Teacher Appreciation
Just before school got out, we had teacher appreciation week. I for the life of me could not figure out what to make for the kids' teachers. I was working on umpteen projects that week, and had just kept putting off coming up with something really awesome for them. So naturally, a few hours before school got out, I came up with these simple gifts. They are simple, yet classic. I knew the teacher's favorite cakes already, so that made this a cinch.
This one was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. There is a cream cheese layer in the middle as well. I just used basic tips to pipe borders on both the top and bottom and wrote on the top. It's pretty cheesy, I know, but the teacher loved it!
This cake was a yellow cake with a chocolate fudge filling and creamy chocolate frosting. Again, I just used basic decorating tips to pipe on basic borders and writing. I accented it with the teacher's favorite color-green!
Kitchen Collection Cupcake Bake Off
Let's be honest, I have a really hard time putting myself out there. Recently, I did something that I never thought I would do. A store in our outlet mall, Kitchen Collections, was having their "2nd Annual Cupcake Bake - Off" on March 24, 2012. They would have two categories: Recipe and Decoration. I thought about how much fun it would be to try to come up with something really creative, so I entered their contest. No big deal, right? That is something that people who like to bake do, right? WRONG! I never expected I would actually do it. I mulled it over for weeks, before I finally turned in my entry forms - the day they were due.
Once I had the forms in, I knew I couldn't back out. I had to figure out something. Thanks to the help of some very willing neighbors, I got my Chocolate Cinnamon cupcake recipe down, and had narrowed it down to either a Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting, or a Cinnamon frosting. I decided to use both. One for the recipe entry, and one for the decorative entry.
Recipe Entry: Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting
After much deliberation, I went with a light blue frosting with an oriental-inspired branch with a few blossoms on it. Unique, but still something trendy. The blossoms were made out of a gumpaste/ fondant mix, and the branches were formed out of a chocolate fondant. I liquified pink dusting powder and painted the middles of the flowers with it. Over-all, I was very happy with my entries.
Decorative Entry: Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and decorations
Kitchen Collections had us submit one dozen cupcakes. We were to pick one cupcake out of each entry for the judges to view and sample. Each cupcake was judged on appearance, creativity, uniqueness, and recipe.
I apparently did a better job than I thought. I was doing this to try to get myself out there a little, and try something new. I received 1st place in the decorative competition. I won a $100 gift certificate to Kitchen Collections and a cake decorating caddy and supplies.
The Winning Cupcake: (before the judges dug in.)
Once I had the forms in, I knew I couldn't back out. I had to figure out something. Thanks to the help of some very willing neighbors, I got my Chocolate Cinnamon cupcake recipe down, and had narrowed it down to either a Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting, or a Cinnamon frosting. I decided to use both. One for the recipe entry, and one for the decorative entry.
After much deliberation, I went with a light blue frosting with an oriental-inspired branch with a few blossoms on it. Unique, but still something trendy. The blossoms were made out of a gumpaste/ fondant mix, and the branches were formed out of a chocolate fondant. I liquified pink dusting powder and painted the middles of the flowers with it. Over-all, I was very happy with my entries.
Kitchen Collections had us submit one dozen cupcakes. We were to pick one cupcake out of each entry for the judges to view and sample. Each cupcake was judged on appearance, creativity, uniqueness, and recipe.
I apparently did a better job than I thought. I was doing this to try to get myself out there a little, and try something new. I received 1st place in the decorative competition. I won a $100 gift certificate to Kitchen Collections and a cake decorating caddy and supplies.
Miss Brea's Birthday Cake
This cake is a birthday cake made for one of Lexi's friends. It was all made out of boxed Funfetti cakes. (For some reason Funfetti is the "cool" cake amongst the 10-year-old girls.) It is very similar to Lexi's Birthday Cake I made in February. Lexi and her cousin decided how they wanted to put the flowers on the cake. I just made the cake, gave them a bunch of flowers, and said "Have at it." This is what they came up with:
Fondant Fun!
I am so excited for a new opportunity I have. I am now a Community Education Instructor for Dixie State College Community Ed Department. My first classes will be teaching Fondant Cake Decorating I and Fondant Cake Decorating II classes, and will be starting up May 24th. They will be Thursday evenings from 6-8p.m. The first one will run only two weeks, May 24th and May 31st. I will be teaching the basics of baking cakes and how to make homemade fondant and basic decorating techniques. The advanced fondant class will run for four weeks, June 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th. I will be teaching more advanced cake making skills, frostings and fillings, and advanced fondant techniques. I am so excited for these classes! They will be so much fun! I will also be teaching baking classes in the Fall and Winter as well. I am so happy that I will be able to use my talents by teaching other people to enjoy the blessings of being able to make your own baked goods! Yay for having fun in the kitchen!
Cakes for All Occasions
I have had people asking lately to see pictures of other cakes I have made out of fondant. These are some cakes I have made in the last month or two:
These cakes I made for an extended family birthday party, with the help of my sisters-in-law. In case you couldn't tell, it was an Angry Birds party. There are a few different flavors of cakes here: chocolate, Funfetti, and strawberry. The fondant, I just made different colors according to what angry birds and pigs I wanted to use. We used large marshmallows and chocolate chips for the eyes and black licorice to make the mouths and angry eyebrows. We used Starburst cut in half for the beaks and the pig crown. Very fun! The kids loved them!
This cake was for my daughter, Lexi's 10th birthday party. Very classy and feminine, full of bright colors, just like Lexi. I used two flavors of cake she had to have: Lemon with a yummy lemon coconut flavored filling, and Funfetti. The flowers are from a mold- the easiest way to do a simple flower like this. In the middle of the white flowers, I put a bead of white chocolate that I colored bright pink. The 10 on the top, her name on the bottom, and polka dots on the bottom platter were all made of melted white chocolate - freehand, of course. It doesn't exactly look professional, but she loved it!
This cake was actually a cake that I made with a friend for her daughter's first birthday. I made the bottom layer, showing her how to make fondant cakes, and she did the middle layer. I then wrapped a cupcake in fondant and topped it with a swirl of bright pink frosting. It turned out so cute! It's the perfect little tea cake. Oh, and my friend made the cute pink stand! It is Darling!
This cake was just a cake, for no special reason. I love those kind! A treat you can just enjoy. It is a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and my home-made chocolate fondant. I used green fondant and cut out individual leaves to see if it was worth it. Answer: It isn't. Find a cut-out or a mold. It is quite a bit easier.
These cakes I made for an extended family birthday party, with the help of my sisters-in-law. In case you couldn't tell, it was an Angry Birds party. There are a few different flavors of cakes here: chocolate, Funfetti, and strawberry. The fondant, I just made different colors according to what angry birds and pigs I wanted to use. We used large marshmallows and chocolate chips for the eyes and black licorice to make the mouths and angry eyebrows. We used Starburst cut in half for the beaks and the pig crown. Very fun! The kids loved them!
This cake was for my daughter, Lexi's 10th birthday party. Very classy and feminine, full of bright colors, just like Lexi. I used two flavors of cake she had to have: Lemon with a yummy lemon coconut flavored filling, and Funfetti. The flowers are from a mold- the easiest way to do a simple flower like this. In the middle of the white flowers, I put a bead of white chocolate that I colored bright pink. The 10 on the top, her name on the bottom, and polka dots on the bottom platter were all made of melted white chocolate - freehand, of course. It doesn't exactly look professional, but she loved it!
This cake was actually a cake that I made with a friend for her daughter's first birthday. I made the bottom layer, showing her how to make fondant cakes, and she did the middle layer. I then wrapped a cupcake in fondant and topped it with a swirl of bright pink frosting. It turned out so cute! It's the perfect little tea cake. Oh, and my friend made the cute pink stand! It is Darling!
This cake was just a cake, for no special reason. I love those kind! A treat you can just enjoy. It is a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and my home-made chocolate fondant. I used green fondant and cut out individual leaves to see if it was worth it. Answer: It isn't. Find a cut-out or a mold. It is quite a bit easier.
Spaulding Wedding
I helped with another wedding this last weekend. It was very quickly put together and so much fun! The cake was a dark chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache filling. So yummy!
Young Women's Activity
About a week ago, the Young Women in my ward at church combined with the Relief Society and had a wedding activity. They modeled borrowed modest wedding dresses and wedding cake was served for the dessert. It was so much fun! This is the cake I made. It was a white cake with a white buttercream frosting. The flowers are made out of fondant, too, with edible pearls inside of them.
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