Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
More Betty Crocker
I just finished rapping another series of Betty Crocker/Howdini.com videos. This time around we shot 17 in total (18 last time around). My favorites include a barn with farm animals, and cupcake jungle animals.
Some of the previous videos (in addition to being in their how-to section and on howdini.com) are now included in a new more interactive part of Betty's site : The Mixer - http://www.bettycrocker.com/themixer/recipes/default.aspx
I will post links on my Decorate page as soon as the videos are up.
Some of the previous videos (in addition to being in their how-to section and on howdini.com) are now included in a new more interactive part of Betty's site : The Mixer - http://www.bettycrocker.com/themixer/recipes/default.aspx
I will post links on my Decorate page as soon as the videos are up.
Amanda's Hollywood cake
Amanda's use of piped buttercream, her choice of color palette, and the precision of her Chocolate Method appliques yielded an amazing cake. 
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Bunny Cupcakes
I've been working on an idea for bunny cupcakes - instead of just making a face or a freestanding rabbit placed on top, both of which I've done before and are cute, I wanted to make the cupcake the body. I made a chocolate head and tail but couldn't figure out how to make the feet work on this round form so I decided to pipe some buttercream grass around the bottom edge - it looks like the bunny is sitting in a field. I plan on reworking the proportions and redesigning the face but I went ahead and posted the directions on the Step-by-Step section of our Decorate page.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Icing Round Cakes with ACETATE
Hello, I saw you on the Early Show this morning and saw how you decorated the round cake and saw that you used a piece of transparent plastic sheet. What was that sheet and where can I get one? I have lots of cake decorating tools and do a little cake decorating myself but I have never seen something so cool to smooth the top of a round cake. Please tell me where I can get such a sheet?
The plastic sheets you mentioned are referred to as acetate cake collars, acetate rolls, or acetate cake wraps. Pastry professionals use them to wrap around mousse cakes and pastries to keep them fresh. You can find them at baking supply stores or on the web from various sites. I've linked to a couple of sites below. As I mentioned on air, you can also use cellophane sheets cut to approximately 2" by 10" or strips of standard white printer paper. In a pinch I've even used wrapping - any thing that is flexible and will conform to the sides of a curved cake.
http://www.cakedeco.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?p_catid=173
http://www.bakedeco.com/dept.asp?id=117
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=acetate+strips&tag=googhydr-20&index=garden&hvadid=3212109777&ref=pd_sl_7z8bi65lzh_b
The plastic sheets you mentioned are referred to as acetate cake collars, acetate rolls, or acetate cake wraps. Pastry professionals use them to wrap around mousse cakes and pastries to keep them fresh. You can find them at baking supply stores or on the web from various sites. I've linked to a couple of sites below. As I mentioned on air, you can also use cellophane sheets cut to approximately 2" by 10" or strips of standard white printer paper. In a pinch I've even used wrapping - any thing that is flexible and will conform to the sides of a curved cake.
http://www.cakedeco.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?p_catid=173
http://www.bakedeco.com/dept.asp?id=117
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=acetate+strips&tag=googhydr-20&index=garden&hvadid=3212109777&ref=pd_sl_7z8bi65lzh_b
STARTER KIT
I want to start making my kids birthday cakes, but I'm not sure what I need. Can you give me some ideas on what the basic things are that I need to buy to get started?
If you are a novice baker or cake decorator and don’t know where to begin, here is a list of basic tools, beyond the modern basics like an electric mixer, rubber spatulas, and bowls, that I recommend purchasing. A great place to look for decorating supplies is www.wilton.com - they have almost all you will need to start making cakes at home.
· Assorted baking pans including a 9x13” rectangular pan, a 9-inch or 10-inch round pan, and a standard 12-mold muffin/cupcake pan. With these three sizes you can do so almost any style cake or cupcake.
· I recommend purchasing a starter tip set. Ones like the deluxe set from Wilton (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30DB12-475A-BAC0-56CD4756E12FB6B7&killnav=1) have all you need and more. If you want to spend less money I would recommend buying the following individual tips: #104 petal tip, #8 round tip, #16 or 27 star tip, and a # 352 leaf tip. With these 4 tips you can do almost everything in my books. In addition to these tips purchase a few reusable or disposable 12-inch pastry bags, couplers and rings.
· I would be lost without my 12-inch offset blade spatula and a small 4 ½ offset spatula. You could always use a rubber spatula or even a butter knife to apply icing, but you won’t get the smooth finish that you can achieve with an offset spatula
· Assorted icing colors: liquid gel, liquid, or paste all work fine. Start with a basic set of Red, Yellow, and Blue. If you enjoy decorating branch out and get premixed colors for a more varied palette (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30C97E-475A-BAC0-5A609FE5C5506685&killnav=1 )
· If you want to try your hand at the “Chocolate Method” purchase a basic set of Candy Color (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30B819-475A-BAC0-5F5189466A40B391&killnav=1 ), and a few bags of dark and white confectioner’s chocolate (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E310A5F-475A-BAC0-513EBB4AAC195A7E&killnav=1 ). To make pastry cones have parchment paper and/or cellophane on hand.
If you are a novice baker or cake decorator and don’t know where to begin, here is a list of basic tools, beyond the modern basics like an electric mixer, rubber spatulas, and bowls, that I recommend purchasing. A great place to look for decorating supplies is www.wilton.com - they have almost all you will need to start making cakes at home.
· Assorted baking pans including a 9x13” rectangular pan, a 9-inch or 10-inch round pan, and a standard 12-mold muffin/cupcake pan. With these three sizes you can do so almost any style cake or cupcake.
· I recommend purchasing a starter tip set. Ones like the deluxe set from Wilton (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30DB12-475A-BAC0-56CD4756E12FB6B7&killnav=1) have all you need and more. If you want to spend less money I would recommend buying the following individual tips: #104 petal tip, #8 round tip, #16 or 27 star tip, and a # 352 leaf tip. With these 4 tips you can do almost everything in my books. In addition to these tips purchase a few reusable or disposable 12-inch pastry bags, couplers and rings.
· I would be lost without my 12-inch offset blade spatula and a small 4 ½ offset spatula. You could always use a rubber spatula or even a butter knife to apply icing, but you won’t get the smooth finish that you can achieve with an offset spatula
· Assorted icing colors: liquid gel, liquid, or paste all work fine. Start with a basic set of Red, Yellow, and Blue. If you enjoy decorating branch out and get premixed colors for a more varied palette (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30C97E-475A-BAC0-5A609FE5C5506685&killnav=1 )
· If you want to try your hand at the “Chocolate Method” purchase a basic set of Candy Color (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30B819-475A-BAC0-5F5189466A40B391&killnav=1 ), and a few bags of dark and white confectioner’s chocolate (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E310A5F-475A-BAC0-513EBB4AAC195A7E&killnav=1 ). To make pastry cones have parchment paper and/or cellophane on hand.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Cakes as seen on CBS Early Show
I'll get around to fixing the baseball and ladybug image orientation, but just wanted to get the pictures posted. For the step-by-step directions go to the Events page at http://www.whimsicalbakehouse.com/ and click on the CBS Early Show link or click on Get the Buzz on our home page. 
Thursday, March 26, 2009
CBS EARLY SHOW
Some last minute plans. My mom and I will be appearing on the CBS Early Show (the 8:30am time slot) on Monday March, 30th to talk about baking cakes on a budget. We will have some colorful cake examples on hand, share fun decorating ideas, and demonstrate how to decorate a simple and playful cake.
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