It Worked! It Really, Really Worked!

I finally managed to get a usable gumpaste/fondant cut from my Silhouette SD!  To say I was pleased would be an understatement...I might or might  not have danced a little jig around my kitchen; I might or might not have pumped my fist in the air while letting loose a whoop of joy...

That's not to say that all is perfect or that the fight is settled, there is still some tweaking to do in order to get the cleanest cuts possible; but I was pleased with my first usable result after hours and days of trying to crack the Silhouette's secret to cutting gumpaste and fondant.  When time permits I'm going to try more intricate designs, and maybe even give cutting icing sheets a whirl.

Here's the cake that received the trappings of my win in the Silhouette v. C fight, Round 73.

The cake is buttercream with exception of the facial details and bow.  They are done in either fondant or gumpaste.  And the inscription at the bottom?  That is what I cut with the Silhouette.  Here's a close up of some of the letters:

See what I mean about needing to do a little adjustment here and there?  There's a few rough edges where the cutter didn't make a clean cut...but hopefully a couple of minutes tinkering and that will be solved.  Even with the rough edges, using the Silhouette still yielded a prettier result, in this instance, than hand cutting would have, and in a much smaller time frame.  I think I'm going to like it...

The Mrs. Mouse cake also included matching cupcakes.  The bows were made using a mold, and the monograms were done with - you guessed it - the Silhouette cutter.

I also had one other cake order this past week, and decided to try my hand at making Gerbera daisies for the first time.  The end results were good, but not spectacular enough for my inner perfectionist, so I made some mental notes on what to change and try differently next time.

Speaking of doing things differently, keep an eye out for some changes to the blog in the coming weeks - I've got a few little projects in the works that I can't wait to share with you!  One of these projects is being handled by an amazingly talented artist that I know, so be sure to check back soon!

How-To: Peel a Hard-Boiled Egg

Raise your hand if you've ever had trouble peeling a hard-boiled egg.  *Raising hand.*  Yep, I admit, I too have had this problem before.  And the solution?  A fairly simple one, though it involves more than just how you handle the eggs AFTER cooking.

Step 1:  Make sure the eggs you will be using are less than perfectly fresh.  By this, I mean that you want the eggs to be at least several days old...fresh eggs are nearly impossible to peel because very little air passes through the eggshell.

Step 2:  Bring your less than perfectly fresh eggs to room temperature or, if you're short on time, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.

Step 3:  Cook according to your preference/recipe.

Step 4:  When the timer dings, run cold tap water into the pot until the eggs are cool enough to handle.

Step 5:  Tap the ends of the egg on a hard surface, then roll the egg on the counter top to crack the rest of the shell.  Peel the cracked shell away from the egg under COLD running water.

Step 6:  Enjoy your handiwork!

Oops! I Did It Again...

Perhaps some of you recall this post.

If so, you are probably already shaking your head in wonderment, amusement, or horror.  Maybe even thinking to yourself, "How could she possibly endure that a second time?"

Well, the good news is, I did and the results were amazing!  That's not say there weren't some bumps in the road (remember that new cake toy I've been referring to?), and that I (and K too) didn't lose lots and lots of sleep, but the end product was well worth it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not in a hurry to do it again unless I've got an extra sous chef or two on hand, lots of extra space, and no other demands on my time, but its nice to know that I've got the chops to make it happen if I wanted.

As it stands, without the help of K and Hunny's I would have never gotten everything done in time.  You are all absolute lifesavers and your support and willingness to help me out means a great deal.  Thanks for everything!

So...care to see the cakes?

A Caddyshack inspired birthday cake:

The gopher is made from fondant pieces layered together.  I added a few hand painted details to liven it up a bit more.  Here's a closer look.  The gopher's expression never fails to make me giggle a bit...

This next cake was for the daughter of one of my best friends.  I just couldn't refuse the opportunity to make her birthday cake.  The birthday girl had very specific requests for the cake, including a rearing black horse and horseshoes and spurs around the bottom of the cake.  I added the pink boots (rather than the spurs) and edible glitter to give it some color and to match her sparkly attitude.

(Top View)

Here's the groom's cake for the first wedding of the weekend.  It is a German chocolate cake with homemade coconut pecan icing.  The deer "painting" is a gumpaste plaque painted with edible food color.  And, just for the record, German chocolate cakes are a bit of challenge to decorate - you still want to be able to see the lovely color of the frosting, but at the same time you don't want just a giant slab of brown.  This was a good compromise...

And here's the wedding cake!  It was a gorgeous five tier cake done in ivory buttercream with a Swiss dot pattern, purple fondant ribbons, and gumpaste hydrangeas.

I tried my hand at making gumpaste hydrangeas for this cake.  They were fairly easy to create, though I should have made nearly double what I did!  The hardest part was deciding how best to join the individual blooms to achieve the overall round appearance.

If you want to try your hand at making your own gumpaste hydrangeas, Jacqueline over at The Petalsweet Blog has a fabulous three part tutorial.  I highly recommend it!

The cakes for the second wedding of the weekend were great fun to create; they were a bit out of the ordinary, but were a perfect fit for the couple.  (Don't ask K's opinion on this (the fun part), we had a hiccup along the way, but I believe the cakes turned out better for it.)  

The groom's cake was K's favorite of the weekend...after all, who doesn't love the classic Nintendo game system?

It was done in fondant, with all of the pieces being hand cut.  The only buttercream on the cake was the writing on the controller and the cake's border.  The connection cable was a last minute addition, but it adds an extra dose of "realistic" to the cake.

And here's the wedding cake!  The phrase on the third tier reads "Love Is All You Need."  The cake was topped with a pair of gumpaste "love" birds atop a tree branch.  

The table setting and backdrop for this cake were an excellent complement.  They really helped the cake stand out amid the room's other decorations.

That's all the cakes, but here's a picture of my latest cake toy.  I am sad to say that as of this writing, I have yet to conquer and make it create anything usable for a cake.  The learning curve is steeper than I anticipated.  I will persevere until I figure it out though...I might even end up getting a new laptop out of the deal. He-he!

Whew! I am tired!  Kinda of long post today, huh?  Think I'll go take a nap...