What a great year!

A year ago today I took my very first baking class. Little did I know that it will forever change me. I was never creative nor artistic, hell I can only draw stick figures. Cake decorating & baking introduced me to a whole new world full of possibilities! In it I'm happy, the only kind of happiness that people experience when they're doing something they love. In this world, I'm at peace, inspired and free.

There are so many amazing decorators and I can only hope to be as good as them one day. And without culinary training it's like doing it blindfolded. There's a LOT to learn and I've barely touched the surface. However, with generous people willing to share their knowledge I'm slowly finding my way. I learned that if you want to find out how it's done, you just have to do it yourself and practice, practice, practice!

I take pride on everything I make. But these creations are the ones that I'm most proud of and made me say "I can't believe I did that".

Scrollwork Cake

My first sugar flowers

Hydrangea Dress Cake

Single Peony topper cake

49ERS Helmet Cake

What a year it's been! I'm proud of myself with what I've accomplished in a year. I seriously do surprise myself sometimes. With each creation my confidence grows. I can't wait to find out what's in store for me this coming year...

Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for their continued support. All your Facebook "Likes" and comments motivate me. My 2 biggest fans...my husband and my son. I love you both and thank you for EVERYTHING!

Gumpaste monkeys and bananas!

I had fun making these adorable monkeys. I need a LOT of practice making gumpaste figures so I thought I'd start with something easy. The bananas of course completed the scene.

Now for a close up of the monkeys...female monkey first.

The look of shock on her face as she watched her husband hog all the bananas is hilarious! I used the end of a paintbrush for her mouth and same goes for belly button. A toothpick was used for the nostrils and an X acto knife to leave indentations for the fingers and toes. The markings on the wooden crate was created with a toothpick.

Now let's look at this selfish little monkey!

The peeled banana on his hand made the arm a little heavy. I secured it with a wire but a toothpick could also be used. While it was drying, a cotton ball was placed under the arms to maintain it's position and shape. As you can see there are cracks on his hands. Gumpaste dries fast and I worked on his arms longer than I should have. Shortening helps with this problem but didn't want to start over because his arms were already secured. 

The smallest detail on gumpaste figures make all the difference therefore it's time consuming.  If something looks sloppy it would not look right. Just be patient when making them and most importantly don't forget to have fun!

* If you have any questions with how I made these, feel free to leave me a comment below* Thanks!

White peony and purple hydrangeas on chocolate.

I've been working on Peony gumpaste flowers for quite sometime now and I'm so happy to have finally made a great looking one! Months of frustration, reading and watching tutorials that didn't work and LOTS of wasted gumpaste have finally paid off! Woohoo! It's not perfect but it's getting there. So here it is... my finished closed white peony along with purple hydrangeas and filler flowers on chocolate...

My inspiration for this cake is the amazing sugar artist Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet Cakes. Her gumpaste flowers are amazing and I could only wish to be as good as her one day. You can  check out her blog at www.petalsweet.blogspot.com.

A close up of the closed Peony...

Although some of the tutorials I've read provided me with helpful tips none of them actually worked for me. I used both peony and rose petal cutters. The bud is a 1 1/2 inch styrofoam ball (you can also use a different bud). I didn't use a specific number of petals and just kept adding them on until it looked right. I will give you more specifics next time I try. You can add or reduce the number of petals depending on how large you want your flower. An open peony could also be done. That will be my next project.

Another picture...

I was smiling from ear to ear as I assembled the flowers on the cake. This is one cake I'm certainly proud of. Until next time!

Vertical Ruffle Cake

My husband is my biggest fan. Always pushing me to finish a cake when I've given up, listens without hesitation about baking and gives me his honest opinion on my creations. So when he requested a "simple cake WITHOUT fondant" I couldn't turn him down. But how can I be creative with a simple cake and frosting? The result is this ruffle cake....

You can take this cake to any party and it's so simple to make! The cake is covered with my favorite frosting, Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It's not too sweet and oh so silky smooth. The secret to creating the ruffles is to use TIP #104 (petal tip). Take your time and practice. It took me 3 tries before I can create a decent line of ruffle. They might not look perfect but don't sweat it! Heck they're meant to be  ruffles after all! *You can also make this cake with horizontal ruffles.

Here's a picture of the cake without the gumpaste flower...as you can see the cake looks unfinished without it.

Why a blue flower you ask? The gumpaste flower is something I decided to add to draw attention away from the inconsistent line of ruffles. Ha! It worked didn't it? Although the cake is not as perfect as I'd like it to be I'm happy with the overall look. I hope you do too :D

Panda Cake

A coworker of mine ordered this panda birthday cake for her friend "Panda". An orange baseball hat and a baseball were added when I learned that he is a baseball coach and a San Francisco Giants fan. The panda is the emphasis on this cake so it was great to acknowledge baseball without it being too sporty. The cake board is orange and black to represent the SF Giants colors.

The panda is made entirely of gumpaste. I honestly wanted to have the panda standing rather than sitting but my lack of experience made it impossible. I tried to use rice krispy treats for the body but it still somehow flattened the panda's legs. And yes, even with reinforcements! The bamboo sticks were difficult than I thought to make. I had to figure out how to make them stick on the cake without breaking. After numerous failed attempts, inserting a 30 gauge wire inside the bamboo sticks solved the problem!

It is so frustrating making gumpaste figures. But practice makes perfect and I will continue learning until I master it. 

Hydrangea Dress Cake

I love hydrangeas! They are just so beautiful and these gumpaste hydrangeas are so simple to make. I had a different cake design in mind but decided to go with this design in the last minute. And I'm glad I did! It turned out to be one of the best cakes I've ever made.

The cake is covered with ivory fondant and airbrushed with a pearlized sheen. The top tier is piped with royal icing and the buttons are made of fondant which is lightly dusted with Super Pearl luster dust. The bottom tier has purple, lavender and ivory gumpaste hydrangeas. I applied luster dust on each individual flower to give the color more depth and finished the look with Super Pearl luster dust again.

I learned how to make the hydrangeas from the very talented Jacqueline Butler from Petalsweet Cakes. Here is the link to her tutorial and I hope you try them soon. 

http://petalsweet.blogspot.com/2010/01/hydrangea-tutorial-part-one-by.html

Tiffany box present cake

Working with modeling chocolate was hard work! Since I'm new at this, I actually thought that modeling chocolate was another term for fondant. Ugh, I know pretty idiotic. My thought was that they couldn't possibly cover a cake with plain chocolate. Modeling chocolate is simply made with melting chocolate and corn syrup. It has to be left overnight to harden and knead when ready to use. Unlike fondant, modeling chocolate is next to impossible to roll thinly with a rolling pin. But with a Kitchen Aid pasta roller attachment, the modeling chocolate were beautifully rolled into thin strips. 

I'm pretty proud of this present cake! Couldn't believe how beautiful my bow looked. Now I don't want to brag  (ok just a little) but my bow and cake was one of the best looking one in the class. Another skill learned. I can't wait until I start working on sugar flowers...

Oh and just in case you're wondering, it does taste as good as it looks!