Opening up another session of the FNCC! Everyone is welcome to come share their week, share photos of their work, ask for help if they need it or provide help if they can.

Cat

Hi everyone!

Only cupcakes and wine truffles and a demo cake this week. The truffles were a learning curve for me! What I didn't know is that the wine lowers the melt temperature of the chocolate. In all of the recipes I found the truffles were rolled in cocoa powder and I thought I'd rather cover them with chocolate. So I made the ganache, let it set up, rolled the truffles and froze them. But when I started to dip them into the chocolate they started to melt INTO the chocolate! So I quickly changed to the cocoa powder and was happy that I had made 30 truffles and not just the needed 24 for the client! I have to say tho'...they were really really cool! The mouth feel was silky and wonderful. I gave the client a sample and she even tipped me! No pictures this week. I'll make the demo cake on Sunday and take photos of that to share next week. Hope you guys had a great week!

OH...quick Thank You to Jan. (Carmijok) who made up little fondant babies for me for an upcoming shower cake. They are SOOOO cute! So nice to have work contacts here that I can trust!

Cat

Ummmm truffles! I love working with chocolate, it so beautiful to look at when the chocolate is all melted, silky and smooth.

Right now I'm fighting with a quinceanera cake. I covered two tiers in fondant no problem, the bottom tier is giving me fits. I covered the 14" the first time, started stenciling and notice a giant air bubble, that has never happened to me before, I cut a slit to let the air out, but instead the air bubble kept growing and starting tearing the fondant. I peeled it all off, threw it away, re-covered, and stenciled, but the fondant covering just looks kind of bumpy. I want to cover it again, but I don't have any more purple fondant left, and I think it will be a nightmare to color some this late in the game. Arrggh! 

I'm also working on a minecraft cake for a 12th birthday. It is a very fun cake, I don't get to do very many for pre-teens.

Can't wait to see the cakes everyone is working on.

That 14 inch tier does sound like a nightmare! I do hope you were able to smooth it down or at least hide the bumps well enough for your own piece of mind. I've noticed that the clients don't even notice the stuff that drives me nuts!

Can't wait to see the finished products of both cakes!

Cat

Working on half dummy half real cake...for practice. I made my second peony which once again tried to fall apart. Really need a ceilo board. Also my fondant is super lumpy I made it work but posted on the boards that I need help with it. Its from scratch so if anyone knows what I could be doing wrong please post there I'd appreciate it!

Just finished a LOTR wedding cake, the bride purchased figurines of Arwen and Aragorn and wanted them in the small gazebo that sits on the Rivendell cliffside, pretty happy with it for a first attempt. Now to ice the carrot slab cake and another small birthday cake

That sounds exciting Mallory! I need to have a LOTR night its been awhile.

You can send all the extra truffles my way

Smitty: the lumpy fondant can be from old powdered sugar. Basically when you make fondant and sift in the sugar any lumps left over that made it past the sifting process usually dissolve in the 24 hours you leave the fondant to cure. Old sugar won't do this. The lumps stay. You can sift it a few times to help but, basically, you end up with lumpy fondant. Buying pure cane sugar from a reputable store helps you to get newer processed sugar but check the expiration dates just to be safe.

But your flower is simply gorgeous!! Seriously wonderful work with it.

Mallory: I would LOVE to see that cake. We are huge LOTR fans in our house<G> (geeky side showing now)

Cat

Thanks Cat I bought the PS today from walmart not sure how reputable..I'll check the date though..today was trash day might be gone..

Good Evening all,  

Smitty, I just love your peony.  I hope to get around to making one some day soon.  I think I haven't tried because the tought scares me.  But their just beautiful flowers to begin with.

Cat, I'll take a box full of truffles.  For tasting you know. lol

Tdove, I'll be the xv cake will be beautiful, I can't wait to start doing them again.  

I only have 2 small cakes for this week.  a small minnie mouse for a birthday and a walking dead theme cake.  Which I really didn't study the cake until earlier.  I looked at the pic sent and said piece of cake, lol  Now I realize there's lots of detail work.    Jeesh...  Live and learn.

I'll post pics on Monday.

Hi everyone, love the peony.  I have been playing with sugarveil this week and finally had success.  Obviously a product to use in the cooler months, here, when the humidity is lower.  It is going on cupcakes on Monday to take to work.  I'm on a diet and can't eat so it cheers me up to hear everyone at work rave about how beautiful things look (I'm presuming at this stage that they will look fine).

Also tried making French tulips today.  O.K. they are presumably easy but the first 3 were too frilly and I haven't really looked at the next 3 yet as they are upside down.  Will post pictures next week, maybe.

All this is to cheer myself up.  As well as being on a diet, I woke up on Tuesday with no voice.  Not quite sure where I left it.  Luckily I had a student, at work, who had to talk to all my mammogram patients for me cos I had to be almost on top of people for them to hear.

AI made this for my little cousin's birthday today. I'm working hard on my techniques and I think I'm seeing some improvements. I definitely see many flaws in the cake but birthday boy loved it!

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3114376/width/200/height/400[/IMG] [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3114379/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

I love doing little kids cakes, as long as it looks remotely like they wanted they are thrilled :)

Ruthie...you are being way too hard on yourself! That is about as near perfection as can be! Totally cool too!!

The cake I have planned for today (home baker) is a s'mores cake at son's request. Chocolate chocolate chip cake with toasted marshmallows and graham cracker pieces on top.

cazza that is good to know about the sugarveil I hadn't tried it yet. Didn't even think about humidity being a problem. Can't wait to see your tulips!

Ruthie what is so funny is yesterday I watched TMNT with my 3 year old for the first time(for him) that cake is awesome you did a fabulous job! Oh I just realized its on a pizza didn't catch that at first AWESOME..you did a really great job!

Ok here is the cake I was working on. Luckily the RI held up the flower petal that fell off along with the stamens that already fell off. That's what you get when you are in a hurry.

Ruthie, what an amazing and fun design!I especially love their heads peeking out from under the manhole cover!

Smitty you cake is stunningly feminine.

Ruthie I smile every time I see a TMNT cake.  My son is 28 now but was very much into them when they first came on to the t.v..  I must scan in the cake I did for hime way back when.....

Thanks Cazza! I was into TMNT too but watching the movie yesterday I was wondering why? The cartoon was way better! lol

Ruthie, I love the Ninja Turtle cake, it is perfect!

Smitty, that is one gorgeous cake. 

Here's the Minecraft cake I did for a 12th birthday party. It was so awesome the birthday boy sketch the cake out for me in his "cake consult". It was the best, he wanted to meet with me to go over his cake, and teach me about Minecraft. It was so darling! What I really wanted to do is invite him over and let him help me with the cake, but I'm not sure that would have went over well with the paying customer.  I can imagine the conversation going a little like this "how does that work, I pay you to make a cake and you have my son do it and collect a fee"?  I can't wait for my kids to get a little older so we can decorate together, if they like cake that is.

I also did a quinceanera cake. This one gave me fits, not my best work, especially covering a cake with fondant. Mostly disappointed this one didn't come out cleaner. 

First time posting to the FNCC - I love the peony, it's gorgeous!  I also love the purple quincenara cake, trust me that people won't see the flaws that we do!  We're our own worst critics.

I made a cake for my son today.  He turned four back in August, but he had the chicken pox on his birthday, so we didn't have the party until tonight.  I ran out of time, so didn't get to do as many details as I wanted (only had time to make the anchor, one barrel and a treasure chest, had wanted to do more barrels, a few ladders, some portals and windows, but oh well).  The gumpaste I had shaped for sails cracked when I tried to thread them on the skewers, and I didn't have time to redo them, so I cheated and printed off computer paper and airbrushed them.  My little guy was thrilled and the crowd was impressed, so I guess that's all that matters!  I had fun doing it, I love doing cakes for my kids because I can take as much creative liberties as I want!

I do have one question - my Duff airbrush plugged while I was doing this cake.  I have the nozzle taken apart and the little pieces soaking right now, as that's what google said to do, but has anyone else had success getting the Duff airbrush unclogged?

Thanks!

Great cakes guys.

O.K. I've colored the tulips and they are not boxy shaped enough, that is why they look wrong. Maybe when I make some leaves some of that will be hidden.

The Peony is gorgeous! I found when I bought Dixie PS it was lumpy so I only buy Domino now. The turtles are so cute and I think you did a pretty good job. We are always hardest on ourselves. I love the ship. luv luv luv it!

I only did one cake this week. It was an 18 wheeler and it gave me fits. It just took so much longer to do than I anticipated. In the end it came out all right.

Love the minecraft cake that is so awesome that he wanted to inform you what a smart boy!

I think that makes the cakes more personal than the mom just saying he wants minecraft. Maybe I should start talking to their kids to find out what they like. Does anyone do that? Instead of just she wants a ballerina cake? The only downfall I could see to this is sometimes kids have unreasonable expectations. I want it to look like ballerina shoes nothing else. lol

Anyhow cute cake and the Quincenara cake looks fine I'm sure they were very impressed.

That boat rocks! I have seen more boats fail then success so great job! As for detail I was already impressed by all the details..lol

I just love everybodies cakes from this week.  The turtles are so cute.  That peony is too die for.  The quinceanera cake is awesome.  The truck, awesome job. and the ship is sooo cute.

Great job everyone!!

Here is one of my cakes.  I still haven't downloaded the other pics.  I really enjoyed making this one.  But gotta say I'm getting tired of making themed and character cakes.  I'm ready for wedding season to start.  I don't know how any of you feel about it.

Awesome cakes everyone, here is a pic of the LOTR themed wedding cake i did this weekend, again the bride purchased the Arwen and Aragorn figurines and wanted them inside the small gazebo on the Rivendell cliffside, I know nothing about LOTR so this is my attempt.

APretty cool Mallorymaid! Is that the whole wedding cake? Pretty neat I wish that place was real I'd retire there. One day I'll make it to New Zealand one day. Auntginn I hate character cakes but right now I'd do anything but twiddle my thumbs. I don't have A cake till the end of October and it's boring. Minnie is cute!

Thanks smittyditty, the base of this cake was a 4" x 14" red velvet with cream cheese icing and a 4" x 14" chocolate cake with buttercream carved and also used cake "spackle" to give it some dimension, gazebo base was a 4"x8" vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and top of gazebo was vanilla cake baked in one of my pyrex bowls, they also had a slab carrot cake.  Funny the bride said the same thing about wanting to live there as well...perhaps it's time for me watch LOTR!!

  Practice cake for the family:)

Everyone, all your cakes are fantastic!!! Great Job to all of you!!!