutters to add some small flowers to the cake, dusting them with purple petal dust in the center.  I used a leaf cutter to make the leaves, and I folded/pinched them at the base to make them smaller and to give them more dimension.  I also added a few pearls to the centers of the flowers and around the edge of the cake... Who doesn't love pearls?

The cake still seemed a little bit bare, so I decided to add some thin vines with my clay extruder.  (Have I ever mentioned how much I love my clay extruder?)

Last, but not least, I added the name.  For this, I used the Tappits Funky Alphabet letter cutters. (I absolutely love this font; it's perfect for a girly cake!) Initially, I hated how the Tappits worked.  My fondant kept getting stuck no matter how thin/thick I rolled it.  Then I did a little bit of research and discovered the secret: Roll your fondant very thin, then cover your fondant with a layer of plastic wrap.  When you press down onto the plastic wrap with your cutter, it will push through the fondant, but won't cut the plastic.  It leaves a nice, soft, clean edge on the letters and they don't stick to the cutters.  Then you just peel away the excess, allow the letters to harden for a few minutes, and then arrange them on your cake. When you're happy with the position of the letters, secure them with a dab of piping gel or water.  (I wish I had read that advice before using my Tappits for the first time.)  

Tea Time!