Hi all - I just found this site and i love it! I still consider myself a newbie - i took a decorating class about 10 years ago, but lately i have had a renewed interest in cake decorating. I'm attaching a few pictures from this weekend. The baseball diamond is my first attempt at a buttercream transfer. DS put something on top of it in the freezer and it cracked The seashell cake is my first attempt at luster dusts. THanks for looking!
NICE WORK!
I'm really diggin the "Down by the Sea" cake...That is just goregeous! How did you make your shells and star fish?
You did a great job! I especially like the beach theme. Is it fondant or buttercream? The shells almost look real!
traci
Thank you! The sea cake is covered in MMF. The shells and starfish were made from chocolate molds using white candy melts and painted with luster dust. My boss was impressed!
OMG! The seashell cake is just beautiful. If didn't know it edible, I'd swear the shells were REAL!
your down by the sea cake is lovely; i've been away from decorating for so long that i've never actually seen a MMF covered cake before (in fact, never even heard of the stuff till earlier this week on this site). it looks really glossy yet smooth, which i like. did you use lustre dust on the MMF as well, or is the MMF naturally polished-looking?
one thought about your baseball diamond cake (and i hope you'll take this kindly as it's meant): i think the top would have had more impact without the shell border -- perhaps with grass extending to the edge instead making it look like someone carved up a real baseball diamond and plunked it on top of your cake (with jungle or forest theme cakes, or even cakes with roses around the borders i like to do grass or leaves or vines trailing over the edge and down the sides of the cake). your transfer looks pretty sharp from the picture -- you should be very proud of your work.
Great job! I especially love the Shell cake. They look so real. Is the MMF hard to work with and is it naturally that glossy or was it dusted?
Wandootie
Sorry - I've been away from the board for a few days... I welcome any comments and I believe you're right about the shell border on the baseball cake. I've never thought of having the grass flowing over the sides.
To answer the question about the MMF, I used a very very light coating of crisco on my rolling pin and mat to roll the MMF out. I had tried using confectioners sugar, but it kept sticking. I also refrigerated this cake becuase of the filling and the picture was taken right after i removed it from the fridge. I don't believe the sheen was due to condensation, i think it was more from the crisco. The only other fondant I've used was Wilton and I used conf. sugar to roll it out and it was not glossy at all. Confusing, but I hope that helps.
thanks for the info regarding the MMF. you might want to try using cornstarch instead of icing sugar for rolling fondant (actually, i find the texture of cornstarch, especially when rolling anything on top of it, just puts my teeth on edge, like nails down a chalkboard, or my cats nails down the walls in my livingroom, which he does when he's feeling neglected).
the good sheen you've got was likely from the crisco, as condensation would have shown up as nasty little dark, wet spots on your lovely fondant. the fridge is a surprisingly humid place, which i learned the hard way after refridgerating ( what was i thinking!) a croquembouche (a cone-shaped stacked cream puff tower held together withand covered in caramel threads of spun sugar, made by brave souls who get little boiling- sugar burns all over their hands) just before a wedding (it was for the sweet table, and fortunately not the main attraction). it collapsed, my friend and i tried to get it back together, wrapping it in yet more sugar threads. because of the humidity in the fridge, the sugar had melted into the puffs rendering them rather soggy. the bride's family ate the croquembouche the night before the wedding.
I love the shell cake! Did you paint the dust into the molds first or did you dust each piece after it was hardened? Thanks for any help!
Tanya
Great job on both cakes, but do agree that a border on the baseball cake wasn'tt necessary. We always see things in our cakes that we might have done differently after we're done with them. At least that's how I am. lol Keep up the great job!
Janice
great looking cakes. can you please tell me what is MMF? thanks
MMF = Marshmallow Fondant
It's fondant made out of marshmallows, powdered sugar, and a little bit of water. It is very easy to make and it tastes great!
My 2 boys, my little one and big one (hubby), both like it, too.
Thank you mOuse. I will try that method today. I'm attempting a teapot cake, so I'll try that for the handles. Perhaps I'll post the pics later.
Thank you mOuse. I will try that method today. I'm attempting a teapot cake, so I'll try that for the handles. Perhaps I'll post the pics later.
Glad to be of help...we look forward to the pics, no matter what they look like
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