Category Archives: How did I do that Cake

How to fix those ugly cake tunnels.

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If you love to bake you’ve surely encountered this problem; cake tunnels. There are many reasons why this can happen so you have to test and see what will work best for you in order to solve the issue. Cake tunnels might not affect the flavor of a cake but we bakers like to have a nice crumb on our cakes, and tunnels are really not attractive. If they’re too big they can change the texture of the cake and we don’t want that either.

So let’s go through a few things you can check to ensure you have a cake with an even crumb.

Eggless Cake Recipe Tutorial

The first thing you might want to make sure is not to overmix a cake batter. Over mixing can create gluten formation. I won’t go into the science of gluten so I don’t make this a lengthy blog. If you’re overmixing your cake batter, it can create the gluten. The gluten combined with the liquids (water or milk), plus your chemical leaveners (baking soda or baking powder), can produce bigger pockets of air instead of the tiny pockets we are looking for. This is why we avoid over mixing the batter.

Clabber Girl Baking Powder - Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Double Acting Baking Powder in a Resealable Can, Kosher, Halal - 22 Oz Can (1)

With that said, the next thing I will mention is your chemical leaveners. If you’re not over-mixing your batter, then it’s a good idea to make sure that your cake recipe contains the correct amount of baking powder and or baking soda. Too much of these ingredients can create tunnels as well. If your recipe has a normal amount of it then do make sure that the ingredients are dispersed all over the dry ingredients as evenly as you can. This is why some chefs recommend sifting the dry ingredients up to 3 times. I know we don’t like to hear that but there’s always a reason why things are being recommended. The reason for sifting 3 times is to make sure that all the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. So whether if you want to sift 3 times or just once, do make sure you mix all your dry ingredients well.

The next step is to make sure is that your cold ingredients are at room temperature. LetKerrygold Pure Irish Butter Foil 8.0 oz (pack of 20) say you are creaming your butter and sugar and it looks perfect. Then you add cold eggs. The cold eggs will affect the butter making it hard again and creating lumps of butter creating an uneven batter. Another thing that is recommended is to add one egg at a time and mix well before adding the next one. That way you create a batter that is properly emulsified and aerated. So when it comes to cold ingredients, make sure that they are at room temperature so you end up with a good outcome.

There are different ways of mixing cake batter. I usually do the Creaming Method of Mixing in my cakes but there are other methods used, like the 2-stage Reverse Mixing Method (mostly used in high ratio cakes) as well as another method called the Muffin Method Mixing. I might do another blog to explain each method, but for now, I will mention that the way you are mixing your cake batter might create tunnels too. So keep that in mind.

Check for my favorite cake recipes here!

Another thing to watch out for is a thick batter. When the batter is thick, it’s harder to pour and spread in the pan. Some people feel the need to add more liquids depending on the recipe and trust me, I’ve done recipes that I agree need more liquids but some recipes are great tasting and I don’t like to mess with that.

Moist and Delicious White Cake Recipe Tutorial.

So what do I do for thick recipes when I don’t want to add more liquids? I make sure they are dispersed properly over the pan. So once I pour the batter, I take a knife and go in a zig-zag motion all over the pan. Not only will this help the batter fill in every inch of the pan but it will cut any air pockets in the batter. Once I do this, I bang the pan a few times on the table to make sure the air pockets will rise to the top of the batter.

I’m sure some of you have encountered this problem before and found your own solutions so please feel free to share your ideas. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this Blog. I’m posting the video below so you can watch it. You can also visit my website for more tutorials!

I hope you guys stay safe, healthy, and keep baking.

Until next Blog, Ta Ta!
Edna 😀

 

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Fixing a Broken Gumpaste Flower

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I know I’ve haven’t written a Blog for awhile and I need to write a few of them for videos I have posted in You Tube, so here I am trying to catch up.

One of the videos I posted earlier was about doing a simple fix on a broken gumpaste flower. I remember years ago I was working at a custom cake store and one flower broke. I was about to throw it away and my good friend Maria told me not to. She said we can use it in the back of the cake and hide the broken part. So I adopted that way of thinking.
For cake shows and competitions this is not something I would suggest doing since judges do thoroughly inspect the arrangements to make sure that all of the flowers are done perfectly. But when you are dealing with weddings, some things are more forgivable and hiding a broken flower by using it as a filler works great, as long as you place it in such a way that the broken piece won’t show .

On a cake I was working on, the flower that broke was one of my favorites. Yes, I do have flowers that turn out better than others and I prefer using them for the front of the cake. A petal from the flower broke off and it was a clean break. When you get a clean break at the base of the petal, it’s a bit easier to fix and can be easier to hide. When done well, no one will notice the break. I do make sure to place the broken area in such a way that it’s less visible.
I remember when I was just starting to decorate cakes, there was a cake decorator who told me he used crazy glue to fix broken flowers. I just don’t feel comfortable using it near anything that goes in my cake. I know that gumpaste flowers are really not for eating but I still have my reservations.

I prefer to soften a small amount of gumpaste with some gum glue (click here for gum glue tutorial), and place it in the broken edge and let it dry. This usually works great but you have to let it dry well before you can use the flower. So if I am in a hurry and I can’t wait, I use a small piece of super thin gumpaste and add it with gum glue. Sometimes putting this super thin layer on one side will give you a strong bond but if you want an even stronger bond, I recommend that you do this on both sides of the petal.

Watch the video tutorial to see how I do it. I hope it helps when one of your flowers gets broken while you’re working on a cake.

Hope you enjoy this tutorial and soon I will post a Blog on the cake I design with them.
Until next Blog, ta ta!

Edna 😉

Rosette Cake Design

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I just got 2 new molds and I asked on Instagram which one you guys would prefer to see in a tutorial. I should have known that most of you would say both. LOL. I’ve decided to do both but I started with the rose mold first.

The Rosette Mold comes from a very popular design that creates beautiful roses by using stripes of fondant that are ruffled, and then placed strategically on the cake forming roses. This technique reminds me of the lace fabric I used to work with years ago when I designed clothing. Even though the design is so beautiful, you can expect long amounts of hours working on this design. It’s very time consuming.

I always love anything that shortens the length of work time when I am working on a cake. Not only can the customer save some money but I save time and earn more money too, so for me this is a win win. Now I can give the customer an option and if they want the original design, then they know they have to pay more for the work it involves, or just simply save some money and labor by using this shortcut.

I decided to see how the mold looks in a 2 tier cake and this is the finish product. Rosette Cake Design

I finished the cake with some of my favorite flowers gumpaste Orchids and Roses with some filler flowers and tropical leaves. I have a tutorial on Orchids posted in the website already but soon I will be adding a section with advanced tutorials that you can access anytime and will include more flowers, plus I plan to add more tutorials to it.Gumpaste flower arrangement.

And here is a close up of the pattern for the Rosette Mold.

Easy Rosette Cake Design

I will do another tutorial as soon as I can using the other mold I got. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this tutorial. I am posting the links to the products below for those of you who ask.

You can click here to watch the tutorial!

You can see it in You tube if you prefer. Here’s the link. Don’t forget to Subscribe to my channel!

Until next time.. ta ta!
Edna 🙂

 

Click here for more info on this beautiful mold.

Engagement Cake Design

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I love everything about this cake. I love the colors, the heart, the envelope, and the concept behind it. Reason why there’s a ring in between the roses is because this was an engagement cake.

The story behind this cake is pretty neat. The “P.S. I love you” comes from the couples favorite movie. I actually love this movie too! The woman in the story (played by Hilary Swank), looses her husband to a devastating illness. The husband knew that his time is coming to an end so for him to show his wife how much he loved her, he took it upon himself and orchestrated a plan to show his true devotion for her even after his death. All of the letters he wrote ended with the “P.S. I love you.”

Even though the story is a bit sad, the movie is really uplifting as throughout his notes he encourages her to move forward in her life, find her passion once again and fall in love all over again. P.S. I love you becomes a really good reminder of not to take anything for granted in life.

The red rose is an unmistakable expression of love in its entirety. There is also a meaning behind the amount of nine roses on the cake. A flower’s meaning is not specific to its colour and type alone, but also, to the number of flowers you choose. Nine is a symbol of eternal love. You would often give this exact number of roses to those you wish to spend the rest of life with.

The heart shape is the universal symbol of romantic love. Hearts symbolizes unity, cohesion adoration, femininity, soul connection, sexuality, courage and so much more. This symbol was already established as a symbol of love in the 19th century, but  is most commonly used in this era thru social media. Utilizing emojis that express admiration or adoration for something or someone.

The belt motif relates to a general bond that can be understood as an unbreakable unity and  strength. It also means loyalty, forever and love. There are 4 belts in the upper tier. The number four symbolizes the safety and security of the home, the need for stability and a solid foundation of values and beliefs.

The ring is another symbol of love. It’s made in a circle that has no beginning or end and is therefore a symbol of infinity. It is endless, eternal; just the way love should be. Many people think the origin of this custom stems from an ancient Roman belief that a vein travels directly from the left ring finger to the heart. As we already know, the heart is a symbol for true love.

The color black can have good and bad connotations. This one is used to express the meaning of strength, protection, comfort, seductive, formality and elegance. The red means  passion, seduction, desire and love.

Not all cakes have a symbol for each motif or item placed on the cake. Most people just do a cake that they find beautiful to their taste or will match their decor, but some people make sure that their emotions come across in the most subtle ways to ensure that their other halves know how they feel.

I filmed a tutorial on this cake and I am posting the links for the materials I used on this cake below( scroll down to check them). Click here to see the tutorial or on the photo below.

I hope you enjoy the tutorial and this Blog.
Until next time, ta ta!
Edna 🙂

*Not all products are promoted in this blog; just a few. I do love all the products I used and that’s why I mention them, and earnings are used in making new tutorials. Thanks for the support!

Learn make beautiful Roses

 

 

 


Click here for lettering mold used in this tutorial.
Click here for tutorial on this lettering mold.

 

 

 

Click here for Lavish Loop Mold


 

 

Click here for Buckle Mold

 

 

 

 

Click here for Love Heart Mold

Click here for Filigree Heart Mold

Click here for Gold Highlighter
Click here for Gold Highlighter Tutorial

Gold Highlighter Imperial Gold

Click here for Celebration Envelope Cutter

Celebration Envelope Cutter

Flower Pot Topper

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Flower Pot Tutorial

Years ago I was designing a cake for a bride and somehow we came to the conclusion that she wanted to have the topper fully as a dummy so she could save it and use it for her first year anniversary celebration cake. These days I mention this idea to all my brides just so that they know that this is an option available to them to do for their cakes. I love making toppers that I know will be saved and will keep the memory of that special event. It’s a great way to save something from the event and use it with a fresh cake if they want to.


The topper can be saved in a box or even under glass, if you want to save it from getting dusty so you can reuse it. If you prefer, you can display it in your house as long as you protect it from heat and light. The light will make the colors fade and the heat might soften the gumpaste details, so I prefer to keep it in a cold and dry area and away from sunlight or UV lights. With proper care a sugar piece should last for many years.

I still have a topper I made from a class I taught years ago and it’s still in great condition. Of course it won’t last forever, but if you lightly dust it, it should last for a very long time. Having the option of saving a topper is something that brides love. Especially when it comes to using gumpaste flowers. When they have the option of saving the item for a longer period, they feel better about investing on what is ultimately a work of art. I do make sure to tell them to be careful when moving the piece and cleaning it since gumpaste is delicate.

I made a tutorial on how I did the base of this cake. I wanted this base to look like a modern style basket weave, so I decided to use this beautiful mold from Marvelous Molds for my base. The tutorial shows how to use basic molds in unusual cake shapes. I basically divided my cake into panels and added other details to complete and clean the final design. I love the combination of the black and Copper Petal Dust for this fall theme topper.

Once you achieve your base, you can finish the topper with any flowers you want. You can do this type of base on real cake or on a dummy. I used a 6 inch dummy that had a V shape but I have also made this topper using a 4 inch dummy. This is another way to give height to a cake for a bride that is having a small wedding but wants a taller cake that makes a bolder statement.

I will post the links for the materials used in this cake below for those who are interested in them. Click to watch the tutorial.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial. Until next Blog, ta ta!
Edna 🙂

Here are the links for the products I used:
Tri Weave Simpress
Beautiful modern weave pattern made
by Marvelous Molds. They have so many
to choose from.

Image result for frames mold by celshapesFrame Mold
This is a frame mold from the Celcraft company.
They are called Celshapes. I have used this product for many
years and still love it.
This is a beautiful copper non toxic 
petal dust. I have this product available in my website.
You can also use other products like these ones:
Prima Marketing IOD Vintage Art Decor Moulding 1"Vintage Art Decor
The second line in this mold has a very close pattern
to the one I use from Celcraft. I think the other patterns
are really beautiful too.
This is a very useful too. If you don’t
have a specialty mold, you can always use this
to hide the seams or borders.
You can contact some companies to order dummies
with special shapes for your cakes.
Learn to make beautiful gumpaste flowers

with these easy to follow tutorials.

Cookies & Cream Cake Recipe

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I love chocolate! And honestly, who doesn’t love to eat Oreo cookies? So whoever thought of putting them on cake deserves an award. In my last Blog I posted my favorite Chocolate Cake recipe so I decided to follow that with this delicious cake recipe.

I remember many years ago when I moved to Florida, I went to my local supermarket and they had a cookies & cream cake. At that time I was not into cake making but definitely into cake eating, so I had to try that cake. I must say that I thought it was delicious. The buttercream they used in that cake was like Bettercreme, (check my tutorial on this). They crushed the cookies into the Bettercreme and filled all the layers with this mixture, and then they covered the outside of the cake in the same icing/filling.

With time my cake taste has developed. As much as I liked that cake back then, I knew it could get even better. The recipe I used for the filling in this cake is super tasty. Instead of Bettercream, I used cream cheese and butter and it just takes the flavor to another level. I love the recipe how it is but if you want something lighter, you can always add a cup ofKRAFT COOL WHIP TOPPING 8 OZ PACK OF 3 to the recipe. Another option is to add a tub of Cool Whip or make your own stabilized whipped cream and add it to the recipe. Keep in mind that once you add the dairy into the mix you will need to keep the cake in the fridge. As many of you already know, I don’t like cold cake. I feel it loses flavor.

You can finish this cake with your favorite buttercream recipe. If you want something light, you can use Bettercream or Stabilized whipped cream. If you want delicious with a smooth finish, I suggest using my Cream Cheese Buttercream. This is a bakery style cake and is not about a perfect finish but it’s all about a delicious cake.

To finish this cake, I added Oreo cookies all around the bottom of the cake. This is a personal choice. But surely, who complains about eating more cookies..lol I do prefer using the thin Oreos when I am making the cake but you can use the regular ones just as well.

I topped the cake with some old fashion Ganache. I love Ganache and I know that it has dairy but it will keep well out of the fridge for a few days. Plus it makes it really creamy and delicious. If you can’t have dairy, you try making it with water instead. My other suggestion is using coconut milk.

For decorating the cake you can use anything. I decided to go all out and use Pocky Sticks flavored in cookies and cream, a bar of Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Cream and (are you ready for it?), more Oreos.

 

Click here to watch tutorial.

Here are the the links for the products and tutorials I used.

Chocolate Cake Recipe
Cookies & Cream Filling Recipe
Ganache for Drip Cakes
Bettercream Icing Tutorial
Stabilized Whipped Cream Tutorial
Pocky Stycks
Bettercream (product)
Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Cream Bar

 

Until next Blog, ta ta!
Edna 🙂

The Quilted Cake Design

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I posted a new cake tutorial for a cake design I made. I love to get creative sometimes and do cakes that are amazing but the truth is that most clients either can’t afford them or they just want something simple. And to be quite honest, simple cakes that are fast can sometimes make more money than all those super busy complicated cakes that take a lot more time to make. For as much as I love to get fancy, simple designs are heaven on a busy week.

Quilted cakes have been in style for many years. I have made so many of them with different patterns and I can say that to this day, brides still love them. They are simply classic and elegant.

I got this new mold from Marvelous Molds and I love the design. In the video I did the cake without using dragees and the cake looks amazing. The really cool thing about this mold is that you can actually place the dragees on the mold before placing the fondant.

Gold Dragees

I won’t lie, I was a bit worried about doing this. All I thought was that the dragees were gonna be rolling everywhere and they where not gonna stick to the fondant.

I placed each little ball on each hole and then I placed the fondant on top.

I used no glue at all, and to my amazement, all the dragees stayed in place. You know how many dragees I had to place in cakes, one by one with pliers or tweezers over the course of almost 22 years???? All I can say is that I was super impressed and I love the fact that this mold can be used with or without the dragees.

Since this was a square cake, I wanted to finish the borders with some gold details. I decided to use the Vibrance Brooch Mold. I wanted to cover the edges and this mold is the perfect height for this purpose. To finish it I painted it in Gold Highlighter. I also cut this mold and added pieces of it to the board to give it a finished look that made everything cohesive.

Vibrance Brooch Mold

Most of the time I like to finish my cakes with whatever color of flowers I have to use and then I combine them with filler flowers in other colors. But for this cake, the red roses made a beautiful statement. No filler flowers used unless it was smaller roses, buds or leaves. I have a tutorial on how to make roses with circle cutters that I made so many years ago and it’s still a great way to get started if you want to play with gumpaste roses and you all you have are circle cutters. I also have a DVD with 4 hours worth of roses that include different ways to make them; how to make leaves, buds, how to color them and even how to make thorns.

 

Marvelous Molds is giving away 3 of their new molds and the rules are these ones; Go to Instagram and follow Marvelous Molds and Design_Me _a_Cake. Marvelous Molds is choosing a winner that does all the steps above so make sure you do that and I will post the winner as soon as I find out. You can also get an extra entry if you tag a friend.

I love how the cake turned out and I know brides love this type of cake. Below I am posting the links for the tutorials or products I used to make this cake. Click on the photo for more info. Click here or on the photo below to go watch tutorial.


 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy the tutorial.
Until next Blog, ta ta!

Edna 🙂

 

Bas Relief Tutorial

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Bas Relief Cake Tutorial

Seems like everyone is getting sick with the flu and there was nowhere to hide from it. But now that I am better I have to catch up with work. Last week I posted in You tube my latest Tutorial on Bas Relief.
Bas relief is an old technique that is being used a lot these days. Everything old is new again. You can do this technique all over the cake or you can do areas of it. It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. No matter what, it’s a busy look and I can call it even messy when it’s used all over the cake. You can use any mold to do this technique and you can mix them or just be repetitive with the same one.

In the tutorial I am using flowers. If you use smaller molds it can be more time consuming so I used this mold from Karen Davies collection that has big flowers that can cover a lot of area fast. A whole cake can be covered with this technique. But sometimes just one tier is enough to make a cake stand out. If you plan to cover a whole cake with this technique, make sure to add this to the cost of the cake as it will be time consuming.

In the video I used a Mold from Karen Davies. Click on the photo to see if it’s available in Amazon. If they don’t have it,
you can check her website but if you live in USA keep in mind it will be an International order. But if you can’t find the mold, there are many options you can use to make this style of cake.

The photo to the left shows another beautiful mold that has different flowers that you can use to make this type of garden cake. I will be clear that I am not getting paid to sell these molds. I am just showing you a product that I used and liked. You can also use molds you already have at hand to make this type of cake.

 

I did a 2 tier cake where I show step by step how to decorate the cake and how to make the beautiful bow. I put the tutorial for rent and for sale so you guys can choose what you prefer. I want to do more tutorials but longer tutorials like that are very time consuming and the small amount I am charging will cover the cost of making the longer tutorials. I will still do my You tube tutorials but the advanced tutorials will be including all the steps on how to make a cake. I thought that paying for a tutorial as you want to see it is more convenient than paying a monthly fee and easier on anybody’s pocket. Plus you can choose which tutorials you want to buy.

 

I added more photos of this cake in the website. Click here to check them out.

If you want to see the Free You tube Bas Relief Tutorial Click here or on the photo below.
To check the step by step tutorial on how to make the 2 tier Cake Click here or on the photo below.
I hope you enjoy these tutorials. Until next one, Ta ta!
Edna 😀

 

Tylose, Gum Tragacanth, Gum Tex- What are the differences?

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This Blog is all about information on those gum products we hear so much about and use in cake decorating. I personally love Tylose. It’s less expensive, easier to find and great quality. But here is the info so you can choose the one you like the most. All of them are gums but as anything in life they will have some differences in outcome so your job is to find the one you prefer. I just did a tutorial to show you guys how Tylose helps change the texture of fondant and how to fix it to the consistency you need. Click to watch here.

Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC), is a thickener, binder and stabilizer in a variety of foods. Cellulose is the carbohydrate that makes up the woody parts and cell walls of plants. CMC is a thickening agent made by reacting cellulose (wood pulp, cotton lint) with a derivative of acetic acid. It is not absorbed or digested and is sometimes included in the “dietary fiber” on food labels. Commonly used in food preparation. It’s poorly absorbed by the body but if consumed in large amounts it can create flatulence. Something I would not worry with cake since we really use small amounts of it. The number for this gum is E466

Tylose is a namebrand for CMC. It’s the name I use mostly because it’s the brand I use the most. Tylose is found easier than other gums and the price for it tends to be lower. I have a preference on a specific brand of Tylose because I used others that I found were not of the same quality when I worked with the product. But like everything in life, we all have our preferences so test a few to find the one you like. But keep in mind that purified CMC is a white to buff-coloured, odourless and tasteless, free flowing powder. Less purified low assay types can be off-white to a light brown. I did try one time another brand and the color was less white and the quality of my gumpaste felt different. It was the last time I switch brands. Maybe I am just used to the one I use but I felt a big difference in quality,

Usually it’s often recommended to add 1 to tablespoons of Tylose to 1 pound of fondant. I will say that even though I add Tylose to fondant to create details, the consistency is not the same as if you do a Tylose gumpaste from scratch. It just doesn’t give the same texture or elasticity but some people get used to using it even for flowers. It’s just not my preference and if you are getting started making flowers I would not suggest it either. I think it’s more difficult. Even though you can make flowers from it, elasticity and feel is just not the same. But with that said, it works great for making decorations that need a stronger consistency or even if you need something to dry faster. Tylose works well in areas where there is a lot of humidity.

Gum Tragacanth is another gum. If you are looking for something natural this will be your choice. A bit more difficult to find and can be more expensive. Tragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes of the genus Astragalus. To harden fondant some people will say it takes up to 30 minutes to feel the change in texture. It’s advised to leave it to dry overnight for the best results. It’s recommended around a teaspoon of Gum Tragacanth per 1 pound of Fondant. Something you have to keep in mind is that it will give a yellowish tone to white pieces. This is one of the reasons I prefer using Tylose/CMC. The number for this gum is E413.

Gum-Tex is the name for the gumpaste powder sold by Wilton. Recently I saw that they added the name Tylose to the bottle. I have been giving the numbers for each gum I posted so you can see that all products are not the same. Wilton used to call their product just Gum-Tex but now they added the Tylose name to it. But Gum Tex is not made with CMC. Gum-tex is made with Karaya Gum. The number for this E416. It’s made from the dried sap from the trunk of the Stercuila trees which are native to India. Yes it’s a gum, yes it works to make gumpaste but here is my opinion. The gumpaste tends to feel grainy and dry. It’s not my favorite one.

All of these are gums and most of them have recipes that work the best with each of them or people have created their own recipes to use them. Some of them can be interchangeable but you might feel the difference in the outcome of the recipe. I have a recipe for Tylose gumpaste in my website that works wonderful with Tylose gumpaste.
I did made a mistake in the video on the amount of teaspoons ( I wrote tablespoons instead of teaspoons in the video  😦 ), so do make sure to read the tips and recipe in my website before you make it. This recipe was posted by the company that I buy the Tylose from and I was told it was created by a lady call Jill Maythan. It’s my favorite recipe and I used it for more than 21 years and will keep using it.

All this gums are food safe and used in many food items in the market. So you can use them in your fondant. Most of them are Kosher but do check the product you use to make sure they do.

In the video tutorial I show how adding Tylose changes the texture of the fondant as I work with it. It’s pretty neat to see. I know I am using a bigger amount of the powder for a small piece but even though you can just wait and let the fondant rest so it hardens, you can see that it would be ok if you add just a bit more and you don’t have to wait if you are in a hurry. It really depends on you. You can save time by using more or you can use less product if you would rather wait. Most of the time I do this it’s for pieces that need to dry fast like bows or maybe things I need to mold. Since I know it will get harder as I work with it, I just work fast and when I feel I can barely knead it, I add more fondant to it to soften it.

I will suggest to play with it and find the consistency you like for whatever you are working for. Also keep in mind that it might react differently depending on the fondant you use. If you are using for example Fondarific, which is chocolate based fondant, it will take a lot more. If you are using Satin Ice, it will take less since it has no chocolate in it. So if you are playing with a new fondant that you never used before, do a test and see how it reacts. If you add too much to certain fondant, it can make it  dry, reason why I always suggest to do smaller amounts.

If you need to make a fondant that requires a lot of color, you can always add a bit of Tylose to it to avoid it getting softer. If you feel more comfortable, do a test first and see how your fondant reacts. Sometimes colors might change the consistency of certain brands of fondant. If you find yourself with a fondant that is too dry and cracks too much, add just a bit of glycerin. If the glycerin doesn’t help, try modeling chocolate. Add small amounts because if you add too much your fondant can get too soft and some people like softer fondant but other people don’t. To learn what’s best for you, you need to test what you like and all I can do is offer suggestion on things I use that work for me.

Once you have added Tylose or Gum Tragacanth to your fondant, you have to keep un mind that it will dry faster. You can store a regular fondant in a tub for months. But once you add Tylose to it, it can dry in a matter of days and that amount will change depending on how much you added. If you added just a bit it will last longer but when you add a lot, it will be hard as a rock by the next day. You can seal it in plastic wrap but also place it in a Ziplock bag so it lasts longer. You can also add more fondant to it to disperse the Tylose so it lasts longer. I prefer to do small amounts that I will use promptly and avoid having to deal with fondant that is dry hard as a rock.

I hope I have not forgotten anything in this Blog. It’s a lot of information but sometimes it’s better to have the knowledge than to deal with questions and problems that we don’t know how to solve. Hopefully you have some answers and this will help you conquer any problems as they arise. If you don’t have Tylose available in your area I always have it available in my webstore. Click here to get Tylose. I will post in the website under the video links to where you can find the other gums.

Click here or on the photo below to watch the Fondant Tylose Tutorial

I hope you enjoy the tutorial. Until next time TA TA!!!

Edna 🙂

 

 

The Knitted Cake – Product Review

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I love to knit and crochet and I just got beautiful molds that are just perfect to create a cake that looks like you have knitted a sweater for it. With fall coming, tons of ideas roll in my head on how I can use these molds!

I love molds and I understand that some people don’t like to spend the money on molds because they might be able to do a design without one. For a person that don’t do cakes often and has the time to spend tons of hours on a cake, saving the money seems fair but for those who have many cakes to do in a day, the right mold can make you move faster, so you don’t have to spend so much time making just one cake.

A cake that looks like it has been knitted is one of those designs that can take a lot of time and effort if you do them without a mold. You would have to use an extruder and take 2 strands, twisting them together and then placing it on the cake, one line at a time, so you can cover a whole cake. It will look beautiful, but the hours spent doing that is not something I look forward too. I love making cakes, but I love to enjoy my life too.

Another way to do a knitted look it is by creating your own mold. It’s a fun thing to play with and create your own molds. But let’s face it, getting the materials for this can get expensive and you need to keep in mind that you need to treat the thread so it can be molded properly (Basically you have to buy a product to spray on the knit so it don’t stick to the mold). It can be time-consuming and not necessarily cheaper option, but if you like to play with making your own molds it can be a fun craft.

I like to use many techniques in my cakes. I will never say no to something that will save me time just because someone in the world might think is better to do things this way or that way. If I can make it fast with a mold I will. I also have learned to use the same mold for different purposes to create versatility on the cake by cutting the molds or simply manipulate the pattern to create another design with the same mold. I see them as an investment that will save me time so I don’t have to spend days making a cake that won’t pay me for all that time I spent making it. I say this all the time and I will say it again: “Time is Money” and my free time means I can relax and enjoy life. Something I value very much.

Sometimes I get molds because I use them over and over in my designs. Sometimes I get them because the mold has a unique pattern and sometimes I get them just because they are gorgeous. Whatever the reason I get them for my pleasure and my customers cakes.

You can say it’s one of those addictive habits that I won’t give up easily…lol. Just like my stash of fabrics in my sewing room. I love that it’s there and I can use it at any time I want especially for those last minute outfits you want to create.

For this video I used the Braided Knit Border and the Classic Knit. I think all of them can be used by themselves and make beautiful cakes, but I really wanted to combine them for this cake tutorial.

I also added a brooch detail  using a mold call Devonaire Brooch and Medium Leather buttons just to finish the look. I painted them in Silver highlighter to brighten the whole cake and the Gumpaste Flowers just soften the whole look. These I teach in my DVD’s.

Marvelous Molds is a great company and constantly creates new and innovated molds that I have yet to encounter to be poorly made. I have used their products since they started making their fabulous molds and they haven’t failed me yet. So my review for this knitted mold in particular is 5 STARS!!! I have worked with many molds throughout the years and a mold with a good design and impression quality of the silicone is very important. I have tested some of the products that are coming from China that are being copied from good companies, but the silicone impressions don’t have the same quality, complete disappointment. It can be a hit or miss with them so I stay with the companies I trust to avoid losing out on money, and save myself from the torture. I have to do a tutorial-review on those products coming from there.

I love the finish look of this cake and I’m so excited to use these molds! Not only for my fall and christmas cakes, but for baby cakes also. Feel free to leave me comments below for products that you want me to review. If it’s accessible to me I can try to add it to my list. Click here to watch the tutorial or click on the photo below.

Until next time, Ta Ta!!!

Edna

 

*The small earnings from advertisements in this Blog are used towards making more tutorials. Reviews are 100% honest and I stand by them.