Fabulous Fondant and a Frosting Faux Pas

I've been seeing a lot of cake designs with rosettes lately, and I've been dying to try making some! Sadly, I don't yet have any of the right decorating tips, so instead I decided to try it using a similar tip that I already have.

I figured that since I plan to be practicing so many designs with frosting that I don't want to have to make my own frosting every time. So on my lunch break today I stopped at Target and picked up some frosting. I knew wasn't quite the same as real decorator frosting, but since I was able to make it work well enough the first time I started practicing roses for my niece's cake, I assumed the same would hold true for this time.

As it turns out, I was very very wrong. That type of frosting just doesn't have the same consistency as decorator frosting, which has a lot more shortening and doesn't melt as easily, unlike this stuff that just could NOT hold its shape. I didn't get any pictures of it, but believe me it was pretty much a disaster. Suffice it to say that the designs looked nothing like the ones on Wilton's website. It was then and there that I decided I would only buy the decorator frosting (which Wilton makes and you can order online or pick up from your local Party City store), AND that I would buy it in the big tubs so that I would never again have to worry about running out of it and having to use regular frosting.

I really didn't want to end the night on such a disappointing note. So despite only having about 40 minutes before my usual bedtime, I elected to attempt some marshmallow fondant. I quartered the recipe, which made me a little hesitant because that doesn't always work out well, but I knew that I didn't have a whole lot of time and if it didn't turn out well I didn't want to have wasted all those ingredients.

I'm happy to say that my luck changed, and the fondant turned out beautifully. I was a little nervous because the blog in which I found the recipe (DIY Marshmallow Fondant) suggested using A LOT of Crisco because the stuff gets really sticky. However, I found that I only needed a little bit on my hands, and it worked just fine to put it on parchment paper instead of having to cover the table with Crisco. Since it turned out so nicely, I then chose to try my luck at adding a little food coloring. It took a little bit of kneading but the color eventually blended in perfectly.

Then I rolled it out with my rolling pin and cut out a star with on of my cookie cutters. It was quite pretty. However, it did NOT taste as good as it looked. It may have been because the powdered sugar that I used was not fresh, which I do know affects the taste of frosting, and the same might be true for fondant. So I do plan to buy some more fresh powdered sugar, just to test that theory, because from what I've heard people will actually eat marshmallow fondant versus regular fondant since it tastes a lot better.

Fondant star

Then I decided to cover something with the fondant, just to see how difficult that might be, because I obviously plan to cover some cakes with it in the future. Of course I didn't have a cake at the time, so I improvised and covered a cup instead (similar shape, right?). It worked quite well; the edges/bunched up parts of the fondant smoothed down really easily, and I was able to cut the extra stuff off the bottom with just a butter knife.

Fondant covered cup

So in the end I was a little sad that the lack of the right kind of frosting prevented me from being able to practice more with the decorating tips, but I was thoroughly excited that the fondant turned out so well. That's something I've wanted to do for a long time, and I can't wait to keep trying more designs with it.

Baking the Road Less Traveled

Hello fellow bakers and sweet treat lovers! I have recently decided to try to master the delicious art of sugary confections. Yes, I want to be a professional cake decorator.

All my life I have been obsessed with desserts, especially anything with frosting! I also have a great appreciation for art and design. So it hardly seems surprising that many a cake have left me feeling intrigued and awe-inspired. To learn how to create those amazing masterpieces has been a desire of mine for quite some time now. I won't get into too much of my background right now, but if you want to know a little more about me and why this is something I want to do, just click on my "About Me" link.

So as of now, I have already decorated one cake using professional tools. In fact, it was that cake that really pushed me to realize that this was something I truly enjoy, despite the amount of work it takes. It was for my niece's first birthday. I decided that since I had made something special for my nephew for his last birthday, I wanted to do the same for my niece, who have both brought so much joy to my life. Side note: being an aunt is one of the most wonderful blessings I have ever gotten. It is so much fun to see life through a child's eyes.

Violet's princess cake

Wyatt's Elmo cupcakes

The inspiration for both of those creations came from a lot of pictures I found on Pinterest (surprise surprise, right?). So for this project I opted to start by doing some more searching on Pinterest, and some other sites, to see what designs really caught my eye. In doing so I also decided that I will have to first play around with some classic cake decorations, using basic tools.

Right now I have 6 different decorating tips, and plan to accumulate more as I continue to learn more designs. I have already learned how to make a rose, as you can see in the picture above of the cake I made for my niece. That one was actually a lot of fun to learn, because it's been a very common flower on so many cakes I've seen and I always thought that it looks so pretty and even life-like.

The biggest help I found with that design was actually by searching for YouTube videos. There are a lot of good tips out there from experienced decorators who have added in some steps/hints of their own to help you be more successful. Here's a link to one of the videos I found most beneficial: How to Make A Buttercream Rose.

My next step is going to be making a plan for what I need/want to learn. For now I am still waiting on some more decorating tips that I purchased to arrive in the mail. So for my next lesson I have decided to start by playing around with some of the tips I have, and practicing the typical designs that they are used for. Then, if I have time, to make some marshmallow fondant. Fondant is something I have yet to make but have wanted to for a long time because it really gives you a lot more options for creating whatever design you have in mind. I also hope to get good enough at making different shapes out of it, as I anticipate using it to make little minions for the Despicable Me cake I'm planning to make my nephew this year. :)