Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

[Satori]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Yes they are chocolate fingers /shame. you saw nothin right ! >.<

It originally was meant to have a pink ribbon around the middle to try and neaten it out/hide a few sins but couldnt find a way to stick it on. The fat in the buttercream absorbed into the ribbon and grease stained it lol. it was my first attempt at a giant cupcake though I was quite pleased. I'd never piped rosettes / used a piping bag.

I was going to roll out pink icing and make a wrapper that way but I'm still waiting on my rolling guides so I can get an exact/even thickness.

[Nandito]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Those look pretty yummy.

Fun Fact: Those silver balls are illegal in California. Food decoration. Illegal. HA!

[Satori]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

These ones are by Dr oetker they are like rice crispies / breakfast cereal.
I was completely against silver drage'es due to past experience with them almost smashing my teeth.
These ones are soft and I think hollow.
Mentioning illegal decorations, The glitter I used to sprinkle on them too me forever to find. You'd be suprised how many things in the cake decorating world say edible then if you look on the side actually advices against ingesting it lol.

I'm glad you like them, The sponge inside the big round one I did for my mum's birthday is 3 layers of chocolate sponge sandwiched with buttercream the decorated with more buttercream. My mum loves how I make buttercream she'd have been just as happy with a bowl of icing instead of the cake lol.

[Firewind]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Yes they are chocolate fingers /shame. you saw nothin right ! >.<

It originally was meant to have a pink ribbon around the middle to try and neaten it out/hide a few sins but couldnt find a way to stick it on. The fat in the buttercream absorbed into the ribbon and grease stained it lol. it was my first attempt at a giant cupcake though I was quite pleased. I'd never piped rosettes / used a piping bag.

I was going to roll out pink icing and make a wrapper that way but I'm still waiting on my rolling guides so I can get an exact/even thickness.

Hey it's creative and I think it's a fantastic idea. Finding giant cupcake wrappers is tricky.

The problem with giant cupcakes is that baking one as it is is difficult and time consuming without burning the outside to a crisp. You have two options:

1) Pouring it all into one giant case and covering the cake with tin foil. The core of the cupcake will still be pretty liquid though if you aren't careful and it takes HOURS to bake this way.

2) Cheat and cook it in 2, maybe 3 layers and assemble it later. Honestly nobody will care if you do it this way since it's by the the easiest way of getting everything consistent and shaped properly. Plus it's much faster to bake it this way. You can either than wrap a case around it or have one f the layers pre-poured into a case when you baked it.

If I were to bake a giant cupcake I would go with option 2. Treat it like a novelty cake basically. Nobody minds and even the bakeries that sell giant cupcakes will make them like that. It also means that there isn't a ton of frosting on top since you can make the top in a sort of cone or pyramid shape. It makes it far easier to frost it too since the topping won't collapse under it's own weight.

Yes baking is a hobby of mine. My father also likes to bake, I have an Aunt who is a baker and I worked as a Chef to get through Uni XD

[Satori]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

You may find yourself and family kidnapped the next time I try royal icing,
I have a giant cupcake mould its silicone in 2 parts the top and bottom. The top dome has a spiral groove from the outer edge to the centre/tip. and the bottom is rounded but cerrated thats why i wedged the fingers into the gaps.
my personal preference would be to bake and carve it also, I'd never used the mould until my neices birthday, She bought me the mould for christmas so I thought it would be nice to use it to make a cake for her. It takes about 1hr 15 mins to bake and cook through and gives a thin crust of about 1-2mm to trim, Then I brush the crumbs away and seal them with a sugar syrup and then proceed like any other cake.

I am loving baking, It really lets my mind switch from the things I deal with at work.
I just wish the rest of my tools would arrive so I can start making things the way I'd like to.

Do you ever decorate with fondant and sugarpaste Firewind? If so what do you use to harden fondant so I can create more delicate & firmer decorations? I know of gum tragacanth and cmc but other than the internet I'ven ot seen it anywhere.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Those cakes are pretty. :>

[Firewind]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

From what little experience I have with fondant:

Under no circumstances put it in the fridge.

Fondant hardens on it's own if left somewhere dry and warm (but not too warm it melts the fondant). You basically want to take the moisture out of it. Places like a warm (not not hot) oven do fine. If it's a gas oven you can just leave the pilot light on, it's it's an electric oven then it might be tricky because the lowest setting could melt it. Something like preheatng it to the lowest setting then turning the heat off might work or might just melt it.

Basically you leave it to dry out for half an hour then turn it over and let the other side dry out. Usually takes a couple of hours depending on how edible you want the decoration to be. If it's meant to be eaten then I would make something extra to bite into to check to see if you have it right. if it's supposed to be rock hard then the longer the better as long as you don't burn or melt it. Best advice I can honestly give is to just practise because it's something that is really hard to do right.

Or you can cheat and use Fixident. Just make sure it has no flavour or colour though. It should help the fondant dry out pretty quickly. There's no exact measurement really so that will be trial and error.

[Satori]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Fixident? as in the denture grip cream?
I've been trying to make petals to construct roses fondant alone dries ok but I have had trouble getting it to hold it's shape. I've read about gum and cmc to knead into it so it apparently can be rolled thinner and dries solid.

Since I've been baking I've learnt a truckload, I never would have thought there is so much science involved.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Since I've been baking I've learnt a truckload, I never would have thought there is so much science involved.

Chemistry was born in the kitchen.

[Firewind]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Fixident? as in the denture grip cream?
I've been trying to make petals to construct roses fondant alone dries ok but I have had trouble getting it to hold it's shape. I've read about gum and cmc to knead into it so it apparently can be rolled thinner and dries solid.

Since I've been baking I've learnt a truckload, I never would have thought there is so much science involved.

Yes it takes the moisture out of the fondant so it hardens more quickly.

And at the end of the day cooking basically is chemistry. You'd be surprised as to how many Chemistry majors are also good chefs and vice versa purely because the skills can be transferred and extrapolated.

[Raydeus]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

There was this cook that was so bad he actually tried to make lead pancakes and got gold pancakes instead.

[Satori]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

The latest cake, Another pink one. £14 this time and they were insisting to pay more, They was quoted a figure between £25-£35 by local cake decorators and bakers, She said she was more than happy with my cake and price and said she'd definately recommend me to people.
The cake hand-over always fills me with dread, I'm so relieved to be finished with it even though I loved every minute making it.
I'm still in shock with the price and the feedback, It's definately made me smile. I treated myself to fish chips and mushy peas from the chip shop. You think I'm cooking tonight "hell to the NO" lol besides I already have a truckload of washing up to do lol.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

If I get married again, you're doing my wedding cake.

[Raydeus]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Why wait till you get married? Just get the cake.

All the good taste with none of the stress and life ruining contracts.

[Satori]

Re: Little things that make you smile - the anti-peeve thread.

Aww bless you Aks,
I'll get some more practice in preparation, Just dont do a vegas wedding and spring it upon me lol.