Montreal Confections

Vintage cupcakes & cookies

2013-05-14T03:28:00.001-07:00

I recently made some pretty cupcakes & cookies and managed to film it all for you, lets start with the cookies.

Photo by Elena Roussakis

The were made using a 3" round along with a 6 petal flower cutter to imprint the white area, watch the video here.

Here are a few supplies I used:

I also made some matching cupcakes, the toppers can be made in advance all you need to do is dry fondant discs in a paint tray.

Photo by Elena Roussakis

You can view the tutorial here.

Here are a few supplies used in the project:

Picture perfect cake plaques

2013-05-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

For today tutorial I am going to share how to easily make perfect cake plaques, like the one on this cake.

I hope you enjoy the video.

Here are some of the supplies used in the tutorial.

Rainbow effect and zebra print on a fondant cake

2013-05-07T04:23:00.001-07:00

I am combining 2 techniques today, in the first portion of the video I am airbrushing the cake to create a rainbow effect on the surface of the fondant.

If you are not already familiar with a colour wheel you should take a moment to study this image, it show which colour are made when combining 2 together.

Now here is the video.

In the second half of the video I create a zebra print using black fondant, I sped up a portion of this tutorial since it is repetitive.

Here are some supplies used in the tutorial:

Little boys need cute cakes to

2013-05-05T03:35:00.002-07:00

For whatever reason, boy-friendly designs have never come naturally to me, but this year I made an extra effort for my son's 9th birthday. When I told him I would be making him a dinosaur cake, he looked at me and said "can't you make a Transformer instead"? He wasn't feeling the whole idea but trusted me...sort of.

Here are a few photos of how it all came together. Below you will find the complete tutorials should you want to have a dinosaur party yourself. Our table display was enhanced by the wonderful dinosaur decorations made by the super-talented Elena of Just Me Prints. She made the gorgeous banner as well as the favour tags & table signs.

I started with the cupcakes since I could make the cupcake toppers in advance. I was making these as my party favours. Enjoy the video.

Here is the template for cupcakes & cookies:

Here are the cupcakes all wrapped up in clear containers with Elena's adorable tags.

Supplies for the cupcakes:

Next I made the cookies, here is the video.

I love how the cookies looked on the green leaf plate.

Here are supplies used in the making of the cookies.

Last but not least the cake. I was extremely pleased to see my sons smiling face when he finally saw his cake. I am pretty certain that if you make this for your little man, you will get a very similar reaction. Click below to view my video tutorial.

Spike templates:

Cake supplies:

Here is everything all together, I am pretty happy with how it all turned out.

Thanks for stopping by, Marlyn

Chevron cake done in teal ombre & buttercream ruffles

2013-04-30T09:56:00.003-07:00

You will find the complete video tutorial for this cake here.

Here are a few supplies used in the making of this cake:

Chevron cutter: http://www.etsy.com/listing/119708723/chevron-4-closed-ended?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=chevron

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Hello Kitty Party Treats

2013-04-28T04:07:00.001-07:00

When planning a party one of the most important details is the desserts, in today's post I'll be showing you how to make beautiful cupcakes, cookies and a show stopping cake.

I always try to coordinate the designs so that everything looks cohesive together.

For the first tutorial I am going to show you how to make perfectly domed cupcakes.

The second tutorial is for an adorable character sugar cookie.

The last video is the centrepiece, I show you how to decorate the cake. In the video I show how to easily recreate a character with stencils & your airbrush.

Here are some of the supplies I used to create these desserts

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My airbrush machine

2013-04-24T04:11:00.001-07:00

As you may already know, one of my favourite decorating tools is my airbrush. I couldn't live without it. By popular demand, today's post is a review of my airbrush and below you'll find a video on the subject.

There are many different units on the market, all with varying capabilities & price. I'll start by showing you my first airbrush which was given to me as a Christmas gift.

This unit is priced at around $130. It is very similar to the unit available at Michael's craft store. I've read that some have picked it up at Michael's with the 40% off coupon (reducing the price to approx. $80), which "seems" like a good deal. Let's not forget that you need colours with the unit, a box of 12 colours (the small size) will run you about an extra $15.

The positives of this unit are that it is compact and readily available in stores. The negatives are that I found it to be mediocre quality, made of plastic. The gun that comes with the unit only lasted about 6 months. I purchased a replacement on Ebay but now my air trap has a leak which has put this unit out of commission for good.

With my airbrush gone, I was in grave need of a replacement. After some research, I decided on a Master Airbrush unit. I have been using it for the last couple of weeks and to date I am very satisfied. I was looking for something not too expensive that would allow me to do more detailed paintings. I've found that the regulator on the compressor gives me more control over airflow and therefore I can produce a better finished product, additionally the gun works very well.

In this video I show you the machine as well as a painting demonstration.

Here is the CRAZY part, the Master Airbrush machine is less expensive than my first unit. A new one is priced at $89.96, add on a box of Amerimist colours and you are still priced under the first machine.

If you want to see the airbrush in action, watch the video below. I am decorating an actual cake with it.

Fondant butterfly cookies

2013-04-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today I'll be demonstrating a cookie cutter texture set by Autumn Carpenter, there are several different designs I'll be using the butterfly model. The package includes 5 cutters with coordinating textured mats, 2 designs for each cutter shape. It was easy to use and gave a beautiful finished product, you can purchase the kit at Flour Confections here.

Here is the complete video tutorial:

You can also use the smallest butterfly to decorate cupcakes, I show you how in the video.

More decorating kits that may interest you

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Sounds too good to be true...

2013-04-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Imagine being able to hold in your hands the outline to your cookie design? Now that's just crazy talk, could this even be possible? IT IS TRUE!! I've created a technique that allows you to do just that.

If you don't own a projector and struggle to transfer your outlines this video is a must for you, watch it here. My technique can be used to transfer your own design, a monogram or even a character cookie outline.

Here is the template to my cookie, the cutters are by Wilton

Link to all supplies needed here (this is the airbrush unit I use):

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Airbrushed cookies using sectional stencils

2013-04-02T04:34:00.001-07:00

It's not a big secret that my favourite way to decorate is with my airbrush, today's video is to demonstrate that an airbrush works on fondant cookies as well.

Here is a photo of the cookies in question. If you take a moment to examine them, you will see some sections are black lace, others are just black. This is done with a sectional stencil.

Here is the template for my design.

There are two versions above, pick the one you prefer and then trace it onto a piece of clear acetate with a permanent marker. You will need a stencil for every colour you intend to use, you will then cut out the sections for each colour (That is why it is called a sectional stencil).

If you look at the example above I added pink to the sections of the stencil I cut out, this allows colour to go onto certain sections while protecting other specific areas of the design. This technique can be done with any design, you just need to take the time to create the stencils and they can then be used over and over again. You can view the video tutorial here.

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Heart themed first birthday cake

2013-03-26T03:53:00.001-07:00

In this tutorial I'll be showing you how to make the decorations in advance which is essential to a stress free decorating experience. The bottom tier has a piece of edible lace & ribbon wrapped around the whole cake then I added a personalized name plate to the front.

The top tier is decorated with small hearts draped from a frosting sheet wire the cake is completed with a custom cookie topper.

You can view the video tutorial here

Supplies for this cake:

1 white cake board
frosting sheets

scissors

plaque cutter

royal icing & pipping accessories

the top 1 cookie was hand cut

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Baby Belly Baby Shower Cake

2013-03-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Not long ago I was reading a post on Cake Wrecks about belly cakes, little did I know I'd get a request for one myself.

Here is my version, you can view the video here.

See links for cake pans below:

Decorating tools

Cake board
Texture mat
Small cutting wheel

Here is the whole set for this party

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Elegant white on white cookies

2013-03-14T04:37:00.001-07:00

I recently made cookies for my friend Elena who celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss, you can see her party photos here.

Photo by Tanya Zaleski

My video will show you how to create all four of these designs.

The frame cookie was made using this cutter I cut the centre out with a small oval.

I am sorry but I do not have a link for the flower cutter if you like the shape let me know and I'll ask Plastics in Print to create one for you.

Presentation is key - Easter cookie bouquet

2013-03-11T19:18:00.002-07:00

Today's post is to show you that even a simple design can stand out when well presented.

This cookie bouquet only has 2 simple cookies, a white bunny and a carrot but to me this bouquet is beautiful. I purchased a simple wooden box that I painted brown and distressed, then stencilled the word carrot onto the front. I added a little plastic grass and voila a little cookie magic.

I suggest that you either individually wrap the cookies before assembly or wrap the whole arrangement once done to keep the cookies clean & fresh.

Complete video tutorial here.

Arrangement supplies:

Decorative container
floral foam
brown tissue paper
artificial grass
rabbit & bunny cookie cutter set
lolly pop sticks
colours: orange, green, pink, black

Be sure to check out my other Easter projects!

Cookies for Haniela's Easter Extravaganza

2013-03-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Haniela for organizing this, there are a total of 22 amazing Easter projects so be sure to scroll all the way down to see them all.

For my portion of the "extravaganza" I have a working edible candy dispenser!

You can view the video tutorial here.

Should you wish to make these cookies you'll find the 6 piece cutter set exclusively at Plastics in Print.

I used clear isomalt sugar to create the window, you can order from Flour Confections.

For the plug you will need a total of 3 cookie layers, 2 small rounds stacked together attache them to a decorative cookie such as the butterfly, bunny or flower. This step is essential for sealing the hole and keeping the candy inside the dispenser.

The centre cookie can be cut using the egg cutter see image below:

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial.

If you plan on ordering these cutters you may want to check out this set as well to save on shipping, the video tutorial will be posted this week.

Here are many more wonderful Easter projects for you to check out:

Fondant Easter Egg Cookies

2013-03-08T06:37:00.003-08:00

Keeping it short and sweet today! A quick & easy cookie design for those of you who decorate cookies with fondant, view video here.

Here are the supplies:

Textured mat
Fondant
Egg cookie cutter
Sanding sugar
Paint brush
Rolling pin

Easter Egg Whoopie Pies

2013-03-08T06:36:00.002-08:00

During most holidays once I'm done decorating everyone else's cookies I don't eel like making more for my own family, we usually end up with chocolate chip cookies.

Todays post was inspired by these cupcakes, I wanted to get the design on the batter but still have frosting which is a must for my family. I had planned on making the pink dot version for Valentine's day but I ran out of time. I still wanted to try my idea and needed a new twist for Easter, this is what I came up with.

Here is the link to the recipe I used, I followed it exactly and it was very good. The only thing I would mention is to make sure you puree the banana very well since it will be passing through the pipping tip. I put one spoonful of the batter in separate bowls to mix in the colours, which I then put in piping bags.

The kids were thrilled with both how they looked and tasted, enjoy!

Pretty Princess Cupcakes

2013-02-25T06:42:00.003-08:00

February 25th 2013 is National Cupcake Day and I'm hosting an online cupcake party!

OK not really a party but a great video tutorial, a 3D princess cupcake that is sure to charm all your party guests, view it here.

Every princess needs a castle you can learn how to make this adorable castle cake here, castle cutters available here.

To make these cupcakes you will need the following supplies:

Cupcake liners
Cookie cutter New cutter design at Plastics in Prints
Princess head push mold
Gold luster dust
Pink petal dust
Textured mat
Edile markers
Piping tip
Airbrush colours for painting
Small heart cutter - I don't have a supplier link for this

View all the princess themed videos here

Princess Party - Tiara Cookie Favors

2013-02-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

In my last post I showed you how to make a castle cookie centrepiece, today I have more princess treats for you. In this video I show you how to create a jewelled crown for the little princes in your life.

I used a cutter from coppergifts.com but this technique could work with any crown cutter shape.

You can view the video tutorial here.

Photo by Elena Roussakis

Once the decoration was finished I airbrushed the whole cookie in pearl it added more shine to the gold along with sparkle to the jewels.

In need of more princess party inspirations check our these wonderful projects:

Princess party decor by Elena of Just Me

Unicorn poop cupcakes & Princess wand cookie-pops by Haniela

Pink Princess Dessert Jars - by Sweet gifts in a jar

Princess party extravaganza!

2013-02-16T04:47:00.003-08:00

So excited to announce that I will be collaborating with two talented ladies, allow me to introduce them to you.

Those of you in the cookie decorating circles might already know Haniela, she is a talented blogger, cake/cookie decorator as well as a food photographer. Be sure to visit her blog to see all her wonderful photos, ideas & recipes.

The next talented lady is Elena, she is a hugely talented card & paper craft designer and photographer. If you don't already know her you must head over to her blog, Just Me to see all her wonderful creations.

This collaboration will bring together two very important elements to party planning, food & decor. We are starting our adventure with a princess theme, almost every little girl has a princess party at one point in their lives. If you are in the beginning stages of planning a princess party and in search of some original ideas, you have come to the right place.

** At the end of each of all our videos you will see a slide like this one, you can click directly on the photo to get to the tutorial of your choice.

For my portion of the festivities I created a video tutorial for a cookie bouquet. It is made up of separate parts which when put together create a complete castle. This castle bouquet would be a stunning addition to any princesses dessert table.

Photo by Elena Roussakis

The tower roof element was inspired by these beautiful cookies

The castle bouquet is made up of the following pieces. I decorated in pink & purple but you could certainly choose more masculine colours.

These cookies can be individually wrapped before assembly of the bouquet, you can add a decorative ribbon to the top of the towers for a finishing touch. You can view the complete video tutorial here.

The cutter set for this project is now available exclusively at Plastics in Print, visit their Etsy store to see all their great cutters. The are having a giveaway for the first kit!! Check my following post for details.

I designed these cookies to be versatile (see the photo below), I used the same cookies to turn a regular 6" square cake into this adorable castle cake.

Photo by Elena Roussakis

All the same cookies were used except for the front of the castle which is now cake. To decorate this 6" square cake, I covered it in pink fondant and inserted the top tower cookie-pop. I then piped a white royal icing ruffle along the top edge of the cake and used the same icing to glue on the two front towers, door & bushes. Be sure to pipe a decorative border along any edges that might not be picture perfect.

Below are the links to Haniela's unicorn poop cupcakes & Elena's whimsical princess party decor.


Haniela's Blog Haniela's YouTube Channel	Just Me Elena Roussakis YouTube Channel

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Plastics in Print - GIVEAWAY!

2013-02-16T04:42:00.002-08:00

To kick-off the princess festivities in style, Patrick from Plastics in Print is giving away a complete castle cookie cutter kit to one lucky person. Here is the complete kit.

The cookies can be used either in a bouquet, as shown in the photo below, or

they can be used to decorate a simple 6" square cake, creating a beautiful castle cake as can be seen below. If you have a cookie business, this is an easy way to expand your product line. Imagine not only selling cookies for the dessert table or as favour but also offering a complete cake decorating kit that your client can easily use themselves. Tutorial for these cookies can be viewed here.

Photo by Elena Roussakis

To participate in the giveaway all you need to do is head over to Plastics in Prints Facebook page and like them, then come back here and leave me your email address in the comments section. Giveaway closes at midnight on February 23rd, winner will be selected with http://www.random.org.

** The giveaway is open to all.

Kopy what? A quick overview of a Kopykake projector

2013-02-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

By popular demand I made a video demonstrating how a Kopykake projector works, this video shows how it can facilitate decorating cakes & cookies.

All the fish cookies were made using my KopyKake 300XK, view video here

My fish cookies inspired me to create this fun cookie arrangement, video tutorial here.

Supplies:

Large clear jar/container
Floral foam
Decorative rocks
Plastic plant
Tissue paper
1" strip of clear acetate
Satin ribbon (optional)
Decorated cookie pops (size & quantity will vary depending on size of jar/container)

I suggest you individually wrap the cookies in clear cellophane bags to keep them clean & fresh.

Decorating with Frosting Sheets - Giveaway

2013-01-21T07:18:00.003-08:00

Frosting sheets aren't just for edible images, in my most recent tutorial I used frosting sheets to decorate my birdcage cake.

My frosting sheets were supplied by Flour Confections, Lisa was kind enough to send some extras for a giveaway!

I have 3 sample packs (5 frosting sheets in each) for this giveaway.

To enter this giveaway head over to Flour Confections Facebook page & like them, next share my birdcage cake YouTube video

Be sure to come back over here and let me know you did this in the comments below, one entry per person.

The contest ends January 30th, 3 winners will be announced the next day. Winners will be selected using www.Random.org. *** Open to residents of North America only.

Thanks so much for participating, Marlyn

Birdcage cake & cookie decorating tutorials

2013-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Today's post is something I had been thinking about for a while, with 2013 here what better time to start something new.

I am going to attempt to share with you the techniques I use to decorate cakes, for those who are accustomed to my cookie tutorials no worries there is one here for you as well.

I broke down the tutorials into four parts all of which are accessible from this post or via the Birdcage introduction video on YouTube.

Step 1 Video - A complete video tutorial on how to create all the decoration needed to decorate this cake. The point of this is to complete the decorations in advance to facilitate the final assembly.

- Frosting sheets generously supplied by Flour Confections, they are used to create the metal parts of the cage, the sheets are airbrushed black then dusted with silver airbrush to add a more metallic look to them. You will need 2 frosting sheets in the making of this cake design, I cut the frosting sheet into 12 pieces that were the full length of the page and 3/8" wide. For the bottom border pieces I cut the frosting sheet 1 1/2" wide again leaving them the full length. Frosting sheets Available here

** Optional I had some royal icing dots left over from other projects that I painted in the same way as the frosting sheets to create matching rivets to the bird cage.

- The butterflies were made using wafer paper available here, I used a black edible markers which can be purchased here, the stamps can be found at your local craft store. ** DO NOT PURCHASE CLEAR STAMPS they do not work with edible markers.

You will need white & black fondant as well as some gum paste.

I used a 3 1/2 round scalloped cookie cutter for the top cake decoration then I used 5 and 2 piping tips to cut the holes around the edges, then to pip the green branches I used a 4 tip and to pip the leaves I used this tip.

Extra tools piping bags, couplers, 2 x 6" cake boards, bubble straws

Step 2 Video - In this portion I show you how I frost such a tall cake. For this design I used a 6" cake pan that was 3" high, I baked 2 cakes with this pan size. I also used a 6" ball pan, I baked one of these. I cut up each 6" cake into 3 slices which were filled with buttercream. I used bubble straws as structural support along with a 6 inch cake board, I used a white 10" cake board to build the cake onto. I show how I covered the cake in white fondant in preparation for Step 3.

Step 3 Video - I show how I measured and marked the cake to then apply the cage bars then I show how I decorate the rest of the cake. The cake was about 10" high the total portions for this cake are 24.

Step 4 Video - I show how I decorate a birdcage cookie made using a Halloween tombstone cookie cutter. I used the same flower cutter set & technique and the stamp is also the same.

I hope you will find this tutorial helpful in the making of this cake design.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Marlyn

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Mini Valentine Love Shack - 3D cookie project

2013-01-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to day 2 of Haniela's and my Valentine projects, once you are done here be sure to head over to her blog and see what she has for you. She created adorable Decorated Hershey Kiss Cookies.

The idea for these project was to make treats made of Cookies & Candy, here is today's tutorial.

Over the holidays I got a surprise in the mail from Connie, this clever cookie cutter can be found here:

This cutter is in Good Cooks Christmas collection, it certainly could be used for other events such as Valentines day. Here is a little video showing you how I created a mini love shack.

I used a 3.5" round cookie to create a base for the house.

Montreal Confections

Vintage cupcakes & cookies

Picture perfect cake plaques

Rainbow effect and zebra print on a fondant cake

Little boys need cute cakes to

Chevron cake done in teal ombre & buttercream ruffles

Hello Kitty Party Treats

My airbrush machine

Fondant butterfly cookies

Sounds too good to be true...

Airbrushed cookies using sectional stencils

Heart themed first birthday cake

Supplies for this cake:

Baby Belly Baby Shower Cake

Elegant white on white cookies

Presentation is key - Easter cookie bouquet

Cookies for Haniela's Easter Extravaganza

Fondant Easter Egg Cookies

Easter Egg Whoopie Pies

Pretty Princess Cupcakes

February 25th 2013 is National Cupcake Day and I'm hosting an online cupcake party!

Princess Party - Tiara Cookie Favors

Princess party extravaganza!

The cutter set for this project is now available exclusively at Plastics in Print, visit their Etsy store to see all their great cutters. The are having a giveaway for the first kit!! Check my following post for details.

Below are the links to Haniela's unicorn poop cupcakes & Elena's whimsical princess party decor.

Plastics in Print - GIVEAWAY!

Kopy what? A quick overview of a Kopykake projector

Decorating with Frosting Sheets - Giveaway

Birdcage cake & cookie decorating tutorials

Mini Valentine Love Shack - 3D cookie project

Here is the round up for the projects:

Haniela's Valentine's Day S'mores Cookie Sticks
Haniela's Decorated Hershey Kiss Cookies
and my Glass cookie heart

Montreal Confections

Vintage cupcakes & cookies

Picture perfect cake plaques

Rainbow effect and zebra print on a fondant cake

Little boys need cute cakes to

Chevron cake done in teal ombre & buttercream ruffles

Hello Kitty Party Treats

My airbrush machine

Fondant butterfly cookies

Sounds too good to be true...

Airbrushed cookies using sectional stencils

Heart themed first birthday cake

Supplies for this cake:

Baby Belly Baby Shower Cake

Elegant white on white cookies

Presentation is key - Easter cookie bouquet

Cookies for Haniela's Easter Extravaganza

Fondant Easter Egg Cookies

Easter Egg Whoopie Pies

Pretty Princess Cupcakes

February 25th 2013 is National Cupcake Day and I'm hosting an online cupcake party!

Princess Party - Tiara Cookie Favors

Princess party extravaganza!

The cutter set for this project is now available exclusively at Plastics in Print, visit their Etsy store to see all their great cutters. The are having a giveaway for the first kit!! Check my following post for details.

Below are the links to Haniela's unicorn poop cupcakes & Elena's whimsical princess party decor.

Plastics in Print - GIVEAWAY!

Kopy what? A quick overview of a Kopykake projector

Decorating with Frosting Sheets - Giveaway

Birdcage cake & cookie decorating tutorials

Mini Valentine Love Shack - 3D cookie project

Here is the round up for the projects:

Haniela's Valentine's Day S'mores Cookie Sticks Haniela's Decorated Hershey Kiss Cookies and my Glass cookie heart

Haniela's Valentine's Day S'mores Cookie Sticks
Haniela's Decorated Hershey Kiss Cookies
and my Glass cookie heart