This is my first attempt at making a ruffled effect on a cake. They were made by cutting circles, folding them in half and once again in half. (You can find out about the watercolor technique in my previous watercolor cake blog).
Monday, July 15, 2013
Bridal shower cake
The maid of honor requested a "unique" cake for the bride on her bridal shower. She wanted to incorporate watercolor and the colors pink and gray with ruffles.
This is my first attempt at making a ruffled effect on a cake. They were made by cutting circles, folding them in half and once again in half. (You can find out about the watercolor technique in my previous watercolor cake blog).
This is my first attempt at making a ruffled effect on a cake. They were made by cutting circles, folding them in half and once again in half. (You can find out about the watercolor technique in my previous watercolor cake blog).
Baby in a pea pod cake
Welcome to the world baby Tristan! This is a surprise cake for the new parents. I made a baby in a pea pod cake once before so when my customer requested this design, I wanted to make it somewhat different.
I must say that this design turned out better than my last. So cute!
Elvis cake
The birthday celebrant is a big Elvis fan so for his 60th birthday cake his daughter requested a birthday cake with none other than Elvis.
The top tier has an edible photo of the birthday boy in his Elvis outfit. Turned out great!
The top tier has an edible photo of the birthday boy in his Elvis outfit. Turned out great!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Watercolor Cake
I was surprised at how beautiful this is! I first learned about watercolor cakes on The Cake Blog when Allison from AK Cake Designs was featured. I immediately fell in love with the colors & her finished cake. But I was a little nervous about trying this technique because I'm not very artsy.
I used edible dusts, vodka & a paint brush to paint the cake. There is really no wrong way or right way to do this. I just randomly picked different color dusts & painted different parts of the cake. It was fully dry in 30 minutes. Here is a close up of the achieved watercolor effect.
I used edible dusts, vodka & a paint brush to paint the cake. There is really no wrong way or right way to do this. I just randomly picked different color dusts & painted different parts of the cake. It was fully dry in 30 minutes. Here is a close up of the achieved watercolor effect.
A special shout out to my handsome little helper! Thank you for helping mommy. I love you.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Chanel Camellia Cake
Okay so we've all had cake disasters. And this cake was completely not what the customer and I had in mind. The original design is to have a sitting figure on a Chanel box. The figure didn't work out so I stared at the cake for a while in the brink of tears. But once I made the Camellia everything else just came to me.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Must have tools for sugar flower making!
When I first started making sugar flowers I had no idea what tools I would need besides gumpaste. I had to purchase them as I went along and that made it harder to finish. To make sugar flowers you must have the right tools. Keep in mind that different flowers will require different tools..
Gumpaste- I use Satin Ice gumpaste. You can always make home made gumpaste but I never have time. You have to make these ahead of time to let it set.
Foam pad- If I had to choose one tool that I can't live without it would be this. I LOVE my CelPad from CelCakes! Can't make sugar flowers without this bad boy. I've tried other foam pads and nothing even compares to this. The firmness of the foam is perfect. It has 2 sides, the dark yellow side has the coated surface I use for frilling & the other side is a heavy soft foam. This is the side I mainly use for thinning petals Trust me this is worth the money!
Ball tool- I have them in different sizes for different size petals. I prefer the metal ball tools than the plastic ones. Metal ones are heavier, smoother and provides good pressure when thinning petals. The plastic ones can work as well but the seams on the ball drove me nuts! It left marks on the gumpaste. I use a medium size ball tool and Sunflower Sugar Art offers them in variety of sizes.
Work surface- I use a vinyl board to roll, cut, vein, pretty much almost everything I have to do with gumpaste. I also have a Cel Board that I use as a work surface.
Cel Board- Okay call me crazy but I have 2 of these. The small one I bring with me on trips or for use during lunch at work. This is the one tool I was a little hesitant to get. This is used to create grooves on the back of leaves and petals for easier insertion of the wires. I tried making the bottom of my petals thicker so I can insert the wires but found it looked unnatural. Now I just roll the gumpaste over the groove and it creates the "spine" for me. As mentioned above the other side is used as a work surface. It's smooth and nonstick. A must have!
Tylose glue- this is a stronger form of adhesive for sugar flowers. It's edible and easy to make. I use 1/4 tsp of Tylose and 2 tbsp of warm water, combine together, stir and let set in the fridge overnight. I also use this to mix with fondant when I need a quick gumpaste. Sugarlane.com has a page where it explains the difference between tylose vs. gum tragacanth.
Floral tape- It comes in different shades of green and also comes in white. I used this to gather and wrap stems. You can also use this to wrap wires if you only have in white color and need green.
Cutters- This is something I have a lot of! But if you were only going to get one I will suggest getting a set of rose cutters and leaves. They are versatile and can use them to make other simple flowers. There are different kinds of rose cutters. A 5 petal rose cutter like the one shown here from JEM & individual rose petal cutters. I also sometimes use circle cutters. It just depends on how I want my sugar roses to look.
Veiners- Makes flowers and leaves more life like. Especially useful for making leaves. The ones shown here are for peony flowers & hydrangea leaf. The green one on the bottom right is an all purpose veiner that I use for roses.
Buds- I use foam buds for the centers. I do make gumpaste centers as well but you have to make this ahead of time. They come in different sizes depeding on how large you want your flower to be.
Miscellaneous items: other small items that you will need are scissors, X-acto knife, cornstarch.
*If you would like to know where I get my supplies, need tips or have any question just send me an email at eileenfrycakes@gmail.com. I'm here to help! Thanks and happy sugar flower making!
Gumpaste- I use Satin Ice gumpaste. You can always make home made gumpaste but I never have time. You have to make these ahead of time to let it set.
Foam pad- If I had to choose one tool that I can't live without it would be this. I LOVE my CelPad from CelCakes! Can't make sugar flowers without this bad boy. I've tried other foam pads and nothing even compares to this. The firmness of the foam is perfect. It has 2 sides, the dark yellow side has the coated surface I use for frilling & the other side is a heavy soft foam. This is the side I mainly use for thinning petals Trust me this is worth the money!
Ball tool- I have them in different sizes for different size petals. I prefer the metal ball tools than the plastic ones. Metal ones are heavier, smoother and provides good pressure when thinning petals. The plastic ones can work as well but the seams on the ball drove me nuts! It left marks on the gumpaste. I use a medium size ball tool and Sunflower Sugar Art offers them in variety of sizes.
Work surface- I use a vinyl board to roll, cut, vein, pretty much almost everything I have to do with gumpaste. I also have a Cel Board that I use as a work surface.
Cel Board- Okay call me crazy but I have 2 of these. The small one I bring with me on trips or for use during lunch at work. This is the one tool I was a little hesitant to get. This is used to create grooves on the back of leaves and petals for easier insertion of the wires. I tried making the bottom of my petals thicker so I can insert the wires but found it looked unnatural. Now I just roll the gumpaste over the groove and it creates the "spine" for me. As mentioned above the other side is used as a work surface. It's smooth and nonstick. A must have!
Dusts- there are different types of dusts. Luster, pearl & petal are the ones I mainly use. I create my own custom color at times & mix different dusts. They give your flowers different hues & highlight them where needed. Sugarcraft.com has a great page where they explain the difference between each dusts.
Wires- One thing to remember: The smaller the gauge number the thicker the wire. I use an 18 gauge to insert into the buds for support. A 24 & 26 gauge is what I mainly use for petals. The wires are either cloth covered or paper covered. I don't really have a preference and comes in white or green color.
Floral tape- It comes in different shades of green and also comes in white. I used this to gather and wrap stems. You can also use this to wrap wires if you only have in white color and need green.
Cutters- This is something I have a lot of! But if you were only going to get one I will suggest getting a set of rose cutters and leaves. They are versatile and can use them to make other simple flowers. There are different kinds of rose cutters. A 5 petal rose cutter like the one shown here from JEM & individual rose petal cutters. I also sometimes use circle cutters. It just depends on how I want my sugar roses to look.
Veiners- Makes flowers and leaves more life like. Especially useful for making leaves. The ones shown here are for peony flowers & hydrangea leaf. The green one on the bottom right is an all purpose veiner that I use for roses.
Buds- I use foam buds for the centers. I do make gumpaste centers as well but you have to make this ahead of time. They come in different sizes depeding on how large you want your flower to be.
Miscellaneous items: other small items that you will need are scissors, X-acto knife, cornstarch.
*If you would like to know where I get my supplies, need tips or have any question just send me an email at eileenfrycakes@gmail.com. I'm here to help! Thanks and happy sugar flower making!
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Chanel Cupcakes
These cupcakes are for a good friend of mine so it had to be special. Camelia, diamond quilting, pearls, classic flap are some things that came to mind when I think of Chanel. I wanted the cupcakes to say Chanel without having to put CC logos on all the cupcakes.
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