Cake Fixation

Mari's Castle Cake

2012-12-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

I received another call to action from Icing Smiles, the nonprofit group that provides custom celebration cakes and other treats to families impacted by the critical illness of a child. If you are a baker and haven't signed up to be a partner, I highly recommend doing so! They are always in need of fun cakes, dream cakes, cookies and delivery helpers. And of course donations are accepted too.

The best present I got this holiday was receiving this picture of Mari and her princess castle cake. Her mom told me her favorite color is yellow and was recently granted a trip to Disneyland from Make-A-Wish. Mari got sick on her birthday and had to spend time in the hospital, which makes me so sad, but I'm so glad to know that I contributed to the beautiful smile on her face.

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Teddy Tutorial for Cake Central Magazine

2012-12-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays from Cake Fixation!

I'm so excited to share that my gumpaste teddy bear tutorial made it into the December 2012 issue of Cake Central Magazine!

The December issue is filled with glamourous holiday cakes, recipes and my festive teddy tutorial. The full tutorial can be viewed after purchasing a subscription to the magazine (The digital magazine is only $19.99 for 12 issues and totally worth it!). http://cakecentralmagazine.com/

I had such a wonderful Christmas day spending time with the people I love. I hope you did too!

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2012 Gingerbread Village at the Seattle Sheraton

2012-11-26T07:20:00.003-08:00

A little fun fact about myself: I LOVE gingerbread houses. In fact, my love of making gingerbread houses is what led me into cake decorating.

So when I got invited to the unveiling of the 20th annual Gingerbread Village at the Seattle Sheraton I was over the moon! I got to hob-nob with Seattle's Mayor, Chef's from the Sheraton and the darling children from JDRF. And best of all, I got to view the amazing gingerbread house creations before the public!

I highly recommend taking your whole family out to the Seattle Sheraton for a fun Christmas adventure, which runs until January 1, 2013. Seeing these creations in person is a must this holiday season!

Seattle Sheraton Presents

Gingerbread Village - Once Upon a Time

November 20, 2012 - January 1, 2013

Hours: 7 days a week, 24 hours a day

Please visit the Gingerbread Village website for instructions on voting and donating to JDRF.

Now on to what you've been waiting for. The Gingerbread Houses!

First up is Ariel's Underwater Castle created by Callison. The Little Mermaid is brought back to life in this gingerbread creation. I'm loving the lighted rocks, and the characters are spot on!

Aladdin's Magical Castle made by Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish. The domed roofs on this one are out of this world, they look to be made out of blown sugar, which is seriously impressive!

Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Castle by DLR Group. A gorgeous replica of a "tale as old as time".

Brother's Grimm Castle of Fairy Tales created by 4D Architects, Inc. What had me floored was the sheer amount of candy used on this castle. They decorated with licorice, candy canes, sugar cubes, cookies, candy corns and more. Delicious, but way too pretty to eat!

Narnia's Snow Queen Castle created by Mulvanny G2 Architecture. Look at the hand carved wardrobe!

This year my vote went to Alice in Wonderland Castle created by Weber Thompson. The detail work on this castle was simply amazing.

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Hot Air Balloon Cookies

2012-11-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

Some fun cookies for my kids' school craft fair tomorrow. If you live in Woodinville this hot air balloon will look familiar. It flies over my house often and is such a beautiful sight!

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Boy Baby Carriage Cake

2012-11-07T13:14:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited to share this baby carriage cake on my blog today because it was made for SugarEd (aka... Sharon Zambito)'s upcoming membership website. I also made a 38 picture tutorial of the baby stroller that can only be viewed on her site. The SugarEd website will be ready in a few months... I can't wait!

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A Devilishly Cute Cake Topper

2012-10-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm pressed for time today but I still wanted to share this darling devil cake topper. I know you guys are super smart and can figure this out by seeing just pics, right?

Have a nice week, cake friends!

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How to make a Halloween Witch Cupcake

2012-09-23T08:47:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween. Every year around this time my husband and I have a little game we like to play... who can play the scariest prank on the other. My last year's attempt of hanging a fake mummified body in the garage to greet him made him laugh. This year I've already tried fake spiders and rats on his desk to which he snubbed. Dear husband of mine, this is your warning. I WILL get you this year.

In the meantime, here is my newest tutorial. How to make a witch cupcake. Enjoy!

1. Begin making the witch's face by rolling a cone shape of flesh colored fondant. Give her a pointy chin by pinching the end of the cone.

2. Mold a pointy nose and wart, and glue onto the face with gum glue.

3. Use the end of a paintbrush to create the mouth and eye holes.

4. Roll two small black balls of fondant and glue into the eye holes.

5. Use a grass tip and piping bag filled with purple buttercream to create the witch's hair.

6. Place the witch's head onto the cupcake.

7. Add more buttercream hair as needed.

8. Cut out a half circle of fondant and hand model the top of the witch's hat.

9. Place hat onto her head and glue the gold dragee into place using gum glue.

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Two Peas in a Pod Cupcake Topper

2012-09-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

Do you know what I love the most about this pea pod cupcake topper? Once I got all my supplies ready, it only took me 5 minutes to make. Cute and fast... my favorite kind of cake decoration.

1. Roll out a thin piece of fondant and cut out a circle using a circle cutter.

2. Slightly fold the circle in half leaving room for the baby heads.

3. Roll two equal sized flesh colored balls of fondant for the baby heads and glue into the folded circle using gum glue.

4. Use the small end of a Wilton tip 10 to create a smile on the faces.

5. Roll two tiny balls of fondant for the noses and glue onto the face using gum glue.

6. Mix together black food powder (or gel) color with a little dab of clear alcohol. Paint black dots for the eyes.

7. Brush the cheeks with pink luster dust.

8. Roll out a thin log of fondant for the vine and twist the ends to curl it. Cut out two leaves.

9. Glue vine and leaves to the pea pod.

See? Cute and fast.

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Carnival Birthday Party

2012-08-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

My poor twins haven't had a birthday cake made by their mom in 2 years. People would say to me, "aren't you a cake maker?". The constant creating of cakes for my clients left me too tired to make one for my own kids' birthday party. But now that I'm on a cake hiatus, they finally got their cake... and ate it too.

We celebrated with a vintage style carnival cake, cupcakes, cookies, cotton candy, popcorn and more candy.

My favorite part of the table was my cute bunting banner made by Frosting & Ink. All of the signs, cupcake toppers and favor tags can be found and purchased on her Etsy site.

Happy Birthday to my favorite twins, Preston and Shelby. You will never go without cake again.

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Orange Ombre Cake and Fondant Swags How-To

2012-08-13T13:40:00.002-07:00

I really love the clean look to this orange ombre 10th anniversary cake. This cake's beautiful shades of orange and fondant swags made it so elegant and classy.

The topper was handmade to match the family. So cute!

I can't believe after 5 years of cake making that I've never made fondant swags like this. I figured out how to do it and here it is!

Roll out a thin piece of fondant and lay it over 3 dowel rods.

Gently slide out the dowels and pinch the ends together. Trim if needed.

Glue the swag to the cake with gum glue. Repeat on all sides of the cake.

Add a pretty pendant to cover the edges.

Wedding Cake for Cake Central Magazine

2012-08-06T21:25:00.002-07:00

I'm excited to share that my purple and blue inspired wedding cake was featured in Cake Central Magazine.

I have been wanting to make an ombre cake for some time, so this was the perfect excuse. An ombre cake is one with graduating layers of color.

My first step in making this cake was to create hundreds of gumpaste flowers in all the pretty shades of blue and purple. Each flower was handmade with Satin Ice gumpaste and dusted with petal dust.

The picture frames on the bottom tier were also made with Satin Ice Gumpaste and created using an exacto knife, circle cutters and a clay extruder.

The sweet little blue birds were hand sculpted out of modeling chocolate.

My favorite aspect of this picture is the glimpse of the cake stand which belonged to my late grandmother. I can only imagine the joy she'd get out of finding it hidden in the picture.

Thank you Cake Central Magazine!

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How to Make a Fondant Lion

2012-07-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Since safari cakes are so popular, I thought I would make another fondant animal tutorial to go with my Monkey and Elephant. Creating this cute cake topper was so fun and super easy to make.

Supplies:

Styrofoam block

Lollipop stick

Tylose powder

Fondant

Gel colors

Small paint brush

Thin wire (optional)

Powdered sugar and shortening as needed

Toothpick

Exacto knife

I left out a few of the supplies here so please check the list before getting started.

Start by coloring your fondant and kneading a small amount of tylose powder into it. If your fondant is too hard, add shortening. If it is too sticky, add powdered sugar. I'm using Satin Ice here.

Roll the fondant into a pear shape, wet the pop stick with gum glue (a mixture of water and a small amount of tylose powder) and insert the body onto the pop stick as shown.

Roll out logs for the arms and legs. Pinch the ends to flatten and create the feet. Use an exact knife to cut the toes. Glue the arms and legs to the body with gum glue.

Head - Roll a smooth ball of fondant for the head. Wet the top of the pop stick with gum glue and insert the head onto the stick.

Eyes - Using the end of a paint brush, make holes for the eyes. Roll small balls of white and black and glue into the eye hole. Flatten them out so they are flush with his face.

Muzzle - Roll out two small balls of fondant and flatten them with your fingers. Glue to the Lion's face and poke holes using a toothpick.

Nose - Roll a small ball of pink fondant into a ball and glue above the muzzle.

Tongue - Hand model the tongue using pink fondant and glue under the muzzle.

Ears - Roll out two balls of fondant and glue to the head. Use the end of a paint brush to create the indents in his ears.

Mane: Roll out a log of dark brown fondant and cut small wisps of hair for his mane. Glue them all around his face (yes, one by one, but it's totally worth it in the end).

Tail: Roll out another log of fondant and darker brown hair for the end. Attach with gum glue.

Add more details. Hand paint the eyebrows and add a white dot in his eye with gel color.

Whiskers - Cut wire and glue into the Lion's muzzle using gum glue. *Using wires like this is a choking hazard* If you are planning to eat the topper, make the whiskers out of fondant just like the mane.

Hand paint a white dot in his eye and he's all finished!

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Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Jam Recipe

2012-07-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

A recent trip to the Strawberry Patch left us overflowing in beautiful red organic strawberries.

I've been dying to try my hand at canning so this was the perfect excuse. I've made strawberry jam numerous times, but the whole canning thing is a little overwhelming and scary.

So I channeled my inner grandma, and got some much needed help from Pioneer Woman and it was a huge success! Why did I ever doubt myself?

Thank you Broer's Farm in Monroe, WA. for a fun time and a huge crate of strawberries!

Simple Strawberry Jam

by Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Printable

5 cups hulled mashed strawberries 

7 cups sugar 

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1 49g package powdered fruit pectin

1. Place 8 or 9 8-ounce mason jars in a large hot water bath canner (or pot). Cover with water and bring to a simmer. 

2. Simmer center lids in separate saucepan full of water. 

3. Place mashed strawberries and lemon juice in a separate pot. Stir in pectin until dissolved. Bring strawberries to a strong boil. 

4. Add sugar (measure beforehand so you can add it all at once), then return mixture to a full (violent) boil that can’t be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute 15 seconds. 

5. Skim foam off the top. 

6. Remove one jar at a time from the simmering water. Pour water back into the pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, fill each jar with jam, being careful to keep the liquid/fruit ratio consistent. Fill jars so that they have 1/4-inch of space at the top. 

7. Run a knife down the side of the jar to get rid of air bubbles. 

8. Wipe rim of jar with a wet cloth to remove any residue or stickiness. 

9. Remove center lid from simmering water and position it on top. 

10. Put screw bands on jars, but do not overtighten! 

11. Repeat with all jars, then place jars on canning rack and lower into the water. 

12. Place lid on canner, then bring water to a full boil. Boil hard for 10 to 12 minutes. 

13. Turn off heat and allow jars to remain in hot water for an addition five minutes. 

14. Remove jars from water using a jar lifter, and allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours. 

15. After 24 hours, remove screw bands and check the seal of the jars. Center lids should have no give whatsoever. If any seals are compromised, store those jars in the fridge.

Super Enhanced Cake Formula

from Cake Central

Printable

1 Cake Mix Box (Duncan Heines®, Betty Crocker®, Pillsbury® etc.)

1 cup All purpose flour

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 generous dash of salt

3 large eggs

1/3 cup water

1/4 Heavy Cream

1 cup Sour Cream (8 oz.)

1 cup melted butter

1 Tablespoon of vanilla

1. For this recipe you are only going to use the actual cake mix powder, do NOT also add the ingredients from directions on the cake mix box. Just ignore any other ingredients or directions listed on the cake mix packaging.

2. Preheat Oven to 325° and grease 2 8” round cake pans.

3. Mix flour, sugar, cake mix and salt together with fork, set aside.

4. Into Mixer bowl put eggs, water, sour cream, butter, vanilla, and cream.

5. Add dry ingredients and mix well on (about 2 minutes on low speed).

6. Bake at 325° for 45 - 60 minutes.

Find the American buttercream recipe here.

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Pretty Pink Cake and Sugar Flower Tutorials

2012-06-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm had so much fun making this pretty pink 13th Birthday cake!

This cake was decorated with frilly sugar flowers, a gumpaste monogram, Fleur-de-lis and hand piped scrollwork. I was so happy with how the sugar flowers turned out that I made a couple video tutorials on them.

Ruffles are stylish in cakes right now so I knew the combination of ruffles and a classic ribbon rose would be darling - I call it a Ruffle Rose! I hope you like it. (If you cannot see the videos, click here to find them)

My next flower tutorial looks sort of like a mum. It was pretty quick to make and turned out so cute.

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How to Make an Ombre Cake Pop Tree

2012-06-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday morning and said to my husband, "I'm going to make a cake pop tree really quick! It will take no time at all."

8 hours and 100 cake pops later, I was complaining to my husband about being on my feet all day and he was quick to remind me of my "no time at all" comment. Regardless of his ribbing, I stuck to my game plan and was rewarded with this beautiful ombre cake pop tree.

Supplies for Tree:

100-110 cake pops

12" x 3 7/8" Styrofoam cone
Styrofoam for the inside of the container
Sturdy container
Tissue paper
Hot glue gun
Clear tape
Thick wooden dowel
Ribbon
Silk Flowers (optional)
Moss (optional)

Supplies for Cake Pops:

Cake
Buttercream

50-60 6" pop sticks
Candy melts
Paramount crystals (optional)
Heavy duty scissors for cutting pop sticks

Make cake pops as usual by preparing the buttercream and cake. I like to cut off the brown edges of the cake so the cake pop filling is smooth and free of brown bits. Using a stand mixer, mix the cake and a small amount of buttercream. Add more buttercream as needed.

Cut pop sticks in half at an angle. The sharp edge will help when pushing the pops into the styrofoam.

Dip the straight side of the pop stick into the melted candy coating and stick into the pops. Chill the cake pops.

Start by melting your darkest color of candy melts and dip 30 pops. To achieve the next lighter shade, add white candy melts to the dark and repeat the dipping. Continue adding more white candy melts to achieve the graduating color. You will need around 24 of each of the lighter shades.

If the candy melts are too thick, use paramount crystals to thin it out. Allow the cake pops to dry.

Fill and hot glue the styrofoam into the container. The styrofoam must fit into the container very tightly. This cake pop tree is heavy so make sure your container is sturdy. Use tissue paper to cover the styrofoam.

Wrap ribbon around a thick wooden dowel. I recommend using a dowel that is even thicker than the one I used here. A thin dowel will not work.

Cover the cone in tissue paper that matches your cake pop color.

Push a hole into both styrofoams and squeeze hot glue down into the holes. Insert the wooden dowel into both styrofoams. Add a generous amount of glue to secure the dowel.

Starting at the bottom front, insert your cake pops in rows. Use the pop stick to push them in rather than the pop itself because it is fragile.

Always cover the front of your cone first so if they don't line up properly the gaps will be in the back.

Continue inserting the cake pops getting them as close together as you can. As you get to the very top of the tree, you will need to trim the pop sticks.

Embellish the cake pop tree with ribbon, silk flowers and moss.

Since the cake pop tree is so heavy I do not recommend traveling with it unless you are securing it in your lap.

I was pleased as punch at how this ombre cake pop tree turned out! I cannot wait to make another.

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How to Make a Multi Colored Loopy Bow

2012-05-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

One of my most popular cakes, the safari first birthday cake, started my obsession with making two toned loopy bows. I just cannot get enough of them. I've had past clients say to me, "wow, how do you make that bow?".

I've seen a couple different ways to create them. My friend, Milena, has a tutorial using wires. Awesome. The way I learned to make them is to secure the loops together with candy melts, which is the method I'm going to show you here.

What you will need:

Different colors of fondant
Tylose Powder
Paint brush
Paper towels
Rolling Pin
Ribbon Cutter
Ruler
Scissors
Parchment or Wax paper
PVC Piping to hang the loops
Powdered Sugar for dusting
Colored Candy Melts

Start by kneading a generous amount of tylose powder into your fondant. This is very important because it will make the fondant harden.

Next, roll out two different colors of fondant, brush a little gum glue onto one of the pieces and move the other piece on top of it.

Use a rolling pin to thin out the fondant to an 1/8" thick. If your fondant is too thick it will take longer to dry.

Use a ribbon cutter to create strips that are 6" long. Don't throw out the thinner strips because they will be used later for filler.

You will need to repeat all the steps above with different colors for a total of 20 strips. You may not use all of them in your bow, but it's better to have extra in case of breakage.

This is my ribbon drying contraption thingy, which I LOVE. It's made with PVC piping. All the pvc parts can be found at the hardware store.

Hang the strips around the piping as shown varying the top color. Use a small amount of gum glue to glue the bottom of each loop together. Cut the bottoms of the loops into points using scissors.

Also, trim and lay the thinner scraps of fondant over a piece of piping.

Allow the strips to dry for 24 hours.

Assemble your bow as shown starting with a small dab of candy melts onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Your candy melt color must be the same color as one of the loops.

Layer the loops securing them with more candy melts. Use paper towels as support as you layer. Once the candy melts have dried, remove the paper towels.

Dip the thinner strips into your candy melts and fill any empty spots in your bow. Secure with a paper towel until the candy melts are again dry.

Peel the bow off the parchment paper and glue the bow to the cake using more candy melts. If your bow has powdered sugar on it, you can remove it by rubbing a little shortening onto it, or by spraying it with vodka through an airbrush.

How to Make Evenly Spaced Stripes on a Cake

2012-05-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

Stripes on a cake will work for any occasion. I've done them for baby showers, and both adult and teen cakes.

When I want perfectly spaced stripes, like this sweet cake I made for Mother's Day, this is how I do it.

Start by tracing around your cake pan onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Cut out your circle and fold in half. Fold the paper in half two more times. The more folds you make, the more stripes you will have.

Unfold your paper and secure it to the cake with a pin. Using the folds as a guide, mark your cake with a ruler or straight edge.

Sprinkle your surface with powdered sugar, roll out your fondant and cut the stripes with a ribbon cutter.

Glue strips of fondant to your cake using gum glue. Use a ruler to straighten the stripes if needed.

Voila!

Covering a Cake Board in Fondant

2012-05-16T07:19:00.003-07:00

Covering your cake board with fondant will add a more clean and polished look to the final presentation of your cake. Yes, it will add an extra step in the cake making process, but it is totally worth it.

My friend, Kathia, has posted about this before, but I wanted to go over it again to stress the importance of this step.

This cake that I made did not have a pretty fondant covered board and it needed it. I wish I could go back in time to fix it! These boards did get covered - Thank God!

If your cake is covered in fondant, your board will be so much prettier and matchy-matchy if it is also covered in fondant.

It's easy. Here's how you do it.

Things you will need:

Cake Board or Drum

Tylose Powder

Fondant

Paint Brushes

Rolling Pin

Palette Knife or exacto knife

Fondant Smoother

Powdered Sugar for dusting

Luster Dusts

Rubber Stamps

Ribbon

Hot Glue Gun

Royal Icing or Candy Melts

Start by making your gum glue by mixing a little tylose powder and water into a small bowl. The powder may not dissolve right away, but will eventually. Knead more tylose powder into your fondant. This will make the fondant harden, which is a must when covering your board.

Sprinkle your surface with powdered sugar and roll out your fondant to about 1/4 inch thick. Brush gum glue around the board leaving the center dry and unglued. Use a rolling pin or both hands to move the rolled fondant over to the board, and smooth using a fondant smoother. Cut out the center of the fondant, and trim away the excess from the sides.

Here's a closeup of the trimming. I like to use a palette knife but you can use an exacto knife with equal success.

Use rubber stamps to press designs into the fondant. Be sure to do this immediately because the fondant will dry out quickly.

I love luster dust. Just saying.

Dust your board with the dusts. This will help enhance the stamped designs.

Hot glue ribbon and bow around the outer edge of the board. Allow the board to dry for 24 hours.

Use royal icing or candy melts to glue your cake to the board. The cake should be sitting on it's own cardboard circle so it will not touch the royal icing.

And that's it. A pretty fondant covered board!

Banana's Foster Cake Recipe

2012-05-07T09:13:00.001-07:00

MY FAVORITE CAKE RECIPE! Shouty capitals on a Monday, you ask? YES! This one is worth screaming about.

Banana's Foster Cake... let me tell you about it. Four moist layers of rum soaked cake, one layer of thick caramel sauce and 2 layers of sweet buttercream frosting. It's so good it's like the Easter Bunny and Santa all rolled into one!

Start by making your caramel filling.

Bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk to a boil while stirring.

Continue to stir until the caramel reaches 238 degrees F, or the soft ball stage.

This caramel recipe makes way too much for what we need in this cake, but that is never a problem for me because it freezes well too.

I always forget to get pictures of the simple syrup making. It's simple. Happy place - go there.

Prepare the cake recipe and divide batter evenly into two 8" round cake pans.

While the cakes are cooling, make your buttercream. My two favorite buttercreams are posted here.

Torte and soak the cakes in the rum simple syrup.

Don't forget to make a buttercream dam before adding the caramel filling or else it will spill out the sides of the cake.

Frost the cake as you see fit. I topped mine with a chopped pecans.

Now GO, make this cake, or I will start shouting at you again.

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Thick Caramel Sauce

From Cake Central Magazine

Printable

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

In a heavy saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring.

Carefully stir in heavy whipping cream.

Attach a candy thermometer to your pan. Continue to stir until the caramel reaches 238 degrees F, or the soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.

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Rum Simple Syrup

Adapted from Confetti Cakes Cookbook

Printable

½ cup water

½ cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons dark rum

Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan, stirring. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the syrup comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, add dark rum and allow to cool. When cool, simple syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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Banana Cake

Adapted from Food.com

Printable

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/8 cups sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Garnish

chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 325°. Line two 8” round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with pan spray.

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachments, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Vanilla Buttercream Recipes

2012-05-02T13:39:00.001-07:00

You’ve probably heard of Pink Little Cake (if you haven’t you must go check out her amazing cakes, cookies and How-To’s!). She is launching a new feature on her blog called the ‘Cake Artist of the Month’. And this month it’s me! Thank you Kathia! I’m blushing.

Even though my head is a little inflated right now, I’m going to stick to my original plan of sharing my buttercream recipes.

Finding the perfect vanilla buttercream has been a struggle for me over the years. I have tried tons of recipes and gone through hundreds of sticks of butter in search of my favorite.

I have narrowed it down to my top two vanilla buttercream recipes. I’ve tried to pick one but I just cant!

American Buttercream is and will always be my family’s favorite buttercream. It is sweet, creamy and perfect for cupcakes. This recipe is a favorite among kids. And well, it’s damn good.
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

4 sticks unsalted butter

2 lbs powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon popcorn salt

5 – 6 Tablespoons half and half

· If you are in a high temperature location or would like a crusting buttercream substitute 1 cup of Hi Ratio shortening for 2 sticks of the butter.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add sugar, half and half, vanilla and salt; mix until light and fluffy.

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Meringue Buttercream is a newer recipe for me and an adapted recipe from my friend Jeanette (from Blue Ivey Company & Cakery). It is a cross between Swiss Meringue and American Buttercream. It is buttery, creamy and smooth. When I cover a cake in fondant this is the one I use.
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb, 8oz. powdered sugar

2/3 cup pasteurized egg whites

1 Tablespoon vanilla

6 sticks unsalted butter, softened

½ cup hi ratio shortening

In an electric mixer using a wire whip, combine sugar, egg whites and vanilla. Mix on low to combine. Increase speed to high and mix for 10 minutes to build volume. Switch to paddle attachment and reduce speed to medium, slowly add softened butter and shortening and beat an additional 10 minutes or until full volume is reached.

How to Transfer an Image to Fondant

2012-04-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today's tip is short and sweet, but incredibly useful. I often get asked how I make my birthday banners and this is one of my favorite ways to do so. I love this method because it does not require expensive tools like special printers and inks.

First, print your message or image out on a piece of paper using a regular printer. If you are transferring words, you will need to print it as a mirror image (my printer settings called it 't-shirt' printing).

Trace the image onto a piece of parchment paper using a graphite pencil.

Turn the parchment paper over and place it onto your fondant. Lay your pencil on it's side and scratch over the entire image.

Mind Blowing!

Paint over the pencil marks using gel or powdered food colors mixed with a tiny bit of vodka. Use a pizza cutter to cut the fondant into a banner shape. Easy!

If you don't feel comfortable using non-toxic materials on cake, you can also use a projector or an edible image printer to transfer designs instead. :)

Flower Cookies and Packaging

2012-04-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung... Yes! If you live in the Seattle area like me you will understand when I tell you that I keep my umbrella, sun tan lotion, coat and sunglasses all at the ready. A girl's gotta be prepared especially since I never know what's going to happen each day.

While cooped up during the rain, this is what kept me busy - Flower Cookie Favors for my twins kindergarten teacher. They were a major hit with the parents and kids alike!

Here's how its done...

Using a wilton tip 2 pipe the white edges of the cookies with royal icing.

Thin out your royal icing with a little water, color and fill the cookies using a piping bag and tip 2. While the icing is still wet pipe the purple dots and they will blend right into the cookie. After the icing is dry pipe a white circular center with your thicker royal icing and sprinkle with white sprinkles.

On to the cookie packaging. I used a couple different types of scrapbook paper for the tops of my bags. Cut the paper to the size you want, fold it in half. Also fold the top your plastic bag two times and staple the bag shut on each side. Staple your scrapbook paper to the bag and glue on a bow to hide the staple.

Flower Cookie Favors - So Easy!

How to Make Rose Cake Pops

2012-04-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

You will not see real roses growing in my backyard. Nope. You will, however, see overgrown shrubs, thorny weeds and about 20 mole holes that are going to be the death of me.

Since the only green thumb I can be accused of having would come from a food dye mishap, I'm just going to stay in the safety of my kitchen whipping up cake pop roses.

Here we go:

Start by mixing your cake and a little bit of buttercream together. Add more buttercream as needed. I'm firmly against canned frosting. Please make homemade buttercream (it's not that hard!), or if you are lazy like me you can use liquid coffee creamer instead of the buttercream.

Working with cold cake pop filling, roll out a strip of the filling using a small rolling pin or just use your hands to flatten it out. If your filling is sticking to your surface, spray it with a little pan spray.

Beginning on one side, roll up the strip of filling. You can then mold it with your hands until you have the perfect rose shape.

Insert a pop stick that has been dipped in candy melts into the bottom of the rose. Refrigerate the pops.

Before dipping, make sure your candy melts are a thin consistency. Use paramount crystals or shortening to thin out your chocolate if needed (paramount crystals do not leave a yucky taste like shortening does). Allow to dry.

Wrap curling ribbon around the pop stick starting at the bottom and tying off at the top.

Glue a piece of styrofoam into the bottom of a basket, insert the rose pops and cover the styrofoam with crushed chocolate cookies.

I'm loving my rose cake pops!! I think they will be an early Mother's Day gift to myself.

Icing Smiles Castle Cake for Carla

2012-04-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

My newest cake for Icing smiles was definitely fit for a princess. It makes me feel so good to be able to donate to such a worthy cause.

And here's the princess herself! Carla is awaiting a heart transplant. I did get to meet her and let me tell you she is one of the sweetest and cutest little girls that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

I took a few pictures while creating this special cake and thought I would share.

I ended up changing the layout of the castle after I took this picture, but I used rice cereal treats and cardboard wrapping paper tubes covered in plastic wrap to create extra height and the turrets.

Using gum glue I applied dots of fondant in different colors to the cardboard tubes.

Ice cream cones were used for the top of the turrets.

For support I used bubble tea straws.

The turrets were stabilized using dowel rods and candy melts.

The very tops of the turrets were made with sugar cones and a strip of fondant that was wrapped around it and glued with gum glue.

Hope this helps in creating your own castle cake. And another thank you to Icing Smiles for connecting the birthday girl, Carla, and I!!

Strawberries and Pink Champagne Cake Recipe

2012-03-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Sweet icing, a fluffy cake, strawberries and pink champagne... could a girl ask for more? This cake recipe is made from scratch so it has a special place in my heart.

Let's get started by preparing our ingredients.

Who actually has time to bring the eggs to room temp? I definitely do not, so my favorite trick is to soak the eggs in warm water right before I start my recipe. I swear it helps in making perfectly whipped egg whites and a delicious fluffy cake.

While visiting my local grocery store, the wine expert suggested Korbel Brut Rose for regular drinking. I do not question a wine expert ever, only hope for leftovers, of which I'm drinking right now. And I'd like to thank you, Mr. Wine Expert at Top Grocery Store. After measuring out the 1 cup of champagne, stir out all the bubbles. I kept going back to it and stirring just to be on the safe side.

Sift together dry ingredients. Reserve 1/4 cup of the sugar for later. Also, combine the liquid ingredients, butter, champagne, oil, vanilla, yolks.

Pour the liquid into the dry and mix. It's not rocket science here. I should have used the wire whisk attachment because the recipe says so... whatever. Also, add the pink food color. I use Americolor Deep Pink.

Remember how I said soaking the cold eggs in warm water would make perfect whipped egg whites? See what I mean? I also added the remaining sugar during this process.

Now this part is rocket science. Carefully, fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for approximately 35 minutes. Let cakes cool.

I forgot to take pictures of the icing and simple syrup making. Ack. It's pretty self explanatory just think happy thoughts as you're making it.

Extra booze soaked inside the cake? Yes please. I like to put my syrup into a squeeze bottle. This one was purchased at the craft store. If you trim the tops of your cakes the syrup will soak in very nicely.

Stack the cake with a nice thick layer of icing between the layers and frost the outside. Voila!

Pink Champagne Cake
*Adapted from Cooks Illustrated
view printable recipe

2 ½ cups cake flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon table salt

2 ¼ cups sugar

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 cup pink champagne, flattened

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks, room temperature

3 large egg whites, room temperature
Americolor Deep Pink food color gel

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 340 degrees. Grease two 8” round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 2 cups sugar together in large bowl. Stir the 1 cup of pink champagne in a measuring cup to rid it of all bubbles. In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, champagne, oil, vanilla, and yolks.

In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Add flour mixture to now empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10-15 seconds. Add food coloring until you get the perfect shade of pink.

Fold the egg whites into the batter, pour evenly into pans and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Champagne Simple Syrup

¼ cup champagne

¼ cup water

¼ cup sugar

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, water and champagne. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

Strawberry Champagne Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup shortening

2 lbs powdered sugar

3 tablespoons strawberry puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon popcorn salt

¼ cup pink champagne, flattened (stir to release bubbles)

Instructions:

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and shortening. Slowly add the powdered sugar until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter and shortening. Add vanilla, flat pink champagne, strawberry puree and popcorn salt.