tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34976976262090586302024-03-05T02:23:07.845-08:00Sweet-D Cakesadding a little sweetness one treat at a time...sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-62007991609153676632015-09-10T09:44:00.000-07:002015-09-11T13:00:25.951-07:00Glam, glitter, confetti and cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
My sister-in-law recently celebrated a milestone birthday and I offered to make a cake for the occasion. My brother wasn't particularly helpful in the cake ideas department. I wanted to come up with something that reminded me of her and what she likes and I wanted the cake to be elegant and pretty since it was such as special birthday. I also had to keep in mind that I have a baby who naps for only 25 minutes at a time and thus it had to be relatively simple in design. We were getting her sparkly jewelry for a gift, so I thought I would make a cake to match. As they say, 'when in doubt, just add glitter'. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENuD_ja44g1yfV9Z86-OqTwqdmjvCb2KlYQmzXgAAlHI4FQcPfX-kyn334BejKJ7YyTKHCsxWsHg-O6WnXRWFLGfDp86PE2J4wDR2yKteNMs6bKN51hGUk2EVxZqcMKwKpZuZgvU8X1o/s1600/IMG_2737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENuD_ja44g1yfV9Z86-OqTwqdmjvCb2KlYQmzXgAAlHI4FQcPfX-kyn334BejKJ7YyTKHCsxWsHg-O6WnXRWFLGfDp86PE2J4wDR2yKteNMs6bKN51hGUk2EVxZqcMKwKpZuZgvU8X1o/s640/IMG_2737.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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It has been so long since I have made a cake that I actually had fondant go past the best before date (the <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2015/09/red-egg-ginger-party-cake-year-of-ram.html" target="_blank">Year of the Ram cake</a> was red fondant). That never used to happen! I made a list of what I needed: white fondant - check!, silver glam ribbon - check!, edible silver dust - check!, cake board - check!, piping gel - check!, 5 pounds of candy confetti/sequins - <strike>check</strike> what?! That's right. I bought 5 pounds of sprinkles. To make the sequin top tier, I had no idea how many candy sequins I would need to cover the cake. I did not want to run out, and as I added up the small bottles of sprinkles, I realized that it would be most economical to buy a 5 pound package. Well, I only used a tiny fraction of the box. All subsequent family birthday cakes shall be covered in sprinkles. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwDyrbU8qOnq_uGjlGWwE0dvXywfhAz9rycBHlUeX0uRk306UJvktjowKh4W16URd1b0n2IPV_ZCVtN_Dz9ivJTtY12vEt5fBwcMgm5AaD9cukJk9BPL2phJjH-QYivcWJ4x6QS1Zr7o/s1600/IMG_2692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwDyrbU8qOnq_uGjlGWwE0dvXywfhAz9rycBHlUeX0uRk306UJvktjowKh4W16URd1b0n2IPV_ZCVtN_Dz9ivJTtY12vEt5fBwcMgm5AaD9cukJk9BPL2phJjH-QYivcWJ4x6QS1Zr7o/s640/IMG_2692.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The one thing that I did run out of was edible silver dust for painting the colourful sprinkles. I bought two containers of silver dust which ended up being darker than I would have liked. I went over that with a 3rd container of lighter silver dust that I already had in my cake supply stash. Then I sent my husband to the store to get me some additional containers for touching up the next morning. Just a note to all who wish to make sparkly cakes: 'non-toxic' does not mean edible! My husband went to the store armed with this knowledge and it came in handy when the salesperson tried to sell him silver dust that said 'non-toxic' rather than edible. Disco dust, which is the really sparkly stuff used on the centre of the gumpaste flower on this cake is non-toxic but not really edible. So if you eat some of it, it's not a big deal but you should not cover an entire cake with it (unless you aren't going to eat the fondant). Okay, I'm done venting. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcok5om1kHrCkVBu9LGCGQ5imNsXNm7hJVxQp3zsdhlVMblhE1kTMScvsACLK3fohqhWC5YhqJ0__kXEOkeQmqm2LNXEGDCMVBANIwpjyPvlAoNYwj9qVQ5GGeqYV1BC7KtuKLG-FufXY/s1600/IMG_2720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcok5om1kHrCkVBu9LGCGQ5imNsXNm7hJVxQp3zsdhlVMblhE1kTMScvsACLK3fohqhWC5YhqJ0__kXEOkeQmqm2LNXEGDCMVBANIwpjyPvlAoNYwj9qVQ5GGeqYV1BC7KtuKLG-FufXY/s400/IMG_2720.jpg" width="265" /></a>So for the top tier, I covered the cake in fondant. Once set, I covered the fondant in piping gel and used my hand to cover the whole cake in candy sequins. Once that dried, I mixed the silver dust with vodka and painted the whole cake. At first, I made my paint too thick which is partly why I believe I ran out of silver dust too quickly. You want the paint to be thick enough to cover the coloured sprinkles but not so thick that you use an insane amount of petal dust. Once it dried, I touched up spots that still had multicolour sprinkles showing through. </div>
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For the flower, I used an anemone cutter. I do not have a silicone mold kit to give lifelike texture to the petals so I just roughly used a veining tool. I did not try to make it look real - I just wanted it to have a little texture which is why the lines are so far apart. The centre is black gumpaste that I painted silver and covered with disco dust. The stamens were white and I painted them with silver dust mixed with vodka. One day it would be nice to actually try to make a realistic looking flower, like an open peony. The thought of having to put wire through petals without ripping them is a bit daunting though.</div>
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The bottom tier is covered in silver 'glam ribbon'. The ribbon is very easy to use. Just wash it with a bit of dish detergent, let it dry, cut to size, paint a bit of edible sugar glue onto the cake and attach! The only thing to be aware of is that if your cake is not straight, it is really going to show with this ribbon, so take the extra time to ensure your cake is level and your buttercream is straight on the sides of the cake. </div>
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I loved the simplicity of this cake, even with all of the glam, glitter and confetti. I have 4 pounds and 15 ounces of candy sequins left. That's a lot of sprinkle type projects in the future...</div>
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sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-76614956263106902072015-09-01T06:15:00.000-07:002015-09-01T06:15:17.824-07:00Red Egg & Ginger Party Cake - Year of the Ram<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
In April, we celebrated our little guy's 30th day with a red egg and ginger party. This celebration is a Chinese tradition during which a baby is named and introduced to friends and family. This was based on high infant mortality rates and the thought that babies were out of the dangerous period by the 30 day mark. This also coincides with the end of the mother's confinement. After childbirth, it is felt that the mother is in a weakened state. There are a whole lot of rules to follow during confinement for example, you aren't allowed to wash yourself or wash your hair, you can't go outside, there are a number of foods you are not allowed to eat, you must rest but not sit for too long, and so on. I am half Chinese and my mother is not particularly superstitious, so there was no delay in naming our little one and no confinement. Basically the red egg and ginger party was just another fun celebration of our new baby with family and good Chinese food.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWf-FCONHCRpeyMez4itd-QbfM5JNNeNMI7a3P7LrJ032j5CC_nS8dLHVcAPQgzjVfDAlQwYJpXrQNpZpyWgDJA7362MNVlIRU0qEe4huILvgudBod0CJul_gA_lkHOIZScGalmlneN8/s1600/IMG_2279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWf-FCONHCRpeyMez4itd-QbfM5JNNeNMI7a3P7LrJ032j5CC_nS8dLHVcAPQgzjVfDAlQwYJpXrQNpZpyWgDJA7362MNVlIRU0qEe4huILvgudBod0CJul_gA_lkHOIZScGalmlneN8/s400/IMG_2279.jpg" width="280" /></a>William was born in the year of the ram/sheep/goat. Apparently there is only one Chinese word for both sheep and goat which is why you may see the sign referred to as all of the above. Based on this, he is supposed to be kind, creative, loyal and empathic. I wanted the cake to be very simple (it had nothing to do with the fact that I was a sleep deprived new mother with a baby who would only sleep while being held and who ate 20 times a day). The main element of the cake was a little baby dressed in a ram costume. This was something that I could make ahead of time and in stages with William in my carrier. My dad came over during the week so that I could bake the cake (somehow leaning into an oven with a baby strapped to my front didn't seem like a good idea). It was so sweet seeing my dad sing Rock-a-bye Baby over and over to William until he fell asleep in his arms. I had no idea that my dad knew any lullabies. William seemed so peaceful. My mom was working at the time and was quite jealous! She came over the night before the party with my sister to hold William while I finished the figure and covered the cake in fondant. </div>
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I went back and forth on whether or not I should put horns on the ram. Apparently they don't all have horns. I decided to make little horns to make it more obvious what animal he was supposed to be dressed up as although he looks a little like a patisserie with a body made of cinnamon rolls, croissants on his head and coffee bean shoes. How appropriate given my love of cake and pastry. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrmAVkrE8ZDxSJWd26b4DwVSaxQFWurh2feWB0a6NsNiaQc1XFu9Dsih4Lvz5AgXveGgKCgTFm8-FMZmk9wj1W6lJyVNqkkkgjDVm5fmnderaWbe-TX352kqdJVZL6tV-HYcQe9LSiI0/s1600/IMG_2272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrmAVkrE8ZDxSJWd26b4DwVSaxQFWurh2feWB0a6NsNiaQc1XFu9Dsih4Lvz5AgXveGgKCgTFm8-FMZmk9wj1W6lJyVNqkkkgjDVm5fmnderaWbe-TX352kqdJVZL6tV-HYcQe9LSiI0/s400/IMG_2272.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I did a simple border at the top of the cake using a crimper and painted it gold along with the letters and a fondant ribbon border at the bottom of the cake. I also made cupcakes with hornless sheep and the Chinese symbol for ram/sheep/goat. Thank goodness the symbol was an easy one though the gold paint did not show up well in the photos. </div>
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Along with the cake and cupcakes, we offered our family members red eggs and candied ginger. Eggs are a symbol of fertility and renewal of life and red represents happiness and good luck. The ginger is to balance cold and hot or 'yin' and 'yang' and is important particularly for the mother to regain her strength. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9RKrObxK99Kb39T6z6DEiO8ix7WVnFSMjVAR8JdOdHIr5lM4vv2y5Dtoe5CLlS5IMfO8UroIZAMMDlVA25iCgeIlpvd72VKQIBse_RkaWDly8CfAhkqnSzOnB3dmA22EN-JDhYfynqw/s1600/IMG_2302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx9RKrObxK99Kb39T6z6DEiO8ix7WVnFSMjVAR8JdOdHIr5lM4vv2y5Dtoe5CLlS5IMfO8UroIZAMMDlVA25iCgeIlpvd72VKQIBse_RkaWDly8CfAhkqnSzOnB3dmA22EN-JDhYfynqw/s320/IMG_2302.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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William behaved wonderfully at the restaurant (he slept through all of dinner). Back at our house, he spent a good portion of the evening eating (he was a marathon feeder). By the time we got around to taking a photo with the cake, William had hit his 'witching' hour and was having none of it. This was the best photo we could get with him. Note the colour of his face matches his shirt and the cake. </div>
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I cannot believe how much he has grown and changed since April. In only 6 and a half more months, I'll be working on a cake for his first birthday. I don't have any ideas yet for a theme. I almost don't want to think about it and hope that the next 6 months go by at a snails pace allowing me to savour every little moment. </div>
sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-61331750597442366482015-08-30T16:13:00.000-07:002015-08-31T06:20:59.423-07:00And then there was one more...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have not done a whole lot of baking or blogging in the past year for a number of reasons. Life just got too busy. I have been working on my MSc for much too long and I really needed to focus on wrapping things up. The other reason was related to being very tired...but not too tired to make this rather fun cake.<br />
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Is it obvious what is represents?<br />
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I think that I knew how I wanted to announce my pregnancy before I actually became pregnant. Of course I wanted to tell my family through some sort of cake project. I liked the idea of a 'bun in the oven' cake and I love things with a vintage look, hence the vintage oven. I think that had I known they make modern 'vintage' ovens now, I may have gotten one for our kitchen renovation, although I might not have been able to commit to a colour.<br />
Having a higher than average risk of miscarriage, we decided to wait 3 months before making the announcement to our families. We were approaching the end of summer (almost 1 full year ago), and we had not entertained at all. We had decided to have some landscaping done in our backyard late summer, so we got everyone over under the guise of seeing our new and improved yard. The photos of the cake aren't the best as I didn't have time to take pictures before we had everyone over.<br />
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To start off, I made a square cake. I must say, covering cakes with corners are a lot harder than round cakes. Since the cake was just for family, and I was rather tired, I wasn't as picky about how perfect it looked.<br />
I really wanted the bun to be <i>in</i> the oven, rather than just on the front. This meant carving a shallow section out of the cake once it was covered in fondant, and lining it with black fondant. I had to be careful not to have it too close to the edges, so the cake wouldn't fall apart on that side. To have the oven rack elevated (because it just wasn't accurate to have the bun sitting on the bottom of the oven where the element should be), I used a black rectangle of modelling past in the back of the oven to prop up the gumpaste shelf. I used royal icing to pipe the oven rack. The tray and the oven door are made with gumpaste.</div>
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I wasn't in love with how I did the elements on the range but it wasn't the most important part of the cake and I still had to fit some naps in my schedule. Growing a kid just so happens to take a lot of energy! </div>
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The date on the range 'clock' was our due date.</div>
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We hid the cake upstairs while we had food. When it was dessert time, I brought the cake downstairs. It was perfect as both of our mom's were facing the direction of the cake as I was walking in. The fun part is that English is the second language for both of our moms, so the phrase 'bun in the oven' was a little lost at first. My mom was asking my dad, 'What does that mean? Does that mean she's pregnant?' My mom was so sweet, she asked if she could bring the little bun home. She wondered why we chose blue for the cake. We did not know what we were having at that time. I chose turquoise as I think I would have chosen that colour for a range in our kitchen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPrfirUujBWu1QMMCc_qqBAdMdqWkrGHG0mEIuZkw23yKmm5nCvrlgSkOgunBKYPv4FOTHRvCWflgAv_dtx5BTs3KMg5snFKxIGVoAqfj1AGbVxDtxhM_4X68D2fwQdIxvtW8iW5f03s/s1600/IMG_0585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPrfirUujBWu1QMMCc_qqBAdMdqWkrGHG0mEIuZkw23yKmm5nCvrlgSkOgunBKYPv4FOTHRvCWflgAv_dtx5BTs3KMg5snFKxIGVoAqfj1AGbVxDtxhM_4X68D2fwQdIxvtW8iW5f03s/s320/IMG_0585.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Here is a photo of the hubby and me with the cake. I love my polk-a-dot apron. It was perfect for hiding my little baby 'ponch'. I have matching oven mitts too! </div>
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Now that our little guy is here, I really don't have much time for baking. He is a cat napper which translates into really not getting anything at all done during the day. Just as his naps start to improve, he will be starting solids so my time in the kitchen is going to be spent making baby food rather than sweet treats. </div>
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I am loving parenthood so far. I am sometimes saddened at how quickly time is passing and how fast he is growing but I am excited by each and every new accomplishment. Just this week alone he has started saying 'mmmm' (in preparation for the delicious baby food I'm going to make him), spitting (not the greatest thing but so cute), eating his toes, rolling over and sitting in a tripod position for a couple of seconds. I look forward to when he is old enough to help out in the kitchen and we can cook and bake things together. </div>
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-44130167847845495882015-08-18T13:00:00.003-07:002015-08-18T13:02:16.450-07:00That time I made an edible colon...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Over the years, word has gotten around that I make cakes as a hobby and sometimes I get requests to make cakes for friends or acquaintances. If things align with my schedule and it's something that I think is feasible in terms of my skill set, I will try to do it. This cake request came at a really busy time in my life and at a time when I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling health wise (more on that in a future blog post) but I could not pass up the opportunity to make such a fun cake combining two things I love: healthcare and baking. Notice how I didn't say 'colonoscopies' and baking...because that would just be weird...who would want to combine a colonoscopy and a cake?? Ahem. </div>
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This blog has primarily been about sharing my experiences making cakes. I think I have posted one recipe and I have not done any tutorials. The lack of tutorials is because I am not an expert at cake decorating and also because I am usually pressed for time and cannot take step-by-step photos. For some reason, I felt compelled to take step-by-step photos of how to make the colon for all those people searching the internet on how to make an edible colon. If by a minuscule chance you've arrived at this page by searching on edible colons, I hope you find this helpful. If you weren't looking for cake decorating information, I just don't know what to say. </div>
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It has been over a year since I made this cake. Time has flown as always with other things on my plate and I also wanted to edit the names off of the front of the cake for this post but had no idea how. Please note that my photo editing skills are non-existent. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQQkGNZsWdnZLhRuVPUyj90lGCc2gGMXl7jYVLJIDdxNGi9Z_GBm47LKJMeokwgai6HttMMPujv_Y36HykAdVaWD-cQ2o6yKX1ml6fqxtqzL7SQBlAY4z88tdfhQ3IwSdhrNSaY87Itk/s1600/IMG_0035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQQkGNZsWdnZLhRuVPUyj90lGCc2gGMXl7jYVLJIDdxNGi9Z_GBm47LKJMeokwgai6HttMMPujv_Y36HykAdVaWD-cQ2o6yKX1ml6fqxtqzL7SQBlAY4z88tdfhQ3IwSdhrNSaY87Itk/s640/IMG_0035.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Since the colon was going to be on top of the cake and was relatively small, it didn't make sense to carve it out of cake. Making it out of pure fondant, gumpaste or molding chocolate is too heavy and would also be difficult to transfer to the top of the cake. I went with good ol' rice cereal treats. As I've mentioned in the past, I find the prepackaged treats easier to use as I feel you can condense them much easier into the shapes you need and get a smoother surface versus freshly made homemade rice cereal treats.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaHAInzRq2_WKRLvNGzWwMqk4KU1TlyozTs8nP3JoIjaNHlh-bqlk4LEYN4mGfx5UfYJ68s7ttU3_bkg8mb8q27AIvtbKJzBahoM_y6BRmx4nAjX0KWThNjPkBb30ESjZ6_CWZWkwUc8/s1600/Colon+steps1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaHAInzRq2_WKRLvNGzWwMqk4KU1TlyozTs8nP3JoIjaNHlh-bqlk4LEYN4mGfx5UfYJ68s7ttU3_bkg8mb8q27AIvtbKJzBahoM_y6BRmx4nAjX0KWThNjPkBb30ESjZ6_CWZWkwUc8/s640/Colon+steps1.jpg" width="632" /></a></div>
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Alright, so where does one start when making a colon? <span style="text-align: left;">The first step was to make a template for the colon. I did an image search for a colon I was happy with (I think it was from a textbook) and printed it to a size to fit the top of a 9-inch cake. I printed it slightly smaller than I wanted the final colon to be as items tend to get larger as you add layers of fondant/chocolate (1).</span></div>
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I taped the colon onto a cardboard cake board and covered it with wax paper for my work surface. That way I could easily see the picture of the colon and also had a way of sliding the completed colon onto the finished cake.</div>
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Next, I rolled little balls of rice cereal treats to closely resemble the size of each distinct section of the colon as per the picture (2). Once I completed all of the pieces (3), I melted some white chocolate candy melts and used a small brush to attach everything (4). After that, I painted the entire colon with melted chocolate to be certain everything was secure and it makes it yummy (5).<br />
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The next step was to give the colon a bit more dimension. I used modeling chocolate to round out some sections and to adjust the size, as well as to shape the rectum (6). Once I was happy with the overall shape I used a flesh-coloured mixture of modeling chocolate and fondant to cover the entire colon. I added details using the same chocolate/fondant, such as the polyps and the appendix, and finished off by using various colours of petal dust to add depth to the colours (8).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittkYzcno6PbkMUhvDXRHpZCXW3OxBnAoZso9ltdt5sXmwEKtMy8V8y8kdnTx2m0WWaMO0UdPtR1C4q_pPpMLbjK6rz4NAekEOzf5O951Ytim-tWZSvyAo17qA6hDYf3APrMAzOWTYEbY/s1600/IMG_9978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittkYzcno6PbkMUhvDXRHpZCXW3OxBnAoZso9ltdt5sXmwEKtMy8V8y8kdnTx2m0WWaMO0UdPtR1C4q_pPpMLbjK6rz4NAekEOzf5O951Ytim-tWZSvyAo17qA6hDYf3APrMAzOWTYEbY/s400/IMG_9978.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I let the colon settle for day (covered in the fridge) prior to transferring it to the cake, and while I worked on the endoscope controls, the cytology brush and forceps. Now for my PSA: Cancer Care Ontario recommends all individuals over the age of 50 be screened for colorectal cancer every two years (Fecal Occult Blood Test or colonoscopy depending on your risk). Now before you start running, my cytology brush and forceps are not to scale! If caught early, colorectal cancer has a 90% chance of being cured. So get screened!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4mR_S2c3_Ne0iptpIHcRlO7hCbgLKIJpbEv7boeqdMX1gnI0nbn8Crr49ZYjSwPE7olB7MOMPEnoqCwApB16mEc9W9Ih7dmA-hf0rHbpvhRmLCKCDjBsyXA0-m7W9YkTCe1A9dw4UG8/s1600/Endoscopy+tools1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4mR_S2c3_Ne0iptpIHcRlO7hCbgLKIJpbEv7boeqdMX1gnI0nbn8Crr49ZYjSwPE7olB7MOMPEnoqCwApB16mEc9W9Ih7dmA-hf0rHbpvhRmLCKCDjBsyXA0-m7W9YkTCe1A9dw4UG8/s640/Endoscopy+tools1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">The forceps and cytology brush were made with both modelling paste and gum paste. I used small scissors to make the teeth on the forceps and the bristles on the brush. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRH_1DlhjJf9PwLFtVpWkj95V8Ys38jOtxgs1SPbjqWM3Az941HtazE_epvyTm4_KSSsKxWucgDOkRV9cRrah8sryUjI7S_XJmuR8CCEGJompizqV_ieY7bDccoJlIip5rvS6SccqHFU/s1600/Co-lawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRH_1DlhjJf9PwLFtVpWkj95V8Ys38jOtxgs1SPbjqWM3Az941HtazE_epvyTm4_KSSsKxWucgDOkRV9cRrah8sryUjI7S_XJmuR8CCEGJompizqV_ieY7bDccoJlIip5rvS6SccqHFU/s200/Co-lawn.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "semi-colawn"</td></tr>
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So there you have it. This is the closest post I have to a tutorial and it's about a colon. </div>
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I had a lot of fun making this cake. After it was complete, I threw the printed picture of the colon (which had been severed by this point) into the recycling. The following week, my husband was leaving for work only to find the colon picture on our lawn. My husband sent me a picture and I laughed out loud all the way to my doctor's appointment. I had to phone my sister so I didn't look crazy walking down the street laughing to myself. His friends started making colon jokes like, "did you perform a colawnoscopy?" or "was it a whole one or a semicolon?". </div>
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My husband said that I have a knack for making scary or gross things cute. I hope I achieved that with this colon cake! </div>
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My next post (if I ever get to write it) will be about why I haven't been baking/blogging very much in the past year so stay tuned...</div>
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-26897343561580184752015-02-18T16:36:00.001-08:002015-02-18T16:36:41.064-08:00Celebratory Layer Cakes! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I have disappeared for the last several months - almost eight months to be exact. Life has been busy and I have not had very much time for baking and blogging. I've been working, researching, organizing, purging, crocheting, singing and doing a little bit of baking here and there. I thought I would take some time to post a few of the cakes I did that I didn't get a chance to write about as I do not foresee a lot of time for blogging in the near future - more on that later in a couple of posts.</div>
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I had no idea what to call this post. What cake isn't 'celebratory'? These are two cakes that I did for family way back in May 2014. It has been so long that I'm not even 100% sure of what the flavour of the first one was. It definitely had something to do with almonds! I rarely do cakes that don't involve fondant decorations but I wanted to try some simpler but no less scrumptious looking cakes.</div>
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The first one was a Mother's Day cake - I know it doesn't look very Mother's Day-ish but really it was about the flavour. My mom doesn't like chocolate cake - although she has admitted to enjoying mocha cake with dulce de leche buttercream. I know she likes coffee flavour, so I made an almond flavoured butter cake with espresso based swiss meringue buttercream (I'm 98% sure that was the flavour) and garnished with toasted almonds. </div>
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I was insistent that the almonds had to be sliced almonds but not blanched. Without the skin, they would just blend into the colour of the buttercream. They were a little harder to find but they look much better than blanched! </div>
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The second cake was for my sister's birthday (same weekend!). I learned that my sister really enjoys chocolate malted milk balls and decided to run with that for a cake flavour. I wanted the cake to have the flavour of malted milk throughout and have a similar texture. </div>
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I started out with a chocolate butter cake. For the crunchy texture found in a chocolate malted milk ball, I thought dacquoise would work well but it is a meringue that is traditionally made with nuts like hazelnuts or almonds and layered with buttercream or whipped cream and I did not want any nutty flavours overshadowing the malted milk flavour. I ended up making pseudo-dacquoise which was essentially large layers of chocolate meringue (piped in a large swirl) that I also added Ovaltine (original, not chocolate) powder to in place of some of the cocoa powder. The swiss meringue buttercream was chocolate with more Ovaltine added to it. I was worried that the Ovaltine might add a gritty texture to the smooth buttercream but it ended up being fine. The result was my cake version of a chocolate malted milk ball. It was very hard to cut into slices to serve but the flavour and texture was exactly what I wanted. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiXdFrcJvyiUC2NkPJxlLgSLy67muak4Nuid_pl0jIgkASunzE23-erpYhPDP6_VEuHY7aGe5sST_pYh5rB2bULsSiw-VEozdM_eBlSGfkGRQ_BP3ykzitnU-RO1kbcUTJX1dktAiKE0/s1600/IMG_9930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiXdFrcJvyiUC2NkPJxlLgSLy67muak4Nuid_pl0jIgkASunzE23-erpYhPDP6_VEuHY7aGe5sST_pYh5rB2bULsSiw-VEozdM_eBlSGfkGRQ_BP3ykzitnU-RO1kbcUTJX1dktAiKE0/s1600/IMG_9930.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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I wanted the outside of the cake to be fun and birthday-like and you can't achieve that any better than with colourful sprinkles a-la-<a href="http://sweetapolita.com/layer-cake-gallery/" target="_blank">Sweetapolita</a>. I originally did not plan to put the sprinkles that far up the cake but I got a little carried away - it just got higher and higher. You can never have enough sprinkles though. I decorated the top with large piped shells and chocolate malted milk balls. I must confess that I think I bought a pound of malt balls of which only 17 ended up on the actual cake and the rest ended up in my stomach - not all at once but they were gone much faster than I'd like to admit!</div>
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-34910951853766574032014-06-26T18:55:00.000-07:002014-07-10T18:56:21.381-07:00Spring, I invoke thee! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yes, it is summer now, but I made this cake before it was even spring. There was snow outside. I shudder at the memories. This was a birthday cake for my sister-in-law. She loves the super sugary frosting grocery store cakes and always asks for extra flowers on the cake. I decided to make my own version of a sugary flower cake. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP2NYKVKQbVN7LYSMjllZ_mDztjmEB2F8nhk-V_BSJPPV-QeKx_M-5CKEc0_b-w3h2Wd98w1k9tzd98mPClQEytc_vRk-R8C_BpoSNbNHr6CEMJqm2Z6lDSnDxs5PiSpXDJINDJ0qYyE/s1600/IMG_9566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkP2NYKVKQbVN7LYSMjllZ_mDztjmEB2F8nhk-V_BSJPPV-QeKx_M-5CKEc0_b-w3h2Wd98w1k9tzd98mPClQEytc_vRk-R8C_BpoSNbNHr6CEMJqm2Z6lDSnDxs5PiSpXDJINDJ0qYyE/s1600/IMG_9566.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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We had such a horrible winter everything was white, grey, brown and just dirty looking for too many months! I was ready for some vibrant spring/summer colours. </div>
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I am not fabulous at piping flowers with frosting. I much prefer working with fondant or modelling paste. Personally I think that it is not only easier (for me anyway), but you can get much more creative with the types of flowers you can make. This blue ruffle flower below was made with several different sized circles of modelling paste. I thinned out and ruffled the edges using a stick tool with a tapered end. I then placed the layers one by one in a small bowl with the largest circle on the bottom and getting smaller as I got to the centre of the flower.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAXEuuAt68DrEJWaEHzeTrD0K5x5-Z_tSBpzjJx90D7zFngu6wqQln_y1q1hy6KG4JXJmDf4VJU4B7KaH515GaWiHTkMmILGoU04Sf0j4_N7emckzHhI4g6_A5axmag74eN5RGrdV30o/s1600/IMG_9586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAXEuuAt68DrEJWaEHzeTrD0K5x5-Z_tSBpzjJx90D7zFngu6wqQln_y1q1hy6KG4JXJmDf4VJU4B7KaH515GaWiHTkMmILGoU04Sf0j4_N7emckzHhI4g6_A5axmag74eN5RGrdV30o/s1600/IMG_9586.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
I used plunger cutters for the daisy type flowers. The make the centres, I took some brown modelling paste, pushed it through a strainer, scraped it off with a knife and then used a circle cutter.<br />
I also made ribbon roses which I think are really cute. The thick, puffy look is a nice contrast to the thin ruffled flowers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gY85GikHngTtBxdesjda6eLO31lkm7QAjVMV7tn4BEZwDR9_MpliztODYCf0rd9Xoqx6B-w5ptnrTpT92iQqMhejzAycsdmgCso1RC83byqpx5ZoyJuyudZNRvDlq8uXLD-MeqzWc_0/s1600/IMG_9593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gY85GikHngTtBxdesjda6eLO31lkm7QAjVMV7tn4BEZwDR9_MpliztODYCf0rd9Xoqx6B-w5ptnrTpT92iQqMhejzAycsdmgCso1RC83byqpx5ZoyJuyudZNRvDlq8uXLD-MeqzWc_0/s1600/IMG_9593.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
I used a 5-petal flower cutter to make the other flowers - I don't even really know what to call them since they aren't modelled after anything real.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2SjHh3m-9ovDe_TgYePTk0FAWriwMBv0wRdY4mvgi6qJxqTysWolQH9SQv_hJglsnVY4E3Qt30mENlDgQUD303MXf2R1B7LnvKehXJmoIEOpE_VR6c7Vc9vNipV6cZLH2-eq456UflQ/s1600/IMG_9607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2SjHh3m-9ovDe_TgYePTk0FAWriwMBv0wRdY4mvgi6qJxqTysWolQH9SQv_hJglsnVY4E3Qt30mENlDgQUD303MXf2R1B7LnvKehXJmoIEOpE_VR6c7Vc9vNipV6cZLH2-eq456UflQ/s1600/IMG_9607.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since my sister-in-law enjoys sugary frosting, rather than just simply icing the cake, I decided to pipe ruffles around the cake for a maximum frosting to cake ratio. I used a rose petal tip (#104) to make the alternating shades of green ruffles. I had a bit of trouble when I got to the top edge and turned the tip the wrong way around prematurely but the overall effect is still there. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejGajSOFS08mxMLFPtsgcsLVLSVAEnDB4Buyo3TL71Tn8CdOpzlTrkCi0C-9NPASsC0zMPmCr2WnyloXRBEYFzcbPNYPGRAd4TGMp07CsfnD8XJ5ossTrpueOWApODBK4XrGVZZqeBM8/s1600/IMG_9567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejGajSOFS08mxMLFPtsgcsLVLSVAEnDB4Buyo3TL71Tn8CdOpzlTrkCi0C-9NPASsC0zMPmCr2WnyloXRBEYFzcbPNYPGRAd4TGMp07CsfnD8XJ5ossTrpueOWApODBK4XrGVZZqeBM8/s1600/IMG_9567.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
The cake of course was vanilla with vanilla frosting - no shortening used in this 'grocery store' cake though. Just lots and lots of butter!<br />
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-63177482443604056422014-04-13T06:18:00.000-07:002014-07-10T18:16:33.451-07:00Bachelorette Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: justify;">This cake was made for a friend's bachelorette party back in
February (yes, all the way back in February). Given my time limitations with
work and school, the bride-to-be's sister kept the design request relatively
simple and picked a fun and flirty bustier in purple and grey to match the
wedding colours.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO09kKo4s_bSgDvmT1vEVoiB4mO8gDUSr8Gubqitdrt0AjJRQ2ARlbhPUoQyfOKF8gUgHGHpB9aG5R94_-mNcP3nt_SJ-iusDRJRrBL8VL85w5PoYGZlkOpXQ39B-Z13li3mAbZCSZp9o/s1600/IMG_9557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO09kKo4s_bSgDvmT1vEVoiB4mO8gDUSr8Gubqitdrt0AjJRQ2ARlbhPUoQyfOKF8gUgHGHpB9aG5R94_-mNcP3nt_SJ-iusDRJRrBL8VL85w5PoYGZlkOpXQ39B-Z13li3mAbZCSZp9o/s1600/IMG_9557.jpg" height="640" width="456" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am self-taught in terms of cake carving. I have seen some bustier cakes online in which they use a heart shaped pan for the top and bottom of the cake. I've also seen cakes in which the bust part is created using a bowl or ball-shaped pans. I am sure that this approach 'wastes' less cake (there is no waste of cake in this household!) however I don't own any heart-shaped pans and also wanted more control over the shape. Also, carving layered cakes versus using a bowl or ball-shaped pan ensures that every bite of the cake still has a good buttercream to cake ratio. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQfhLl3yW4Z0TSz4rvb8oa7ElyLkVt0LI_LEXSqsZ62OgY27kzfyX3j9JEb97dKeSVBsJ4QKy4bJXGtIoRpjYdll4I6kITPlZ5zjgIAhRmDpxUhncdgn_5axV4sxex_BB0Ee9WJHk8LM/s1600/IMG_3042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQfhLl3yW4Z0TSz4rvb8oa7ElyLkVt0LI_LEXSqsZ62OgY27kzfyX3j9JEb97dKeSVBsJ4QKy4bJXGtIoRpjYdll4I6kITPlZ5zjgIAhRmDpxUhncdgn_5axV4sxex_BB0Ee9WJHk8LM/s1600/IMG_3042.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Once again, I did not plan to take pictures of the process of
cake-making, so this picture is taken with my iPhone with less-than-optimal
lighting (not really complaining about a sunny day as we had so few this
winter). I used a 9 x 13 inch pan and traced it onto a large sheet of freezer
paper. I then sketched the outline of the bustier within 9x13 space. I cut this
out and used this as my carving template. To make the top of the bustier (it
feels strange to write about breasts and cake together but also feels immature
to say 'cake boobs'), I baked and filled three 5-inch round cakes. I cut the
template apart where the cups meet the bodice and used it to carve away the top
of the bodice part to make room for the cups. Once everything was in place, I
worked on carving the curves working very gradually until I was happy with the
final shapes. I crumb-coating the entire shape, put it in the fridge to set and
then covered it in purple fondant. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is very challenging to get dark purple from white fondant. I would have liked a darker purple but time was not on my side. </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I used a ribbon cutting tool for the detailing on the bodice and
around the cups. To make the frills, I cut about 1-inch wide ribbons from
fondant mixed with some tylose and used a bulbous gum paste tool to ruffle the
edges. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElxWaX71qtwIveeIwglmQDP0oBSYVG4r9UkxWxTLMiQJO1oxYhJvNVpwhMsoNRlLzNaiwH_4WC4D8iwdN6Ym3gtVbouok7tIs5Xb6RXlm3URn95T5SpBSVRgLHJ-PRrnEFe5AYxbnQYE/s1600/IMG_9522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElxWaX71qtwIveeIwglmQDP0oBSYVG4r9UkxWxTLMiQJO1oxYhJvNVpwhMsoNRlLzNaiwH_4WC4D8iwdN6Ym3gtVbouok7tIs5Xb6RXlm3URn95T5SpBSVRgLHJ-PRrnEFe5AYxbnQYE/s1600/IMG_9522.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cake was chocolate filled with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. With the cake and the fondant-covered large board, it ended up being quite a large and heavy cake to transport. I was extremely worried about dropping it. I somehow managed to hold this cake with one arm while locking the door to my house, and then proceeded down my icy steps and very icy driveway in very high stiletto boots to a taxi. I safely made it out of the taxi, across a very slippery lobby floor and got the cake to the party in one piece. Whew!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNTMNla-TI8jzuphI2APxiCVgUHZ7wjYOwMtdfKmlkIyNayxGP5rzJVEB-65Oaj_UViUEIMOA89ImndUfcvbtRieWDFnz5e8HZJ8Ur8_uqNcXKxJZljyisojWj1hCHLH9sUomjg_bXiU/s1600/IMG_9524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNTMNla-TI8jzuphI2APxiCVgUHZ7wjYOwMtdfKmlkIyNayxGP5rzJVEB-65Oaj_UViUEIMOA89ImndUfcvbtRieWDFnz5e8HZJ8Ur8_uqNcXKxJZljyisojWj1hCHLH9sUomjg_bXiU/s1600/IMG_9524.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have a couple of more projects to write about and will do that gradually when I need breaks between analyzing my data for my research. Cake-making will continue to be infrequent but I hope to be up and at it more frequently after the summer. Alternatively, if any of you blog-readers out there are statistics aficionados who like to help out random people on the internet, I can get back to baking sooner!</div>
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-25078313514866621492013-12-30T09:30:00.000-08:002014-01-01T09:30:51.828-08:00Peonies and piping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
It was about two and a half months before I made another cake after t<a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2013/12/the-one-that-got-away.html" target="_blank">he one that I dropped</a>. I wasn't necessarily discouraged. It's more a lack of time. Less than a week after the cake disaster, we hopped on a plane to Europe and spent a fabulous two and a half weeks in Paris, Edinburgh, Aberlour, Castle Combe and London. Two and a half weeks was fabulous but it wasn't enough time to get through all of the gorgeous pastries that I wanted to try. After that, I really had to focus on my graduate studies. Before I knew it, it was already November and my mother's birthday. </div>
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I wanted to take the opportunity to practice a couple of skills - flowers and piping. I had seen quite a few beautiful wedding cakes with lace-like piped pattern and wanted to give it a try. There were a lot of very similar cakes and I wondered if there was some sort of template out there or if people were just piping the design freehand. I perused a couple of cake decorating stores and could not seem to find any templates so I decided to just give it a shot on my own. The flower shape I used for the lace is a dogwood flower. I bought some very fine decorating tips - size 0 and 00 to do the intricate lines. When I got started I realized that those tips were just too small for me to work with on a cake. Since I moved a size up for the smaller tips, I unfortunately did not have tips large enough for the thicker lines and ended up just cutting a hole in the end of a disposable piping bag. It wasn't ideal but it worked. From far away, the piping looks neat enough. It was not as smooth as I would have liked close up. One of the tools that I find extremely helpful when piping royal icing or doing stringwork is this <a href="http://www.karenscookies.net/Cookie-Scraper-Boo-Boo-Stick_p_607.html" target="_blank">yellow spatula-pick thingy</a>. It is absolutely fabulous for scraping off mistakes or broken lines. I don't actually know the real name for this tool but 'Boo-boo stick' seems appropriate given it's most useful function. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBAmbE3fYrl7BKdEowqTRSORu2i9Td_ktmV1QaFnCqyOuVlN71IB9dP1ZJYLdCEjt97xKE3Q78lI0azflLENEfhJnSI7XEdwJU7q_4iG1ru2vZKHqd7_Q44YJV6mc6fZZkBKP6VI7XLU/s1600/IMG_9164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBAmbE3fYrl7BKdEowqTRSORu2i9Td_ktmV1QaFnCqyOuVlN71IB9dP1ZJYLdCEjt97xKE3Q78lI0azflLENEfhJnSI7XEdwJU7q_4iG1ru2vZKHqd7_Q44YJV6mc6fZZkBKP6VI7XLU/s640/IMG_9164.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I've only attempted one peony-like flower before. I like them because they still look very pretty if not terribly realistic or accurate. There are lots of tutorials online. There are also a few different styles of peony cutters. I used this <a href="http://www.flourconfections.com/peony-cutter-set-p-4723.html" target="_blank">one</a>. I did the veining of each petal by hand using a gumpaste veining tool. It was tempting to purchase a silicone mold kit but they are quite expensive and at the rate I'm making cakes right now, I might make one peony a year. I think I liked the overall shape of this peony better than my <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2012/12/fashioning-cake-fit-for-fashionista.html" target="_blank">previous attempt</a>. I left it more open at the bottom so I didn't need any filler petals when I placed it on the cake. I still ended up having it quite condensed in the centre and would like to try again to make it even more open. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaidb_NPMUnjnhyZuNe6TvHSrpAnLOslkJFst5Vhyphenhyphen3GGTqPG5icgPM0qJYnGStLp10sVySuEkYJZtzRATQfKYoDXqeEzVBijyGsvAxTBAv1tpyzzlaVEgfsGU7BOtRbyya8QDnaLUnAo/s1600/IMG_9169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaidb_NPMUnjnhyZuNe6TvHSrpAnLOslkJFst5Vhyphenhyphen3GGTqPG5icgPM0qJYnGStLp10sVySuEkYJZtzRATQfKYoDXqeEzVBijyGsvAxTBAv1tpyzzlaVEgfsGU7BOtRbyya8QDnaLUnAo/s640/IMG_9169.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The flavour of the cake was coconut and it was filled with pineapple swiss meringue buttercream. To make the coconut cake, I took my favourite vanilla cake recipe and switched out the milk for coconut milk. I also pulsed some unsweetened dried coconut in the food processor and added it to the dry ingredients. I added a bit of coconut extract to the simple syrup but found that it smelled really artificial so I made another batch of simple syrup and added only one drop of extract. It was a little better. </div>
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For the pineapple buttercream, I used canned pineapple chunks along with the juices to make a pineapple reduction. I pureed the pineapple reduction and added it to the buttercream. It was a subtle flavour but nice. </div>
sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-91012247772635659362013-12-30T08:17:00.000-08:002014-01-01T08:19:00.131-08:00The one that got away...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I debated whether to write about this cake that I did back in August for my niece's first birthday because the outcome was less than optimal. The purpose of my blog is to write and share my hobby with others and that includes projects or situations that may be a challenge or that may not be a success. This is one such project. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPg14DbzzRUqlj6kHbTRfs4Pn3XYI3ch02fIGG12WIf7a3BCrMhZ9l_B2kYUwo1PM1PpBY_x4XvH5HV7Z-kPawKTB0tw0oD9SPG20zkTMCXHuQB7a7aeGUcP67yaP07Sj8jDMPmofW_c4/s1600/IMG_8618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPg14DbzzRUqlj6kHbTRfs4Pn3XYI3ch02fIGG12WIf7a3BCrMhZ9l_B2kYUwo1PM1PpBY_x4XvH5HV7Z-kPawKTB0tw0oD9SPG20zkTMCXHuQB7a7aeGUcP67yaP07Sj8jDMPmofW_c4/s640/IMG_8618.jpg" width="552" /></a></div>
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One may look at the picture above and wonder what the challenges might have been. Overall it's a pretty cake. My sister-in-law wanted something pink and girly and suggested an ombré cake. She doesn't like fondant very much so I did a frosting-covered layer on the bottom and a fondant-covered layer for the top. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CPdlWYEfncZnL4wPg6ni0f6pc0UwgL2ygTiH5Y9B4zvtJxa0cR8DYuezfiYLk2bHwiaBukPKW3XsDzu4VLa7Zbwmw25hIwjUHkUip6tXAbvrg5VfFrjogxin7yNOxxiAXJKdBQCdL40/s1600/IMG_8636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CPdlWYEfncZnL4wPg6ni0f6pc0UwgL2ygTiH5Y9B4zvtJxa0cR8DYuezfiYLk2bHwiaBukPKW3XsDzu4VLa7Zbwmw25hIwjUHkUip6tXAbvrg5VfFrjogxin7yNOxxiAXJKdBQCdL40/s640/IMG_8636.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The ruffled flower was made by cutting about 1-inch wide strips of thinly rolled modelling paste and rolling a modelling stick back and forth along the edges to create a ruffled effect. I was a bit short on time to make this cake as I had been working late and getting ready for a trip overseas. The flower ended up being a tad off-centre. In retrospect I should have been taking a step back to look at the cake after each flower layer to ensure that it was straight or in addition to marking the cake for the outer edge of the flower I could have also marked the centre of the flower. This would have not required a significant amount of extra time and would have ensured a straighter flower. Alas, that wasn't the suboptimal part of this cake project. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiGQCJW0s0G0JE88nErECByHLuEanJ6WqCO-WXTZPhe_nuSiOfI9tLTnbMzKC-dbR4J4U2mUF51Ki1rwiOuf-YAIbqdCoHNxH5oznPNfF4BcZpsxa5eemY2TdC_IyodyWT9N94wfIyTE/s1600/IMG_8640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkiGQCJW0s0G0JE88nErECByHLuEanJ6WqCO-WXTZPhe_nuSiOfI9tLTnbMzKC-dbR4J4U2mUF51Ki1rwiOuf-YAIbqdCoHNxH5oznPNfF4BcZpsxa5eemY2TdC_IyodyWT9N94wfIyTE/s640/IMG_8640.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For the ombré rosettes, I used a fairly large star tip. I portioned out just under a third of my batch of frosting and tinted it dark pink. For the next shade of pink, I just added white frosting to the leftover dark pink to get a lighter shade and then repeated for the lightest colour pink. This part was decently problem-free with the exception of some of the edges not being very neat. </div>
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I placed the cake on a fondant-covered board as I usually do, and was annoyed that I managed to get a fingerprint on one side of the board near the front. The cake was placed off-centre to allow room for my niece's name. </div>
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Like many of my other cakes, I placed the board on a cake stand to photograph it. Sometimes to get a good angle, I move the cake around on the table, sometimes I stand on my tiptoes, sometimes I stand on a chair. I had really gotten all of the photos that I needed and then I thought, 'ah, just one more'. I moved the cake stand back to get a better angle. Since I had placed the cake off-centre on the board, the centre of gravity was toward the back. As I pushed the cake stand back, the cake slipped off of the cake stand, and I'm not sure if I froze but everything really did feel like slow motion. The cake slipped onto the table, then slid off of the table and onto the floor. Surprisingly the cake landed upright however the impact of the fall caused the cake to collapse. It was not salvageable. This was not a reality tv show or a bakery where there might be extra staff, buttercream/frosting lying around, extra fondant, extra sponge cake. I had nothing. My husband held me while I sobbed. And then I went into panic mode. There was an hour until the party started but it would take an hour to get there. I thought that maybe I could make another cake and get it there by the time people had finished eating. I sent my husband to the grocery store to get more butter. I called my sister for reinforcements. I turned on the oven to preheat. As I watched the oven climb slowly in temperature, I came to the realization that it would be impossible. I called my husband and told him to forget the butter. I called my sister to tell her not to bother coming over. My husband called his sister to tell her what had happened. I felt awful on the way to the party. I felt awful when I arrived at the party and my niece was wearing a dress that matched the destroyed cake perfectly. It didn't take too long for me to be able to laugh a little about it and thankfully the cake was for family and they were very understanding.<br />
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I don't really have a moral to this story. As I am just a hobbyist, it is unrealistic for me to have extra cakes on hand in case something like this happens. Perhaps don't place cakes off-centre on cake boards or be extra careful while taking photos. In the grand scheme of things, it's just a cake. Although if you've ever watched Kings of Pastry, don't tell the MOF hopefuls that it's just sugar. In the end, I was there to celebrate the first year of a wonderful, beautiful, healthy little girl. </div>
sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-79985765601646161212013-10-17T18:40:00.000-07:002013-10-17T18:40:26.673-07:00"There's a hair on this cake"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
When I was in the midst of making this cake back in July for my brother-in-law's birthday, I had no intention of posting it on my blog. I wasn't quite sure how it was going to turn out as I have only done two carved cakes before and the subject matter was a little, shall we say, inelegant. </div>
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Let me give a little bit of context to this cake. Back in May, I bought my sister a birthday card on which there was a rather hairy lad posing with barely there cutoff shorts and on the inside of the card it said something along the lines of "see, there are worse things than getting older." My sister's husband thought the card was rather gross and based on his reaction, I had decided to make this cheeky cake for his birthday. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuc_bxTjwutZ-auDo17gBv_jCbyLQOKEBp7Wtwlr4FSMQrS4xB2vpvAZ1Q3RIiZ32rcoswsGIm8cUO21PLVj8DCnYJUqu6oafhqb4NowKajmysW_UM1xQ3x7n8-NblUkjLP4GM6FHa4sY/s1600/IMG_8291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuc_bxTjwutZ-auDo17gBv_jCbyLQOKEBp7Wtwlr4FSMQrS4xB2vpvAZ1Q3RIiZ32rcoswsGIm8cUO21PLVj8DCnYJUqu6oafhqb4NowKajmysW_UM1xQ3x7n8-NblUkjLP4GM6FHa4sY/s640/IMG_8291.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpetegPGvvThhBXLMX181E94O7fOh08u-MmafTvDfeqWqmmyHzzDrSz_jgwdgIpN_ZUJQ4Hi71vFzWdJpz81pCMKldlutWz6cVQl6nsqpQ67QVo0pGNhHfRbzkIGVWSB4lidRX8YZaqWE/s1600/IMG_2038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpetegPGvvThhBXLMX181E94O7fOh08u-MmafTvDfeqWqmmyHzzDrSz_jgwdgIpN_ZUJQ4Hi71vFzWdJpz81pCMKldlutWz6cVQl6nsqpQ67QVo0pGNhHfRbzkIGVWSB4lidRX8YZaqWE/s200/IMG_2038.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;"></span></div>
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The three photos on the left were taken with my iPhone as I was making the cake to keep my sister up to date on progress, but I thought that I would include them to show how it was made. Each 'cheek' was made from two 6" round cakes that were about 1.5 to 2 inches high and I used two 9x13" cakes that were about 1 to 1.5" high for the lower back and legs. Prior to carving the cake, I had sketched the general shape out onto freezer paper and used this as a template. I filled and stacked the cakes and placed them in the fridge for the buttercream to harden. I trimmed the general shape of the cheeks and then placed the lower back and legs pieces together with the cheeks. Once it was together, I carved the shape of the cheeks to fit with the body. After I was pleased with the shape, I crumb-coated the whole thing in buttercream and placed it in the fridge to set. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidi0aytTwHiH1zQbX-bfFRIkGnxf_-SfQH2T74xqkEM-Fm99e20vbxiUTQtpVIZ97DS87EbQ8ksPJJI3oVwM6mnWRnlCgm9cRNifuxX0kdeVlyFLQPIAqbqk4slh_OMTRdziv8v1YXz2U/s1600/IMG_2039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidi0aytTwHiH1zQbX-bfFRIkGnxf_-SfQH2T74xqkEM-Fm99e20vbxiUTQtpVIZ97DS87EbQ8ksPJJI3oVwM6mnWRnlCgm9cRNifuxX0kdeVlyFLQPIAqbqk4slh_OMTRdziv8v1YXz2U/s200/IMG_2039.jpg" width="150" /></a>Now, typically I cover my boards in fondant as it provides a much more finished look to your overall cake. It is a bit of a pet peeve of mine to see an amazingly executed cake on a foil board when I know that cake would have taken many, many hours to make and it would have only been an extra few minutes to cover the board in fondant. In this case, since the cake was a joke for my family, and I hadn't planned to post photos and I wasn't 100% confident it would turn out, I did not cover my board and carved the cake directly on the board. If you were to cover your board in fondant, you would need to cut out a cardboard cake board to the shape of the cake, carve and cover your cake on that, and then carefully transfer the cake to the finished fondant-covered board. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJmoSeh0qC0f2qYxJByVkvIWeBVh7Z74nJjoT_siEDrfmi-kclrBXNcHwZjh3cxH03_v38etK70R9VG_NORU45FmAQqGwNGmt5XHKcKSgtP_bzSN4Zd8Z5J4yYdGe1pLWmzt2bJfHQR0/s1600/IMG_2042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJmoSeh0qC0f2qYxJByVkvIWeBVh7Z74nJjoT_siEDrfmi-kclrBXNcHwZjh3cxH03_v38etK70R9VG_NORU45FmAQqGwNGmt5XHKcKSgtP_bzSN4Zd8Z5J4yYdGe1pLWmzt2bJfHQR0/s200/IMG_2042.jpg" width="150" /></a>Once the buttercream was set, it was ready to be covered in flesh-coloured fondant. I have to say that it was quite humourous smoothing the fondant on this cake as I had to use my hands primarily versus a fondant smoother. I used a bulbulous cone modelling tool and dogbone tool to define the cheeks and the legs.</div>
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To create some of the hair, I used very fine pieces of brown gumpaste and carefully placed these in the fondant before the fondant dried. As you can see in the picture, due to the difference in temperature between the cold buttercream and the humid July weather, the fondant started to 'sweat' a little (how appropriate). Sweaty fondant is not really a big deal. Just don't touch it and it will dry just fine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3jShME5IfDfrsvk2ylbTR7vuY_jkBLjqEZk4Vd-5ATX5yDH7h-QeI9WVsedOh_bQBcs5YZ4HHKnXzcQAd6SIsVKY1V3lHFKnRsJJ2m6AyTjVLcjsb7ADKjvqJwoEEvQaiFXudov3OS8/s1600/IMG_8283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3jShME5IfDfrsvk2ylbTR7vuY_jkBLjqEZk4Vd-5ATX5yDH7h-QeI9WVsedOh_bQBcs5YZ4HHKnXzcQAd6SIsVKY1V3lHFKnRsJJ2m6AyTjVLcjsb7ADKjvqJwoEEvQaiFXudov3OS8/s640/IMG_8283.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I used a stitching tool and veining tool for the details on the cutoff jean shorts. I used a bit of dark yellow petal dust to simulate yellow stitching on the jeans. I wish I had purchased a few different shades of blue petal dust to add some more depth to the denim. The frayed edges were made using an extruder and a few different shades of blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-Pyy4U13bgiQarH7CT8qFvE4ZBMlUjg49Upvd2Lp7LR0FuqsAyWhsMU6LOpTPWRTpnQZpHGPLSwq94S2kzjAbBdwNiW09n4nPvzAK28gxW2QjWz4cnlazjkCgwkHYJNPvkDMe_WEX-Q/s1600/IMG_8296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-Pyy4U13bgiQarH7CT8qFvE4ZBMlUjg49Upvd2Lp7LR0FuqsAyWhsMU6LOpTPWRTpnQZpHGPLSwq94S2kzjAbBdwNiW09n4nPvzAK28gxW2QjWz4cnlazjkCgwkHYJNPvkDMe_WEX-Q/s640/IMG_8296.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The rest of the hair was added using brown edible marker. Now from the carving pictures above, I don't need to tell you that the cake wasn't chocolate. Somehow that just seemed like it would be going a bit too far and I was certain that no one would want to eat a chocolate cake if they got past the sight of the external appearance. The cake was vanilla and the swiss meringue buttercream was banana cream flavour.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrOA4affTN1US7qGDcKuP0IG80GQ2JHUKnfPmDcKWB46emt8YlWA0FKABznTLji-4PZH-sDRwClHceqr1dLTtxODXuj__XrDIg_Odqnv71B7LSg2_FJ_9hw2cfvJwq-BcnSannKTuIgE/s1600/IMG_8303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrOA4affTN1US7qGDcKuP0IG80GQ2JHUKnfPmDcKWB46emt8YlWA0FKABznTLji-4PZH-sDRwClHceqr1dLTtxODXuj__XrDIg_Odqnv71B7LSg2_FJ_9hw2cfvJwq-BcnSannKTuIgE/s640/IMG_8303.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The cake was quite a surprise. My brother-in-law had guessed that I had made him a basketball-themed cake. He was a good sport about it and we got some memorable photos of the occasion. I feel like I should make some form of butt pun for the end of this post but I shall refrain. My next post should be along shortly as I'm not sure how long I want this to be the first thing people see when visiting my blog!<br />
<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-33162313842305585802013-10-14T09:58:00.002-07:002013-10-14T09:58:39.711-07:00An elephant-themed first birthday cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
It has been almost 3 months since my last post. I have done some baking within that time but I haven't had the time to sort through photos and write about them. I am hoping to complete my MSc within the next year so I've been really scaling down on the baking projects. I do certainly miss it as a creative outlet but I'll get back to it soon enough. In the meantime, I will be posting a few projects that I had done in the summer. </div>
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This was an elephant-themed birthday cake for the first birthday of a friend's son that I made back in July. I apologize for the grainy photo quality. I didn't check the settings on the camera before I started taking photos so I didn't notice that the ISO had been set really high. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA_Psfb4xF-cU8dAeMXBreC1sC5Wptae-FuueZetpLqHCgs_ReiWtMFa_22cpsuwSpQrCQobZOPra6DL9GOFPHp6Z9wsH8LLjKYX74GeSPl85Z7Kcun9YAqVMODmVMb03fCR8S8LCSPM/s1600/IMG_8333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA_Psfb4xF-cU8dAeMXBreC1sC5Wptae-FuueZetpLqHCgs_ReiWtMFa_22cpsuwSpQrCQobZOPra6DL9GOFPHp6Z9wsH8LLjKYX74GeSPl85Z7Kcun9YAqVMODmVMb03fCR8S8LCSPM/s640/IMG_8333.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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My friend really liked the <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2013/04/welcoming-little-peanut.html" target="_blank">elephant cake</a> that I did for a baby shower back in March. The birthday boy's favourite colour is yellow and we thought that brown would be a nice contrast colour. I wanted to make the cake a little different from the other elephant and decided to do a 3-dimensional elephant instead. </div>
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I've made 3-D animals in the past and they usually consist of a separate body, limbs and head. For this cake I wanted to keep the "Republican" elephant shape, meaning that it had to be formed with one piece of fondant. It was harder than I thought to manipulate the one piece of fondant into the desired shape, particularly with the trunk. The fondant that I use dries rather quickly and it was mixed with tylose for stability, so I really had to work fast. It took a couple of tries before I was satisfied with the shape. In retrospect, I wonder if it would have been easier to use modelling chocolate as it is easier to manipulate without seams and wrinkles. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeFakNxCQHXtDm_weQ0kvU8_NqvrQ2yE0SfRoiSRTSfg7sbl1pFO9KSgDVzg1O7vHFdQ1hyphenhyphenYcYolCLIFPWEYzpj6haeXBJJZoN4VTB1AoWhb4yU3O_TrI5FC5Xr0f30bxa3K7SUhjoXMU/s1600/IMG_8339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeFakNxCQHXtDm_weQ0kvU8_NqvrQ2yE0SfRoiSRTSfg7sbl1pFO9KSgDVzg1O7vHFdQ1hyphenhyphenYcYolCLIFPWEYzpj6haeXBJJZoN4VTB1AoWhb4yU3O_TrI5FC5Xr0f30bxa3K7SUhjoXMU/s640/IMG_8339.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The balloon was made from gumpaste for fast drying and attached to floral wire. I had to make the balloon fairly thin as the floral wire was a higher gauge (thinner) and I wanted it to be able to support the balloon without putting any weight on the elephant's trunk. In the future I will keep some heavier gauge floral wire on hand. </div>
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I wrote the birthday boy's name out on little modelling paste circus flags and used an extruder for the fondant 'string' and bows. </div>
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The flavour was a rich chocolate cake with raspberry swiss meringue buttercream. For the buttercream I used thawed frozen raspberries, pureed them and then strained them for a fine mesh sieve to get rid of all of the seeds. It was a subtle raspberry flavour. If you want a more concentrated flavour you could probably reduce the puree on the stove and allow to cool before adding it to the buttercream. </div>
sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-71669769130898861982013-07-21T18:23:00.000-07:002013-07-21T18:26:02.856-07:00Cupcake chemistry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
It has been a very long time since I've posted - just over 2 months. I really don't know where the time has gone. I have still been baking but haven't had the time to sort through and edit photos. Is it the responsibilities of having a house now versus the condo? Is it that I've been working hard on my Master's thesis? Perhaps a little of both. </div>
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I made these Breaking Bad themed cupcakes mid-June for a university graduate. The Breaking Bad theme worked well for the graduate's favourite show and an Honours Bachelor of Science degree. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUBnMw6TeJsmqVd5FgLlxBFh_Esibnz04UpOXoo-hoJNjO4bYr1qFzrQo4tWuHvFrvYDK7uJK1R_o9SWy6z1soCOtqTdyQ5AK_oASl81_4wuTKh7iO5Uumi17_7_mEC7-jpR1A1ksr_I/s1600/IMG_7647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUBnMw6TeJsmqVd5FgLlxBFh_Esibnz04UpOXoo-hoJNjO4bYr1qFzrQo4tWuHvFrvYDK7uJK1R_o9SWy6z1soCOtqTdyQ5AK_oASl81_4wuTKh7iO5Uumi17_7_mEC7-jpR1A1ksr_I/s640/IMG_7647.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The 'elements' spell out "Yo, Michael - HBSc. You Cooked It!" Where possible, I used the correct atomic numbers for the elements. For made up elements, I tried to use atomic numbers most closely resembling the letters used.</div>
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The round bottom flask and Erlenmeyer flask with funnel are from Walter and Jesse's mobile meth lab. I used petal dust to make them look well used.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKY5ps7ynEtG4WoHNceJqcZWXZ-MBGjEaUt9KZeJR_cr-U1icZ2SIND6WhGaiaBZd822V4hO_j-sd8KPEXeQ8c8ux35b3VrGm0xEjxt7oguGLVqhLsNs-zylC74J0i-AR_A7A4J5ZbDwM/s1600/IMG_7650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKY5ps7ynEtG4WoHNceJqcZWXZ-MBGjEaUt9KZeJR_cr-U1icZ2SIND6WhGaiaBZd822V4hO_j-sd8KPEXeQ8c8ux35b3VrGm0xEjxt7oguGLVqhLsNs-zylC74J0i-AR_A7A4J5ZbDwM/s640/IMG_7650.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The gloves are heavy duty for Breaking Bad meth-making. I don't ever recall using such large gloves for chemistry labs in university. The respirator is representative of the equipment Walter and Jesse used in their fancy 'laundry' lab. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGJI0KggtVPJm6Y6asuEwsyq-rKuvFk1ol0r34nLm1T4GsAQgBnIZ4g8M1huPFhLE3qVXRdzrtUKPv2Eo_U3NR1Dm8WJnU6-AbqB6LUnKC366htycuTF1Kf9VmolASEX-3vRqWX32pSA/s1600/IMG_7733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGJI0KggtVPJm6Y6asuEwsyq-rKuvFk1ol0r34nLm1T4GsAQgBnIZ4g8M1huPFhLE3qVXRdzrtUKPv2Eo_U3NR1Dm8WJnU6-AbqB6LUnKC366htycuTF1Kf9VmolASEX-3vRqWX32pSA/s320/IMG_7733.jpg" width="288" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEmeItTK5mrwbMbrMPvL7TR3CY2J7uDjtIIVLCLDqUYkVTWMs3mGiQA0hRfrpTrQ4dnwPpmkCq077Nsq4mO-Cc-cC-l3iPLaMNqkTQY7gbMFtmVQKOj-m1PIxxL0OMIt6lbMOBzkt8-c/s1600/IMG_7655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVEmeItTK5mrwbMbrMPvL7TR3CY2J7uDjtIIVLCLDqUYkVTWMs3mGiQA0hRfrpTrQ4dnwPpmkCq077Nsq4mO-Cc-cC-l3iPLaMNqkTQY7gbMFtmVQKOj-m1PIxxL0OMIt6lbMOBzkt8-c/s320/IMG_7655.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHqyejyhYwFZdCe3X5iZYCGUdED5Kw3c2kGXLl7zm8UV5WFocPE4jW53WD_2vaJpFlUYRnASBEMOQKC66bPVauAGmoQGgwLowe8P1ngnGv_11R3vvWcEeTZHNyIKSqn9e5qrzrRDdJK8/s1600/IMG_7735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHqyejyhYwFZdCe3X5iZYCGUdED5Kw3c2kGXLl7zm8UV5WFocPE4jW53WD_2vaJpFlUYRnASBEMOQKC66bPVauAGmoQGgwLowe8P1ngnGv_11R3vvWcEeTZHNyIKSqn9e5qrzrRDdJK8/s640/IMG_7735.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvWq3HYRpSWQEFIfeZU7QJEK0Waj1oVMhz_HqF6rGKs3DyNFzMnb7pl_sSx91kuNrMtR9iOLfj0zeKhuZO4e5M82vldLlhHOPwaHlHFt_l7bCCiwIXIimJlMpsYcg4z-9f_XW8gpzj5U/s1600/IMG_7726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvWq3HYRpSWQEFIfeZU7QJEK0Waj1oVMhz_HqF6rGKs3DyNFzMnb7pl_sSx91kuNrMtR9iOLfj0zeKhuZO4e5M82vldLlhHOPwaHlHFt_l7bCCiwIXIimJlMpsYcg4z-9f_XW8gpzj5U/s320/IMG_7726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While the majority of the meth in the show appeared to be consumed via smoking, I believe that when Jesse and his girlfriend were getting high together, they used the above drug paraphernalia. </div>
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For the crystal meth, I originally made some blue candy. It was my first time making hard candy and I was so excited that it actually worked. The next day, I was cleaning my candy thermometer and noticed that the glass thermometer tip was broken. I had not noticed any broken glass anywhere on the kitchen counters and had already washed the pot that I used. I could only assume that the glass somehow ended up in my batch of blue candy. Alas, I had to throw my first candy attempt in the garbage. Not having the time to make another batch of candy, I resorted to using ready made rock candy. It worked quite well as it was super easy to break into little pieces, but unfortunately I don't get bragging rights for actually making the 'meth'. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTSfNk_E_iIobuD6o1sMlZTPtthyphenhyphenckeDnaPYaEprE5usyAyvT1ewI5-G6m34giuKJY2c6lzPBd1bkdr1aQE9yl8qP7VfV4mw73ZqzmPfKEivt9KNXEuwHFHvBW1NXfUnBQeIOysfn4p0/s1600/IMG_7712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTSfNk_E_iIobuD6o1sMlZTPtthyphenhyphenckeDnaPYaEprE5usyAyvT1ewI5-G6m34giuKJY2c6lzPBd1bkdr1aQE9yl8qP7VfV4mw73ZqzmPfKEivt9KNXEuwHFHvBW1NXfUnBQeIOysfn4p0/s400/IMG_7712.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What set of Breaking Bad cupcakes would be complete without Walter Whites tighty-whities - the lab attire of choice when you're cooking meth in a mobile home in the desert. </div>
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And last, but certainly not least, Mr. Heisenberg himself, with his signature hat and goatee. I actually really hate that hat. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5EFOf1xNX7BLn5v4TEo0Mowxc7VY3y31dpBD9yXJ0Tv54Z7YEyugA_lXrlrfwf3EinLFznMpmMh-XWQhZAGBMARHz75y1H6F5Gp6pYvq-2nw4UwYCUrCKLVXEReZGShyphenhyphenIVBx1DQP8vo/s1600/IMG_7702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5EFOf1xNX7BLn5v4TEo0Mowxc7VY3y31dpBD9yXJ0Tv54Z7YEyugA_lXrlrfwf3EinLFznMpmMh-XWQhZAGBMARHz75y1H6F5Gp6pYvq-2nw4UwYCUrCKLVXEReZGShyphenhyphenIVBx1DQP8vo/s640/IMG_7702.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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While baking is slightly less lucrative than cooking meth, I think the chemistry is much more rewarding. </div>
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These cupcakes were coffee flavoured using quite a generous amount of espresso powder. The frosting was amaretto and contained an also equally generous amount of Disarrono Amaretto Liqueur. </div>
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While I will be taking a bit of a cake-ation for the month of August, I will be trying to catch up on posting some pictures of recent projects as time permits. </div>
sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-45461797612797193932013-05-18T09:43:00.001-07:002013-05-18T09:43:11.331-07:00A despicably pretty minion cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
This cake has a bit of a history. Since seeing the movie Despicable Me, I really wanted to make a minion cake because they are just so darn cute and I love cute things. My youngest nephew's birthday is in December and last summer my sister tried to show him multiple Despicable Me videos to convince him that he wanted a minion cake for his birthday. He ended up wanting a <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2012/12/its-close-to-midnightand-its-my-last_31.html" target="_blank">Michael Jackson Thriller werewolf cake</a>, which he got. He is already planning his cake for next year - something to do withe Harry Potter and Spiderman. He said to me "Aunt 'Deece' (which is how he says my name) you can have funny little yellow guy for <i>your</i> birthday." I didn't do a decorated cake for my birthday or my husband's birthday this year - I did an apple cake with butterscotch cream cheese frosting and a banana chocolate chip toffee cake with bourbon frosting and chocolate ganache. They were delicious but did not fill the 'funny little yellow guy' quota. Someone in my family was going to get a minion cake. It was only a matter of time. Next family birthday - my sister. I thought it would be a great cake for my sister as a reminder that she really needs to work on her cake idea brainwashing skills with her kids. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Wgst2QrndwD0FcgDJuqVuU0GRcHuQ_2X4VKx-R1q7wAqdq25z33nLAUs2OehHQG9O8aGOYcNYxLOkUw0-Nxk7i1I9EubkUVYvkT_YcodzNd3FnuR5rbzGukn6dVD112AXc0fwnzakYk/s1600/IMG_7446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Wgst2QrndwD0FcgDJuqVuU0GRcHuQ_2X4VKx-R1q7wAqdq25z33nLAUs2OehHQG9O8aGOYcNYxLOkUw0-Nxk7i1I9EubkUVYvkT_YcodzNd3FnuR5rbzGukn6dVD112AXc0fwnzakYk/s640/IMG_7446.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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The cake design in itself was not overly complicated. It's basically a yellow cylinder. It did require some structural support though and some cake carving skills to get a symmetrical domed top. The cake was six 6-inch layers of almond butter cake filled with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. I used a plastic centre dowel when stacking the cakes to ensure that it wasn't a leaning minion in the end. Once the cake was all stacked, filled and crumb coated, it measured about 8 inches tall. </div>
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The main challenge of the cake was covering such a tall and narrow cake with fondant without tearing and creasing or pleating. I am not sure what the proper technique for covering a tall cake is but what I did managed to work well. I rolled out my circle of fondant a couple of inches smaller than what it should have been for a normal cake knowing that the fondant was going to stretch quite a bit as I smoothed the fondant against the cake to get out any pleats or folds. The other part is that knowing it was going to stretch and therefore be susceptible to tearing, I rolled my fondant thicker than usual. Normally I roll my fondant about 3/8" thick or slightly thinner and this time I rolled my fondant 1/4" thick. The last component: you have to work very fast! As the fondant dries (which depending on which brand you use can be very fast) it becomes more difficult to smooth out any folds without leaving marks on the cake. I ended up with one very small tear at the very bottom of the cake which wasn't such a big deal since it was being covered with a dress. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-ynazLbWheeN4UAfPTWBasLVM8aIhrfGkknRS6SD37Qid4zFY26cCE3nxJKKAQgJdzoqyaSLgC-wj_9N7-OFgMTskMHOwqqmIR_BLN2Gfiy1bJ9Ek14Up24WKWQtilfldcZ-_612H0g/s1600/IMG_7451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-ynazLbWheeN4UAfPTWBasLVM8aIhrfGkknRS6SD37Qid4zFY26cCE3nxJKKAQgJdzoqyaSLgC-wj_9N7-OFgMTskMHOwqqmIR_BLN2Gfiy1bJ9Ek14Up24WKWQtilfldcZ-_612H0g/s320/IMG_7451.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd1oLTQJ9uThEQiscpeLuCVI9pf0uLwuJk_EKQLNck6sgql4dR_8Nj5XzfjwZTFlVrdRRAOsL2_gkumoPqgsKHHS3ZvIM8QajVKZHMUA4ClRP4IXxvsLcIO8lrvoSCv-8Pt07XTX-iIs/s1600/IMG_7452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd1oLTQJ9uThEQiscpeLuCVI9pf0uLwuJk_EKQLNck6sgql4dR_8Nj5XzfjwZTFlVrdRRAOsL2_gkumoPqgsKHHS3ZvIM8QajVKZHMUA4ClRP4IXxvsLcIO8lrvoSCv-8Pt07XTX-iIs/s320/IMG_7452.jpg" width="310" /></a><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">I looked at several pictures of minions to decide what facial expression I wanted. They also vary a little bit in hairstyles. I went with a little bit of hair scattered evenly over the top of the head. The hair was made from gumpaste. I let it dry overnight and then placed it into the scalp right after covering the cake with fondant while the fondant was still very soft. I made quite a few extra pieces of hair accounting for possible breakage. I used a daisy cutter/plunger for the little hair accessory.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">For the mouth I used a ball tool to indent the shape of the mouth while the fondant was still soft. This resulted in cleaner edge than if I had cut out the shape of the mouth. I then spread a very thin strip of purple fondant in the indented area and filled it with uneven looking teeth. </span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaUtla2pnkXIaBt61yXBXvaZAlkz5g5ZyOJOJOhVk_6DovybMvJN-gZ95D7OoZNbXs1j8B6MRK834-D6gr_6IyWPQZys75Qpjk5uYUXYYTxkGs7M3z82anvkzwGfT6TWY1LVRj5yNdDE/s1600/IMG_7456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaUtla2pnkXIaBt61yXBXvaZAlkz5g5ZyOJOJOhVk_6DovybMvJN-gZ95D7OoZNbXs1j8B6MRK834-D6gr_6IyWPQZys75Qpjk5uYUXYYTxkGs7M3z82anvkzwGfT6TWY1LVRj5yNdDE/s640/IMG_7456.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Now I know that a pink dress is not the typical outfit for a minion - they are typically wearing blue overalls unless they are in disguise trying to get a stuffed toy unicorn from a toy store, or cleaning as a French maid. I decided that seeing as how the cake was for my sister and it was also Mother's Day weekend, I would do something spring-like and feminine. I wanted to keep the dress in a similar style to the overalls they wear. I first wrapped a skirt around the minion creating folds for pleats as I went around the body. I cut out a rectangular piece for the front and then strips for the waistband. I used a stitching tool to create the look of seams on the dress. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrT0wCNyc-XyjRmb4AB75V-sByrb4RDb8pJmg3Mj297HF_axife6mYHDf7vUWBv6Ut_8VNuJqYR69erxUipV2Kyy93gL9-r3FfjNheD38-M_cFVd8yyiSqYPM__anMU5-X2WPMqJ3p774/s1600/IMG_7453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrT0wCNyc-XyjRmb4AB75V-sByrb4RDb8pJmg3Mj297HF_axife6mYHDf7vUWBv6Ut_8VNuJqYR69erxUipV2Kyy93gL9-r3FfjNheD38-M_cFVd8yyiSqYPM__anMU5-X2WPMqJ3p774/s640/IMG_7453.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since the cake was celebrating my sister's birthday, I thought it was only appropriate to have the minion celebrating with a cupcake. It was also a very logical place to stick a birthday candle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MWnnNUsh5s-5io7l9WEVw-wyu1_7bwzEgbt171sfJt82gIFTL7v0xqHWmu1C74lPJg9LPC5BqhBPdLCTRvGsZLqDiO0qMtE7HPTrxnzGB2tdjAn9u4_FSic18vWK7VVTz5fa5NpFgZ4/s1600/IMG_7474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MWnnNUsh5s-5io7l9WEVw-wyu1_7bwzEgbt171sfJt82gIFTL7v0xqHWmu1C74lPJg9LPC5BqhBPdLCTRvGsZLqDiO0qMtE7HPTrxnzGB2tdjAn9u4_FSic18vWK7VVTz5fa5NpFgZ4/s640/IMG_7474.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">My youngest nephew spent a lot of time staring at this cake. My sister said to him, "See, don't you want a little funny yellow guy for your birthday?" My nephew replies, "Yes, and I want Harry Potter, and Spider Man...." I think we should just quit while we're ahead and stop asking him about his cake for next December. If we don't, I'm going to end up making ten different cakes for one birthday.</span></div>
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I had a great time making this cake. People often ask if it is heartbreaking to cut into a cake that I've spent so many hours making and my response is typically 'no'. This cake was not the most time consuming cake that I've done but I think it was the hardest one to cut into. I wanted to keep it, like a stuffed toy. Thank goodness for a blog to document the memories!</div>
sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-66110060719299633792013-04-25T16:04:00.000-07:002013-04-25T16:04:11.422-07:00A collage of cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
My husband recently mentioned to me that my life is a little like a sitcom. I say 'yes' to everything and then hope it all comes together. I somehow manage to jump from adventure to adventure and it all works out in the end. This is probably not good for the sanity of myself nor those around me and is generally a flawed philosophy for life. </div>
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I also can't keep things simple. I think 'Fifty cupcakes? A variety of themes? No problem. I'll do a few 3-dimensional decorations and the rest will be simple 2-dimensional decorations. Tah dah!' And then as I start to make things, I think to myself, '2-dimensional is no fun! I want to make cuter things!' And then halfway through the week, I have bags under my eyes, I clutch my decoration to-do list on the subway and revise my plan of attack on my way home from work each day. I think to myself, ' I need a baking break' and then I somehow finish the cupcakes, I am thrilled with them and think 'wow, I should do this again soon!'. This is the story of my life. Actually below is the story of someone else's life - in cupcake form! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Yc9j0_hRjH3244LTdEHwey2EWpiYeT1HqvRn4QHPfOSRMfB4JMEHw9WZsdOUWsOpRwY_RPXr8bIoMq_3jPcPCMVUSEFnP60oD_iL1gtWY11B7qOlgemNTW7-_Me2kho99GlhH8tSyyw/s1600/IMG_7418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Yc9j0_hRjH3244LTdEHwey2EWpiYeT1HqvRn4QHPfOSRMfB4JMEHw9WZsdOUWsOpRwY_RPXr8bIoMq_3jPcPCMVUSEFnP60oD_iL1gtWY11B7qOlgemNTW7-_Me2kho99GlhH8tSyyw/s640/IMG_7418.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I was told a few things about the guest of honour: He likes a particular business organization, cycling, tools and food. For the business aspect, I did a couple of books titled 'The Art of Business' and a couple of business shirts and ties. I made some simple bicycles for the cycling.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOClJEudZRvKHbOr12vrdjm77ovZcvxNHtQTQ7ebCOPXM2nE1xapUzG660VkagR5CbahgyoC-_NJ2zhj2CH3EqCNxko0XUK-hZR27gyvswQNAJfznYE3rHy1mqo-1N422iQvbdharnEsA/s1600/IMG_7440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOClJEudZRvKHbOr12vrdjm77ovZcvxNHtQTQ7ebCOPXM2nE1xapUzG660VkagR5CbahgyoC-_NJ2zhj2CH3EqCNxko0XUK-hZR27gyvswQNAJfznYE3rHy1mqo-1N422iQvbdharnEsA/s200/IMG_7440.jpg" width="194" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFyVx3OFuzUsDGZtRnN64j3DsD2OCxpqmYfrjBWpEBYY2y8KNFE8CePuEW0CpMSkGKsbS8wja1HNzfv3OLbmqSeyAbMPwx41INq1KExDxZ4AyXmqzEajCHgTqZ17TPalb14jIN1XlgI0/s1600/IMG_7386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFyVx3OFuzUsDGZtRnN64j3DsD2OCxpqmYfrjBWpEBYY2y8KNFE8CePuEW0CpMSkGKsbS8wja1HNzfv3OLbmqSeyAbMPwx41INq1KExDxZ4AyXmqzEajCHgTqZ17TPalb14jIN1XlgI0/s200/IMG_7386.jpg" width="194" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcD2YasyOeZDtg3ZfmGBkUcrceJb9tJuscte281VLBU0OwJvPWIclrdCTrQ_YGt4lDMa7WN9a-xHipw92ujAKDo9RMndajuPAQoUkqf-zcKR-lW2o8KnHbEmeIfHYmRmMbg6hZ2N_MNnA/s1600/IMG_7392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcD2YasyOeZDtg3ZfmGBkUcrceJb9tJuscte281VLBU0OwJvPWIclrdCTrQ_YGt4lDMa7WN9a-xHipw92ujAKDo9RMndajuPAQoUkqf-zcKR-lW2o8KnHbEmeIfHYmRmMbg6hZ2N_MNnA/s200/IMG_7392.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
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I think I had the most fun making the tools and the food. I had done several of the tools before when making <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2013/01/constructing-thank-you-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">construction-themed cupcakes</a>. This time I also made hand saws, wrench and nuts, and screwdrivers in addition to the drill, measuring tape, square and pencil, a<span style="text-align: justify;">nd my favourite, the X-acto knife. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoLTje0DW1yzVby6VgzNL4Xxr4XNZ6tAD922d1eW5qrIsREV7NH1Fj3R6lR-z6nXiZHACEk-4EsngceenEKCzA3G5NkSXZmM_1EmB7k2a6erdPi67vIoz7HuWn4fPNf8EHbWFbC9VOFU/s1600/IMG_7420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoLTje0DW1yzVby6VgzNL4Xxr4XNZ6tAD922d1eW5qrIsREV7NH1Fj3R6lR-z6nXiZHACEk-4EsngceenEKCzA3G5NkSXZmM_1EmB7k2a6erdPi67vIoz7HuWn4fPNf8EHbWFbC9VOFU/s320/IMG_7420.jpg" width="317" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcreCoCothSiI9E32jHHwiTVRLhFEyCiDcw3UVsLWx2BVCdcOSrjqNCptUIbwkR_fvh1RG80prx72YnR-le_UliPHv3vuwo3rztKqdqEA11xZvBIavDQXUr2hQgkGCsvfSEIvFsUOFmk/s1600/IMG_7442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcreCoCothSiI9E32jHHwiTVRLhFEyCiDcw3UVsLWx2BVCdcOSrjqNCptUIbwkR_fvh1RG80prx72YnR-le_UliPHv3vuwo3rztKqdqEA11xZvBIavDQXUr2hQgkGCsvfSEIvFsUOFmk/s320/IMG_7442.jpg" width="317" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWvO1PW_7JGR6tD-Kkakb9XGUX7sSrgOcvCqzQigmAE9qUop7q9SE_DzJGoHTzoOsceoEbitCcNFMmSiTbGmIe2ZmSauEgcTcDjdlreJBHbcTjjIOuovj1dM7s0uQnGAsIW_okNo0P_8/s1600/IMG_7393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWvO1PW_7JGR6tD-Kkakb9XGUX7sSrgOcvCqzQigmAE9qUop7q9SE_DzJGoHTzoOsceoEbitCcNFMmSiTbGmIe2ZmSauEgcTcDjdlreJBHbcTjjIOuovj1dM7s0uQnGAsIW_okNo0P_8/s320/IMG_7393.jpg" width="317" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nWp4gyRIP82KBtJH7rT8C3rLNdjOiwKPfVnrnELiWM2BmZmEBcojmMQyf0J7DSSiV3pwfg8Xl6pRU3tmIyb9qSEZEwVqKPP7JK0DpTWNZmzjTyjAJUsodcM2l1aIP0dd0U71NzC86ws/s1600/IMG_7411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nWp4gyRIP82KBtJH7rT8C3rLNdjOiwKPfVnrnELiWM2BmZmEBcojmMQyf0J7DSSiV3pwfg8Xl6pRU3tmIyb9qSEZEwVqKPP7JK0DpTWNZmzjTyjAJUsodcM2l1aIP0dd0U71NzC86ws/s320/IMG_7411.jpg" width="317" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhev9cxR14FoX1Uf1lCtDNUXmXOkeS0_Ru4Tu_wdMdIYpTBPy4326HwNmryNVc8lZPfoVIutNO5nriyRMWVOFrSQ2AwcNkDLy7P7gpSmNAEb9TZ9485PNam_nBg1GMIFLNbwo6Ij2XGJKA/s1600/IMG_7433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDpzcegymEm6Df51Bjk6oTZ6037YoPGHI6mJ8pC9gXXgjEsg0wOJYWkuVNsY4ea9Su3K8McC86oqrQqUamgC2u7VI_LiwTAeqN3WNmpnbj5Kf-jndcngbUtF-MlQZXzoBsni0-epOs0U/s1600/IMG_7432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDpzcegymEm6Df51Bjk6oTZ6037YoPGHI6mJ8pC9gXXgjEsg0wOJYWkuVNsY4ea9Su3K8McC86oqrQqUamgC2u7VI_LiwTAeqN3WNmpnbj5Kf-jndcngbUtF-MlQZXzoBsni0-epOs0U/s320/IMG_7432.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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I tried to make a variety of foods to go on the cupcakes. These toppers involved a lot of different colours and a lot of small details which meant a lot of work for my finger muscles! On a couple of mornings, I was convinced that I was developing arthritis in my hands. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy09CyaX5dIw5Lr-l-iKrVZfiIWY2rQkpPP4fOVYV91AX0qusomV7UEi0ANgxLjRFWVKSyLd936q5_vpgFoEhw3npqwDiPzVZR2xx0nLKJyxh_9z-7wW0UUuXGsvSiiaDy0u4sMMQSF0/s1600/IMG_7388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZy09CyaX5dIw5Lr-l-iKrVZfiIWY2rQkpPP4fOVYV91AX0qusomV7UEi0ANgxLjRFWVKSyLd936q5_vpgFoEhw3npqwDiPzVZR2xx0nLKJyxh_9z-7wW0UUuXGsvSiiaDy0u4sMMQSF0/s320/IMG_7388.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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No birthday would be complete without cake (or I suppose cupcakes in this case) and I couldn't resist putting a piece of a cake on top of cake. I have an appreciation for redundancy. My husband would call it recursion. Geek. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIorz1SapoJYAOsLGJ4tgBI71P6nyQv0jQ8-1o4AgzuUBJMUmoq83FiQVzGbJbjYH1OhJBXlAsyMu2Cagzjz-79zK5Kh0bJyCSOZTa6wGt9WmDAT_zVnrQDKBOQKGAPftuO48rWMx3q_s/s1600/IMG_7413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIorz1SapoJYAOsLGJ4tgBI71P6nyQv0jQ8-1o4AgzuUBJMUmoq83FiQVzGbJbjYH1OhJBXlAsyMu2Cagzjz-79zK5Kh0bJyCSOZTa6wGt9WmDAT_zVnrQDKBOQKGAPftuO48rWMx3q_s/s320/IMG_7413.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Following along with sweet foods, I made a few little donuts with sprinkles. Who doesn't love desserts with sprinkles? Doesn't it make you feel happy, young and carefree? I felt slightly carefree while making these donuts, and then I looked at my decorating to do list and it brought me back to reality. </span><br />
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I made quite a few fast food items including hot dogs, hamburger and fries, pizza and fish and chips. The fish and chips was one of my favourites and I included the peas in a ramekin (as they do at our favourite pub) which I usually push to the side because I hate peas. I've really tried to like them. I even have a t-shirt that says 'Give peas a chance'. I'll stick with the fondant ones, thank you. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIni7_TlIsyYt2TxwL6nxWcqZx-CWQC6Sg8TCIsqS0eEd6wS-BE7tnPBrOcJgEX_ZVTIGae-f04hDwwzN6M_02JTrJfwgX7UY1KrbCLizJkRTDMLeG_gjrfrXnn0SgZouaP4or4dVCZ1A/s1600/IMG_7437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIni7_TlIsyYt2TxwL6nxWcqZx-CWQC6Sg8TCIsqS0eEd6wS-BE7tnPBrOcJgEX_ZVTIGae-f04hDwwzN6M_02JTrJfwgX7UY1KrbCLizJkRTDMLeG_gjrfrXnn0SgZouaP4or4dVCZ1A/s640/IMG_7437.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDicMCx3r3m8mR_VlxjZhp5dJA6VM6rxObRrGSkXDDCC_SHm6CqDiChUl2HGeB6L34QGbtWnrTlzqrZ_IRP0p9S1_oKCFeOvmu1kJZ4ijugD2iwMus2kxnEDAS1EVJKKyJEQpPHIxCXpk/s1600/IMG_7391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDicMCx3r3m8mR_VlxjZhp5dJA6VM6rxObRrGSkXDDCC_SHm6CqDiChUl2HGeB6L34QGbtWnrTlzqrZ_IRP0p9S1_oKCFeOvmu1kJZ4ijugD2iwMus2kxnEDAS1EVJKKyJEQpPHIxCXpk/s200/IMG_7391.jpg" width="194" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgniuVlf8r5BpxIfBzs7eATMhwYK1ziq_5UhldXh4IbtEgV6pUoOOMSG8luj3IBZCylgsCXCRPAGvM__0YA14FUvWz_WhlWXLJLs2uiuF-zfhxRV_cH_2-m8eGr7qU-eR1A_FsTeQB77o/s1600/IMG_7389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgniuVlf8r5BpxIfBzs7eATMhwYK1ziq_5UhldXh4IbtEgV6pUoOOMSG8luj3IBZCylgsCXCRPAGvM__0YA14FUvWz_WhlWXLJLs2uiuF-zfhxRV_cH_2-m8eGr7qU-eR1A_FsTeQB77o/s200/IMG_7389.jpg" width="194" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbDeaKPpCVQFVkKk2aTWLXmZ_IBELFN4-CVVpCcsG3Ro9b2KpGFAgWBTeHLxa1tGtQ_33J7-qOhfpZm-610-0M8ujbwzV_HC7dBvnXXPJIG8nDEOaWGafTsmZkMNMNAk3Dmvi_eU2Kw4/s1600/IMG_7394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbDeaKPpCVQFVkKk2aTWLXmZ_IBELFN4-CVVpCcsG3Ro9b2KpGFAgWBTeHLxa1tGtQ_33J7-qOhfpZm-610-0M8ujbwzV_HC7dBvnXXPJIG8nDEOaWGafTsmZkMNMNAk3Dmvi_eU2Kw4/s200/IMG_7394.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
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I was also happy with how the hamburger turned out. This one had lettuce, cheddar cheese and tomato slices. I also made little fondant sesame seeds. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jLoVi9gRzn2s8T1JCmqCCooKdYy6SYz0_3BY4O223e9EQVq31O3oVZgUi5cynI40_cK8bYOFEquYOZE_l_Qe3h2skPg9oLT0n7e-Q0KLIJa8odNlzSpOWt3gxdMwoDFxLA2pR6dAF-o/s1600/IMG_7403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jLoVi9gRzn2s8T1JCmqCCooKdYy6SYz0_3BY4O223e9EQVq31O3oVZgUi5cynI40_cK8bYOFEquYOZE_l_Qe3h2skPg9oLT0n7e-Q0KLIJa8odNlzSpOWt3gxdMwoDFxLA2pR6dAF-o/s640/IMG_7403.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I included some stereotypical 'guy' foods like barbecue stuff and steak. I included peas with the steak. I don't know if that's a real thing. I suppose the healthcare professional side of me was thinking, 'That's a really big piece of meat. It needs some vegetables and fries don't count!'</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_FveEGMCI2wjp_zfeWmTG8Q-tH0jcqzOjF7_0Fegnm_LwhZQuklGk4_r9JpRdTYm8WCOHs6Y2sLk8pirZ2NYVOKWDscV3F5_mNQLTAqvzcfPJOLn0ZZwZGJ4XyFsoZ4lxupz5VaI9eM/s1600/IMG_7379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_FveEGMCI2wjp_zfeWmTG8Q-tH0jcqzOjF7_0Fegnm_LwhZQuklGk4_r9JpRdTYm8WCOHs6Y2sLk8pirZ2NYVOKWDscV3F5_mNQLTAqvzcfPJOLn0ZZwZGJ4XyFsoZ4lxupz5VaI9eM/s1600/IMG_7379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_FveEGMCI2wjp_zfeWmTG8Q-tH0jcqzOjF7_0Fegnm_LwhZQuklGk4_r9JpRdTYm8WCOHs6Y2sLk8pirZ2NYVOKWDscV3F5_mNQLTAqvzcfPJOLn0ZZwZGJ4XyFsoZ4lxupz5VaI9eM/s320/IMG_7379.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhev9cxR14FoX1Uf1lCtDNUXmXOkeS0_Ru4Tu_wdMdIYpTBPy4326HwNmryNVc8lZPfoVIutNO5nriyRMWVOFrSQ2AwcNkDLy7P7gpSmNAEb9TZ9485PNam_nBg1GMIFLNbwo6Ij2XGJKA/s1600/IMG_7433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhev9cxR14FoX1Uf1lCtDNUXmXOkeS0_Ru4Tu_wdMdIYpTBPy4326HwNmryNVc8lZPfoVIutNO5nriyRMWVOFrSQ2AwcNkDLy7P7gpSmNAEb9TZ9485PNam_nBg1GMIFLNbwo6Ij2XGJKA/s320/IMG_7433.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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My other favourite food (in true form and fondant form) is sushi and maki. This maki is made with fondant cucumber, crab, avocado and rice. Each rice grain was rolled by hand to taper the ends (because I have <strike>an abundance of extra time</strike> OCD). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3sks6lgiKwf28hR_okxpcE-4neNK3L2gB0OnYcfhO6o033GbsNzLqv0eP8h9RRrrlvd_6awqQy3GXslFiATDIyZZoaz1WlKyqPFcxxNiBfWdfC2X7UDMUcWaYX8cuQYb6r-sUZAZkdk/s1600/IMG_7380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3sks6lgiKwf28hR_okxpcE-4neNK3L2gB0OnYcfhO6o033GbsNzLqv0eP8h9RRrrlvd_6awqQy3GXslFiATDIyZZoaz1WlKyqPFcxxNiBfWdfC2X7UDMUcWaYX8cuQYb6r-sUZAZkdk/s640/IMG_7380.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Group shot! Although there were a few distinct themes for this cupcake collage, overall they worked well together. The cupcake flavours were vanilla/vanilla, vanilla/chocolate, chocolate/chocolate, chocolate/vanilla and red velvet with cream cheese frosting. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRXKc6wyg1xFtWiMgxKPuatnmEbOd4x9OBAh1pAA2N2YtgWTmhJrwMfEioB5-i4E8Lg6qnBajB6Nixz-dkO3qaT75ODGmECizF7S48pDiALjTWuPxtWDt-ja1SOw7bMjhWxL-RP97mv4/s1600/IMG_7415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRXKc6wyg1xFtWiMgxKPuatnmEbOd4x9OBAh1pAA2N2YtgWTmhJrwMfEioB5-i4E8Lg6qnBajB6Nixz-dkO3qaT75ODGmECizF7S48pDiALjTWuPxtWDt-ja1SOw7bMjhWxL-RP97mv4/s640/IMG_7415.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, one more group shot. I couldn't decide which photo I liked better.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd6ZwxLGprClP4TX0VZSF5O_7xePOvIxgOFjx8SiJ9mh6joIgaIS_0g0aLkQY2XB2uo8lE7FMVd8cHKEl0A-Ttx98bZ0rnOIWExnXonOdNtHC40NpKe7Qvn-06ZgHiaOFu8xrByaxAEo/s1600/IMG_7373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd6ZwxLGprClP4TX0VZSF5O_7xePOvIxgOFjx8SiJ9mh6joIgaIS_0g0aLkQY2XB2uo8lE7FMVd8cHKEl0A-Ttx98bZ0rnOIWExnXonOdNtHC40NpKe7Qvn-06ZgHiaOFu8xrByaxAEo/s640/IMG_7373.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Next cake project will be something simple but delicious! We'll see if it's blog worthy and if I'm able to get photos before it's gobbled up.sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-74637654985003843712013-04-01T16:29:00.002-07:002013-04-01T16:32:23.393-07:00Welcoming a little peanut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I have no idea where the past few weeks went. Spring is fast approaching and while I am very excited about spring and summer (we kind of missed it last year with buying a house and renovating) I feel like time is flying a bit too quickly. Before I know it, birthday season in my family will be here. </div>
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I'm also seeing deadlines quickly approaching for goals that I've set for myself for getting my thesis done. Scary. </div>
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Carrying on with a baby theme, my last baking project was for a baby shower honouring my friend's sister. The theme was elephants and the colour palette was grey and yellow. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZp48U8345SCb_E32bCTDDyT8NmjYvB6TqJHKPu1VOABzLOx5h5qtz6i9AxHIAGRk1oRMMhGoxUsaPTLVESnXkzVoGyP4eXIVENoCyfnSb0FWA_rY_JdZneAJ8n_0x7YnFIMuRZwFLvQ/s1600/IMG_7315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZp48U8345SCb_E32bCTDDyT8NmjYvB6TqJHKPu1VOABzLOx5h5qtz6i9AxHIAGRk1oRMMhGoxUsaPTLVESnXkzVoGyP4eXIVENoCyfnSb0FWA_rY_JdZneAJ8n_0x7YnFIMuRZwFLvQ/s640/IMG_7315.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphiEln91zOZyHRuZaSctmCwx5pXV3p0cE2KIx9g9aILeBRhOM3Zx4bGnkp2Y2PezmF5R4FR4lsZaFvntT6B6nhovIInv5VNwfeShBFdcIacJVJxN43rw-6S-JLN3lYC8tOubIOyjQFbI/s1600/Invititation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphiEln91zOZyHRuZaSctmCwx5pXV3p0cE2KIx9g9aILeBRhOM3Zx4bGnkp2Y2PezmF5R4FR4lsZaFvntT6B6nhovIInv5VNwfeShBFdcIacJVJxN43rw-6S-JLN3lYC8tOubIOyjQFbI/s320/Invititation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UY7I5MKlWTdUmDPzaLVvtlYiEj8KlkOuEAmEcOVAFPHxwhl1Kn3caxDC8TMIiK3B2GHFg8dk7aRXu1yTpWGiSilAt15LysjbSAaXV1t8lot-gSP-qjYuWnXEmRAavbLRMpgjrmVxRlA/s1600/IMG_7324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UY7I5MKlWTdUmDPzaLVvtlYiEj8KlkOuEAmEcOVAFPHxwhl1Kn3caxDC8TMIiK3B2GHFg8dk7aRXu1yTpWGiSilAt15LysjbSAaXV1t8lot-gSP-qjYuWnXEmRAavbLRMpgjrmVxRlA/s320/IMG_7324.jpg" width="320" /></a>I wanted the elephants on the cake to match the invitation, so in order to make a mommy and baby elephant, I photocopied the invitation onto card stock to use as a template for the gumpaste. One of the challenges with 2-dimensional elephants was figuring out the most stable way to insert these into the cake and ensure they would stay put during a car trip. Initially, I carefully inserted floral wire into each of the legs. I found that I could see the floral wire through the elephants and it did not have as clean of a look as I would have liked. Instead, I recut the elephants and made long and tapered legs that I could stick into the cake. After covering the cake in fondant, I lightly indented where each of the legs would go. After the fondant set and I had the cakes stacked, I made slits for the legs, filled them with a bit of royal icing for added stability and inserted the elephants. The balloon was made with gumpaste and floral wire. This was also secured with a bit of royal icing. I didn't think these elephants were going anywhere, but just in case, I made a few backup elephants for the car ride -- understudies, if you will.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY2TAkTZPZ0PyYI4c-QfflwTRcMC_qtTcOpraLikqX-ZApLoMRhM9mQZH3WzZ3m8SYT7dN0vjZ99EMMLpgdvMDMQaOaytIb1XqjVMnMeG5RcJR3gaa9RItDm_8QEbOaU0KpyBF6tBvD0/s1600/IMG_7355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: start;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY2TAkTZPZ0PyYI4c-QfflwTRcMC_qtTcOpraLikqX-ZApLoMRhM9mQZH3WzZ3m8SYT7dN0vjZ99EMMLpgdvMDMQaOaytIb1XqjVMnMeG5RcJR3gaa9RItDm_8QEbOaU0KpyBF6tBvD0/s320/IMG_7355.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I must say, stripes are not my favourite (translation: not the easiest) thing to do with cakes, especially with 3 alternating colours. My brain is just too tired in the evenings after work to mathematically figure out how many stripes I need to ensure that the colour pattern is continuous and I don't end up with two of the same coloured stripes side by side and how far apart to space said stripes. My math skills seem to be great these days (I really think that it was sheer luck) as the repeating colour pattern worked out perfectly!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHjB0AtYD6DCG8lvl5Z7a7TFMfCCrUtsLHRqfr-PcmWqdV7FLB_-KomQajkn2h-kUSo3ZjYm2tTSyugQyRhUHCFlaTqF7OHlx1H6-raP2eHL1h01rcB8YgXIFt8HwNlmHNd3c3__mXG4/s1600/IMG_7349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHjB0AtYD6DCG8lvl5Z7a7TFMfCCrUtsLHRqfr-PcmWqdV7FLB_-KomQajkn2h-kUSo3ZjYm2tTSyugQyRhUHCFlaTqF7OHlx1H6-raP2eHL1h01rcB8YgXIFt8HwNlmHNd3c3__mXG4/s640/IMG_7349.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love polk-a-dots and I think it went nicely with the stripes on the bottom tier. I did a pearl border around the base of each tier to finish it off. </div>
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The cake was chocolate with dulce de leche buttercream. I am still using Satin Ice for my fondant of choice. I find that it dries a bit too quickly and that you need to work really fast when covering the cakes to avoid an elephant skin look (would have been ok in this case!) but I love that it does not stretch as much when you are picking up the fondant and it dries to a nice hard finish which I think gives a cleaner look to the cakes. I'll have to see how it behaves in the warmer/more humid weather. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eaHP9jzBxABa-8e0gh5HmFdJ3t1ZMTGg822rbUTM8o9GEQD4orPnY_-edesWSx221fAHokKaDKZbsxzYD36g5rN2IueSb1d5rNH7e0_SW443xESwk-70u-AbU5b6ihyphenhyphenGgjvej3_ooEE/s1600/IMG_7356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eaHP9jzBxABa-8e0gh5HmFdJ3t1ZMTGg822rbUTM8o9GEQD4orPnY_-edesWSx221fAHokKaDKZbsxzYD36g5rN2IueSb1d5rNH7e0_SW443xESwk-70u-AbU5b6ihyphenhyphenGgjvej3_ooEE/s640/IMG_7356.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I was really happy with how this cake turned out and really loved the colour combination of grey and yellow. I also loved the simplicity of the 2-dimensional elephants. My friend did an amazing job putting together the baby shower. Everything was so beautifully coordinated and I was happy that one of my cakes was a part of it.</div>
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Now let the countdown to birthday season begin. Will I reign myself in and keep things simple? We shall see.</div>
<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-18638165286249298702013-03-03T07:54:00.001-08:002013-03-03T07:54:51.251-08:00Bright baby shower cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My baking projects and subsequently my blog posts are becoming a tad few and far between. As much as I would like to spend more time on baking and blogging, I am learning the importance of finding balance in my life. Baking is my hobby - 'an activity done in one's leisure time for pleasure'. I have realized that when it no longer fits into 'leisure time', the 'pleasure' aspect of it can become diminished. I am always happy with the outcome of the projects I choose and never have regrets for taking on a project at the end, however sometimes the process in itself may not be so fun and that defeats the purpose of Sweet-D Cakes. </div>
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These cupcakes were an example of a nice light, bright and fun project. People frequently ask me if cupcakes are easier or less time consuming than putting together a fondant-covered cake. I can't say that they are less time consuming because it can take hours to put together many toppers each containing small details that are in themselves time consuming. The benefits over doing a full cake are they tend to be less messy - no cake crumbs from trimming, levelling or torting cakes and I typically use frosting rather than swiss meringue buttercream for my cupcakes which is faster to make and makes yummier leftovers to eat with a spoon later on. The cons of cupcakes is that often they can be <i>more </i>time consuming due to a large number of small details versus fewer cake topper components that can be made up to 2 weeks in advance. Also, you cannot really bake the cupcakes ahead of time and maintain good quality control as they will dry out much quicker than a cake as there is more surface area and with a cake and you can seal in moisture when you cover it with buttercream and fondant.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcklnbi_Rwpu1mVoa5rZPQCzlSQDZ4HOs8oQBd62BNzLRTxg4McqjR0RYfgS3zr7H6pLlWZyqKKmu8hGjltb2s4D0zzGfvaJvaRC7o9YBKbIlLLme-g2EIGF08iGdklpK0vnIQyUmEmHQ/s1600/IMG_7225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcklnbi_Rwpu1mVoa5rZPQCzlSQDZ4HOs8oQBd62BNzLRTxg4McqjR0RYfgS3zr7H6pLlWZyqKKmu8hGjltb2s4D0zzGfvaJvaRC7o9YBKbIlLLme-g2EIGF08iGdklpK0vnIQyUmEmHQ/s640/IMG_7225.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For these cupcakes, I wanted a little more oomph than the typical pastel colours associated with babies, so I used a hint of electric/bright coloured gel pastes: fuschia + electric pink, lime green, turquoise and egg yellow (okay, egg yellow is not that bright but I didn't want them to be blindingly bright). I think that I could have used a bit more lime green in the scalloped circles as the green is not very discernable from the yellow.<br />
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All of the decorations are made from a mixture of fondant and gum paste in about a 3:2 ratio.<br />
The little booties were very simple to make and very cute. As they were simple and plain, I added a couple tiny little flowers to each set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBYK8oEMYJ9SVuCQdcPDOpFY1ZYfjS22cCZwwxeLIuEw8d0wel6t38GphENUKKIMNkiyP2sSwwZZVFMEkFq7YI_ZPbogbTaCA-fytN33O6uNSG-CFS1tfoNPks3lUSwWSGxr7WdQQBvE/s1600/IMG_7255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBYK8oEMYJ9SVuCQdcPDOpFY1ZYfjS22cCZwwxeLIuEw8d0wel6t38GphENUKKIMNkiyP2sSwwZZVFMEkFq7YI_ZPbogbTaCA-fytN33O6uNSG-CFS1tfoNPks3lUSwWSGxr7WdQQBvE/s200/IMG_7255.jpg" width="190" /></a>
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<img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8_Oc1YyUORUaxHDotJPrJa_MAOG74Pg2OECbgPdb8OytmNQMCaBLGTkYoPURz1qZj-M0eYvZjSgjUtGzi4yJRYj86VagOqGDrxzVyLIyBbl9pxkwOKu69Y3Ho_YNhsdGCtV4FCVGg8k/s200/IMG_7236.jpg" width="190" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tOAAWcCwCCy7y8lIgsaqab1-8nGoy-LMyhTmPSo6arrveEPnJKM3J2iBoYGyxc35mvWTPGC0PUR7t-YBm8LBMwWAD8EgswJ25z4mSjqRaiFnQu9oYtavObFXWcFimF2_TRW-dR3FAPs/s1600/IMG_7241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tOAAWcCwCCy7y8lIgsaqab1-8nGoy-LMyhTmPSo6arrveEPnJKM3J2iBoYGyxc35mvWTPGC0PUR7t-YBm8LBMwWAD8EgswJ25z4mSjqRaiFnQu9oYtavObFXWcFimF2_TRW-dR3FAPs/s200/IMG_7241.jpg" width="190" /></a><br />
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For the baby faces, I rounded the edge of each fondant circle, added a hat with a little pom-pom and created a ribbed knit effect using a quilting tool. I dusted the cheeks with a bit of petal dust to add a bit of baby rosiness. <br />
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<img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGntX0Eb_vDq664vzGCL0p5cvODV_kVOhg8gWd2ylnzXeLPuAzqBeom7EDlHzJE04qo8EVhFxkkxd28J6MhH7djqXYSe0X2Q9GY8om55EHtm8B-JaVGiocYA9Z1RVws6YHUqN2xmGz-s/s200/IMG_7238.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="190" /></a>
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<img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMAZvx0TVUruWuaR85N7_A750_-cS42aeC9hh6JsZdhR5EdcmVSbfofrCAHAxn6IYQTETqYy5WrW4DCvX8KchLbEfUrua0oqGGGyO_630aZ6XQkrLq5Kli5o0Loo2ESdnPwrMC7r4t4A/s200/IMG_7235.jpg" width="190" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExSBDMh3NBv3jvXqtNkn12vfe2uGDnj812m37QabmxTjSgWu_vqM6UiqPxWp8VudgyDmJdZA9U2_tH5fCuekcoK1PWdmbhAE7tCDoUXMgCWy2So73gsIyH8mtcljtic6bkZg_WVXnA6Y/s1600/IMG_7239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExSBDMh3NBv3jvXqtNkn12vfe2uGDnj812m37QabmxTjSgWu_vqM6UiqPxWp8VudgyDmJdZA9U2_tH5fCuekcoK1PWdmbhAE7tCDoUXMgCWy2So73gsIyH8mtcljtic6bkZg_WVXnA6Y/s200/IMG_7239.jpg" width="190" /></a><br />
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The cupcakes were red velvet with cream cheese frosting piped on with a large star tip. I used brown cupcake paper rather than white so that the red did not obviously clash with the cupcake toppers.<br />
The result was a neutral base for bright and cheerful baby-themed decorations.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54G4A9hW8d9akRt9CpLmVFYvPgNGDt1-5sqkJ6l33fNGFYKRb7ccLsLe66Csda6rkqsT-Wvn1zHUuUWw8vjQZ76LG9e5TfEh_oSprtFesePjP0dDCWWYKnPfAAGj0E7PWNeWc0QJxAjQ/s1600/IMG_7297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54G4A9hW8d9akRt9CpLmVFYvPgNGDt1-5sqkJ6l33fNGFYKRb7ccLsLe66Csda6rkqsT-Wvn1zHUuUWw8vjQZ76LG9e5TfEh_oSprtFesePjP0dDCWWYKnPfAAGj0E7PWNeWc0QJxAjQ/s640/IMG_7297.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-50562085648728917342013-02-06T20:04:00.001-08:002013-02-06T20:04:46.720-08:00A happy Harry Potter birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
So after Christmas and the werewolf cake, I decided I was going to take it easy for a bit and just focus on some simpler things. That didn't last very long, in part because I have a very difficult time saying 'no' and I really like Harry Potter. That is how I ended up doing Harry Potter cupcakes and a cake in the past week. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIEE0YaqLltVofkcq3v4AO5K2yod-XYG3H_qhC8e_axWNSw2J3d-1GzxIHB1UCd7PnCyJzdWJ7IwEZuHYn-Ib1QJP1yqTdSEuUciR-KfGfSbvqQOjYpXVPJqQ0-5b_iUcpVpp-jeYxks/s1600/IMG_7120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIEE0YaqLltVofkcq3v4AO5K2yod-XYG3H_qhC8e_axWNSw2J3d-1GzxIHB1UCd7PnCyJzdWJ7IwEZuHYn-Ib1QJP1yqTdSEuUciR-KfGfSbvqQOjYpXVPJqQ0-5b_iUcpVpp-jeYxks/s640/IMG_7120.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I kept the cupcakes simple as it was a very busy week. I used modelling paste (half fondant, half gumpaste) for the decorations. The striped scarf was made by 'gluing' red strips to a piece of yellow modelling paste and then running it through a pasta machine. </div>
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I made two little cauldrons and filled them with bright green frosting so that two of the cupcakes could hold candles. I also did Harry faces, lighting bolts and glasses although I think that without arms the glasses look a little like quidditch goggles.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFd2HnoVTHj9PpXTvwDIqy-JPMaYfJfZ2Wq05jVXm9L5Xe8ImX9d5BBOWXSjt06s-01iGN8i1lQenxKFnPTfEvmzpgVRtT0H4_THVcCgaRBNhONfwqSC6Je32QXG5qPNRUnRqB3kyNt54/s1600/IMG_7133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFd2HnoVTHj9PpXTvwDIqy-JPMaYfJfZ2Wq05jVXm9L5Xe8ImX9d5BBOWXSjt06s-01iGN8i1lQenxKFnPTfEvmzpgVRtT0H4_THVcCgaRBNhONfwqSC6Je32QXG5qPNRUnRqB3kyNt54/s200/IMG_7133.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAcYUOXHmUiJMgpgG-WxFz7uq8ceYIklvU_FQZTxTZog_3juEbVDlqeC8vs8abaUX-24EwtzPkLo4KIxagycHEnntahw_OKslADAN1fYqCDrjw2oEx9MLnF7UiZaWJK8gbvBFdeQX6qM/s1600/IMG_7112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAcYUOXHmUiJMgpgG-WxFz7uq8ceYIklvU_FQZTxTZog_3juEbVDlqeC8vs8abaUX-24EwtzPkLo4KIxagycHEnntahw_OKslADAN1fYqCDrjw2oEx9MLnF7UiZaWJK8gbvBFdeQX6qM/s200/IMG_7112.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H_ab6kvKR1TYDriHBs49Ja2FGsIUpE2-xi3TDtespmYqQ6ZNE7zDePPjiUZ2wDnydbAqBg3fyjsbo_lYD_nUEZ4IvG4jhwNBmvdq6eo98G04_O-NOeKn88LmnNhhChVwFJWD9ugzGY8/s1600/IMG_7111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H_ab6kvKR1TYDriHBs49Ja2FGsIUpE2-xi3TDtespmYqQ6ZNE7zDePPjiUZ2wDnydbAqBg3fyjsbo_lYD_nUEZ4IvG4jhwNBmvdq6eo98G04_O-NOeKn88LmnNhhChVwFJWD9ugzGY8/s200/IMG_7111.jpg" width="200" /><br />
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Next was the cake. I wanted again to keep the design simple and cute since it was for a children's party.</div>
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The characters are made from modelling paste. The face details are using edible marker and the stripes on the ties painted on using gel paste mixed with a bit of vodka.</div>
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To make the hair, I used an extruder. For Hermione I twisted each strand for the curls and attached using edible sugar glue. The modelling paste dried very quickly so I didn't have to worry about the curls coming undone after attaching them.</div>
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For Ron, I made him looking a little worried as that is typically how he was throughout the series. When I was attaching the hair, I got a little extra sugar glue on the side of his forehead. I didn't bother trying to clean it off as it actually worked by looking like a little bit of perspiration (although I suppose that it's not very appetizing for a cake, but I've done worse!)</div>
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My husband felt that from a side profile, Ron looked like he was mad at Harry Potter. This seemed to work, especially considering the last couple of books. Maybe Ron is just tired of Harry getting all of the attention or he has a horcrux hidden somewhere on him.</div>
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The wand was made using gumpaste. I used a few different shades of brown twisted together to make a wood-like colour and used dresden tool to make a wood grain effect. I then painted it with brown gel paste mixed with vodka.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGLuz1V1Rx1hsKrQTkTsRYs7_vu_oVVPBAkIlfDsIn6h8JvEaBFmZv2iR2enOimukAsGL8_vRayb76eHz449mPhqYY7gO_aZN4d7Q94qs3j3VyHMgsjyLJvISyZsumDixfuWu6rJXIpA/s1600/IMG_7159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGLuz1V1Rx1hsKrQTkTsRYs7_vu_oVVPBAkIlfDsIn6h8JvEaBFmZv2iR2enOimukAsGL8_vRayb76eHz449mPhqYY7gO_aZN4d7Q94qs3j3VyHMgsjyLJvISyZsumDixfuWu6rJXIpA/s640/IMG_7159.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Other details for the cake included gumpaste glasses. This one took two attempts as I broke the first pair.</div>
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The scarf was made from fondant. I roughly measured each piece, lined them up alternating the colours and then cut along the sides so it all looked like one piece. Then I placed it on the cake with sugar glue and carefully trimmed any pieces that had stretched when transferring to the cake.</div>
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I made a parchment scroll out of modelling paste on which to write 'Happy Birthday'. I did not have time to cut out letters in the Harry Potter font, so I freehanded it using edible marker. It actually didn't turn out too bad considering I left this to the last task and with the time crunch, my hand was shaking.</div>
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Unfortunately with time limitations, my photography was not optimal. I really should have used a flash. To give an antique look to the cake, I used a large brush to dust the cake, the board and the edges of the parchment with a mix of brown petal dust, gold and apricot lustre dust. It did not really show up in the pictures. Perhaps I should have used a greater proportion of brown petal dust, or just used a flash. You'll just have to trust me that it looked a bit antique.</div>
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I really enjoyed making this cake but I have to say, I am tired! I really mean it this time, it's time for some simpler projects!</div>
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sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-50168447102441636782013-01-30T14:31:00.000-08:002013-01-30T14:31:41.327-08:00Constructing 'thank you' cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been wanting to make these cupcakes for a while as a thank you for our contractor (<a href="http://www.cornerbrookconstruction.com/" target="_blank">Cornerbrook Construction</a>) but just didn't have the time. Once we got settled in the house, I had a few cake projects on the go, then Christmas and school work. We were due for our final inspection by the city for our renovation, so I thought it would be the perfect time to make these construction-themed treats.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipONfKYz8fwqOFpFyE_5Up12ZETUHH6UllYLKv1ewmB1Bqggdoru-LOFpVklxUcrHiXRhD5heTRieSfgsuptczYgoisgV4m5bOFOevGg_PJa6wCWXDHXbDY2c4P3ex_bChAHoAA6D-F3k/s1600/IMG_7089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipONfKYz8fwqOFpFyE_5Up12ZETUHH6UllYLKv1ewmB1Bqggdoru-LOFpVklxUcrHiXRhD5heTRieSfgsuptczYgoisgV4m5bOFOevGg_PJa6wCWXDHXbDY2c4P3ex_bChAHoAA6D-F3k/s640/IMG_7089.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was fun selecting which tools I thought would make good cupcake toppers. The first one I made was a 'DEWALT'-like drill because I think I've seen that brand a lot in places that sell tools. I am in the market for a drill because we still haven't put up curtains on the main floor or any pictures, but I think I'll start off with something a little less fancy. This one is my kind of drill - it's edible!<br />
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The next tool was a hammer. I used a bit of shimmer to make it look a little metallic and used brown gel paste and vodka to make a wood-like handle. I'm not sure if I even noticed any hammers lying around during the renovation though. They had fancy things like nail-guns which I didn't think would make as cute of a cupcake decoration.<br />
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The measuring tape is one of my favourite toppers and something that was very handy in planning our renovations and furniture placement.<br />
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There was lots of painting to be done! To save a bit of money, we decided to paint the upper floor ourselves. I remember frantically doing the second coat in the Master bedroom just before the moving truck arrived with our furniture. There is still a small portion of unpainted walls in the upstairs hallway. I haven't quite recovered enough to tackle that yet.<br />
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I don't think I ever saw a square hanging round but it seems like a very important tool. Maybe it wasn't used for our renovation. I have no idea. That's why we hired a contractor.<br />
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The X-Acto knife if my favourite of the cupcake toppers. This is an invaluable tool for renovating and moving because you are forever dealing with boxes and cardboard. </div>
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In retrospect, I should have made a broom or a shopVac as the part I remember most about the renovation (aside from how much I love our house now) was dust, dust and more dust! </div>
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While very stressful taking on a the purchase of an old house, the renovation and moving all in a very tight timeline (I'm not even going to talk about selling our condo), it was a neat process - walking into an open house and thinking 'this house requires too much work!', to buying that house, planning the renovation and seeing what you pictured for the house become a reality. <a href="http://www.cornerbrookconstruction.com/" target="_blank">Cornerbrook Construction</a> was great, especially considering how <strike>OCD</strike> detail-oriented I am. </div>
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-24339187372433812132012-12-31T11:40:00.002-08:002013-01-01T11:05:33.958-08:00It's close to midnight...and it's my last cake of the year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For months I had my sister try to convince my nephew that he wanted a Despicable Me themed cake for his 3rd birthday party as I just had a hankering to make some cute yellow minions. This worked for short while but soon he changed his mind and requested a Harry Potter werewolf cake. Not really wanting to try to come up with a design that might fit that request, I continued to have my sister show him cute videos of minions. Enter my older nephew. He was watching a video for Michael Jackson's Thriller and the younger one became fascinated with it. Not only did he want a werewolf cake, but it had to specifically be a Michael Jackson werewolf. For weeks leading up to the party, I hoped that he would change his mind. Once the invitations went out, I started the planning process on how I would make a Michael Jackson Thriller werewolf cake.<br />
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We celebrated my brother's birthday a few weeks ago. My sister-in-law brought out this delicious chocolate cake and my nephew exclaims, "werewolf cake!" I looked at the chocolate frosted cake and thought to myself, 'wow, if he thinks a frosting-covered chocolate cake is a werewolf, this is going to be an easy cake'. And the he added, "but I want a face on it."</div>
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For the past few weeks I have been thinking about how to make a werewolf. I definitely wanted it to be cute/cartoon-like since it was for a 3-year-old child. I thought about making the whole cake a standing werewolf but then I thought about how I didn't think my nerves could handle the drive with a cake that required significant structural support. It also would have meant the possibility of not having enough cake servings unless I wanted to make a 3-foot-tall cake.<br />
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I decided to make the werewolf jumping out of the cake. The body was made from rice cereal treats. I have recently found it easier to work with pre-made rice cereal treats vs homemade. It is much easier to get a more condense and solid shape and I don't have individual pieces of rice cereal and gooey strings of marshmallow sticking all over my hands. The head was also make from rice cereal treats. I have to admit, looking at the cereal form, I really didn't know how it was going to end up looking like a wolf. I used modelling chocolate on the head to form facial details like eyebrows and to fill out the cheeks and the mane. At this point it looked like some form of voodoo mask. I covered the head in fondant and used a modelling stick and additional fondant to make the fur. I added variations in fur colour with white, brown and black petal dust. The position of the arms ended up being a bit funny. Instead of an 'I'm going to get you' position, he looks more like he's saying 'I don't want any trouble!'<br />
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The hands, nails and teeth were made with gumpaste. I used a stitching tool to give a ribbed looked to the collar of the varsity jacket.<br />
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I also dusted the cake with petal dust to make it look like dirt and more graveyard like. I painted his name on the cake using red gel paste mixed with vodka.<br />
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I enjoyed his reaction to the cake. He hung on to his dad and said, "It's scary...."<br />
After singing 'happy birthday' I played the Thriller song and video on my phone for him. He is so entranced by that video. I don't remember how old I was when I first watched that video but I would think that 3-year-old would be scared, especially when the zombies are rising from the graves. He can't take his eyes off the video. It's like he sees it as an instructional dance video. He does the zombie walk and he sings along and mimics all of the dance steps. He even does an excellent MJ spin!<br />
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It was certainly a fun cake to wrap up a busy year of work, school, moving and baking. I have to say, I am pretty tired though and I am happy to put the cake decorating supplies away for a couple of weeks. I think I'll start off the year with a few simpler projects. I look forward to the baking challenges of next year. I'm sure my nephews will dream up some impossible cakes for me to make.<br />
Happy New Year everyone!sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-1371795681729929812012-12-17T19:25:00.000-08:002012-12-18T19:43:51.519-08:00Fashioning a cake fit for a fashionista<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I was asked to make a cake with a fashionista theme, I didn't know if I would be able to meet the challenge. The scariest part was that I had never made a shoe before and it was a rather important part of the cake. Other minor challenges included not having very much experience (i.e. no training) in making flowers, no experience with pleating and using a temperature sensitive cake filling (cream cheese frosting) requiring refrigeration of the fondant-covered cake. </div>
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I was pretty much given free reign with the design of the cake. I decided to go for an elegant cake design personalized with the birthday girl's likes: her favourite colour (grey), Christian Louboutin patent peep toe pumps, Tiffany & Co., Holt Renfrew and Mini Cooper. The requested cake flavour was carrot with cream cheese frosting. Since I needed to refrigerate this cake, I decided to use a different fondant. I used Satin Ice as I had read that refrigeration doesn't compromise the look or texture of the fondant. I had also read however that the fondant also dries very quickly and thus leads to a greater potential for an 'elephant skin' look to the fondant which is not desirable. The only time I've ever had an issue with 'elephant skin' was when I participated in a class where we were instructed to use corn starch rather than confectioner's sugar for rolling out the fondant. I found the corn starch really dried out the fondant. With this in mind, I made sure to use confectioner's sugar rather than corn starch to prevent sticking, and I also tried to work faster to cover the cake. I was disappointed to have some spots with a more rough texture. Luckily, I was covering the cake in pleating, so I was able to cover these spots. Overall, the fondant did set quite nicely and most importantly, not one drop of condensation or stickiness when I took it out of the fridge. I did take precautions with this though and put the cake in a box, wrapped the box in plastic wrap and also adjusted the temperature in the fridge (I have an extra fridge that I can use just for cake stuff). I also kept my house temperature on the cold side. Based on the performance of the fondant with refrigeration, I think the brand is a keeper for me. I might just knead a bit of shortening into it before rolling out although this doesn't seem to be recommended by the manufacturer.<br />
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This was the first time I had tried to make a realistic-looking flower. I think that it still ended up taking on more of a fantasy flower look than a real peony but I think it was still pretty. The last time I made a peony-like flower, I used modelling paste rather than gum paste alone. I found that it was too soft to work with and therefore the edges of the petals would tear when thinning them with a ball tool. This time I used gumpaste. It was easier to roll out very thin pieces of fondant and shape the petals. The gumpaste did set very fast though and didn't allow very much manipulation of petals after the flower was done. I set the flower in a bowl covered with foil to dry. I think next time, I will make the foil more shallow so that the petals at the bottom of the peony will be more open.<br />
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When I placed the peony on the cake, I filled in the bottom with a few extra petals. I did a very light dusting with pink petal dust to give the petals a more realistic shading/colouring. The brush I was using wasn't quite soft enough so I had to be extra careful as the petals are very delicate and fragile.<br />
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The birthday girl drives a Mini. Rather than putting a car on a fashionista cake, I decided to put a the key fob on it. This was made from 50/50 or half gumpaste and half fondant. It was challenging painting the logo on it as the key was quite small. I used a 000 size brush, but even so, I barely squeezed the word 'MINI' on it. </div>
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The Tiffany box is made from Rice Krispie treats. I discovered that pre-made treats are much easier to work with then homemade treats. It is easier to make a more compacted and smoother structure. In the past, I have noticed that it is more difficult to really compress homemade treats so that the shape will be stable. Although the gumpaste ribbon covers most of it, I did paint the logo on the top of the box. </div>
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The Holt Renfrew bag was one of my favourite things, mostly because of the striped tissue paper. For some reason, I found it difficult to get the right colour for the bag. It took two attempts and a lot of combinations of gel paste before I got a colour I was satisfied with. I started with 'fuschia' but found it was just too dull. I ended up brightening it with electric pink gel paste. I painted the logo onto the bag using white petal dust mixed with a bit of vodka. The striped tissue is made with gumpaste and the handle made with 50/50 and an extruder. </div>
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At first when I thought about using grey on a cake I thought to myself that it wouldn't be a very appetizing cake colour. After looking at a few images of grey cakes, I thought it could look rather nice - modern and elegant. To make this grey cake visually more interesting, I added white pleating using 50/50 and a gumpaste pearl medallion. I brushed the pearl medallion with a bit of lustre dust so they looked more authentic. I think that they grey and white went very nicely with the pink of the peony and Holt Renfrew bag.<br />
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Now for the shoe. I had less than two weeks to figure out this shoe and after researching online, I found that it was recommended to let the sole and heel dry for a week. This meant that if the shoe broke, or looked awful, I would need to think of something else to put on the cake.<br />
To make the sole, I carved a piece of foam to a high heel shape and covered it with parchment. I allowed the gumpaste sole to dry for 5 days along with the heel. The biggest challenge and scariest part of the shoe was the fact that it was a pump and not a sandal, meaning that I had to figure out how to cut out one piece of gumpaste to fit around the whole shoe. A sandal would have been much easier for a first shoe attempt but I was told the birthday girl had a pair of patent peep toe pumps. I'm not the best person at looking at a 3-dimensional item and being able to transfer that into a flat shape that can become a 3-dimensional item. I think I had a brain teaser game that had challenges like that - I was awful at it. I tried to make a paper template by making a foot shape out of old fondant I wasn't using anymore. This got me closer to figuring out the general shape that it had to be but it was difficult to bend the paper around the shoe to see if it would be the right fit. I need to use something more flexible to make the template, so I decided to use the medium that I would be making the actual shoe with - gumpaste.<br />
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I was really happy with the curve of the arch on the pump. I don't think that I could have hoped for a better outcome for a first shoe attempt. I think the peep toe was a bit large but that's just me being picky!<br />
To get a 'patent' look, I used 2 coats of vodka mixed with black gel paste.<br />
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I am very proud of this cake. It was a great learning experience as I figured out quite a few new techniques. I'm not sure how soon I'd like to try another shoe though - it may have been beginner's luck! </div>
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sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-60168043993786852472012-12-08T17:54:00.000-08:002012-12-11T17:42:59.924-08:00Celebrating the year of the dragon and a year of blogging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: left;">I started this blog about one year ago with my first entry about a cake that I made for my mother's birthday. After a two and a half-month baking and three month blogging break, I am returning with a cake for my mother's birthday (her 60th birthday to be exact, which is a big one!).</span></div>
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I have not decorated a cake since August. At that time, we were wrapping up our life chapter in our first home. The baking and blogging break coincided with the transition from our condo to our not-quite-finished-being-renovated house. A delayed permit from the city meant throwing all our belongings in the basement and living with my parents for a short time. This is the first cake that I made in our new kitchen. It has taken me a month to write a blog on this cake due to the ongoing process of getting settled into the house (our basement is still full of boxes), work, singing and school commitments. </div>
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This dragon cake is appropriate in a couple of ways. The first and foremost important is that my mom is born in the year of the dragon. The dragon is a symbol of power, strength, luck and prosperity. Interestingly, the dragon also represents change and mobility. This has certainly been a year of change and mobility - literally. We bought a house in May, sold our condo in June, took possession of the house in July and started some major renovations that finished in September. Instead of designing cakes, I was designing rooms in our house. It is a lot of work picking out fixtures, tile, appliances, flooring, doors, etc. </div>
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I am happy to be somewhat settled in and working on cakes again.</div>
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The flavour of this cake was mocha with dulce de leche buttercream as per my mom's request. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWKFpVJgV4c57PgSdwvfvqEd9qZvPrTp7MuPS88fbTqIXLhBk-1BRNjJv-fJYcmv6SJ2iviNxW0dBdROIvsJWQnOuMAwSJh1GhB-_fXYCqmM3b6JCj50WXcFM7jBHE4nWrjTuFsZyy2g/s1600/IMG_1403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWKFpVJgV4c57PgSdwvfvqEd9qZvPrTp7MuPS88fbTqIXLhBk-1BRNjJv-fJYcmv6SJ2iviNxW0dBdROIvsJWQnOuMAwSJh1GhB-_fXYCqmM3b6JCj50WXcFM7jBHE4nWrjTuFsZyy2g/s400/IMG_1403.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
This is the second cake that I've carved. The first one being <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2011/12/mater-of-celebration.html" target="_blank">Mater</a> for my nephew's birthday last December.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXrflww1b_wwXrFdp4C8gssnIxZF3vhgkyTXkZEOVBClo5zDfaL0o_rKUp3rSUFUB23vKrtkPV5-ZtT1hxOSGlgkI0SG1iWGQaYV_D5BQ4KuARxLvAWDBW4hCR9gVJkr4bL8tAxDd0J8/s1600/IMG_6273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXrflww1b_wwXrFdp4C8gssnIxZF3vhgkyTXkZEOVBClo5zDfaL0o_rKUp3rSUFUB23vKrtkPV5-ZtT1hxOSGlgkI0SG1iWGQaYV_D5BQ4KuARxLvAWDBW4hCR9gVJkr4bL8tAxDd0J8/s400/IMG_6273.jpg" width="400" /></a>When thinking about the best method of getting the dragon shape, my original thought was to use a straight-edge bundt cake pan and arrange the pieces into a snake-like shape. After cutting out a paper template, I did not feel that I could get the width or shape that I wanted. I ended up cutting a piece of freezer paper to the size of the cake board (20" diameter) and freehanded the shape of the dragon. I then took out some baking pans and looked at the best combination of pan shapes/sizes to create the dragon. I ended up using a 9x13" pan for most of the body and a 8-inch round pan for the tail end. It was much easier than baking a half sheet size cake.<br />
I still had quite a bit of leftover cake that I used to make cake pops later that week.<br />
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One of the challenges I had with the carved cake was how to get it on the cake board. Normally, I cover my cakes in fondant before placing it on the fondant-covered cake board. In this case, since the cake was an awkward shape and in 3 pieces it was necessary to cover the cake once it was already on the board. It wasn't too bad. I used my freezer paper template to see where I wanted the cake to be positioned on the board. I then used an inscriber tool to lightly mark the outline of the dragon onto the fondant. Each piece had it's own cake board which made it easy to transfer to the large cake board. Once placed on the board, I covered the shape in pieces of fondant rather than one large big piece since any seams would be hidden by scales. I just had to be careful when trimming off the excess.<br />
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The scales were cut out of modelling paste and then thinned using a ball tool. This took a really, really long time! It is really best to leave the modelling paste wrapped overnight to firm up a bit. It makes thinning the circles easier and neater. I discovered this while making the cake as I was running out of coloured modelling paste. My poor sister was frantically colouring more fondant mixed with tylose and cutting out circles the afternoon of my mother's party. The dragon was dusted with various colours of pearl lustre dust. Teachable moment: when you are severely behind in making a cake, it is very important to stay calm and focused. For this cake, I did not remain calm as I was becoming increasingly late for my mom's birthday dinner. While dusting the dragon, I was gently/or not so gently blowing excess dust off of the cake board. At one point, instead of blowing on the cake board, I blew into the small container of lustre dust. I ended up with an orange face and orange teeth.<br />
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The head was made from Rice Krispie treats. I had grandiose plans for decorating the face, however I ran out of time, so it was decorated rather quickly and less precisely than what I would have liked. It looks a bit muppet-y to me but the overall dragon look is there. </div>
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The most important thing is that my mom was surprised and she loved the cake. </div>
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My baking projects will likely be a little less frequent in the coming year as I try to wrap up my graduate studies but I still hope to be baking and blogging once in a while for fun and stress-relief.<br />
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-90688376555879271592012-08-17T06:42:00.001-07:002012-08-17T06:42:38.729-07:00Running: Cake on track, moving...not so much. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last cake before moving! Less than two weeks to moving and it's time to pack away the baking supplies. Next project will be in my brand new kitchen! How appropriate that as I'm running out of time to get ready for the move, I make a running cake. I don't know if it was the stress of moving, but I also seemed to run into a few more problems with this one than usual. </div>
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This cake was originally going to be a small cake for two (my very athletic friend and her equally athletic boyfriend), however my friend preferred to have a full track on the cake so the scope and size of the cake grew a tad. </div>
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This was my first time making characters in a standing position (minus the <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2012/04/caaaaaaake.html" target="_blank">zombies on this cake</a>, but they were much smaller). Normally the characters are sitting which is structurally much easier. These characters had to be started earlier than usual to allow the legs to set properly before adding the other components. To ensure the figures were stable for delivery, I used wooden skewers instead of my usual spaghetti to support them. The heads and arms were supported with small pieces of spaghetti and gumpaste glue. In the past, I've made hair using an extruder and modelling paste however this can be quite heavy and can weigh the heads down. As I really needed these figures to be stable, I opted to pipe the hair using royal icing.<br />
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I made the running medal using modelling paste. I used a very small silicone mold for the leaves. I carefully cut out a running figure on cardstock and then used an x-acto knife to cut out the figure from modelling paste. The medal was dusted with gold lustre dust.<br />
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I cut the track in one piece from modelling paste. I let it sit for a bit to set before trying to lift it onto the cake so that it would not stretch out of shape. At this point I also dusted the track with terracotta petal dust so it had a texture and colour similar to a real track. You certainly learn from your mistakes are you an amateur cake decorator. To adhere the track to the cake, I painted the back of it with gumpaste glue. This was not the smartest move. As I was trying to place it on the cake, sections of the track adhered to the cake and it was very difficult to move the track into place without getting terracotta coloured petal dust all over the cake. Thankfully, I was planning on piping grass in the centre anyway. Other stray bits of red were brushed away with a Q-tip dipped in vodka. In retrospect, I should have laid the track on the cake, positioned it and then lifted and carefully glued one small section at a time. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">There are many challenges that may arise with cake decorating. One of the most frustrating things for me is working very hard to make detailed items to put on top of the cake, only to find that the cake on which I'm putting them is less than perfect. I have had my share of issues with air bubbles forming underneath fondant. I have had better results with using swiss meringue buttercream underneath fondant versus frosting but even so, I still end up with some lumps and bumps. </span><br />
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Sure enough, as I was packing up my supplies for the evening, I took one last look at the cake only to see that a very large bubble had formed on the side of the cake. I attributed this to not smoothing the buttercream adequately to rid it of all air bubbles and/or not smoothing the fondant firmly enough against the cold buttercream. </div>
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At this point, the fondant had softened a bit as the buttercream underneath warmed to room temperature. While you can poke a hole and push out the air, smoothing the fondant against the softening buttercream, you need to be careful not to press too firmly or the fondant will tear. Similarly you want to be careful with your fondant smoother as the softened fondant can be a bit tacky and your smoother may be stick to the cake like a magnet. </div>
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As it was the first time I've used wooden skewers to support figurines, I learned another important lesson: cut the skewer to match the depth of the cake before attaching a whole figurine to it! </div>
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To ensure the figurines did not sink into the cake and also to avoid any bits of skewer wood getting into the cake, I placed a straw in the cake where each skewer would be placed. When I placed the female figurine, I came to the unfortunate realization that the skewer was too long and her foot was sticking out above the track. It is very difficult to cut a skewer with a figure on it! I first tried this out using a plain skewer to see how gentle I could be with taking off an inch of the wood. This was successful so I moved onto fixing the figure. All was going well, and then of course, the spaghetti holding the head snapped and the head fell off a half hour before I needed to leave to deliver the cake. You have to think very quickly to try and fix things like this - it is important not to panic! It was going to be impossible to extract the broken spaghetti from the figurine without risking further damage, so I used my inscriber tool to push the spaghetti piece down in the body and the other piece up into the head. This left room for another little piece of spaghetti. If I had had more time, I would have used gumpaste glue to reattach and allowed it time to set. As time was not on my side, I could not be so subtle. I quickly made a small batch of royal icing and coloured it to match the skin. I used this to coat the piece of spaghetti holding the head to the neck. I used a very slightly wet paintbrush to smooth the excess icing around the neck. It did not blend perfectly but apparently it survived a few position changes on the cake track due to the competitive nature of the couple!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzj2EvtgTeVuxvnWSBr2WJX6YXVg8p9mBf10ZnMlhPu4TQryjAoqGOCQbfn72hhyphenhyphen_Gzx55SwiHrxgbuyi5Aeu4Hf_bcZMc8PUyGwViWAMZIiJemH1gtGM1q0PS7GuEgSlCKIgVRo4LTvo/s1600/IMG_5507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzj2EvtgTeVuxvnWSBr2WJX6YXVg8p9mBf10ZnMlhPu4TQryjAoqGOCQbfn72hhyphenhyphen_Gzx55SwiHrxgbuyi5Aeu4Hf_bcZMc8PUyGwViWAMZIiJemH1gtGM1q0PS7GuEgSlCKIgVRo4LTvo/s640/IMG_5507.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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While this cake certainly had some challenges with a few valuable lessons learned, I was happy with the overall look. Most importantly my friend and her boyfriend enjoyed the cake.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vV_k8e8zn4HX71skcGzSDp8bNrkRlMAvnNSFlMs6GHv0upOB1uUhVxJsiFVtKR6ZWsp8Ar28yHn9TseDUi7VJRRNFxnjCXMFCv_Iq6KTt38CpZ6gCyvgotf5l9nYpivnsVnLQ7_C51c/s1600/IMG_5542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vV_k8e8zn4HX71skcGzSDp8bNrkRlMAvnNSFlMs6GHv0upOB1uUhVxJsiFVtKR6ZWsp8Ar28yHn9TseDUi7VJRRNFxnjCXMFCv_Iq6KTt38CpZ6gCyvgotf5l9nYpivnsVnLQ7_C51c/s640/IMG_5542.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So now the packing continues. I bid adieu to baking for the next couple of weeks as we get settled into our mostly finished house. I look forward to getting back to baking in our brand new kitchen!sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-27589777199797621722012-08-06T10:11:00.002-07:002012-08-06T10:11:17.672-07:00Strawberry Lemon Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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It has been a while since my last post as I have been spending more time at Home Depot than in my kitchen, and I have been getting ready for the new house and spending as much time as possible with my family in the condo before we say goodbye to our first home. I have dabbled in a bit of baking but have had less time to photograph and write about my goodies. </div>
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This weekend, my husband and I went to a friend's house for dinner and we offered to bring dessert. I wanted to make something summery and fruity. I considered doing a tart filled with vanilla bean custard and topped with fresh berries, but I wanted something that I could decorate a little as I think I've been in a slight cake decorating withdrawal. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSKvXmzGA2ibHUBetUoVFBPClNTgSv3x3QdM3KLf0eA9xV993L5OkwC6xZ1V735gQy0XsVuLIuK6yVnbBP7ItHZXnruk5jrhRRtXi2BJOMDLEc75sYzMb5C1xuiLzTRhXqhTL8vj3qiw/s1600/IMG_0160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSKvXmzGA2ibHUBetUoVFBPClNTgSv3x3QdM3KLf0eA9xV993L5OkwC6xZ1V735gQy0XsVuLIuK6yVnbBP7ItHZXnruk5jrhRRtXi2BJOMDLEc75sYzMb5C1xuiLzTRhXqhTL8vj3qiw/s640/IMG_0160.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I thought about summer flavours and lemons and strawberries came to mind. If you look up lemon strawberry cakes, they are typically very light cakes with some sort of whipped cream type topping. I am not a big fan of whipped cream toppings. I don't enjoy the flavour and texture as much as frosting or buttercream, they are not particularly heat stable, and you can't do much with decorating those cakes. I decided to make a vanilla butter-based cake filled with fresh lemon curd. I covered it with strawberry frosting which is one of my favourite icing flavours. </div>
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I wanted the decoration to be simple and to give a hint of what was inside the cake. Browsing through my books once again, I came across a quilled paisley cake. I am not a big paisley fan but was intrigued by the quilling. </div>
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Quilling is a paper craft that involves rolling thin strips of paper very tightly around a needle/quill and allowing them to uncoil to various sizes, pinching them into various shapes to make flowers, leaves, animals, etc. There are some really elaborate designs out there. A quick google search on quilled cakes revealed some beautiful fondant cakes - some very simple and some extremely elaborate, typically involving flowers and leaves. I decided to make a quilled gum paste lemon slice. I rolled out my gum paste very thinly and I used my ribbon cutter to make 1/4" wide strips. Normally my type A personality would have ensured that each little wedge of lemon was made exactly the same but I was feeling more relaxed this weekend and rolled each strip until they looked approximately the same. If they didn't, I just readjusted and trimmed away excess gum paste as required. I was looking for overall effect rather than becoming a gum paste quilling master in one day. I thought it resembled a lemon slice, so I was pleased. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_TDCPJIYrBKjK6lg-Ld41uUbnFltaiUMT0ZlDdHoZ3j7hLhF8yNd0g_MiyO9oCmoJvIVpZtehOWBucLWFibcCUt-BSPngoxjp3moewJ8KYtJePY50N0G6MbWH3UVEa20XjhqJv9zHFA/s1600/IMG_0158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_TDCPJIYrBKjK6lg-Ld41uUbnFltaiUMT0ZlDdHoZ3j7hLhF8yNd0g_MiyO9oCmoJvIVpZtehOWBucLWFibcCUt-BSPngoxjp3moewJ8KYtJePY50N0G6MbWH3UVEa20XjhqJv9zHFA/s640/IMG_0158.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I have made strawberry frosting on numerous occasions but I have never made lemon curd. Whenever I am about to try something new, I refer to my abundant collection of baking books and review different recipes, comparing ingredient ratios and techniques. Some recipes involved cooking the curd on direct heat (increases risk of scrambling your yolks), a few involved heating the curd over a bain-marie and one recipe involved cooking a lemon, sugar and butter mixture and then adding some of that to an egg yolk and sugar mixture to temper and then cooking the entire mixture on direct heat. I decided to go with the bain-marie method as I felt this would be the most fail-proof. </div>
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The problem with reading and comparing numerous recipes is that there is a chance you will get them mixed up and combine elements of different recipes...or perhaps it's just me. I ended up adding twice as much fresh lemon juice to the mixture than I was supposed to. I carefully removed what I could which left me with 1.5x the amount I was supposed to use. I figured that since there was a lot of variation in the amount of lemon juice, egg, sugar, zest and butter from recipe to recipe, I could still salvage the curd. There was no way I was going to toss the mixture and separate another 7 eggs. I added a few more yolks, a little extra sugar and it turned out beautifully. Good to know you can take some liberties with ingredient amounts and it will still work. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xqpTDUHaxaq6gPH98OqQTXULEsH14tx2dQwZ38Se__Sk2m4G9V15T-o1yjURXtiAITsKn14JcX32EBxxqMqoK8mfzApJ5PLCScS1ekLZf29qxy3Ot97roKFbmiKTm3gYZAVvRMhyphenhyphenMAQ/s1600/IMG_5493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-xqpTDUHaxaq6gPH98OqQTXULEsH14tx2dQwZ38Se__Sk2m4G9V15T-o1yjURXtiAITsKn14JcX32EBxxqMqoK8mfzApJ5PLCScS1ekLZf29qxy3Ot97roKFbmiKTm3gYZAVvRMhyphenhyphenMAQ/s640/IMG_5493.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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To finish the cake, I piped a shell border around the bottom and top borders. The top border ended up being a bit on the messy side as I did some shells too close to the edge and they were precariously hanging over the side, threatening to flop down the side. I also piped a few dots of lemon curd around the quilled gum paste lemon slice.</div>
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In the end, it was a successful marriage of lemon and strawberry. As an added bonus, we have a full mason jar of leftover lemon curd. I think it may be time to whip up some scones. </div>
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<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-54852588796684842302012-07-16T19:43:00.002-07:002012-07-16T19:43:54.554-07:00Monkey Martini Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2Jl7Ia0oce5zlDIPdpNVOyY5_h-6i5o9e7hZmi7czLebyjUPWB918H-Xf0XROjqmvtlc7i18pagteGTYSHYKxEvTxAEzDhpKF4VV2ymXj9vdXpr5Iyt7k9MXeQdzeewco68RzDGGikg/s1600/IMG_5386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2Jl7Ia0oce5zlDIPdpNVOyY5_h-6i5o9e7hZmi7czLebyjUPWB918H-Xf0XROjqmvtlc7i18pagteGTYSHYKxEvTxAEzDhpKF4VV2ymXj9vdXpr5Iyt7k9MXeQdzeewco68RzDGGikg/s640/IMG_5386.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Each year we have a year-end potluck for our interns and each year I try to create a new cupcake flavour combination, usually containing a bit of alcohol. In previous years, I have made Guinness chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's frosting, 'Cream-sicle' cupcakes containing Cointreau and Godiva white chocolate liqueur, and cookies and cream with Oreos and again, Godiva liqueur.<br />
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This year, as we are in the midst of moving, my husband has packed away quite a bit of our liquor cabinet. Apparently there was no rhyme or reason to what he packed away, with the exception of his bottles of scotch. Gone was my bottle of Bailey's and my bottle of Godiva liqueur. What I did find was a bottle of creme de banane, so I got the idea to make chocolate cupcakes with a creme de banane frosting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-_-yBvjgXNNWtDdG4mX-9VqIstftDF7lCGCydJa0fN-VbTMF73vhxJ7gTAj6ezaMa02zFOhy0si1cRVocMFZoIcLT5I3_TsHL7PSwR70A7p-db3tyfHjime3FuBUyj7R6OAUm0tSSW8/s1600/IMG_5406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-_-yBvjgXNNWtDdG4mX-9VqIstftDF7lCGCydJa0fN-VbTMF73vhxJ7gTAj6ezaMa02zFOhy0si1cRVocMFZoIcLT5I3_TsHL7PSwR70A7p-db3tyfHjime3FuBUyj7R6OAUm0tSSW8/s640/IMG_5406.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">A Monkey Martini is typically made with vodka, creme de cacao, and creme de banane. I have seen variations with the inclusion of Bailey's, however since that was packed away, it didn't make it into the cupcake. Creme de cacao is a colourless chocolate liqueur with a hint of vanilla. I did not have any of this but wanted to capture the flavour in the cupcake. I decided to make a white chocolate ganache to fill the chocolate cupcakes. The ganache filling was made with cream, Callebaut white chocolate callets, and a little vodka.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9Q1j4pqnYQ9QJvKd-Ej61y3__uEHiOefTFlqnQ1MZl7vC_4k8v1LMYufIkgy5BkGXYzK8pbyAy2se-QggcV-Vuh2NWKyxnIPYzk4GTS1ae1069oqANYPcHw8Z1_D1HP6T5qpBigHY20/s1600/IMG_5432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9Q1j4pqnYQ9QJvKd-Ej61y3__uEHiOefTFlqnQ1MZl7vC_4k8v1LMYufIkgy5BkGXYzK8pbyAy2se-QggcV-Vuh2NWKyxnIPYzk4GTS1ae1069oqANYPcHw8Z1_D1HP6T5qpBigHY20/s640/IMG_5432.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The frosting was flavoured with vanilla and creme de banane. It tasted like a banana popsicle. Yum!<br />
I garnished each cupcake with a banana chip dipped in Callebaut bittersweet chocolate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dwxwcKwJRl4oQTzpCguUMbkRsnJsYpsMtAEg7Tf_Kji6TRJIKye9gAeWivD9wnBRWv9vOa_j2byGhh4tUIKg0Sg7fUR7lEWp7Fm-dY2nyJbsHSwq9JxiPkiK1WDdLb-oMPgEOZo4s4U/s1600/IMG_5403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dwxwcKwJRl4oQTzpCguUMbkRsnJsYpsMtAEg7Tf_Kji6TRJIKye9gAeWivD9wnBRWv9vOa_j2byGhh4tUIKg0Sg7fUR7lEWp7Fm-dY2nyJbsHSwq9JxiPkiK1WDdLb-oMPgEOZo4s4U/s640/IMG_5403.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497697626209058630.post-91979190900486780472012-07-02T19:54:00.001-07:002013-02-25T18:43:54.935-08:00Pride Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Happy Pride! This weekend, between appliance shopping and finalizing the kitchen plans for our house renovations, I decided to</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> make a rainbow cake. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiullt2ydaNvBTnVo6p9kEp6sAD76lsXDBfV_kz8gmwYitiMpCF7J7EFDzoyh8TM7T8ecLJgmxwe45HDlFG50M63ZHGfxysZbJ0KFaTFCVVb_YDCEpaAyWc9YD5UfxCFeTbBM9jzHtmvxw/s1600/IMG_5271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiullt2ydaNvBTnVo6p9kEp6sAD76lsXDBfV_kz8gmwYitiMpCF7J7EFDzoyh8TM7T8ecLJgmxwe45HDlFG50M63ZHGfxysZbJ0KFaTFCVVb_YDCEpaAyWc9YD5UfxCFeTbBM9jzHtmvxw/s640/IMG_5271.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Back in April, I made this <a href="http://www.sweetdcakes.ca/2012/04/care-bears-countdown-to-3rd-birthday.html" target="_blank">Care Bear cake</a> for my nephew's birthday. I posted a preview of the uncovered cake and a friend exclaimed, "It is a cake for the gays!" As such, I promised to make another rainbow-themed cake for June. </div>
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I wanted the cake to be simple so that the flower stood out i.e. no other decorations, and no border around the bottom. As such, it was really important to have a clean edge on the bottom of the cake. </div>
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I decided to try something a bit different, and propped up my cake on a 6-inch styrofoam dummy so that I could cleanly cut away the excess fondant after covering it. This did not turn out very well. The fondant ended up stretching quite a bit due to the weight and because it was so thin, it was not going to be a smooth background for the flower. In retrospect, I should have covered the cake on a flat surface, trimmed away some of the excess, and then elevated it to cut the bottom edge cleanly with a paring knife. </div>
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To fix the messy looking fondant, I actually rolled out another 2 pounds of fondant, brushed the already covered cake with cooled, boiled water and re-covered the cake. Yes, a bit of a pricey fix, but I really did not want a lumpy fondant job ruining the whole aesthetic of the cake. Besides, if I use up my fondant, it's one less thing I have to lug over to our new home. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQteMPomQ7KRDPCL_VL-ENeuEI3hBKTaCXwiVblCT1ykDZyJp0d0y0knfq9wQ4xoQTaTJlRAPW10w4msl9WER0YyCSnT0Y0-_jgbtTcrfghj7-z8tiurBi_raPgn6B5PhCbbQRGpqLQWA/s1600/IMG_5289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQteMPomQ7KRDPCL_VL-ENeuEI3hBKTaCXwiVblCT1ykDZyJp0d0y0knfq9wQ4xoQTaTJlRAPW10w4msl9WER0YyCSnT0Y0-_jgbtTcrfghj7-z8tiurBi_raPgn6B5PhCbbQRGpqLQWA/s640/IMG_5289.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have wanted to make a ruffled flower on a simple white cake for some time. This was the perfect opportunity to try this out in beautiful bright colours. It also gives a hint of what's to come upon cutting the cake. I tried a few different tools to ruffle the edges of strips cut from modelling paste. At first I tried a ball tool however I found that I would get too many areas that were too thin and I did not find the edges ruffled enough. By the second orange ruffle, I moved on to trying a cone tool. I thought that this produced a better ruffle but I felt that it made the edges of paste a bit rough and it was hard on the fingers. I went back to the ball tool for a bit and then I tried making the ruffles with a modelling stick. I think that the modelling stick was the easiest option.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Gh7-NaR-8Hd7cBoOqJM1ZSzfltnDof8vsY74kEAYzcCk4fSXE9Qm2mJGAm3Wt6dUn0NiXhr_YQmanwq96lV4EqL2OC0cg8l34LE90bquR6utFXYcyXeVBjVwC77RLkKoIdBbl3YVPUA/s1600/IMG_5312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Gh7-NaR-8Hd7cBoOqJM1ZSzfltnDof8vsY74kEAYzcCk4fSXE9Qm2mJGAm3Wt6dUn0NiXhr_YQmanwq96lV4EqL2OC0cg8l34LE90bquR6utFXYcyXeVBjVwC77RLkKoIdBbl3YVPUA/s640/IMG_5312.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This was an 8-inch cake filled with an orange cream swiss meringue buttercream. To get the 'orange cream' flavour, I used vanilla extract, Cointreau and orange flavouring. The flavour was great, however, as this cake involves a lot of buttercream to fill the 6 layers and crumb coat the cake (I used 8 cups!), a little goes a long way in terms of serving sizes!<br />
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I hope that everyone had a wonderful Canada Day and Pride weekend!<br />
<br />sweetdcakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136226361253002421noreply@blogger.com2