Tag Archives: sugar

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 🙂

 

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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. 

Mason Jar Cake Tutorial

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I love Mason Jars. They are reusable, great for canning, jams and storing food. I found this website that sells caps for mason jars that I totally fell in love wMason Jars Recapith. They are called Mason Jar ReCap.

My 2 favorite ones are the one with the flip top and the one to pour liquids from, but they have so many other ones to choose from.

I made a tutorial on how to use Mason Jars for cakes. It’s a fun way to make cakes to take along or share with friends and family. And I will say that there is not one person that doesn’t smile when you share  a mason jar filled with delicious cake. Even if you have a cake shop, it’s a great way to sell cakes. They stay moist longer because they are sealed. Win win!

For this tutorial I used my Banana Cake Recipe. People are always trying to find ways to pair cakes with fillings and I am sharing one of my favorite ones.

I used sugar covered roasted pecans and caramel as part of the filling for this cake. I will be sharing the recipe for the roasted pecans soon. Basically I layered the banana cake, then added a layer of caramel then added the roasted pecans on top and finishing it with another layer of cake and buttercream.

You can use any buttercream you like for mason jars. Even soft icing will do great since the jar holds everything together. For banana cake you can use cream cheese frosting. I have a Crusting Cream Cheese Recipe but I have another recipe that is softer and has more cream cheese in it. I use it mostly as a filling but it’s great to use in jars as buttercream, (click here for the recipe) . I have made this cake using Suspiro recipe too and it’s delicious. You can also use Wilton whipped buttercream that is sold in a box if you want a fast fix on a lazy day. There are so many options, you can choose what you enjoy the most!

I have a great recipe for Salted Caramel. But if you feel lazy, you can use caramel from the store. Just keep in mind that the caramel that is sold in supermarkets tends to be too soft for cake fillings. It works great for jars because the jar holds the cake in place but in a regular cake, it might be too soft and make the layers slippery.

I sent an email to the company and got a 25% discount for you guys if you are interested on getting some of the Mason Jar Recap lids. The coupon is good until May 20, 2017. You can visit their website at: www.masonjars.com

 

Here is the tutorial posted below. It will be also posted in my website under this link: http://www.designmeacake.com/mason-jar-tutorial

 

Hope you enjoy this Blog and tutorial. Until next time..ta ta!

Edna 🙂

The Hand Painted Cake

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austin class 1

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.

Miniature handmade gumpaste flowers.

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:

  1. Small blossoms are actually the simplest blossoms to create. These flowers are great fillers for gumpaste flower arrangements.
  2. Bigger blossoms have more delicate petals needing just a few more steps to complete them.

Gold swag of gumpaste flowers.Once you know how to make this flowers, you can make beautiful arrangements with them like the swag in the photo above.

Cake Decorating Class

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.

 

Hope to see you there, ta ta!
Edna 🙂

 

 

 

The Crumb Coat- Cake Basics 101

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The Crumb Coat

We all want beautiful perfect cakes and even though icing a cake might appear
to be a simple task, it isn’t. Achieving the perfect icing requires practice and once you learn how to do it, it will become easy and fast.

There are many ways to ice a cake. I have tested many of them and most of them work but each person will find one to be their favorite. My favorite way to ice a
cake is by doing a crumb coat. I will eventually talk about other ways of icing a
cake so you guys can choose the one you like best, but I will start with the way
I do it.

DSC_0991

A crumb coat is a very thin coat of
icing that is used to seal the crumbs
on the cake. It’s called a crumb coat because you will see the crumbs in
this layer of icing. I use crusting buttercream with my cakes but this technique works with other icings too. One thing to keep in mind is the consistency of the buttercream.
It can’t be too thin because it won’t make it easier for the second coat
to be applied but it can’t be too stiff because it will break the cake. It
needs to be in a good medium consistency.

I do have a system I follow when I ice my cakes. I bake my cakes a few days earlier. I seal them well and place them in the fridge. This will not only help
the flavors to settle down, but you will have a nice cold cake to work with. Many people make the mistake of working on cakes that are too fresh and not
completely cooled down from the baking. Some people can manage working with
a cake in that condition and do an awesome job. But most people will have
a hard time working like that. A fresh baked cake is softer, there will be more
crumbs and the cake will break easily

Raspberry filling

Now that I have a cold cake, I can torte and fill the cake and get it ready for the
crumb coat. The video I am posting
shows how I do this step. Make sure
your cake is cold. Not only does it make
it easier but it will control the crumbs
and it will help you move faster. If you
are working with stacked cakes, it will be faster to do all the crumb coats and place the cakes in the refrigerator so they cool down and the buttercream hardens. This will make the second coat easier to apply without lifting a lot of the crumb coat.

If you plan to leave the cake with the crumb coat overnight in the fridge, make
sure to cover the cake with some plastic wrap to avoid condensation. if you
get too much condensation on your cake from leaving it overnight, you want to
pat the water away with paper so the second coat doesn’t slide over the first
coat. But keep in mind that it’s better to avoid the condensation than to deal with it. Make sure your refrigerator is not too cold either as it can make condensation worst. There are other ways to avoid condensation but I will do another blog about that.

Bench scrapper

I talk in the video about the spatula I use when
I ice my cakes. I love my 7 inch angle spatula but keep in mind you might prefer a different one. The bigger the spatula, the more buttercream you can add but it will be heavier
to handle. My other favorite tool would be the scrapper. You want a Scraper that is food
safe and has a nice L-shape that helps control how straight your cake will be. And finally it’s a good idea to have a good turntable. All these things do help to move faster and when you are earning money from making cakes, time is money.

I am posting below the link to the Crumb Coat Tutorial and below it I am adding
the link for How to Ice a Cake.

Even though the tutorial How to Ice a Cake is very old, I still use the same technique to ice my cakes.

 

I hope you enjoy, until next blog… ta ta!

Edna 🙂

 

 

My Favorite Chocolate Buttercream

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Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

Presione aqui para Español

Chocolate is my addiction! I just love it! I have a great recipe in my website for a Crusting Chocolate buttercream. That recipe is great for cakes that are going to be stacked and for those who need a strong buttercream due to hot weather or humidity. The high ratio in this recipe helps stabilize the buttercream.

The recipe I am posting here (click here for recipe) is a recipe that I use all the time for my personal cakes. It’s made with butter and no high ratio. It’s delicious and very easy to make. Usually I like  recipes that crust so I can smooth it almost to look like fondant. This recipe doesn’t crust the same as the recipe listed above, but it crusts enough to be lightly smooth out with Viva Paper.
If you haven’t used this technique you can click here to watchDark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream  tutorial about it.

I made a step by step Tutorial on this
recipe that is in a video on my website.
One benefit from this recipe is that you
can pipe beautiful borders with this recipe.
The cake itself can stay outside the
fridge for a few hours as long as you
leave it in a room with air conditioner.
If you live in a state that is colder than
Florida, you can probably use it on your stacked cakes. But make sure you do
a test before you use it on a cake for
a client. Just make sure to use
butter and not margarine when doing
the recipe.
chocolate

I love to use this buttercream with my dark chocolate cake recipe. If you love chocolate, this is death by chocolate. I will work on the tutorial for the cake and post it soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the recipe just as much as I do. Look below for the link to the recipe and tutorial.

Click here or on the photo to go to the tutorial and the recipe.

Chocolate Buttercream Recipw

 

Until next blog, ta ta!

Edna 🙂

 

 

Best Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Cookies

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Best Macadamia Nut & White Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Presione aqui para Español

I love macadamia nuts. My father got me into eating them and one of my
favorite cookies are the macadamia nut and white chocolate. I had some
of the ingredients and decided to make some of these amazing cookies.

Not sure who is the original creator of this recipe since it was passed to
me by a friend. But there was nothing to fix in this recipe. It’s perfect and
delicious. I am adding a few tips so you guys get a great cookie.
Click here for the recipe.

Baking Macadamia Nut & White Chocolate Cookie Recipe

There is a science to baking cookies. I read over the years people talking how
they want their cookies softer, while others like them crunchy. But the most
dreaded issue people face is, why did my cookie spread and now looks
like a flat blob?

There are so many reasons why cookies can go wrong. One of these reasons
will come from ingredients. Too much sugar can make a cookie spread.
But one factor that people don’t figure most of the time is the butter. Margarine,
for example, will spread more than butter since it is more oily and softer.

Another reason why cookies can spread is from putting the cookies in a hot
cookie sheet that just came out of the oven. The heat from the sheet will cause
the butter to melt before it has a chance to set. So avoid placing your cookies
in a hot cookie sheet or make sure to move fast if you decide to do this. Just
have the cookies pre-shaped so it’s a matter of placing them real fast and move
to the oven in a snap.

Sometimes people use too much butter or oil on the pan that can make a cookie spread too much while it’s cooking. I use the non-stick aluminum foil and it’s a fast clean up, plus I don’t have to add anything. The cookies don’t stick to it. You can also use a Silpat, (non slip baking mat), which is really good for this.

Make sure that you don’t over beat your mixture. This only creates air and that air can cause pockets that eventually just deflate. I usually tend to place my mixture in the fridge. Since the butter in the recipe is used at room temperature,
I want the butter to harden up so that my cookies stay fatter.

Best Macadamia Nut & White Chocolate Cookie Recipe

If you follow all these steps and you still get flat blobs for cookies, you can
either use half butter and half shortening. You can use all shortening too instead,
but if you are like me, you might not want to give up the buttery taste. If that is
the case, you have one more option. Lower the temperature of the oven. All
ovens are different. You would think that temperatures should be the same in
all ovens, but somehow things change between one oven to the next. So if
you have tried it all, and your cookies are just not cooperating with you, lower
the oven to 300 degrees. They will take a bit longer to bake, around 24 minutes
for chewy and 30 minutes if you like them crispier. And this time amounts are just approximations. Since each oven works different, just make sure to watch
your cookies.

There are many factors that can make a cookie recipe go wrong. This recipe
I am posting has been tested and it works great. So if you find yourself with
cookies you were not happy with, try the recipe again and follow the tips above.
I am sure you guys have your own tips so feel free to share them. In the
meantime, I hope you guys enjoy this recipe. (Click here for recipe)

Until next blog, ta ta!
Edna

Celebration Cupcakes- Tutorial

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Celebration Cupcake=4th of July

Presione aqui para Español

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.
Roses, stripes and Stars cupcake. 4th of July CelebrationHere is the cupcake! I used the Strip Cutter to makes the stripes. An easy way to make perfect stripes fast.

Strip Cutter #1 2

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.

JEM Roller foam

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.Gold highlighter

 

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.

Miniature gumpaste rose.

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.

Celebration Cupcake Tutorial

Click on the photo to go see the tutorial.

I hope you enjoy the video!
Until next time, ta ta!
Edna 😉

Best Guava Pastries-Recipe

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Guayaba Pastries recipe

Para Español presione aquí.

This blog is not about cake but I will talk about a delicious dessert that is loved by a lot of Latin cultures. Pastelillos de Guayaba is the Spanish for Guava Pastries. I grew up in Puerto Rico and my mother was the biggest fan of this dessert.

I was at the supermarket the other day and saw a box of these pastries.
I had not eaten one in years and I just decided to forget the diet and go for a
sugar high. lol When I got home and had some of the pastry, I was not very
satisfied with it. Seems they forgot to add the filling! I was totally disappointed.

I decided at that moment that if I wanted to eat a really good pastelillo, I would have to make it myself. I want it fast and making the dough is time-consuming. So I decided to go and buy some.
Puff Pastry from Pepperifdge farms.

I went to the supermarket and got some puff pastry. You can find it
in the freezer section.  When you
work with this product you have to make sure to keep it cold.
Once it gets too warm, it tends to stick. This happens because it’s
made of many layers of dough that has pieces of butter in between the many layers.

This dough has no yeast in it. All the leavening comes from the layers of butter.
Once you start baking it, the butter melts and the steam puffs the layers of
dough up. Making the pastries really airy, flaky and tasty.

As you can see above, it’s really easy to make these pastries. Basically,
you cut the dough in squares then add the guava paste on top. As an extra
flavor, I added some cream cheese to this recipe, but if you don’t like it,
you can dismiss it.

Another thing you can keep in mind is that you can use many other fillings
for them. Some of them can be strawberry jam, raspberry jam, Bavarian cream,
chocolate, salted caramel (click here for tutorial) with pecans, Nutella, pineapple filling (click here for tutorial), cinnamon apples, and so many others, that it will
take forever to mention them all. I grew up with the guava flavor and it’s
still my favorite.

Click on the photo below to watch the tutorial so you can learn the steps to
make these easy pastries. Below the video in the linked page you will find the recipe.

 

I hope you enjoy, until next time, ta ta!!!

Edna 😉

 

Cake Decorating 101- The Shell

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Piped Shell Borders Tutorial. Para el Blog en Español, Presione Aquí.

I love piping and through the years I have learned that piping gets better the more you practice. Of course, learning tips and tricks will be helpful, but let’s face it; piping is basically a form of writing. We went to school and spent many hours and years learning how to write. Why would people think it can be learned in one session?

I am not going to say that it’s not possible to learn it in one day. But it’s like school, some people will have an easier time learning and others will need more practice. But with some determination, anybody can learn to do it.

Piped shells are one of the most basic ways to finish a cake. I made a video tutorial that teaches step by step how to pipe shells. For those who are beginning to pipe, I went into more detail, making sure to explain what to do and not to do when piping them.

Just like those of you who are starting, I was a beginner once too. I know all the things I did wrong back then. These days I can explain well how things go wrong and how to avoid it. Knowing the tricks might help getting better at it faster, but practice is the only way to improve.

Click here for t the step by step video tutorial.

I hope you enjoy the Tutorial,
Until Next Blog, ta ta!

Edna