Fox Cake Topper

Have I told you before how much I love autumn (love love love!)? Maybe just about every year at this time?!
Blue skies and golden brown leaves. A time of  reprieve from the Durban humidity. And life seems to slow down a pace; which is welcome after the busy-ness of the first third of the year.
It's the perfect season.
The only problem with autumn is that it's not long enough. That, and a sad lack of hedgehogs...

Settlers colonised us with mynah birds and bug weed, but no hedgehogs. What were they thinking? (They've got a lot to account for!)

So, we'll just have to make our own.
And a few foxes.

And who-whoo would say no to and owl or two?

They're all made from a 50:50 mix of fondant and modelling chocolate ; and I've added some CMC / tylose paste to the mix to speed up the drying time (about a quarter of the total mass).


Happy (autumn) decorating!

xxM

Rainbow Unicorn Birthday Cake

A couple of months ago I started work on a cake that I was making just for the pleasure of making a cake! What?! 

 Then reality whacked me on the head (with a hammer fist), so I wrapped up the un-finished cake  (in double layers of cling wrap) and packed it away in the freezer. 

I can't even remember what my original plan for it was :o\

But finally, its moment to be released from cryo-existence came: My niece's 14th birthday party - slap, bang in the middle of a very busy work week and Mothers Day cookie classes. How very handy to have a half-decorated cake already in residence. What great foresight, on my part ;o) 

A quick unicorn topper, and a bit of airbrushing later and the birthday cake was done. 

See how I cover a double barrel cake here.
See Crumb Avenue's adorable unicorn tutorial here.  Mine is the teenage version ;o)

Because you're never too old for a rainbow unicorn cake...! 

Happy decorating!

xxM

Mothers Day Tea and Cake Cookies

Happy Mothers Day! Or just happy Sunday, if you're not a mom! ;o)
I'm not big into celebrating these "holidays", but my family doesn't need to know that... So I capitalised on a bit of guilt (we're good at that, us moms!) by suggesting that in lieu of a gift, I wanted the house cleaned and tidied this Sunday - up to my standards, not theirs.
A friend suggested that this request would mean I'd be woken up by the sound of clanking dishes and vacuuming. I'd be quite happy with that if it meant someone else had noticed that there were dishes to be washed!!

Anyways...
Let's talk about colours. The theme for this Mothers Day cookie class was Tea & Cake. I wanted pretty, but not too bright or fresh. It's not summer here, after all. So, to get this look, I used the standard Cake Flora/ Americolor gel colours (see below), and added a touch of black  (and I mean just a touch!).  The result is still a very pretty colour scheme, just muted - let's call it antiqued, rather than washed-out. (Appropriate for Mothers Day?!!)
;o)

  Both pinks are deep pink; the green is mint green with a bit of turquoise, and the purple is a mix of regal and electric purple. 

Add a touch of black. If you overdo it, just add a little more of the original colour. 

Our "antiqued" colours. Pretty, huh? 

                                

Yes, that's it - I'm just antiqued! 

Happy decorating!  

xxM

Butterfly Wedding Cake

So, this was the wedding cake that I didn't know I was making.
Don't you just hate that when it happens?!
Well, I had agreed to make it... 4 years ago...

Long story.
A friend of my sister's. Different wedding, same bride. The first one wasn't meant to be (and thankfully she found that out before the big day). This guy's a keeper.

But, truthfully, I haven't been much involved with the in's and out's of it; and hadn't considered that my offer from 4 years ago (when I had way more baking & caking time on my hands) was still standing.

So, when was "reminded" about the cake 10 days before the wedding, it came as a b-i-i-i-t of a surprise...! Thankfully it was a simple mandate: a small cake, and a few dozen cupcakes with a butterfly theme. And in a colour scheme I love.

Here's how I made this large butterfly for the cake: 

Cut out with a cookie cutter; embossed details with a  Dresden tool. 

Dried in a fold of cardboard. Shaded with brown 

Dusted with luster

Done and dusted ;o) 

 

And the crackled effect on the sides of the cake is courtesy of this video tutorial by Cakes by Angela Morrison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln9X3BZf8m4
I had to press on the gum paste (CMC paste) layer very firmly to get the cracks to appear; but that could be because I got my drying time wrong.
It's a lovely effect, isn't it?

Happy decorating!

xxM

Rainbow Bunny

April has been a busy birthday month! 

I'm usually oblivious to it. Well, no. That's not quite right. There's just not much I can do about those birthdays, as I'm usually too caught up in the busy-ness of Easter classes. But with those wrapped up in mid-March this year, and no classes booked for April (too many holiday weekends and other functions on the calendar), I've had the time to pay attention to some of our family and friends' birthdays this month. And take the opportunity to make their cakes and toppers. (Must. Create ... Can. Not. Stop!) 

This one was for Summer, my daughter's friend. 

I enthusiastically volunteered to make her a cake topper based on her favourite fluffy toy, a bunny. And then discovered that it was rainbow coloured. Hmmmn...that's a challenge!  

But I'm so glad it was, because (after some pondering) in the end the way to create the look was straightforward, but rewardingly creative (I always feel so arty when I get the paintbrushes out!)  

I made the body out of white fondant/ modelling chocolate blend. Then dry-brushed the shades on using Rolkem dusting colours. Really simple. But pretty and effective, don't you think?

  

If you do try something similar, make sure all your pieces are shaded before you assemble your creation. It's just easier to get good colour coverage that way.  And it helps you avoid dusting over wet glue. (And you'll know why you don't want to make that mistake if you've ever done it!)

Happy decorating!

xxM

Giant Cupcake

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to make a giant cupcake! You don't see them around much anymore.  It's been about two years since I last made one ... which was probably already at the edge of their trendiness! These days it's all elegantly drippy and naked cakes.  
 
There's something quite pleasantly "bouffant" about a giant cupcake, though, isn't there?!
It might be too soon to re-introduce them as retro, but with the speed at which the world is going these days... who knows... maybe they're already vintage ;o)

The very first one I made was a bit nightmarish. I spent over an hour covering the base in vertical stripes of fondant. This was before I knew much about fondant. Let alone working with stripes! Now of course, I won't touch a stripe that isn't made out of a fondant/ modelling chocolate blend. But I won't cover the base of a giant cupcake like that again, anyway. Making a pure chocolate case for the base is very easy, and very cute. 

See how here. 

(The recipe I use for the sponge is this one: http://www.teacakeandcreate.blogspot.co.za/2012/06/cupcake-recipe.html)

And if you decide to leave the base uncovered - that's fine too. Naked cake is trendy, right? ;o)

Happy baking!

xxM

Quilled Fondant

I've wanted to try my hand at quilling for a while (with fondant though - not paper. Although I might give that a try too, now!) It looks like a lot of work, but it's actually a very simple technique. And you end up getting completely absorbed in the process. It's hard to stop!

I made this cake for a friend's 40th. She hadn't asked for a cake, but I decided to make one as a gift... honestly, that was my motivation - not that it was a good opportunity to finally try some quilling!

If you'd like to give it a try, here are some tips: 

Use a fondant/ modelling chocolate blend. 

  If you've only got a wide strip cutter like this one from Jem Cutters, just make your first impressions, then shift the cutter to the halfway mark, and press down again... narrow strips! 

I use a strip cutter to mark my strips, then a clean sharp knife to cut them; you get cleaner edges that way.

It helps to work on a cold surface like granite, as chilled strips of fondant/ modelling chocolate blend are really easy to work with. 

Check that your subsequent strips are the correct length with one trial one before you cut the rest.  

Let your design firm up well (overnight preferably) before placing 

on the cake.

Use pins to keep the decorations in place once glued on with CMC glue

Sterilize the pins first in a little vodka. Drink a shot too, if you need to steady you hands... ;o) 

See, I told you - once you start, it's hard to stop. (The quilling! Not the vodka!!)

Happy decorating!

xxM