Gumpaste Flowers!

So today I almost finished my flowers! I just need to buy white stamens to finish the white flowers. I remembered black but there's always at least one thing that I forget somehow haha! 


I've used the trick of shot glasses before since I only have 3 small and 3 large flower formers and the wavy flower former does not shape flowers correctly. Leaves, yes but flowers, no. 


Anyways, flip the shot glass upside down and put the flower upside down on it as well like in the second picture. This will help the flower dry rounded and open. Once they're dried slightly, you can flip the shot glass and flower right side up and nestle the flower in the opening. If you put the flower in the shot glass before it has started drying, it will sink right into the shot glass and close up.

I made the marshmallow fondant as well! It worked great and tastes quite good although incredibly sweet. (Makes sense as it's marshmallows and sugar). I think I'm going to add a bit of lemon juice though since I'm a little afraid of it being too different a flavour compared to the lemon raspberry cake underneath. I'll use fresh squeezed lemon juice and strain the heck out of it!!! I don't think it would affect the white colour of the fondant at all... I just need enough lemon juice to tie the flavours together. Fingers crossed!

Okay, I'm back!

Nothing like papers and exams to take people away from fun haha! Well, I am back and will try posting more often!

Currently I am working on a cake for an engagement party which I need to finish in just over a week so I've decided to start now on the gum paste flowers and fondant so I can perfect those first. Since I'm still pretty new at the whole gum paste flower stuff I have been experimenting with my tools. I've used flower cutouts before and been able to form them with the rounded tool but I recently discovered the awesomeness of the veining tool! It gives the flower that little bit extra that it was needing before.

The colours for the cake are black and white and grey/silver so I'm going to have black on white and white on black flowers but I'm still trying to figure out how to do the middle. Should I have a stamen-type look? Just a ball for the center? Or should I form it into a smaller version of the white part? See, this is why I am starting early!

I'm also experimenting with marshmallow fondant. I've made tr traditional ones before and yeah it works to cover a cake but it definitely does NOT taste good! Since it is my first cake for a client, I want it to be yummy. I've heard so many good reviews about marshmallow fondant I thought, why not! And if I fail miserably, I'll always just go to my local cake store and buy some SatinIce! Heck yes!

P.S. if you're ever trying to make black gum paste, I would invest in a pair of disposable gloves haha... I learned the hard way and had purple hands after!! Oh, and it requires a LOT of icing colour, so scoop it out, don't do the toothpick method where you slather tiny bits of coloring on at once. If you want it a bold colour, use plenty!

 P.P.S. if you ever need stress relief, yoga is the way to go ;)

Gluten and wheat free mini vanilla cupcakes with fresh strawberry butter icing

Cupcake mix found at save-on or local grocery store in the natural food section. Don't remember this exact brand but it was DELICIOUS! So light and fluffy! 

I added an extra (generous, haha) tbsp of strawberry puree to the icing to give it less of a sugar flavour. It ended up tasting so delicious. Make sure you mix it for longer to make it more fluffy! The icing recipe is from the following site:
http://www.marthastewart.com/316838/sprinkles-strawberry-frosting

Cooking and baking are my passions... my escape. I have been exposed to amazing skills since a young age; my mom is my kitchen inspiration. I was her sous chef growing up where she taught me all my basics - preparing veggies, peeling roasted garlic, never settling for shaker parmesan. I blame her for my high expectations for myself as every single thing she made was fantastic! Before I moved out, I could not leave until I had some of my favourite recipes of hers like roast beef, tomato and onion salad and numerous other (I actually made both of those tonight!) 

I started baking within the past couple years and have dabbled in cake decorating. I got a ton of inspiration from many cake-boss marathons. One night after a particularly inspiring episode, I spent probably close to 8 hours making fondant and baked a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting. I draped it with fondant and created a bow along the base (I'll find the picture and post it later). It was so fun that I didn't even realize how long it had been. Another time I made chocolate cupcakes and covered them with pink fondant and piped little flowers on top. I had no idea what I was doing but I was experimenting and having fun and that's all that mattered to me! I made my mom's birthday cakes two years in a row. I'll post pictures for the first one later. I'm pretty happy with the way her cake this year turned out! It was my first stab at a multi tiered cake. I had just bought a Wilton class set not realizing that it didn't come with instructions for how to use the tools... It was fun figuring out how to make flowers and messing around with the tools! 

Baking is glorious. Cooking is fantastic. Mess around! Have fun! The more you do it, the easier it gets. Find inspiration whether it be a loved one, a TV show or a magazine article and do not be disappointed if it doesn't turn out perfectly the first time. Tweak it, add your own spin and perfect it in your own way. It makes life more interesting ;) 

Happy Baking and Merry Cooking!