Course 3 Graduation

After a total of 12 cake decorating sessions at Michaels (Courses 1, 2, and 3 combined), I think I can honestly call myself a cake decorator. I'm sure this falls in the novice to amateur category. The best thing about getting to Course 3 was realizing how easy fondant is to do, and what a finished look you give your cakes.


Here is my final cake from last night. I think it turned out pretty cute, and it sort of looks like a festive Fourth of July hat. The cake is currently sitting on my desk at work until I'm satisfied with the number of compliments I've received. Then I'll take it to the break room so my colleagues can devour it.

Harry Potter Cupcakes!

We had a marathon showing of all the Harry Potter films at our house
this weekend. These cupcakes (chocolate malt cupcakes from MSC) were
tasty, but the Gryffindor vs Slytherin color scheme ended up being a
little Easterish... Tasty though.

I Heart Royal Icing

This week was the third lesson in Wilton Course 3. The entire class was flowers, mostly using royal icing and the lily nail. I'm already a big fan of royal icing. It doesn't taste great, but you can do beautiful flowers that you can take to the grave with you. One could probably make all the royal icing flowers needed for life in a weekend (that is if your hands don't cramp out on you!). In class, we learned the poinsettia (pink), petunia (yellow), morning glory (blue and white), and the Easter lilly (white). These may be making an appearence on my final cake for next week...
We also learned how to do a fondant rose. I can't say that my first attempt at the fondant rose was really outstanding, but I have no pictures to show because the ones I made in class fell on the way home. (Don't feel bad, it was for their own good.) I'm hoping to practice some more of those this week and possibly include them on my final cake.

The Return of Cake Class

Tonight, Laura D. and I are officially halfway through Wilton Course 3 at Michaels. Last week we learned some additional buttercream techniques like lacy fill-ins and the ruffle border (not really a fan).

Tonight, we entered the world of fondant. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. I'm so impressed with the finished look the cake gets. Maybe if I were better at icing with buttercream, I would feel differently, but, fondant is awesome! I was feeling a little cheap this week, so instead of buying the premade fondant at Michaels, I used a recipe for homemade marshamllow fondant.

Here is the square cake, freshly covered with fondant:

The beginnings of the bow....

Finished product!!! (My bow wasn't finished, so there is paper towel in it to help it keep it's shape.) The rest of the cake is decorated with cut-out fondant dots and flowers.
Here is Laura's cake....she made a really pretty Carolina blue cake with dots and a white bow. Pretty!!!

Snickerdoodle Cupcake

Last Thursday, I got my brand, spankin' new copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes! Although I was pressed for time yesterday, I really wanted to try out one of the recipes. I went for the one that I had the most ingredients for, but didn't involve messing around with chocolate. So I tried the Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, which are topped with Seven Minute Frosting and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

When I made my Seven Minute Frosting, I was hoping to make it in a way that would completely cook the egg whites. In Seven Minute Frosting, you boil sugar, water, and some corn syrup to 230 degrees, and then pour it slowly into heavily beaten egg whites, and let it beat for.....yes, seven minutes. According to some egg association website, adding the boiling liquid to the eggs only brings the temperature up to about 120 degrees--not a completely safe temperature for all populations. So, if you want to get your eggs to 150-160 degrees before using them for frosting, you can cook the eggs in a double-boiler (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer bowl over a pan of water) while whisking them. I learned (the hard way), that the way to keep egg whites from becoming scrambled eggs over simmering hot water is to add some of the sugar from the recipe. Oops. Now I know for next time.

Miscellanea

Sometimes I feel a bit unaccomplished when I post knitting projects that aren't finished, but I figured it was time for a progress report nonetheless.

I recently cast on this Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I'm using the two skeins of Socks that Rock mill ends that I purchased last month at MDSW. This stuff is a lot of fun to knit with, and I'm really liking how this is turning out. I think it will work with my mostly jewel-toned fall wardrobe.
My other knitting project is a pair of socks for my husband. I'm nearly finished with the first one (below). The k3p1 ribbing is getting a bit tiresome, which I why I had to go ahead and start the above scarf. I'm trying to make these socks the official knitting project of "Riding in the Car." I bought the yarn for these before I became a complete fiber snob, but I think they will still feel nice and be toasty warm for my hubby. I didn't even realize this yarn was self-striping when I bought it (Berocco Comfort Sock).

In the meantime, I've tried not to neglect my other favorite medium: paper. I made my friend Laura P. some thank you cards for her birthday utilizing my new Big Shot and some embossing plates. This card took about 5 minutes to make, and is one of my favorites, ever....

Sorry the pics in this post are so dark. My flash wasn't cooperating with me, and it turned out the details could be seen a bit better without it. Someday I will get that DSLR!

There should be more interesting posts to come. I'm really trying to ramp up the knitting right now. Also, Laura D. and I are taking Wilton Cake Decorating Course 3 this month, so surely there will be lots of posts just from that.

On a related note, I'm super excited for tomorrow's release of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. Mine is pre-ordered from Barnes and Noble. I can't wait to try some new recipes this week!