Cake Decorating

August 14, 2008

Okay, so the cakes make me look more amazing than I am.

It really wasn't all that hard, you can definitely do it too!

I'll fill you in on the secrets...

They are made out of Fondant...

They sell it at Candy and Cake Decorating Stores or I have even seen it in the cake decorating section at my local Wal-Mart. So you might want to check there too. It comes in both plain white and in an already colored from. However, I like to buy it in white so I can use dye to make it the exact colors that I want it.

I used Wilton brand fondant, but I am not sure if there is a distinict difference between brands.

It is the consistency of taffy and comes in a big square brick of white (or colors).

To make the curly-q's:
I divided the Fondant into equal parts and dyed it icing coloring (see two brand pictures below). I cut the colors into strips and wrapped it around straws until it hardened and then slid them off. That's all there was to it.

Two brands of Dyes:

To make the bow:
On this cake I used one block of white fondant, then dyed it the three shades of pink. I created little loops and sealed the edges shut with a few drops of water and then layed them on their side to dry. The day before my neices birthday I put a large glob of frosting in the center of the cake and started sticking my loops (at random) into the frosting glob, until I had want looked like a pretty decent bow. I saved some of the fondant that I had dyed and made the strips around the edge of the cake at this time too.

I actually think frosting the cake is the hardest part, since the frosting pulls crumbs off the cake...what a pain! However, I have found that if you first frost a very thin layer of frosting on the cake and let that dry for a few minutes, the the next layer seems to pull off less crumbs. Just a little FYI. I am no professional, but this is what i have learned about it.

The cake only took me a long time because I could only work on it while Jackson was napping.

PS...I like to get my cakes done in advance so that I am not worrying about the cake and getting whatever else needs to happen with the birthday done at the same time. I have found that I can also molded it and then stick it into the freezer, and still work just as well.

Oh and this isn't my cake, but I love the idea of mixing the curly-q's and the bow...just thought I would share....