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.
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.
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.
And here is a close up of the pattern for the Rosette Mold.
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.
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 tutorialor 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!
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 😀
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.
Hello to all my cake friends. In two weeks I will be attending the ‘That Take the Cake Show‘ being held at the Round Rock Sports Center in Round Rock, TX., where I will be teaching a 3 hour class with my great friend Karen Vazquez on February 26th, 2016 starting at 5:30 pm. The show itself starts Saturday, February 27th and ends on Sunday the 28th. This show is one of the best cake shows and I finally have the chance to go!
The theme as you can see represents the 17th – 18th century baroque style. Consisting of the dramatic exuberance of colors from today while bringing out the profound ornate elegance of the many fine detailed golden miniature flowers, swirls and pearls. The class will be separated into 2 part class for the 3 hours. Karen will teach the students on how to create the beautiful blend of colors on the cake, and I will teach how to accessorize the cake so it shines!
Gumpaste flowers can be time consuming, so you can imagine how much time it would take to create a dozen miniature flowers using cutters. Luckily for the class, I will educate the students on how to create this beautiful miniature flowers without the use of cutters. This, way I can move faster when decorating the cake and still accomplish that quality that the clients expect from me.
Also, I may mix freehand petals with cutter petals to give the class different approaches so they can choose what works best for them.
The roses can be made completely with no cutters or you can use cutters to finish them; totally based off preference. I will demo 2 kind of blossoms:
Small blossoms are actually the simplest blossoms to create. These flowers are great fillers for gumpaste flower arrangements.
Bigger blossoms have more delicate petals needing just a few more steps to complete them.
Once you know how to make this flowers, you can make beautiful arrangements with them like the swag in the photo above.
Since the class is a 3 hour class, we won’t be able to do a 4 tier cake, so we will have to make a one tier cake that includes the main parts of the design. Because of the limited time, this means that we will only be able to teach you how to paint the cake, create the oval frame, do a couple mini roses along with the leaves. This way, I can demo the rest of the details in the cake for the class so that everyone can see the outcome on how to create this gorgeous creation.
If we have time, I will also include a free demo a full size rose. With what you learn on the class you will be able to do the 4 tier cake shown above, on your time in case we run out of time here. One must not take haste when creating art, for it expresses the true identity and intent of the artist themselves.
If you are interested in the class, click here.
‘That Takes the Cake Show’ is one of the best shows in the country.
If you are interested in participating in the cake competition, take classes or simply just go to visit the show, go to: That Takes The Cake website.
I was surfing the net awhile ago and saw a beautiful cupcake made by The Pastry Studio. I contacted them to use their cupcake as inspiration for
a tutorial and they said yes!
This is the photo that I found. I love how they mix the
pearls and nonpareils. Makes it look really delicate
and elegant.
I don’t know the steps they used in making these
cupcakes, so I will show you how I would make
them. I didn’t have different sizes of pearls so
I used nonpareils, sugar pearls and sugar
crystals. But I do love the bigger pearls they
used in their cupcakes.
For this particular flower you will need 2 five petal cutters. I used the 2 biggest ones on this PME 5 Petal CutterSet.
The flower is not difficult to make. If you are not used to making gumpaste flowers, this is a great way to learn.
When I make cakes, I know I need to move
fast. Spending too much time in a single detail is not a great idea when you are trying to earn some money. This is something I keep in mind when I teach. We want pretty and we want fast.
This is the reason why I mention the tools
I use that help me to move fast when I do tutorials.
I used a Celformer to shape this flower. This is one of those tools that I love and make my flower making a bit easier. I cover them in foil so I can reuse the former as I dry the flowers I already made.
The tutorial is very detailed. You can also
add more detail to the flower with petal dust
if you want to take it to another level. I didn’t
do the petal dust in the tutorial because I wanted to show the simplified version of the flower.
Some people will say this is a lot of work for a cupcake and yes it can be. So make sure to charge well for the work you do. The other option will be to mix this cupcake with others that have a more simple design. The flower can also be used in cakes.
I did this cupcake for the 4th of July and decided to film it while I was working
on it,(click here to watch the video). I love the design on this cupcake. I know many people will say, “that’s too much work for a cupcake”. Yeah, it has some work, and it would be a lot of work if you want to do all your cupcakes with the same design. The beauty about making cupcakes is that you can make them all in different designs. By doing some simple ones, your most complicated ones will shine and make a statement. Here is the cupcake! I used the Strip Cutter to makes the stripes. An easy way to make perfect stripes fast.
I love JEM Cutters. They have a series of cutters that can be place in a foam they created so you can cut your pieces upside down. I love using the cutters this way because you can make sure that the cut is clean.
Here to the right is the cutter I used. You can click on the photo for more info on that tool.
To the left is the Roller Foam. As you can see it works with a lot of the delicate cutters from this company. Click on the photo for more info. I added to the cupcake some stars. As many of you might already know, I love plunger cutters. I move fast when I used them and that’s important when making cakes.
I painted the stars using my favorite gold highlighter.I did a few months ago a video that teaches how to use the Gold highlighter. You can click here to check the tutorial.
I took this photo while I was doing the roses. Miniature roses are fun to make. But it’s important to be able to move fast when doing them. You really don’t want to spend hours making a little tiny flower. I have 2 ways of doing these roses and in the video I just used no cutters. I will do and advanced tutorial on these flowers for those who want to learn to make them.
Every year I do a Christmas cake. It’s a tradition I keep and enjoy. I used to make decorated cookies. But for the past few years I decided to make a cake instead of the cookies. I miss doing the cookies but time will just not allow me to do both.
I decided to do a blog to answer the questions that people ask me when I post a
cake. All the green letters are links to the products.
Here is the naked cake.
I wanted a Christmas style cake so I definitively wanted green in it.
The fondant I used for the green came from Renshaw. Most of you might
not have heard of them. They are a British company that over 100 years
experience in baking and cake decorating.
I was completely pleased with
this fondant. Often times dark
colors in other brands of fondant
tend to crack, but Renshaw did not crack, the flavor was good and
it was easy to work with.
For the bottom 2 tiers, I used my homemade white fondant. I will post that as soon as I can do a video tutorial on how to make it.
I used Luck’s Classic Gold Shimmer with my Airbrush to color the cake. I love to airbrush a cake but one thing you need to know is that airbrushing will make any small crack look more like a crater. Especially if you try to airbrushed too fast and make the fondant too wet.When it
is too wet it will begin to dissolve the fondant.
I suggest you give it a coat of color and let it dry in between coats to get a better finish. In between drying sessions I keep working with other details of the cake. This way I move faster.
For the bottom tier, I did a band in green. and I cut the top part of the band in the same swag shape I was using on top of it. This is the mold I used called, “The Ruffle Swag”. It’s from the company Marvelous Molds. The mold has two layers of ruffles and is topped with a string of pearls.
I decided to paint those pearls with a Gold Highlighter. (click here for gold).This gold is meant only for decorations that can be taken
down before cutting the cake.
There are lots of highlighter golds out there but none of them are edible. I have seen some companies say it’s approved, but the reality is that none of them are approved. There are other golden tones that are non-toxic but they don’t have the true gold color that the highlighter gives. If you need a true gold for a full cake,
then you can either use edible gold leaf or buy 24 carat luster gold.
This option is a bit more pricey, so I stick with airbrushing.
In between the ruffles I added this mold. This one is called, “Grand Tassel Drop Mold”. This one I finished with the highlighter Gold as well.
At the top of each tassel, I added a simple Blossom like the ones I made in my tutorial, “How to make Simple Blossoms”.
This mold has the same ruffle detail as the swag but it’s on a straight line. The molds connect easily so you can connect them and make them look
like a one big piece. I painted the ruffle part on both the swag and this
one with Super Pearl Luster Dust.
Some people may wonder why I used a mold when I can do bows so easily without the mold. Well, the reason is simple. It’s just a different look and it can be a fast approach too. But basically for me it’s just part of the look I wanted
for the cake.
For the tier that I airbrushed, I added cutouts that look like ornaments.
I don’t have this available at the web store at the moment but if you are
interested in them, feel free to leave me a comment below so I can order some.
They are really easy to work with and I hand painted them with Gold Highlighter.
For this tier, I used thePerfect Pearl Mold
to finish the base. I wanted to bring some of
the white, green and gold to it. This way I
have a color flow between all the tiers.
In the first and last tier, I used anExtruder
to finish the border. I kept those borders
green because I wanted them to blend
with the background.
For the topper I used a Poinsettia. I teach how to make these flowers in my DVD, How to Make Gumpaste Poinsettia”. In the DVD I explain how to make fantasy Poinsettia like this one. I added some gumpaste snowflakes, finished with some disco dust and a cutout Christmas tree dusted in Gold Highlighter.
The Christmas tree cutter is made byXimena (click here for cutter).
On another note, I added a Newsletter button at the top of the blog for those
who want to receive an e-mail newsletter. I don’t like my email to be filled with
daily newsletters and I don’t plan to do that to you guys either. But I can send
news for a new tutorial posted, or a special sale at the store or even a contest.
Plus I plan to do more advanced tutorials too.
I would love for you to share any ideas you may have with me. Do you
guys like basic details on how a cake was done, or do you want
full step by step tutorials? I ask this because I can do basic tutorials
but the ones that are step by step are more time consuming and I
might have to charge a small fee for those. Do you prefer PDF
files or video tutorials?
Any ideas that you have will be great for you to share with me.I want
to do either A video or blog, where I answer questions you have.
So any ideas you have, comments and questions, feel free to
post here or go to my Page in Facebook and post them there.
You are my cake family and I have always tried to help in areas that you
need help. Hopefully with the new year I can finally finish the new website
and not have to stress about it anymore. I want to dedicate more time to
what I truly love, making cakes and teaching. Hope you guys help me with
all this work I have! lol
And don’t worry about misplacing recipes. The new website will have all the
recipes I have and I will add more to the list. Maybe some of the links
will change but all will be there. Even cakes I never posted from my earlier
years.I will leave my old cakes so you can see how much I have
grown through the years. I want people to know that to achieve better
cakes you need time and practice. Giving up is not an option.
Hope you had a wonderful New Year and wish you the best ahead.
Lots of hugs from my house to yours. Thanks for being my cake family!
Sugar Roses and blossoms fillers by Edna De la Cruz
I love this cake. Just one single tier, but it’s so delicate and elegant.
I designed this cake last year and some people were asking me how it was done.
With so much work on my hands, I postponed doing a blog or tutorial because I really wanted to do a You Tube video about it. I suppose for now I will do the blog and eventually I will let you know when the video tutorial is finally done.
Let’s get started!
This cake was covered in Fondant. I used Americolor Neon Green liquid-gel to color it. I love that tint. It can go from very delicate, if you use a little, to very funky, if you use a lot.
Edible Image Paper from Icing Images Co.
In the photo above you will observe a very delicate lace was used. The lace was made with a Martha Stewart cutter and an edible paper from a company called Icing Images, (link posted below).This particular paper has a pearl finish to it and they offer many beautiful colors you can choose from.
Martha Stewart Deep Edge Punch-Garden Gate
The name of this cutter is Deep Edge Punch-Garden Gate. These punch cutters are really fun to use for scrapbook projects but they also work really well for cake when you combine them with edible image paper. It’s very important to use paper of very good quality. Some papers are too thin or they dry too fast. This is why I love the Icing Image papers. They are thick and give you a bit more time to work without the paper breaking or cracking. NEVERTHELESS, still it’s a good idea to work fast so the paper doesn’t break.
I always keep my edible paper in the original plastic bag it came in and sealed well so it doesn’t dry. I also store it in a dry place because humidity can affect the paper, just as it affects anything with sugar in it. Just make sure to take care of the paper and store it well. Never leave the paper uncovered so it will last longer.
The Martha Stewart punch is packaged with the sides closed. This is a great way to store it. To use, just open the wings. I cut the paper with a guillotine to make sure I have a straight edge. Doing this will save the rest of the paper from drying
too. Make sure to take of the plastic backing that the paper has before you start
using it for this type of work.
Once the paper is cut, I place it in the punch, carefully aligning it to the back line of the cutter. This will ensure a straight cut every time. After you cut the first part you move that and align the cut with the side wing of the punch where the design is imprinted. This is very helpful when you make cut after cut, always ending up with a perfect pattern.
First practice with a regular piece of paper until you get used to it. I will be doing a tutorial of this soon to better show how to use it.
How thick you want the strip is just a personal choice. Just cut it to whatever thickness you prefer it to be. To finish the design, I used the Perfect Pearl Mold. I love this mold when making pearls. Here below is an old tutorial I made on how to use the mold. I am planning to redo this tutorial but for now this is still the way I make pearls. For those who want the mold, here is the link to it. Click here.
I use this mold all the time as it has 3 delicate pearl sizes.
Click to watch Pearl Tutorial
For the roses, I used my fast rose method on how to make roses. It’s part of my DVD “How to Make Sugar Roses”. This DVD has 4 hours of tutorials on the many ways to do roses. It includes the fastest way but also how to do the separate petals. This is in case time is not an issue and you opt to make a tight center. It also includes how to make
leaves, stems and even thorns. Then it teaches you how to color your roses.
Gumpaste Roses, blossoms, leaves and fillers.
The blossoms and buds are part of my DVD “Blooms and Vines”. This DVD shows how to make Hydrangeas, blossoms, buds, their leaves and Ivy vines. It even includes how to make these flowers without cutters, another way to make flowers. Finally, it teaches how to color and finish them.
Remember that in my website there are a number of tutorials that can help you get started in the wonderful world of cake decorating. You will find them under tutorials. If you are a beginner and have never done gumpaste flowers, I suggest you start with my tutorial on “How to Make Calla Lilies”.
I am posting all the links below too, so you can go check them out.
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.
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.
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Design Me a Cake 