A Cake Full of Flowers

Spring cakes should be light and beautiful, reflective of the season.What better than adding flowers whether the real thing or edible. They add to any bridal or shower cake along with making a lovely Mother's Day treat.

What can you use> An y fresh or even candy flours work.If you;re opting for fresh.Please use edible ones. No one wants to be poisoned by a cake decoaration. The same applies to the greens used.Think of decoatinga pretty white ro plae pink frosted cake with roses,nasturtium, chamomile, lavendar and hibiscus. if it can be made into a te ait's safe to eat. As for the greens, sprigs of basil and mint work however keep in mind these are strong smelling and could leave a tingle of flavor on the icing and cake. Bay leaves also are good and can sub in for rose leaves.How to attach them to a cake? Cut the stems off and then using florists tape to gather them together.it's just gently inserting the stems on an angle into the frosting. You make want to have a thick blob of it so the stems adhere nicely without the threat of falling off. Another idea is attaching it with a water tube filled with water so the flowers maintain their freshness.

Chocolate, fondant and marzipan also make for exquisite flowers as well.  You can easily buy molds for any kind of colored chocolate on Amazon or in places such as Michaels' A mocha cake would look lovely with a few dark and milk chocolate Bloons gracing one side. An engagement cake would look ;lovely with pastel colored chocolate,  which can also be bought at Michael's. Try to use  good chocolate like Ghiradelli's melting wafers for this. The better the candy , the better the consistency. Marzipan, that thick almond paste also works well for sculpting all sorts of flowers and leaves. Keep in mind you don;t have to go for authenticity here. Thin petal s will tear easily. Roll out and cut ones with a half inch thickness to them . Shape the petals by flattening them with the back if a spoon and them assemble to form flowers. Fondant  flowers are basically the same way. You can use fondant tools such as cutters and scissors to form leaves and petals.Keep in mind that dying both substances can be messy.Use a gel dye for all the flowers and greens.

Flowers on a cake add beauty. Try decorating your cakes with these for a refreshing ,pretty look.It's a salute to the garden.

The Winterscape Cake

This was supposed to be the perfect holiday cake.

Except I made it two weeks after Christmas and a week after New Year's.

This was the cake I had wanted to make, before sickness and life happened. It was going to be a two layer cake with a peppermint buttercream

 icing.

With the way my schedule is I thought a larger one layer cake - about 13  by 9. It was easier to bake

I used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Dark Chocolate Fudge cake

This mix requires three eggs which makes for an incredibly moist cake.

Then it was time for the decoration. I wanted to create a winterscape with pine trees.

This was my first time using fondant

It's a white gummy kind of icing that can be used as a covering for cakes or cupcakes. I just wanted to make pine trees.

This required my embroidery scissors and the mini skewers I used for the Easter.

The scissors are used for making the boughs while the skewers are used to spin the fondant around to cut.

Since fondant is white, green food coloring has to be added.

It's then hand mixing the coloring into the fondant and rolling the fondant into cones.

It kind of looks like cotton candy before it's cut.

This is it. Not bad compared to the other three made. Fondant is temperamental. It needs to be kept in a dark cool place once the package is opened.

The icing was a simple peppermint buttercream that I got from The Two Sisters blog. They have the best buttercream recipes with all sorts of flavors. I've used their cream cheese one already.

It's typical buttercream - although I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, confectioner's sugar along with two teaspoons of peppermint extract.

It's Neisen-Massey's which makes the best extracts. This was blended with the confectioner's sugar , I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and a tablespoon of almond milk to get it creamy.

This was frosted over the cake. The trees were added , along with silver sanding sugar for a sparkly snow effect.

This was my Christmas  - winterscape cake. I will make it again. I love the new Duncan Hines' mix. and there's something about peppermint buttercream that's heavenly. As for the fondant, I will try it again. It makes for pretty decorations.

The Perfect Birthday Cake

One of the crowning moments of any birthday is the cake. It's usually a perfect two layer affair with a yummy filling , frosted with buttercream. Buttercream roses or marzipan figures decorate it.It's a challenge for many home bakers , yet it doesn't have to be. Any home baker can create the perfect birthday cake.

One of the biggest dilemmas home bakers face is what kind of cake to bake.Scratch or mix? Many purists will tell you scratch is much better for you health wise and taste wise too. However, if you're pressed for time, a mix is a lifesaver. If you want to make a scratch one, keep it simple with a vanilla or a chocolate flavors Make sure you have all the ingredients from the baking powder to the butter and eggs. Remember to have unsweetened  cocoa powder if you're making a chocolate scratch cake. As for mixes, Duncan Hines  brand is really the best. The mix produces the best crumb - moist and flavorful. Pilsbury and Betty Crocker are also very good. All have a variety of different flavors that include such fruit flavors as orange ,lemon,pineapple and strawberry. Betty Crocker has the  fun SuperMoist Rainbow Chip cake , a mix filled with multicolored sprinkles. Once you decide on what kind of cake you're going to bake, check your inventory of pans.  The best kind is nine inch metallic ones. These  produce perfectly baked and even layers , with no burning. Also make sure you have a cake tester which is crucial is determining when the layers are done along with a sturdy wire rack for cooking.

The filling is important too. Many home bakers just use the icing as the filling, which can be OK if it's not too sweet. Cream cheese icing is the filling of choice for classic Red Velvet and carrot cake as well as banana cake. For other cakes, pureed fruit and whipped cream make for a nice  not too sweet filler. Try a layer of fresh cream and raspberry for any chocolate or vanilla cake.Lemon curd is a great filling for a lemon or pineapple cake. It's an easy mix of lemon juice with zest blended with egg yolk, sugar and butter to create a kind of pudding. A strawberry cake would be made decadent with a chocolate mousse one., and then iced with a dark chocolate butter cream. As for the finishing touch, buttercream is the way to go. Fondant, a combination of corn syrup, shortening and powdered sugar, flavored with vanilla is heavy and will make the cake cloyingly sweet. Save it for making figures and objects. Go with buttercream. The frosting can be made in a variety of flavors from vanilla to raspberry to orange to even peanut butter. Again, make sure you have the instruments to make the perfect gateau. An icing spatula is a must  because it gives a smooth glossy finish to the cake. Icing combs will give the sides those perfect even lines that bakery cakes have. Make sure you have a good cake icer that has a variety of nozzles to make buds and leaves. A cake nail is necessary to make those big roses that grace every birthday cake.Also have a nozzle with a small tip for writing.

The perfect birthday cake is the perfect gift. It should have a moist cake, a delicate filling and a creamy , buttery icing. The combination will give you  a memorable creation that's worthy of any birthday wish.