Mississippi Mud Cake and Gumpaste Peonies

I put aside the supermarket brand rolled fondant and went to a proper cake decorating shop for the goods recently. It was time to step up the cake decorating game, and I decided I'd give the whole thing one last whirl with more professional ingredients and see if it made a difference. I was sick of the frustration that came with tearing fondant, modeled creations that wouldn't dry and had no flexibility and no ability to hold up when rolled thinly. I was at the point where I was considering giving up cake decorating all together-it was one mess after another. Every youtube tutorial I watched, I saw the ingredients being so roughly handled and they still held their shape. I was missing something.
Then I bought gum paste. My whole view on decorating changed, as I discovered most of my struggles were due to inferior products. Yes, you can use rolled fondant instead of gum paste, but the difference in results is sizable. I also used CMC powder with these large peony creations, which reduced the drying time significantly (I highly recommend this stuff if you live in a humid climate like I do!) To make the peonies lighter, I also used small round foam balls for the centre. I highly recommend using a foam mat, rolling tool and the easy peony cutters for beautiful, gum paste creations that could grace any special occasion cake.
As usual, I made Mississippi mud cakes with premium bourbon whiskey. The peonies were made with the easy peony cutters which made for quicker creations without all the wiring involved. The cake also has decorations of edible lace sugar veil, and was covered with aqua fondant. The peonies were dusted with pink petal dust. I love this contrast! What is your favourite colour combination?

Decorated Heart Sugar Cookies with Gumpaste Roses

This Mother's Day I asked my kiddies what they would like to make for mum, and my eldest daughter pulled out the cookie cutters. Mr 5 pored through a recipe book and pointed out a recipe for sugar cookies-so we got to it. I knew these gorgeous cookies would make the perfect budget friendly gift!
How important is involving children in cooking? I think it's a crucial life skill that needs to be encouraged at a very young age. I've vowed not to let one child of mine leave home without a good set of cooking skills under their belt-and not only the essentials. If you're wondering how to instill a love for cooking in your kids, there's a wonderful guide to cooking skills outlining appropriate cooking tasks listed by age, starting from three years and up. As painfully slow and messy it can be, I always allow my kids to get involved when I'm baking. They're too small to do much yet, but they do love activities like beating, rolling, measuring, sifting, licking the spoon....

BASIC SUGAR COOKIES (Adapted by Love Food pg.16)

115g butter, softened
55g caster sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 egg yolk
175g plain flour

Mix the butter and sugar with beaters until creamy. Beat in the rind and the yolk. Sift in the flour and mix into a soft dough. Gently knead until smooth, then halve the dough and form into two balls. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour (or the freezer for 20 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
Grease and line two baking trays. 
Unwrap the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of about 5mm/1/4 inch. Using a heart shaped cutter, cut out the dough and place the shapes on the baking trays with at least 2cm space between them.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden.
Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack. When completely cool, ice with royal icing, and decorate if desired.

ROYAL ICING

2 tbsp beaten egg white
175g icing sugar
water or lemon juice, if needed

Place the egg white in a bowl and add a little sugar. Beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar to make a smooth, thick icing that holds soft peaks. For a thinner, spreadable icing, beat in a few drops of water or lemon juice to get the required consistency. To colour the icing, use a toothpick to add a little liquid or gel food colouring an mix thoroughly.
To ice the hearts, outline the cookies with the thicker icing and allow o ry, then fill in with a more spreadable royal icing. We decorated with a smaller version of these gumpaste roses and store bought edible pearls.

How to Make a Baby from Fondant or Gumpaste

 Making this gum paste or fondant newborn baby is easier than pie. With the use of a silicone baby mold, you will have a perfect miniature, edible baby within minutes--and it makes you look like a pro without being one. You can make this little bubba lifelike with a little pink petal dust to highlight the cheeks and bottom and a tan or light brown petal dust for definition in the creases and to give a more realistic skin tone. Being a very fair person myself, I instantly started creating a Caucasian newborn, but you can darken the skin as desired.
These adorable babies are perfect  for baby shower cakes, cupcakes and Christenings and can be left as is or decorated with bonnets bows and frills, or popped into a little fondant cradle or pram as a cake topper. I am going to use the babies in Anne Geddes inspired baby shower cakes atop large open fondant roses. Pictures to follow!


How to Make a Baby from Fondant or Gum paste

You will need:

Silicone baby mold
Quantity of flesh/ light coloured fondant or gum paste (about the size of a golf ball per baby)
Knife
Greaseproof paper
One or two small paint brushes
Tan or light brown petal dust
Dark brown matte petal dust
Pink matte petal dust


1. Colour fondant as desired. Make sure it is dry to the touch, not tacky. (You may want to add some icing sugar or corn flour at this stage. Tacky fondant can prove problematic.) Take a piece about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a smooth ball. Elongate this ball between the palms of your hand.

 2. Gently but firmly press this fondant into your dry mold, paying special attention to the head and feet areas. (Do not powder or grease these particular silicone molds, as it may take away the definition of the baby.)

 3. Gently cut away any excess overhanging fondant until the fondant of the baby is level with the top of the mold. Brush away any left over excess and smooth the top with your fingers.

 4. Place the mold in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm. To remove the baby, gently ease it out from the mold head first, holding the mold at the front with both thumbs, pushing from the back of the mold with your fingers.

5. Place the baby gently on some greaseproof paper. Because it has been in the freezer, it may get a damp look to it--allow it to dry.

6. Take a small brush with a little tan or light brown petal dust on it. work into the creases and over the baby's body. Build up the colour a little more under the chin, in the arm and leg creases and the sides and underneath of the tummy. If you have a darker brown petal dust, brush this over the crown for soft baby hair.

7.With a smaller brush, use the pink petal dust to touch on the cheeks, bottom, elbows, knees and hands. You can also colour the lips with the pink, or use a stronger colour such as a watered down red food colouring to carefully stain this area.

Finished.

How to Make Basic Rolled Fondant or Gumpaste Roses

My sister-in-law is expecting her first baby in a few months, and the occasion called for a baby shower and I put my hand up with glee. I've got a newborn myself and found that I left everything to the last moment in my disorganization. Running out of time, I set about designing a cake and found that I lacked some of the instruments necessary to go through with the project.
Not knowing the sex of the baby, I decided to go with a Sweetpea Baby Theme with a rolled fondant garden of roses, beans and peas and some other foliage with a wee baby among it all. I had no idea how I was going to make leaves and roses without any tools used to create those perfect petals and serrated edges. So I started researching and found a great tutorial on youtube. It's a very simple process anyone can use, even for those not so artistic and it doesn't require any cutting tools for your fondant. They are basic fondant roses and can be added to if you have the time and patience.
Enjoy the tutorial!

HOW TO MAKE BASIC ROLLED FONDANT OR GUMPASTE  ROSES

To make your own fondant at home, here is a cheaper and more fun alternative to store bought rolled fondant.You can also use gumpaste.

You will need:
Any amount of rolled fondant or gumpaste
A clear, plastic folder pocket

1. Take the plastic pocket and cut off the bottom and the side that usually clips into your folder. You now have a plastic sheet that can open and close as a book would.

2. Take a portion of fondant and roll it into a smooth sausage. Cut four equal portions from the sausage. You want them to be approximately marble sized when rolled into a ball.

3.Roll three of these portions into smooth balls, and the forth into an elongated ball, a bit more oval than the others.

4. Place each of the portions along side each other inside the plastic sheet. Gently smooth each ball with your pointer so that it flattens. Smooth down one side of the ball so that it is thinner than the other side. The end closest to you should be thick, sloping down gradually to be thinner. Ensure the balls are all even in size and thickness, and that the balls keep their aerial view shape.

 5. Gently remove the oblong "ball" from the plastic. Roll the thin end of it first, between your fingers, rolling towards the thick end so that it forms a spiral. This is the centre of the rose.

6. Remove the first ball from the plastic and position it flush against the centre bud, thin side up. Place it so that only the centre of the petal is stuck to the  bud, the sides free. The top of the petal should be at the same height as the bud.

7. Take the second petal and slip it in besides the first, so that the first petal overlaps it by half.  Take the third petal and slip it in half way under the second petal. Gently fold the end of the last petal around to meet the first.

 8. You now have your basic rose. Cut the bottom half off with a knife, as this is quite bulky.
You may also like to shape the petals a little with your fingers before setting is aside to dry.

The baby drying. I use an empty chocolate tray to dry the roses in. They dried in 2 days, but this depends upon the weather.

Baby's Sweetpea Cake