Opening up another session of the FNCC! Everyone is welcome to share their wee, photos of their work, ask for or provide help. 

Cat

Oy! I've got a big problem! The fondant is ripping horizontally on my bottom tier. It started with a crack and just keeps going across. It acts as if there's nothing underneath it?????

I squirted water under it in case the buttercream was too crusted for the fondant to adhere to it then used gum glue on top of the fondant. It kept going and pulling down so I softened up some fondant to fill the space and again used gum glue to adhere everything. I fear it's still going to continue.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

This week has been a hard one. I slammed my hand in the front door so badly that for the first time in the 5 years I've been caking for a living I almost called to cancel on the client. I decided to tough it out and here is the results!

The hand is dying right now but we are headed soon to the BA to deliver the cake and I'm ever so happy I didn't give up!

Fortunately it's an easy weekend coming up and this week brings my own birthday cake so I'm off the hook and it gives time for the hand to heal before the next week when I have a major cake due.

Hope everyone had a better week than I did and I get to see lots of photos!

Cat

Cheatize...I fear the fondant is too soft (not enough sugar) to firm up enough so its own weight is pulling it down. Your patch may work but I, too, fear its just going to keep ripping. If you have time to wait then give it an hour and see what happens...maybe it was just a thin spot and you have stopped the damage? If it keeps ripping you are going to have to remove it, firm it up and reapply. I'm so sorry this is happening to you tonight!

Cat

Urgh! I think you're right. I've been having trouble of that kind with the white fondant I made, too.

I can't think of a way to cut out the section and patch it without it showing unless I change the design. I think about it while I'm applying edible images to the other tiers. Thanks!

Great looking cake, Cat! You did better with one hand than I am with two. lol

I made a simple sheet cake today, not much to it. The customer wanted simple buttercream leaves/vines, and she's going to put plastic jungle animals on it. Not sure exactly how that will turn out. This was another interesting flavor combo - spice cake with chocolate frosting. The mom-to-be requested that.

And "Happy Baby Shower" was an odd phrase to want written...never heard of people wishing each other a happy shower. Heh. :P

I LOVE my brand new Magic Line 9x13 pan! The corners were perfect for the first time ever! Bye bye, Wilton pan!

Even though this order wasn't anything fancy, I was really excited to get someone who actually just called me up to order a cake. Since I brought a few little 6" cakes to my farmers' market table over the past month, I've gotten 2 small cake orders. It's nice that people realize that I CAN make full size cakes, not just my cupcakes and desserts that are at my booth.

That is awesome...and your lettering looks great. And thanks for the pan recommendation!!!!!

catlharper: What a great job you did on the cards and the chips   The fact you injured your hand before means you deserve a medal.  Enjoy your birthday this week!

Fabulous cards and chips cat, did you hand paint them or print?  Hope the hand improves quickly.

These are my cupcakes that I was playing with.  The sugarveil last weekend worked perfectly. 

AI just love coming here and looking at what everyone is doing. The card cake is awesome Cat but your cakes always are. Cazza I just think your cupcakes are so elegant and beautiful.

Since I only bake for fun or birthdays I have nothing to share. Which is great news for my waistline. Y'all ha ve a wonderful weekend and week.

Thanks for sharing Marian

I had a practice cake I was working on this week...I tried out Liz Marek's fondant recipe and man! It works great! I highly recommend it if you haven't tried it yet. 

http://artisancakecompany.com/2012/11/the-best-marshmallow-fondant-recipe-ever/

Here's the cake. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. 

Good morning everyone! I tried to get on again after we arrived last night and it wouldn't take my log in! 

Thank you everyone for the cake compliments. The cards are transfers...thank goodness because the piping nearly killed my hand. I'm just not able to do fine dexterity details with this hand. The chips were ok because I could use my left and an xacto to make the edges. 

Hope the fondant problems settled out!

Just Desserts...the cake looks perfect! And I agree with you...odd saying. Usually it's a congrats of some type. Would love to have seen what she did with the animals! LOL!

Cazza those cupcakes are beyond beautiful! I so want to try sugar veil...when I have some play money I will come to you for tips!

Rockymtnbaker...that cake is simply beautiful. Are the leaves/flower sugar or silk? Love the simple piping on the cake...more elaborate would have made it look busy and this way just looks elegant!

Please forgive my brevity and any typos...not use to typing one handed! LOL!

Cat

The flowers are silk. If I did this for a real wedding, I would probably have tried some gumpaste leaves/flowers. I was toying with more piping and/or making the piping brown, but I ended up staying with simple and tone on tone. Thank you for the compliments! I hope your hand heals quickly!

Cat I am a complete beginner at Sugarveil.  The main thing I have discovered is that it does not like our humid summer conditions and works much better in the cooler months.

Marian I only play with my food as well. I am a hobby baker and do it for fun.

NYAcupcake the moulds are all really cheap ones that I bought on Ebay from China.

Love the cake rocky.  The colors are gorgeous.

AEveryone's cakes look great! I had a large sugar cookie order this weekend, for a long-time customer who uses me for all her family events. She wanted some kind of fall themed cookie, and left it up to me. I made pumpkin spice flavored sugar cookies (swap out 1/3 do the white sugar for brown, and add 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to your sugar cookie recipe) and topped them with modeling chocolate cut-outs. You can roll out modeling chocolate and cut it with the same cookie cutter, and when the cookies come out of the oven, pop the modeling chocolate cut outs on while they're still hot. The chocolate melts a bit, and adheres to the cookie. You can also add other decorations to it at this point. The modeling chocolate re solidifies once it's cool, and then I made the curved lines using the rim of a cup, and piped on the leaves and vines with royal icing. They're soft and delicious, and taste just like pumpkin pie!

[IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3118914/width/350/height/700[/IMG]

AAbout 24 hours late, but:

Submitted for your amusement, something I threw together out of odds and ends, for my parents' 56th anniversary.

The naked section at the bottom is, as usual, in deference to my dad wanting to avoid frosting.
DH "Swiss Chocolate" mix, with DH canned frosting, a spare edible print of a rose (leftover from my mother's birthday cake), and homemade cold process BC for the "56."

As a companion piece, I made myself a kitchen cake, 8x8, from 2/3 of a DH "Classic White" mix, frosted with cold process BC (the same batch used for the "56"), much the same as I did on my mother's birthday.

NYA, I misread before.  The lace on the cupcakes is made with sugarveil in a sugarveil mould.  If you go to their website you will see what they have available.  You can buy sugarveil moulds in lots of places.

Cat..my son would love the card table. I love the board on the autumn cake and the cupcakes are lovely. I want to try Sugarveil and buy some MagicLine pans when my budget allows. Things have been really tightsince retiring and orders are very slow! I quoted a 3 tier peacock cake today. Pray that I get the order so I can buy groceries! lol I made a cake to take in for my class at school. I practiced fondant paneling techniques but still need a lot more practice. I had to pipe over the seams.