First Tier Cake

Did I mention that I have finished my Wilton Course 3 on fondant and tiered cakes *grinning from ear to ear*? Fondant cakes are not exactly new to me, but tier cakes are....and that was my reason for wanting to take the course in the place. I've seen numerous Youtube videos on how to do tier cakes, but nothing beats having an instructor guiding you along the way and not forgetting, being in the company of wonderful , like-minded coursemates who make the lessons so fun.

 

 

A few days before our class, we had to make many fondant flowers for decorating our finale cake. I decided my flowers would be lilac....which was also the same colour as my flowers for my finale cakes for course 1 and 2 (how boring I am!). The flowers took me many hours and it was painstaking to make them 1 by 1 and then left them hanging to dry. I tried to make them as big as I could, so that I do not have to make that many, but these are about the biggest I can make.

 

I had visualised my cake to be simple and classic looking. So, that was what I did. I decorated the borders with beads and sides with some smaller beads.

  

  

 

There were parts of the cake I was not 100% pleased with but overall, I was very satisfied with it. But as expected, my cake looked the simplest and least colourful when compared to those of my classmates. I was really amazed at the number of flowers they made for the cake! 

This was also the first time I am using a new recipe for chocolate mud cake and I'm very glad it turned out very well. The chocolate was rich, moist and dense, perfect for fondant and tiered cakes. It had a strong hint of coffee (I used expresso instead of normal coffee), which successfully diverted the sweetness away (though some might find it a little bitter).Only pity was, I do not really like to eat fondant. So peeling all the fondant away made me felt a little wasted...that was a lot of fondant!

My first fondant cake

This is my first cake for this year. I made some cupcakes last week, but this, is my first whole cake.

As part of our Wilton class, we are making fondant cakes this time. I have been playing with fondant for decorating cookies, making small figurines and decorations for cupcakes, but I have not covered a whole cake with it before. Theoretically, I know the steps on how it is done, but I just have not actually gotten down to doing it before today.

I love how smooth it looks, but what was stopping me from covering my cakes with fondant was because it never tasted good in my opinion. Its actually bland and a little rubbery and whenever I see it, I can only think of play-doh. I'm not sure how many people actually eat it. My impression is that nobody does and it always becomes a waste in the end.

In class, we made our cakes to look like a present. It is pretty simple but there was quite a bit of rolling of fondant to do and my wrists still could not be exerted too much. So as expected, I could feel the strain when I came back and it is supposed to take a few more weeks before my wrists can be normal again.

We covered the cake with the rolled fondant, do the ribbons, set them in place and ta-da, that's it! It is not the nicest of cakes, but our class did pretty well and everybody was proud of their own cakes. (I still have not tasted it though :p) Since I now have my first fondant cake, I shall do something I have been planning for the longest time...mini fondant cakes....and you shall be the first ones to see them when they are done. :)

Fondant decorations

These days, I have been looking up videos and information on fondant and how to make figurines with them.

I have seen how beautiful cakes, cupcakes and cookies can turn out to be when covered with a layer of smooth looking fondant. But I had my reservations about them because I know that most people do not actually like to eat them very much. Especially for my family and friends, I know that they will not be great fans of the sweet sugarpaste. And the tools for fondant making can be quite expensive, and I procrastinate because I am not sure if I will get to use them often.

However, I still decided to learn something new, so I signed up for a Fondant Decoration class. It was only last night that I knew my registration for today's class has been confirmed. But yesterday, I had already bought some new colours and readymade fondant, ready to do some experimenting even if the class was full and my registration had to be rejected.

So, this morning, I went to the class with great excitement and enthusiasm. It's like playing with Play-Doh, really fun! The instructor taught us to make teddy bear, penguins, roses and goldfish etc. The numerous videos I had been watching on Youtube lately has been of great help. I went to the class, with knowledge of how to make fondant roses and bumble bees. But the class is useful so that I know how to handle the fondant in our humidity, and to pick up any useful tips that the class might provide.

These are my results. As you can see, more practice is very much needed. My bear doesn't quite look like one, and the penguin is out of shape by the time I got home. While the instructor was letting us try out doing the animals, I managed to make a bumble bee by recalling the Youtube video I saw. It's my favourite because it is very easy to make! :D I also tried making a pumpkin, which I might be able to use for Halloween.

With my pack of readymade fondant and some new knowledge, throw me the cupcakes! I am ready to do some decoration! Throw me the cupcakes! And you will not only see the minty green in my frosting anymore! I have bought new colouring! Hahaha!