A Thread For All Uk Bakers!!

Decorating By hailinguk Updated 25 Aug 2017 , 10:29am by Magic Mouthfuls

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nannycook Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:12am
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AReally I shouldnt come to work it gets in the way of my favourite cake friends

Hi fellow Welsh person called tiddy.

Bashini, what you on about mun? Cant see any bulges, lovely cake but then it always is

I'm gonna try the upside down method.

So, do most of you peeps use ganache then even if its ha and cream?

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nannycook Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:14am
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AHa, sorry tiddy, your not welsh, welcome though.

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DaysCakes Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:17am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by bashini 

Good morning all! icon_smile.gif

Kathy, it's certainly isn't one of those!!! This REALLY visible. Check it your selves..

Is it me?  Or should I just get Nanny to make me an appointment?  Sorry Bashini - I can't see where it is - so that's a good thing, eh? :wink:

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Tiddylicious Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:18am
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Great! Thank you! here's my original post!

 

First of all hello all ;-D

Is there anyone that can help me sleep tonight!
I recently decided to start up a cake decorating business from home. I have previously run a wedding shop but wanted to do something completely different!
Anyway I have set up a website, been in touch with local council, got the hygiene catering certificate today and spent a fortune on equipment etc...
My main worry is that firstly I have pets :-t and i was initially worried about this but i am lucky enough to have a room that will be solely for the business of decorating the cakes so I wasnt to concerned. I will be baking in the kitchen and transferring straight to said room.
Well today, having completed the hygiene certificate a few things on there have worried me, firstly the pets and secondly my floor! I have oak wood floors and am concerned this will be a no no for my room :-(
Not sure I can afford to replace or want to!
Have any of you had concerns similar? Ive put so much into this now that panic is setting in and causing a few sleepless nights 8-O

 

Thank you in advance!

Heres a recent creation!

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nannycook Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:25am
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ASorry dayscakes, lovely cake. Your too kind with my bulges, they were much worse than Bashini only thinks she has.

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chasingmytail Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:27am
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Flawless finish when colouring Sugar Paste

 

(I started this post on the general but not getting any feedback) 

 

Its pretty easy to colour a small amount of paste but if your covering tiers etc I have tried in the past to colour but no matter how much kneading when rolled out you see those waves of streaks.

 

Also when you see sugarpaste in stunning shades - again how do you get the correct colour without spending ages hit and miss? Are these achieved through palete mixing first?

 

I find buying ready made colours extremely expensive - I know that with dark colours its not an option to colour - i have done it but end up using nearly a pot of paste and then the SP gets wetter.

 

When you have an idea or improvement to a cake in this area there is no way you can buy SP off the shelf and the local inshops have a small basic selection which is $$$.  Post is the only option by paying p&p and waiting for a delivery is not ideal.

 

How do you get around this? 

 

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Siany01 Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:29am
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Gosh lots going on here today.

 

Firstly though, Natt congrats on getting a second interview, I forgot to say before.  Great news and good luck :)

 

Thanks for all the advice on the carving cake thing.  I am hoping my wireframed figure will work and then I won't even need to worry about it.  I have 4 weeks and the aluminium wire should be here tomorrow.  Trouble is my assessment is due on the 20th so I have all that work to do to.  Had a huge set back with my display at the cake stand I bought is just not sturdy enough to use but I think I have come up with an alternate.

 

Has anyone got a fail safe carrot cake recipe with the cream cheese frosting?  Its my husbands birthday on Saturday and its his fave and he wants one.  Personally I hate the stuff so have never made one but figured making him a cake I hate will help me stick with not stuffing my face whilst on my diet lol

 

Bashini, your cake is lovely as always but you will always notice things that others don't.

 

Think I am going to try the upside down method on my daughters holy communion cake. I still have to find a design for that to :/

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nannycook Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:30am
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ALovely cake tiddy, beautiful.

I was gonna suggest you all come down to me for an eyetest I'm not an optician,just work for one. The thing is Bashini is used to super sharp cakes and mine are not.

nobly bit

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DaysCakes Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:35am
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Hi Chasingmytail - I never buy precoloured sugarpaste - in fact it was only since joining this forum that I even realised that they did other colours to black and red! Lol.  Bashini is the expert with all these lovely colours.  However, for me I use paste, gloves (I know - some do, some don't but I am a PA and I get funny looks when I turn up to work with green hands!) lots of elbow grease and a little icing sugar for dusting the kneading area.  I always keep a sample back for colouring the next batch and that's it.  If it's a really dark colour, then I do sometimes get a sticky paste.  In those instances, I leave the paste for a day or two before using it.

 

Siany - sorry don't have a recipe but would be interested in one also - I am lazy and get my carrot cake from Costco! Lol.  Can't wait to see your communion cake design.

 

Kathy

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Siany01 Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:37am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by chasingmytail 
 

Flawless finish when colouring Sugar Paste

 

(I started this post on the general but not getting any feedback) 

 

Its pretty easy to colour a small amount of paste but if your covering tiers etc I have tried in the past to colour but no matter how much kneading when rolled out you see those waves of streaks.

 

Also when you see sugarpaste in stunning shades - again how do you get the correct colour without spending ages hit and miss? Are these achieved through palete mixing first?

 

I find buying ready made colours extremely expensive - I know that with dark colours its not an option to colour - i have done it but end up using nearly a pot of paste and then the SP gets wetter.

 

When you have an idea or improvement to a cake in this area there is no way you can buy SP off the shelf and the local inshops have a small basic selection which is $$$.  Post is the only option by paying p&p and waiting for a delivery is not ideal.

 

How do you get around this? 

 

 

The way I have found works for me is I colour a small amount of paste darker than I want, I will judge my starting amount on the final amount I need.  I then make sure that small amount is totally mixed & has no streaks.  I'll then add a chunk more white sugarpaste to my coloured sugarpaste and knead until its totally blended and I continue to do this till I have the volume.  It probably isn't the best way as if you don't just your first amount of colour right you have to start again, (as in I take a small amount of the paste colour it and then re add the rest to get darker) but its the only way I found I didn't get streaks.

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bashini Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:45am
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AFirst, Barbara, yes, I gave up covering in butter cream looking time ago. So I see bulges on this cake!!!!

Tiddylicious, I am doing this as a business. Now I have moved to a new house and I too have wooden laminate flooring and even in my cake room. Yesterday I called the council to change my address and they didn't say anything about coming to my place to check it all over again. The thing I don't understand is why should the wooden flooring be a problem? And if you have pets, don't let them come into the kitchen when you are baking. Did you EHO visited your premises yet? But all these things differ from council to council. So better check with them. By the way, your shoe cake is gorgeous!!! :-)

Chasingmytail like I have mentioned few times, I don't colour my paste. But one thing I do is that if I have darker colour, I mix it with the white/ivory and get a lighter colour. But pre coloured sugar paste is my choice!!:smile:

Edited to say that if I colour my paste, once it's on the cake, it tends to get elephant skin as a result of over kneading. That is what I have experienced.

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roxylee123 Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:55am
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Hi Tiddy welcome love the cake I have a heel mould and am trying to learn myself how to make them any tips on icing thickness or anything else would be great thanks:smile: Sorry can't help with the floor issue just bake for friends and family.

 

Dayscakes your garden cake is so pretty,I like the idea to use the straws to support the box. I was gonna try folding plain white card to fit inside the box and attach with double sided tape but thought there would be no support. What about using cake pop sticks the same thing but they are white so would be the same colour as the box and are cheap.

 

Chasingmytail I have always coloured my own SP. I have always just used the Asda paste colours or Progel food colours. I colour a 2 or 3 small amounts with the colour i want and then add that to the rest of the SP I want to colour and knead until it is full incoporated, add a bit more colour if needed and let it rest well wrapped. My lovely Mum bought me a Cassie Brown airbrush for xmas and I am hoping to use this as much as I can to colour my cakes so cutting out a lot of kneading. This was my first attempt at colouring a cake with my airbrush and it was a lot easier than I expected and saved all the hassle of making black. All decorations and board were coloured with the airbrush.

 

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Tiddylicious Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:55am
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Hi, no they havent come yet as I want to make sure everything is ready and organised :cry:, the floor is actually real wood not laminate and i didnt think this would be a problem but have since learnt that wood is frowned upon?

Like I said im lucky enough to have a dedicated room kitted out for the decorating side of things so dogs not a problem there, it was just the actual kitchen...hard to explain but the lay out of the house means it could prove difficult :sad:

 

I guess the only way to find out is to just be brave and go for it lol.

 

Just to add my two pennys regarding colouring. I use squires paste colours and a little trex (never icing sugar) to roll out, prevents elephant skin :lol:

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Tiddylicious Posted 1 May 2014 , 11:59am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by roxylee123 
 

Hi Tiddy welcome love the cake I have a heel mould and am trying to learn myself how to make them any tips on icing thickness or anything else would be great 

 

 

I used a mould for the heel and flowerpaste. For the shoe form i actually deconstructed a real shoe as i didnt have a foam former etc. flowerpaste for the sole, 50% sugarpaste 50% flowerpaste for the straps & Bow :)

hth

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roxylee123 Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:01pm
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Thanks Tiddy.

 

I always add trex to my coloured SP as I find the colour makes it dry.

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bashini Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:05pm
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ASo, do they want carpet? I really don't think this will be and issue. They want to see how you keep the kitchen clean and whether it is, the oven, the ingredients within expiry date, whether you use correct disinfectants. But like you said just get the EHO over and see what they say.:smile:

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Tiddylicious Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:10pm
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Quote:

Originally Posted by bashini 

So, do they want carpet? I really don't think this will be and issue. They want to see how you keep the kitchen clean and whether it is, the oven, the ingredients within expiry date, whether you use correct disinfectants. But like you said just get the EHO over and see what they say.icon_smile.gif

hah! Hope not! No I thinks it just to do with the wood being quite porous and so not easy to clean (unlike laminate, tiles etc) I just need to stop worrying I think!

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DaysCakes Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:12pm
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Roxylee that is brilliant!  I absolutely love cakes like this!  So did you use the airbrush to colour the tyre?  What did you use for the impressions?  Impression mats?

Kathy

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bashini Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:15pm
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AKathy, thank you!:) I delivered the cake and the lady who received the cake loved it. But the birthday girl will see it later!!! And I love your cake!!!

Barbara, thank you to you too!!! :)

Roxylee, I love your cake and the bold colours are fab!!!!:-)

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roxylee123 Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:19pm
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Thanks Dayscakes. I used the airbrush to colour everything the board, tyre and all decorations then just put it all together. I used impression mats for the board and the tyre from the Autumn Carpenter Manly impression mats pack. I also did the board on my daughters puppy cake with a mat from that pack and airbrushed it brown.

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roxylee123 Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:20pm
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Thanks Bashini the colours are kroma colours airbrush colours.

 

Does anyone know if you can use airbrush colours to mix into SP when I watch programs like amazing wedding cakes it looks like thats what they are using but I would have thought they would be to wet for that?

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bashini Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:41pm
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ARoxylee, which air brush have you got? Can I use any airbrush colours in any in any air brush?

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Jo Field Posted 1 May 2014 , 12:42pm
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Funny how the colouring has come up since I last was online! As that's what I've being doing for my Saturday cake, I have found sticky trouble whilst colouring but have just managed to colour brown for my horse and did the aqua for the back drop. Ones nails are really not a pretty site! Hopefully by doing this in advance they will be OK for Saturday! Kathy like you said with doing few days in advance they are sealed in Sandwich bags now.

Welcome Tiddy I am new to this thread too, and as you can tell very new to cake decorating !

Roxy Lee your cake is great maybe airbrush set for my upcoming birthday present !!

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petitecat Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:08pm
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Hi Tiddy, welcome to the thread mun (I'm not Welsh, am I allowed to say that??!! LOL).

 

You mention you used gumpaste for the shoe and 50/50 for the ribbon etc. I've been meaning to ask everyone, why is that? why not pure gumpaste for everything?

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petitecat Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:08pm
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By the way, Tiddy, I know you are not Welsh.. but been wanting to say 'mun' to someone!

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petitecat Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:11pm
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Dayscakes, Roxylee and Tiddy- those are fab cakes! 

 

Chasingmytail, Sorry I've never bought ready coloured paste except renshaws when I got desperate. If you use SPD, why not try them for premade colours. Mind you, if you haven't bought from them you might want to try buying the 500g tubs first to make sure you are happy with it. I bought some but think I need to learn how to use it because the first time I used it it was a disaster in every way LOL!!!

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Tiddylicious Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:14pm
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Quote:

Originally Posted by petitecat 
 

By the way, Tiddy, I know you are not Welsh.. but been wanting to say 'mun' to someone!

Haha! get that most days from the kids! Been here six years now and im the only one that still sounds like an eastenders cast member! :cry:

 

Flowerpaste pretty costly and a mix is fine for the straps but needed for the sole and heel or the structure wouldnt hold. I learnt this the hard way!

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natt12321 Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:37pm
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A

Original message sent by Tiddylicious

hah! Hope not! No I thinks it just to do with the wood being quite porous and so not easy to clean (unlike laminate, tiles etc) I just need to stop worrying I think!

Hello fellow Welsh resident!

I know the basic ins and outs of why wood is a no no in certain food businesses, as a cake business fthe rules aren't so strict because of the food itself being a low risk food item, it does however depend on the individual council. In Swansea the lady who came out was very pleasant and was very clear about what needed changing and what was fine as it was, she was coming out to a potential business so it was more advice than anything else, she said aside from a couple of little things I could start whenever I wanted, the flipside is they tell you something major needs changing and you have to have them visit you again before being able to begin.

I would think your cheapest option if the floor needs changing is to just cover it in lino but it all depends on what the council say.

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natt12321 Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:39pm
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AWhoever wanted the carrot cake - the recipe I use is the yummy scrummy carrot cake from BBC good food but I change the light brown sugar for muscovado and the raisins for sultanas. There isn't a cream cheese frosting recipe with the recipe but you could use any cream cheese frosting with it

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Tiddylicious Posted 1 May 2014 , 1:45pm
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Hi :grin:

I think your right, lino will be the next option, for speed and cost! I'm in Bridgend but now wish I was in Swansea :lol:
 
Im just going to stop stressing about it I think cos the husband person is getting a bit fed up with me going on about it haha!
 
Thanks everyone x

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