Cakes/Cupcakes

I’m really enjoying Course 3 so far. I’ve learned a lot of new buttercream techniques ,and while I know a good bit about fondant, I have also learned a few new tips and tricks as well. The thing that was the most fun was making the fondant rose (with Gum-Tex mixed in, essentially making it into gumpaste).

I really enjoy making gumpaste/fondant flowers. In Fondant and Gumpaste, I learned how to make the carnation and fantasy flower, which I really enjoyed. So, I’m happy about making some of these flowers for my future final cake!! Our teacher is giving us the freedom to make whatever for the class, so I’m excited about the design!

We also made a present cake at the end of the class, which was really cool to make. I was a little afraid of bows, but these are easy peasy. Ignore the cracks in my bow though, because my gum-tex fondant was drying very quickly on me. 🙁 The kleenex in the bow is to help it set in a bow shape, rather than falling in.

For this cake, I wanted to do a simple yellow cake. For this, I turned to Joy of Baking. I would say this cake wasn’t that impressive tasting, so I’ll keep on searching for something more promising next time. 🙂

I covered the cake with homemade marshmallow fondant – recipe here.

Yellow Butter Cake
Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup (240 ml) milk
• 2 teaspoons (8 grams) pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups (300 grams) sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (20 grams) baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
• 12 tablespoons (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).  Spray two 9-inch x 1 1/2 inch (23 x 3.75 cm) cake pans with Bakers Joy, line bottoms with parchment paper, then spray again with Bakers Joy.  Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl lightly combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk, and vanilla extract.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended.  Add the butter and remaining 3/4 cup (180 ml) milk.  Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened.  
4. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Gradually add the egg mixture, in 3 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg.
5. Divide the batter and pour into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with an offset spatula.  (Pans will be about half full.)  Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in center.
6. Place the cakes on a wire rack to cool, in their pans, for about 10 minutes.  Then invert the cakes onto a greased rack.  To prevent splitting, reinvert cakes so that tops are right side up.  Cool completely before frosting.

I will show the flowers I made for the Wilton class in a later post…I left my microSD card at FI’s…so be ready this weekend!!

For now, I borrowed my gracious sister’s camera to take a quick pick of my final class’s cake. For this, I used marshmallow fondant from Wilton’s forums (thanks to user bunnywoman). The great thing about this recipe, is you can mix the food coloring in right after the marshmallows are melted, which is way easier than kneading it in!!

I do have to thank Melissa at Made by Mel for inspiring me that this fondant won’t be quite so hard to make. Check out her cakes…she is amazing at cake decorating!!

I also added Amaretto candy oil to the fondant to give it more flavor…the fondant tasted like italian cookies to me! Without the oil, it reminded me of circus peanuts! Regardless, MUCH better than the boxed stuff and WAY cheaper ($20/box vs. same amount for $6)!!

Here is the recipe for marshmallow fondant. Don’t be intimidated by the stuff…it’s easy…but remember line EVERYTHING in crisco (don’t be scared of crisco..it’s your BFF with fondant) to avoid the stickies!!

Marshmallow fondant (to cover a cake, you need about two batches)
1 cup mini marshmallows (appx. 10-11 large marshmallows…I learned this b/c the grocery store didn’t have mini’s…I know…WTH???)
1 tbsp water (if you want to use candy oil, subtract 1/8 tsp of water and add 1/8 tsp of candy oil)
1 1/2- 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Place marshmallows in a standard 1 cup measuring cup and push down and pack them in. Place in a microwave safe bowl and add the water. Put in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Just long enough for them to soften and puff up. Take out and stir with a spoon until it is combined well. At this point it looks kind of soupy. Then add the sugar and mix and fold until all is incorporated and it is no longer sticky. I take it out of the bowl when it gets to the point where most of the sugar is incorporated and I knead it in my hands. This takes roughly about 5-7 minutes. Take a fondant roller or a regular rolling pin and roll out just as you would Wilton’s fondant. You can get this fondant almost paper thin and it also repairs well. It’s cheap, easy to work with, and tastes great too.

Without further adieu, here are some pictures of the cake. My sister was the photog and she did a great job! 🙂

I decided to take fondant and gumpaste and skip Course 3. I do not like the idea of making a tiered cake for the reason of WAY too much cake, but I plan on teaching myself the fundamentals of course 3 through the books, which are sold at Hobby Lobby. Here is my first cake, which I made for the second class. It’s LSU colors hehehe 🙂 I’m definitely ready for football season. I’m gonna challenge myself to make a gumpaste tiger come football season. Geaux Tigers!