Tackling my fear of the piping bag...

When I first started decorating I completely skipped learning how to use a piping bag with buttercream because I thought it looked easy and I would not have any issues when I finally decided to use one. Well a month or so later when I tried it for the first time I got so frustrated with starting over and over again that I just called it quits. The piping bag and tip can be a little trickier than you think! I actually became a bit intimidated by it, well to be honest I still am, but I decided to try it again yesterday at 5 in the morning because I was up with the kids and all was quiet - for once! :) I have seen so much gorgeous piping work from people like Peggy Does Cake and Dillicious Cakes (find them on FaceBook, you'll be glad you did) that I HAD to practice until I got it right. I started to make a rose cake, which by the looks of this tutorial seems pretty easy, but after scrapping my roses off four times I gave up. To my credit I think it was more my frosting being too soft than me just totally screwing it up again and again but hey...

I remembered seeing some really pretty ruffle/ribbon cakes on FB and found a great little YouTube video (find it here) to help with the technique. I only had to scrap one layer of ruffles off so I was happy and overall it turned out pretty cute. It did droop a bit more than I would have liked but never try this with cream cheese frosting that is to soft to stay in place....trust me. So I've decided to not fear the piping bag but embrace it and try to learn as much as I can and will post all my little creations here!

Keep it sweet

~Katie

Nicole's Gothic Fairy cake!

I wanted to make something cute and Gothic for my dear friend Nicole's birthday so it had to include a fairy. My first thought was to try to make it out of gum paste but memories of my last attempt kept me from moving forward with that one....plus I didn't want the fairy to look like a chubby ball of dough! :) So, I found the cutest fairy figurine from artist Myka Jelina online and ordered it - it would be the perfect little topper for the cake! I decided on a simple single tier in purple sprayed with smoked amethyst luster dust and accented with gum paste roses and candy skulls. I wanted to make the colors pop so everything was covered in luster dust and the roses even got a little sprinkling of disco dust to give them an extra sparkle. Isn't it amazing what you can do with sugar? I never imaged there would be so many edible products out there to play with - it's addictive I tell you!!! Since I do not have an airbrush gun I opted for this cool little gadget called a Preval Spray Gun I saw on another cake decorators page and it did the trick! Funny how I find so many cake decorating tools in the hardware and modeling clay sections! Even funnier how my Christmas list now includes an airbrush gun! :) The cake itself was Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting and everything except the figuring on top was edible. We had a wonderful time celebrating with Nicole and I hope she enjoyed her cake - I loved making it!

 

Keep it sweet
~Katie

Poker anyone?...

What better to make the poker lover than a poker themed cake? When I say poker lover I mean poker LOVER! :) Actually I don't think I have visited my parents and not seen my dad playing poker (Internet poker). Some call it obsessive, he just calls it relaxing....gotta love him. This was my first time using a hexagon pan and the end shape is really nice - need to invest in more shaped pans for sure! The poker table design I had in mind originally included a little gum paste "dad" sitting at the table with a beer in his hand playing an awesome hand of poker but alas my ideas did not correspond with my figure making abilities - or lack thereof! So, I decided to scrap the figure idea and hone in on those skills later. Everything on the cake is edible, including the little playing cards with the edible images on top.

Cake was lemon with lemon curd filling (sweet and tart - just like my dad). It was the first time I had made him anything by hand (outside of those cards we made when we were little) and I know it meant a lot to him. Mistakes and all a lot of love went into this cake!!!! Love you dad!!!


Keep it sweet
~Katie