Wilton Course Three Class Four (Final Cake)

For the final class of Fondant and Gum Paste we got to make whatever kind of cake we wanted. At that point it was only me and one other student so we got to get crazy with our cakes. We each brought in 2 two layered cakes so that we could make a two tiered cake. Since the class was four days before the fourth of July I baked the cake the day of class to ensure that it was as fresh as possible.

Well actually hubby helped me by baking the red layers the night before while I was off seeing the new Eclipse movie.

I ran into some problems before class. I was supposed to have my cakes covered in fondant before class and show up and hour early so that I could start cutting out my stars for my inlays. Although I did end up showing up to class and hour early, I didn't have my cake covered in fondant. I thought that it would be smart to make my own fondant made from marshmallows since store bought fondant smells a lot like play dough to me. The fondant was probably about the easiest thing that day for me. If you plan on making fondant skip the store and make your own.

My problems were that the icing was pulling my cake apart, the filling was gushing out of the sides and the fondant wouldn't stop sticking to the counter top. So I left the house and got to class so that I could work on it there with crisco. It worked and I got the fondant on the cake with no problem. Then we made the platform for our second tier and assembled it so that the top tier wouldn't squish the bottom tier. Once that was done it was time to start making my stars and then finished the cake off with my border. The border didn't turn out the way I imagined it but in the end it worked out. I even added my own border to it. I was trying to make this one border with icing but started making a waved border instead.

The best part about making this cake was not only was I finally done with the madness of taking all three courses of cake decorating in one month but I got to share this cake with my family! My mother, sister, niece and cousins were here to help dig into this beauty. I even brought the top tier over to my neighbor. Her mother (who is visiting) thanked me for it later and told me that I should make cakes for a living! :o) Now I would gladly pay triple for this cake. It certainly surpassed the $10 limit.



In case you wanted the fondant recipe that I used...

• 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
• 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp water
• Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar. Place the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now. Instead, refer to step 6 below for instructions.
3. Add the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.
4. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto the prepared work surface. It will be sticky and lumpy, with lots of sugar that has not been incorporated yet--this is normal. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.
   
5. Continue to knead the fondant until it smooths out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.
   
6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
   
7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.

Wilton Course Three Class Three

In the third class of fondant and gum paste we learned how to make roses with fontant which was fun. It wasn't hard to do but I can see why you would plan a while to make them since you have to be slow and gentle with them. I dusted my roses with blue sparkling dust in case I decide to put them on my final cake.

We also made inlays and outlays which will take time getting used to the inlays. For some reason the two shapes were separating from each other. I plan on doing an inlay with stars for my 4th of July cake.
After the stars we learned how to make the various borders. Again I don't have any pictures to show for it because once she showed us how to make them I balled up the fondant and put it away so that I can save it for my final cake. I plan on making a red border to look like the red in the flag.

So on the day of the final class I have to go into the class early and make the stars and banners to put on the cake. Otherwise they will dry and harden flat and I need the stars to form to the side of the cake which is circular.

Wilton Course Three Class Two

In the second class of Fondant and Gum Paste we assembled our bow loops to make a huge bow. I know that I didn't take a picture of the loops from the last class, I forgot. so just imagine a bunch of white fondant loops.

After we worked on our bows we rolled out our fondant to cover our cake boards. I had a 50% off coupon burning a whole in my wallet so I quickly ran out into the store and bought the star power imprint mat. Just in case you are wondering, no the picture didn't come out blurry. I didn't get the imprint on the first try so I tried again and it still didn't take to the entire surface. It doesn't look as bad in person though. HaHa

Next we learned how to make calla lilies. I think that they look spot on. I re-fringed the sides of the petals because when you are man handling the flower trying to put the yellow piece in you flatten out the edges. So I just ran my tool over the edged again.Then after having fun with the calla lilies I came head to head with my worst arch nemesis... LAYERS! We made mums and they are just like the carnations, they take layers of fondant that need to be separated by paper towel pieces to achieve the desired look. Needless to say I skipped the paper towel trick.


It was a great class. I am super excited to make my final fondant cake since the teacher said that we can make whatever we want. I know what I am making... a 4th of July cake! :o)

Course Three Class One

The first class of fondant and gum paste was more fast paced for a first class than the other two courses. We went right to work on making the loops for our bows. There was only 4 women including myself attending the class so it was a more one on one than the other classes. (sorry I forgot to get a picture of the loops but you will see the finished product later)

After the bows were finished we got to work on making daisies. I think that they are super cute. So far I am finding that I think everything is cute. I think it is more or less the fact that I can sit back and say "I made that!" Of course the instructor came over to help me because I was falling behind. You see, I am a perfectionist at the worst of times. I think that I get that from my mother. Either way, I had to make sure that the bows were folded the same and that they all looked like bows and the flowers... well lets just say that was a challenge. Not the actual making of the flowers but the plastic flower cutters that came with my kit were utter crap. My flower looks like a frayed webbed star fish, nothing like a daisy at all. So of course while everyone just made do with what they had I was cutting the webs between the petals and trying to push back and pin the fringed ends so that I didn't have a shaggy daisy. I got the job done and I think my daisies were well worth it.

Carnations on the other hand, I will have to get used to. I don't understand them, they don't really look like carnations when I make them. Although I suppose you will always be your worst critic.Either way they are a pain in the butt. You cut out all of these small circles and the make a fringe edge on them and then place one on top of the other making layers. But to get the carnation look you need to put pieces of paper towel in between each layer or else all of your layers fall and you end up with a flat looking flower. The paper towel is my enemy in this case. I crush the petals trying to get paper in between the layers and it is just not a pretty sight. But I loved the daisies... they are adorable!

Wilton Course Two Class Four (Final Cake)

For the final class of flowers and cake design we assembled our cakes. We brought in a plain iced cake to put our flowers on. I was giving this cake to a friend of mine who loves strawberry cake so I made what I call a chocolate covered strawberry cake. I made a boxed strawberry cake and for the center filling I used chocolate fudge pudding.

The first thing we learned to do is basket weave. It looks really complicated but really it is just time consuming. As you are doing it you think "wow this is easy!" but then you look at how far you need to go still and then your hand starts cramping up on you. I will admit though that all that hard work payed off. Halfway through, in true class fashion, my icing started to melt and the piping wasn't as crisp as it was in the beginning. Oh well, I am still really proud of my basket weave.

After the basket weave we put our flowers on. Now remember last week how I told you how I was fighting that ridiculous storm and missed the demonstration on how to make the lily? Well, I went online and looked up how to make a lily and found it to be really easy. My father used to always give his mother stargazer lilies for Easter and Mother's Day, not to mention my wedding bouquet were stargazer lilies, so when I realized how easy they were to make I immediately want to make stargazer lilies. There was a problem though, no one on the internet makes them with icing! No worries though because with some quick thinking I came up with my own technique to make stargazer lilies and I think that they rock!

I did have one small problem though. Out of one dozen flowers that I made, only five made it on the cake. It was so humid that week that even though I made them a week in advance they didn't dry fully. So when I went to take them off of the foil to put on the cake they started breaking and parts were still mushy. I really wanted to just wanted to crawl under some covers and cry at that point. I had this vision of the lilies flowing down the side of the cake but that was not going to work with my flowers. I didn't even bring any of the flowers we made in previous classes because I was banking on my lilies. In the end the cake was gorgeous and the fact that it was a pink strawberry cake inside really did pull all of the colors together.

I would definitely pay $10 for this cake!



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Metamorphosis Monday
Making The World Cuter

Wilton Course Two Class Three

The third class of flowers and cake design was interesting to say the least. Not because of the flowers we learned, although they were interesting but because of the weather. Halfway through class a huge thunderstorm rolled in and knocked out the power to the main store at Michaels but it was okay because our little room still had light. Meanwhile, I was thinking "Did I roll up the windows on the car?" So I ran out to check the windows and you would have thought hurricane Bonnie was going through Virginia. Carts from 4 stores over were blowing down the parking lot on their sides and any store that had displays outside were surely missing merchandise. Michaels flowers and crafts that they had out front were blowing away so I tried as best I could to help. I was outside for maybe a total of one minute maybe two and by the time I got in I was drenched. That day was not the best day to wear my khaki colored skirt. I thought the guy at the store was just being nice and smiling at me but when I got back into the classroom and looked down I noticed that my skirt was suctioned to my legs and you could clearly see my underwear. Oops! Oh and for the record the windows were closed! So back in the classroom ringing out my hair and clothes, it looked like I jumped in the pool, and the power in our classroom goes out. So we got out almost a half an hour early. I didn't get to learn how to make a lily :o(


I did get to try my hand at making more roses. My icing was way too thin this time so I had to thicken it at class. I really enjoy doing the roses because they look so complex but are easy to do.


Next up were daffodils which are adorable. I think that my final cake next week will consist of daffodils. I don't know why but they are just too cute. They too weren't hard to make. I think I am really getting the hang of this flower making business.


Then we moved on over to the violets. Oh those tiny little buggers. This lesson I missed totally on how to make the leaves for under the violet. This was during my fight with hurricane Bonnie. Oh well, I will just try to learn the leaves for the violet through the book I have or looking up demos on youtube.

Wilton Course Two Class Two

For the second class of flowers and cake design we learned to make apple blossoms, primrose, Wilton rose and rosebuds. It took a while for me to get the hang of the apple blossoms. For some reason I just don't get the motion to make them, so I do it my own way to come up with them.

After learning the apple blossom we learned to make the primrose. Odd enough I picked up on that really fast. I guess because I had more surface to cover so I could actually see what I was doing. I think that I still did it my own way but it was close enough to how the teacher taught us.
After the primrose we learned how to make rosebuds and that is not one that I like. I just don't see how they look like rosebuds. Maybe I am too critical or maybe it is because I was trying to make rosebuds with purple icing? Either way I don't see rosebuds when I look at these. What do you think? Both my husband and myself think they resemble oysters more so than a rosebud.

Last in the class was the Wilton rose. Funny story behind this is that I was suppose to have learned this at the end of course one but since I am mashing them all together in one month, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. When the teacher handed up hershey kisses I thought she was giving us a treat for being such great students but this was apparently for the rose. Who knew... well apparently the rest of the class but you know what I am saying. Anyways, the teacher showed me how to make the rose and told me to give it a try. Boy, I zipped through that think like it was second nature to me. I was so proud of myself because this was something that everyone else in class already knew how to do and I picked it up like I had done it before. The teacher and even another classmate were surprised that I did the flower on my first try. *Smiles* I am still pretty excited about that.
I really thought that I would be so far behind everyone in my other classes but so far I am holding my own in class.

Wilton Course Two Class One

Ok let me catch you up on what I did for the second course of cake decorating...

In the first class of flowers and cake design we got to get our hands dirty, literally. There was color all over the place and I will be honest that I was having a mild panic attack. I am not the cleanest person in the world but the last thing I was to do right before we move is to track a bunch of purple dye through the house. Luckily, that didn't happen.


The button flowers are super cute and incredibly easy to make as long as you have the stamp for it. The pansies are a little more hands on to make but not by much, it is the first day after all so we have to start slow. We worked with a partner and my partner was the instructor. She helped guide me through the process since I am trying to cram all three courses in one month. Which I am hoping will go smoothly. This class however, everyone brought in a dusting sack and I had no idea what any of them were talking about... apparently that is something you are taught in the end of my cake decorating basics class. Oh well, I caught on fast and I will be prepared for my next class... I think.

We also learned how to make pansies. They are cute... sort of. I think the real thing is cuter but hey it's made from fondant so I suppose I shouldn't expect too much. They weren't hard to make just pieces that you had to put together and mess with and you have to do this all before the fondant dries out. Otherwise you end up with a cracked flower... sort of like mine. So far so good. I am still keeping up with class so that is a plus.

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Made Skills Monday

Wilton Course One Class Four (Final Cake)

Last night was the last class for Decorating Basics and I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong the class was fun but I am looking forward to relaxing and not worrying about the consistency of icing everyday. I am not done yet though, I still have my last two classes tonight and tomorrow for the other courses.

So last night we learned how to make the ribbon rose (above) and the Wilton rose. For some reason it took me about an hour to get the hang of making my ribbon rose. I don't know what it was but I just could not get it to work for me. I kept at it though and finally I was able to make the ribbon rose which is why my cake had the ribbon rose on it. I had made the Wilton rose in my flowers class so I knew how to do that and it is a lot more complicated than the ribbon rose but for some reason it was not clicking with my brain. Then the heat kicked in... for being almost 100° and more humid than I would like outside the classroom was not a whole heck of a lot better than being outside. Needless to say everyone's icing was melting and the cute flowers that I made started to turn into greasy Crisco blobs.


Then came the challenging part, like the heat wasn't enough. We had to take our pretty little flowers and put them on the cake. Boy was that a project in itself. I kept dropping mine or they would stick the spatula and would rip apart as I was trying to put them on. One by one a flower bit the dust. At this point I was frustrated and I accidentally let a swear word slip out rather loudly as I massacred my flowers, luckily there were no kids in the class. What started out as 8 flowers for my cake turned into me only having one triumphant flower sitting on top of my cake. The teacher came over to try and lend a helping hand and helped me make a couple of roses to get me back on track. Then I started pumping out roses like I was in a timed competition so that I could finish. There was no way that I was going home with my final cake when it wasn't even finished. Luckily I got the roses on no problem and started piping my trusty little leaves to try to cover up all of the evidence.



At the end of the class I fixed what I could and got my certificate of completion. I don't know if I would spend $10 on this one. It's a nice cake but it was sloppy looking where the roses fell and slid on the cake. I also ran out of icing when icing my cake which is why the cake isn't smooth. However it looks though, I am sure that it tastes great because it is a yellow cake with a chocolate pudding layer inside. I will never know how good it was though, I had my husband take it to work this morning so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat it. I am sure the Marines will enjoy their after lunch dessert.
*update* I just got back from the shop and the cake is already half gone. When I walked in the guys all thanked me. One in particular told me to take it home because he would eat it all... which was the point. HaHa. If they eat it then I won't be tempted to. Another guy said that it was really good. So I would have to say that they liked my cake.

Wilton Course One Class Three & Recipe

Last night was my third class of cake decorating basics. I am enjoying these classes a lot. I am currently taking all three courses at once and I thought that it would be crazy and it sort of is but I like the fact that in a months time I will be able to decorate a cake. The only thing I don't like about taking all three courses at once is that while the other students get to go home and relax, I have to go home and clean out all of my tools and tips so that I can make a different batch of icing in the morning to decorate with later that night. My classes go until 8:30 pm so I pretty much come home and clean everything and then head to bed.
Anyways, last night we had to bring in 6 cupcakes to ice and decorate in class. My choice of cupcake was a Kahlua cupcake with coconut icing and chocolate filling. The cupcake was delicious, I devoured it in about 2.3 seconds. I won't lie to you... I wanted another one but it was after 9pm and I did not need to be eating a bunch of sugar before going to sleep.
I am horrible with icing cupcakes or any cake for that matter so I was surprised when I was able to make the cutest cupcakes in the world. I didn't think that piping flowers would be so easy. We learned shell borders, pompom flower (that starfish looking blue flower), drop flowers, shaggy mums (the one that looks like cousin Itt from the Addams family), rosettes, swirled flowers and of course my favorite LEAVES! Those things are too darn cute it isn't funny. I could decorate an entire cake with just leaves, gosh they are simple and adorable.
We also learned how to fill a cupcake which I of course didn't know how to do that. I clearly need to be in these classes because I don't even know basic things. Last night was just a ton of fun. We learned a lot but it was at a steady pace and at no point did I feel rushed to complete anything.
Now onto the Kahlua cupcakes!

• 1 c. all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/3 c. Kahlua
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. apple sauce, unsweetened
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 c. non-fat buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
   
2. Mix together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat together sugar and applesauce until combined. Add in the egg whites one at a time. Slowly add the Kahlua and buttermilk and mix until everything is combined.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until there are no lumps. Pour batter into cupcake paper lined cupcake pan about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut icing

• 1 c. solid white vegetable shortening
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 2 Tbsp & 4 tsp. water
• 1 lb. powdered sugar

1. Cream shortening, flavor and water. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed with your electric mixer until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.
2. Blend an additional minute or so until creamy.

To assemble the cupcakes you fill a piping bag with chocolate pudding. I made instant from a box and put tip 230 on your piping bag. Push the tip into the cupcake and wiggle the tip around to make a cavity in the bottom of the cupcake. As you pull your tip out of the cupcake slowly, squeeze the bag of pudding. When you are almost to the top stop squeezing because the filling will rise as the cupcake settles back into place.
Fill another piping bag half of the way up with your coconut icing with tip 1M. Hold the tip above the surface of the cupcake and beginning at the outer edge of the cupcake circling in towards the center. Stop pressure once you are in the center and pull tip up and away.


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Cupcake Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesday Tastes
Three or More Tuesday
Toot My Horn Tuesday
Tackle it Tuesday
Make It Yours

Wilton Course One Class Two

Last night was the picture transfer. I know what you are thinking... "that's not a rainbow!" and you would be correct. She gave us an option between the rainbow and balloons and well it is clear the option I chose. It wasn't as good as a dalmatian but it was a step up. I got to work piping out my transfer picture on a piece of wax paper with black decorating gel. Then I flipped the wax paper upside down and rubbed the gelled picture onto my cake, pulled the paper off and I had an outline of balloons. Then I started going to town with my star tip filling in the lines.



I got to finish filling in my balloons before the teacher kicked us out early. I had to finish my borders and strings at home. I really wanted to "TA DA" and show my husband the finished cake but instead I showed him the unfinished version. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? Either way I am really happy with my cake, I would pay $10 for it! That is how I am judging my cakes based off of whether I would pay $10 for it. All in all it was a good technique to learn, I just wished that we were not rushed just to get out early.



So far I am holding strong taking all three Wilton cake decorating courses at Michaels in one month. It gets a little crazy when it comes time for prep work or supplies. I am constantly rushing home to wash out my containers for the following day. But if I didn't do this I would have gotten one class in and then who knows how long until I got to another base where there would be a Michaels near by. I am just hoping that I do not get burned out! Only 2 more weeks go to!


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Three or More
Toot Your Horn Tuesday
Tackle it Tuesday