Morgan's Cakes

Chocolate Dipped Caramel Presents

2011-12-09T18:23:00.001-06:00

Guest Post from Carolyn K with Food Blog Guild featuring an idea from Charlotte Mark.

Christmas Grocery List: Becky T’s Chocolate-Dipped Caramel Presents

If you’ve been loading up your grocery list with cupcake supplies, maybe it’s time to take a break and switch gears to make some holiday-themed caramels. Every year we package up these sweet little chocolate-dipped caramels and send them away to our friends and family to say, “Happy holidays.” Try out Becky T’s caramels this year!
Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups of brown sugar

1 cup of sugar

1 1/4 cups of dark corn syrup

1 14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of coarsely chopped pecans

2 1/2 cups of dipping chocolate or chocolate chips

Salt for garnish

Tip: If you want to make a good amount of holiday treats for distribution, double the recipe.

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Next, add both sugars, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk until sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and make sure it isn’t touching the bottom of the saucepan. This will interfere with the thermometer’s reading.

2. Cook mixture for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until candy thermometer registers 242 degrees F, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes long. Immediately remove from heat and stir in pecans. Pour caramel into a buttered pan and let cool for 1-2 hours. The result should be golden brown and easily malleable.
3. After letting the caramel fully cool, heat up the chocolate over a double boiler. For your chocolate, you either want to plan on tempering some chocolate chips or buying pre-tempered dipping chocolate at the store. Buying or making tempered chocolate will keep your caramels from looking like a mess when they get to their recipients. If you do buy dipping chocolate, make sure it’s high grade and tasty before purchasing. Milk chocolate works great with these caramels.

4. Take your caramel square out of the pan using a knife, and lay it on wax paper. Taking your caramel out of the pan makes it easier to cut. Cut your caramel into bite-sized squares and dip them into the chocolate using a fork or chopsticks. Then, lay dipped caramels onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Put finished caramels in fridge to solidify chocolate. After chocolate has dried a bit (after about 10 minutes), put a dash of salt on top of each caramel for garnish. The salt brings out the taste of the caramel beautifully.

5. After all of your caramels have fully solidified, it’s time to wrap them up! Buy some Christmas-colored aluminum at the store and some holiday string. Wrap the caramels up in the aluminum and tie with string, exactly how you would a Christmas present. Warning: you may need your bifocals for this one! Now all that’s left to do is package them up and send them to friends and family (or perhaps even savor one yourself).

Halloween Cake Pops

2011-10-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

Here some cake pops with halloween colors. Simple, yet pretty. Inside is vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, some are chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream.

Fondant Halloween Cake

2011-10-14T12:42:00.001-05:00

Fun Halloween Cake

2011-09-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

This cake is decorated with handmade fondant and gumpaste pieces. The tree is made from modelling chocolate.

Ice Cream Cone cake pops

2011-05-23T13:15:00.000-05:00

What a cute ice cream cone! What's that? You're not ice cream? You're cake??

See, I'm red velvet cake, yummo!

Cake pops

2011-05-23T13:13:00.002-05:00

Cupcake pops on a tree

2011-05-23T11:13:00.002-05:00

Little cucpcake pops in purple, green and white on a home made "tree" stand.

Cinco De Mayo, Fiesta Cake

2011-05-18T11:29:00.003-05:00

Hats and Cacti made from gumpaste.

UNT graduation cake

2011-05-18T11:28:00.001-05:00

Two tier UNT grad cake with Scrappy the Eagle Mascot on top

UNT Graduation Cake

2011-05-18T11:26:00.003-05:00

Three tier UNT graduation cake. Scrappy the Eagle mascot was cut by hand from gumpaste.

Wedding Cake

2011-05-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

This cake is iced with cream cheese icing topped with cookie pops and roses

Bride and Groom Cookie Pop

2011-05-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

These bride and groom cookie pops were decorated with fondant and butter cream icing.

Teacher Appreciation Cake

2011-05-18T11:19:00.000-05:00

Cupcake Cookies and Cupcake Cookie Pop

2011-04-19T14:20:00.003-05:00

Cupcake Cookie Pop!!

Baking Cookies on a Stick tutorial, Cookie Pops

2011-04-15T17:03:00.002-05:00

It's really easy to bake cookies on a stick. Here is a tutorial on how to do it.

Items needed:

cookie sheets (flat with no sides are best) or the back of a regular one
parchment paper
large rolling pin
lollipop sticks
two dowel rods

cookie dough

1. Cut parchement paper the width of the cookie sheet

2. Place cookie dough between two sheets of parchment. Place a dowel rod on each side of the parchment paper. Place rolling pin over dowels and cookie dough and roll out the dough until your rolling pin is rolling on the dowels. Using the dowels helps to get the cookie dough the same width all over. This will ensure even baking. Your cookies will be about 1/4" thick.

*if the parchment wrinkles during the rolling just

lift up the parchment and reposition it on the dough.

4. Cut out your cookies. This recipe is very sturdy and you can easily pick up the cookies.

You can chill the cookies before moving

Or the way I prefer

You don't even have to handle them. The dough is already on parchment so I cut them out as best I can, pull the excess dough away and slide the whole piece of parchment onto the cookie sheet. ;)

5. Now you are ready to insert the sticks. You have to lay your cookies on the parchment so you can insert the sticks in the bottom of your cookie. I keep this in mind when I am cutting out the cookies. If I were inserting sticks in all the cookies I would have down the top two cookies so the bottoms are facing the outside of the cookie sheet. I'm only doing one cookie stick.

6. Insert they stick by placing the parchment back over the cookie, place one hand on top of the cookie and insert the stick by pushing and lightly twisting it into the cookie. Insert the stick 2/3 into the cookie. Remove the parchment.

7. Bake cookies according recipe insturctions

8. Let cool and have fun decorating!

Roll Out Sugar Cookie Recipe from Cookie Crazie

2011-04-15T13:37:00.003-05:00

I came across this great blog called Cookie Crazie. Her cookies are amazingly decorated. I thought this lady knows what she is doing. I thought I'd try her recipe out. I love it! The cookies are soft and even a little cakey. The dough is strong enough for baking cookies on a stick. Here is the recipe:

1 cup butter softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

4 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Make sure all ingredients are room temperature, If not, you're mixture will curdle. Set out the butter, sour cream and egg and let them come to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, make sure you get it nice and fluffy, so your cookies will be fluffy.

Beat in egg, vanilla, sour cream. Blend in dry ingredients.

Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes. Baking time depends on how large your cookies are. Bake until just golden brown around the edges. Do not overbake.

Chocolate Roll Out Cookies

substitute 1/2 cup of cocoa for 1/2 cup of flour

Easter Cupcakes

2011-04-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

Here is an easy idea for Easter Cupcakes. Use a large grass tip to pipe green grass and use Easter candy for the eggs. I put the cupcakes on one of my handmade cake stands.

Tips for working with chocolate

2011-04-06T12:54:00.000-05:00

A few things to keep in mind when working with chocolate, candy melts, candy coatings, ect.
Chocolate cannot get water in it, it will seize it up.

Melt the chocolate slowly DO NOT OVER HEAT.

Melt the chocolate in 30 sec increments stirring in between heatings.
COLORING your chocolate. There are a couple of options here. You can use candy oil colors. I prefer Americolors. You can also use gel colors for cake decorating BUT you need to add a product called Flo Coat so the gel color won't seize the chocolate. You can also purchase pre colored chocolates, candy melts, ect.

If your chocolate is hard to work with don't make it hotter, it will ruin the chocolate add paramount crystals or Crisco to it and it will help relax and smooth out the chocolate.

Store in a cool dry place. Do not store in fridge or freezer. Chocolates will last a long time if stored properly.

Spring Cupcakes with fondant daisy flowers

2011-03-25T10:54:00.002-05:00

CupCake Pops and Cake Bites

2011-03-25T09:37:00.005-05:00

Cupcake Pops

Cupcake Bites

OK, so I copied Bakerella whom I LOVE by the way and think is totally amazing!

Mine are not as pretty as hers are. My chocolate dipping skills need some work. But I did make a tutorial on how I made them. So here goes:

Items you will need:

1 cake mix, baked into a 13x9 inch cake ( I had left over cupcakes in the freezer, I just pulled out 24 and used those)

2 cups of buttercream or cream cheese icing, or 1 can of premade icing

1 flower shaped cookie cutter (1.25" in diameter)

1 package of chocolate bark

1 package of white chocolate bark, or colored candy melts

bowls for dipping

wax paper

cookie sheets

lollipop sticks

sprinkles and m&m's

small plastic treat bags and ribbon for packaging

styrofoam block

food processor (optional)

2 tbs cookie dough scoop

Crisco or Paramount Crystals

1. Bake your cake in a 13x9 inch pan, let cool completely.

Crumble into fine consistency or put in food processor. I used a food processor so I could get it all nice and evenly crumbled.

2. Add your can of icing or homemade icing.

3. Mix thoroughly using a large rubber spatula or the back of a spoon. It will have the consistency of cookie dough.

4. Use a 2 tbs cookie dough scoop to measure out equal portions of the mixture, then shape into balls. The balls should be 1.25" to1.5" in size. Then place them on a wax paper covered cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

6. Once they have chilled, take them out of the freezer and roll them into a cylander shape like this:

7. Use your cookie cutter to push the dough into the mold. I found I had to reshape the tops a little. Push it half way up. Use your thumb to push it out of the cutter and set it on wax paper. If you are making alot, it may help to only take few at a time out of the freezer so they don't get all gooey on you. I am in Texas and it is hot an humid. By the time I got to the 30th one they went all gooey on me.

7. Continue until you done them all. Put them back in the freezer to 10-15 minutes.

8. While your cupcakes are in the freezer start melting your chocolate. Follow package instructions. 30 second increments are best, stirring in between. Do not over heat your chocolate, or get water in it, either of those will cause your chocolate to sieze up.

tip: you may need to add a little crisco to your chocolate to soften it up.

It will make for a smoother finish.

I did not do that this time, I will next time. The pink did not have a nice

smooth finish.

9. Dip them half way up into the chocolate. A deep bowl will allow for easier dipping. Lay them upside down to dry. Add your stick, dip it in the chocolate first, this will help "glue" it in place. Don't wait for the chocolate to set before you add your stick, the chocolate will crack (found that out the hard way).

10. Dip the tops into the colored chocolate, add sprinkles and an m&m for decoration.

Different sprinkles...

Here are some all dressed up and ready to go.

I made them for a bake sale at my sons school. They went for $2 each!!

St Patty's Day Cupcakes

2011-03-16T15:15:00.000-05:00

Here are some cute little cuppies I made for St Pattie's day, with some little fondant flowers sitting on my handmade cake stand.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

2011-03-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

St Patty's Day is just around the corner. Here are some yummy chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. It makes a nice contrast to the green cupcakes papers and green sprinkles, sitting on my handmade cakestand.

Coors Light Bottle Cake

2011-03-01T13:34:00.001-06:00

Very proud of this one! I have a fear of sculpted cakes, my husband helped me out with this one by cutting it for me coloring the fondant and airbrushing it. He did a great job. The logo was cut out by hand.

Baby Shower Princess Cake

2011-03-01T13:28:00.000-06:00

This one was a little difficult to ice, since it was cream cheese, I'm not to happy with the icing job. The tiara was handcut to match the design from the baby shower decorations. Although I was not to happy with it, the customer was more than satisfied. So of course that makes me happy!!

Square Star Cake

2011-01-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

Hello Kitty

2011-01-13T14:39:00.000-06:00

Little Mermaid

2011-01-13T12:11:00.001-06:00

Little Mermaid

2011-01-13T12:08:00.000-06:00

Dot Cake and Cupcakes

2011-01-13T12:06:00.000-06:00

Black and White Demaske Cake

2010-12-29T12:50:00.000-06:00

Cupcakes and handmade cake stands

2010-10-26T17:04:00.000-05:00

I handmade these cake stands for decorations in my kitchen. I didn't want to buy expensive stands. The cupcakes are red velvet with crushed pecans; chocolate, chocolate chip and banana walnut. Yum, Yum, Yum!

Camo Wedding

2010-10-26T17:03:00.000-05:00

Topsy Turvy Square

2010-10-26T16:40:00.000-05:00

Tall and Skinny Fondant cake

2010-10-26T16:39:00.000-05:00

Bow Tie fondant cake

2010-10-26T16:38:00.000-05:00

Ocean Wonders baby shower cake

2010-10-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

Lady Bug baby shower cake

2010-10-26T16:35:00.000-05:00

Colorful Two Tier fondant cake

2010-10-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

3 tier square

2010-10-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

Halloween Wedding Cake in July

2010-07-23T15:52:00.000-05:00

I loved how this cake turned out. I had a bride who loves Halloween. She wanted a halloween wedding cake, in July. I handmade the pumpkins and cut out the bats by hand. The bats are on wires to appear to be flying around the pumpkins. The pumpkins were made from fondant and gumpaste so they will last forever, the bride and groom are able to keep them for memories, which they were very happy with. The caked was iced in buttercream.

Topsy Turyy birthday cake

2010-07-23T15:50:00.000-05:00

Simple Birthday Cake

2010-06-11T21:55:00.001-05:00

Here is a simple buttercream birthday cake with buttercream roses.

Teacher Appreciation Cake

2010-06-11T20:53:00.000-05:00

This cake was made for a teacher appreciation party. The daisies are made from royal icing. I cut out words like inspire, dedication, love, teach, ect and put them on the cake. They really liked it.

Cookie Bouquet

2010-06-11T20:50:00.001-05:00

Here is another cookie bouquet I made a while ago. The icing was piped on with a tip 104 and the yellow centers were piped on with a grass tip.

Cookie Bouquet

2010-06-11T20:47:00.001-05:00

This is a cookie bouquet I made for my sons kindergarten teacher as a thank you gift. The cookies are iced in a light yellow buttercream and the flowers are made from fondant and stuck onto the cookie with melted chocolate.

Chocolate Transfer Method Tutorial

2010-05-19T13:12:00.002-05:00

I love using the chocolate transfer method for making decorations for cakes.
I get alot of emails asking me how I make them. So I have attempted at making a tutorial for you! Here goes...

A few things to keep in mind when working with chocolate, candy melts, candy coatings, ect

Chocolate cannot get water in it, it will seize it up.
Melt the chocolate slowly DO NOT OVER HEAT.
Melt the chocolate in 30 sec increments stirring in between heatings.
COLORING your chocolate. There are a couple of options here. You can use candy oil colors. I prefer Americolors. You can also use gel colors for cake decorating BUT you need to add a product called Flo Coat so the gel color won't seize the chocolate. You can also purchase pre colored chocolates, candy melts, ect.
If your chocolate is hard to work with don't make it hotter, it will ruin the chocolate add paramount crystals or Crisco to it and it will help relax and smooth out the chocolate.
Store in a cool dry place. Do not store in fridge or freezer. Chocolates will last a long time if stored properly.

Step 1:

Find an image that you want to do your transfer with. You can get one off the internet, coloring book, just about any where you want. I usually do a search for coloring pages on the internet. If you are printing an image from your computer you need to make sure and print a mirror image. This is especially important if you are using words in your image. If you don't print a mirror image your letters will come out backwards on your transfer. So just keep that in mind.

Step 2:
I tape my image to the back of a glass picture frame so I can see the image through the glass. I bought a picture frame from the dollar store and took out the glass part. Make sure and tape the edges of your glass so you don’t get cut.Tape a piece of wax paper, parchment paper or an overhead projector sheet (acetate paper) on top of the glass. Make sure there are no wrinkles in the paper.

Step 3:
Melt and color your chocolate. I like to use parchment paper bags for my chocolate. If you don’t know how to fold a parchment paper cone here are some instructions.I keep a heating pad on warm while I am working with my chocolate. I keep the bags on the heating pad so the chocolate stays melted.

Step 4:
Start outlining. I like to use brown chocolate for the outlining. Once you have done your outlining then let it dry.

Step 5:

Now start filling in. You have to think a little ahead. You will want to fill in the small dots and eyes and all the smaller areas. Once those are filled in then add the rest of the colors. Let dry.

Cover the delicate areas with white chocolate like the legs, antennas ect.

So they don’t break off.

Step 6:

Let the pieces dry well, then flip them over and peel of the paper.

And viola, you have cute, edible pieces ready to put on a cake!

Barbie Doll Cakes

2010-05-19T11:04:00.001-05:00

I made these Barbie cakes for my friends 2 cute little girls who turned three years old. I used my new Cricut Cake Machine to cut the designs for the dresses. I got them on a little crooked. They were actually kind of tough to get on there without breaking them. I also used the Cricut Cake to cut the letters out. I LOVE my new Cricut Cake and I can't wait to use it more!!

I'm Back

2010-05-19T11:03:00.001-05:00

Wow, I have been so busy. Had a new baby 3 months ago, doing some cakes. Got some stuff to post. I'm going to try and catch up!

Another Really Cute Topsy Turvy

2009-11-22T11:21:00.000-06:00

OK, I had so much fun making this one. I think I say that every time. But this one is my new favorite.

Cookie Balls

2009-11-10T11:57:00.001-06:00

These little guys were so easy and they were a hit!!

Here is the recipe

Crush 1 package of oreo or other sandwich cookies in a food processor

Mix in 1 package of softened cream cheese

Use a cookie scoop to measure out portions and roll into balls

Freeze for about 1 hour

Dip in melted chocolate or almond bark (they may need to be dipped twice)

Drizzle with colored chocolate

EAT and Enjoy! I do warn you though, they are very rich.

I'm a little tea pot

2009-11-10T11:53:00.001-06:00

I made this little tea pot for a friends daughter's tea party. The spout and handle are made from fondant. The cake is iced in butter cream with fondant decorations. I used my Pampered Chef large batter bowl to bake the cake in. It was the perfect shape for a tea pot.

Smaller Black and White Topsy Turvy

2009-11-10T11:44:00.000-06:00

I made this smaller version of the black and white topsy turvy for one of my friends husband. It is an 8" and 6" cake. I liked this size. It's great for a smaller party.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe

2009-09-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

Heavenly Pumpkin Spice Cake

Ingredients:

1 package spice cake mix 18.25 0z
1 cup white flour
1 4oz instant vanilla pudding mix
1/3 tsp of salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sour cream
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350
Combine all ingredients and beat on medium speed for 5-6 minutes. Pour into prepared pans. It will easily make a 9x13, 2 8” round cakes, or about 40 cupcakes.

Baking time will be increased because of all of the added ingredients. I baked my cupcakes for about 25 minutes. For cakes about 40-55 minutes. It is done when you touch the cake and it bounces back in the center.

Whipped Pumpkin Filling:

4oz softened cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp vanilla
½ cup whipping cream

mix cream cheese and powder sugar until well blended. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, mix until well blended. Slowly add whipping cream beat for 1-2 minutes. Chill for 1-2 hours before using.

Tip: to fill cupcakes use a bismarck tip (Wilton #230) and piping bag.

Cream Cheese Icing:

1 stick butter softened
8oz cream cheese softened
1 lb powder sugar (4 cups)
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla, slowly add powderd sugar. Mix until well blended.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

2009-09-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

These cupcakes were so delicious! They are pumpkin spice cupcakes with a whipped pumpkin filling and cream cheese icing. Click here for the recipe!! Yum, Yum, Yum!

Click here for a tutorial on how I made the chocolate leaves.

To fill cupcakes you use a bismarck tip, Wilton #230. To make the swirl of icing on top I used Wilton tip 1A.

Oh, so yummy!

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

2009-09-15T20:22:00.000-05:00

I made the cake for my son's 5th birthday. He wanted a Spongebob castle cake. I cheated on this cake. Since I don't have an edible image printer I printed the from my regular printer and laid them onto a piece of fondant I cut to match the image. The castle parts are from the Wilton Castle set. It is the first time I used it. They were kind of a pain to cover in fondant. I ran short on time so I didn't have time to add his name to the cake :(

OH! I used cinnamon toast crunch cereal for the dirt. I crushed it in my food processor. It tasted so good!! Much better than anything else I have ever used for dirt.

Making Chocolate Leaves

2009-09-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

This is the first time I have tried making chocolate leaves, it was actually very simple. First you pick some leaves that you want to duplicate. I had a nice maple tree out front that I just picked leaves from. I washed and dried them completely. You don't want any water getting around your chocolate, it will seize it up and that is not good.

Next I melted chocolate. I used chocolate almond bark because that is what I had on hand. I have noticed with almond bark it takes longer to dry. Once melted, I used a paint brush to "paint" the chocolate onto the leaves.

I set the leaves on a baking sheet covered with parchment and placed them in the freezer just for a few minutes to get the chocolate to dry nice and hard.

After the chocolate has frozen, carefully peel the leaf from the chocolate. It is very fragile, so be careful. For a finishing touch I dusted the chocolate leaves with gold luster dust.

Baking with a Flower Nail

2009-09-15T12:47:00.001-05:00

This is a flower nail, it is used to make flowers but it has another function! If you take it and turn it upside down in your baking pan like in the picture below it will help bake your cake so your cake is more likely to come out nice and rounded on top instead of having sinkage in the middle. It will conduct heat to the center of your cake. It kind of works like a heating core without leaving a big hole in your cake. I put 1 nail in an 8-10 inch pan and 2 nails in 12 inch or larger. Make sure and "paint" them with your homemade cake release so they don't stick to your cake. Did I mention how great the cake release works? I forgot to take a pic of the cake when it came out. I guess you'll have to take my work for it, the cake came out beautifully!

40th Black and White

2009-08-04T11:56:00.000-05:00

I did this cake for my friends 40th birthday. I absolutly love to do topsy turvy cake. They are my favorite. The top tier has swirls made from a chocolate mold. The topper on the cake was cut out with a paper template. I made little fondant balls and placed them on the end of floral wire. When I placed the wire in the cake it was taped and put in a straw, making sure that none of the wire was touching the cake.

Making marshmallow fondant

2009-07-24T10:09:00.000-05:00

Directions for Marshmallow Fondant
Ingredients:
1 - 16 oz bag regular or miniature marshmallows
1 – 2 lb bag confectioner's sugar
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons flavoring, I use vanilla
Shortening
cornstarch
1. Grease your mixing bowl and a Pyrex or glass bowl that can be used to melt marshmallows in the microwave

2. Place 16 oz bag of marshmallows, 2 Tablespoons of water and 2 teaspoons of flavoring of your choice in Pyrex/glass bowl coated with shortening and microwave on high for 60 seconds. Stir. If all the marshmallows are not melted, return to microwave for approximately 30 seconds. Stir. Continue this procedure until all marshmallows are melted

3. Sift one half of the 2 pound bag of confectioner's sugar in a mixing bowl which has also been greased with shortening. Make a well in the center of the confectioner's sugar and pour the melted marshmallows
4. I use the dough hook attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. Mix until all the melted marshmallows are incorporated in the confectioner's sugar. Mixture will be thick but still a runny.
Sift the remaining half bag of confectioner's sugar into the mixing bowl with the melted marshmallows.
Do not use the entire 2 pounds of sugar. It only takes about 1 ¾ pounds.
**Note: If you do not have a Kitchen Aid mixer or heavy duty mixer similar to a Kitchen Aid, mix this by hand. This is a very thick mixture and very hard even for a Kitchen Aid to mix. Sift the remaining confectioner's sugar into the marshmallows/confectioner's sugar in bowl and mix. Fondant will be very thick and have dough like consistency
5. Wrap fondant in saran and make sure no air gets to it.
It really needs to sit about an hour or so to cool down completely from the melted marshmallows. It needs to be air tight so it will not dry out.
6. Your cake needs to be as smooth as possible as fondant tends to show imperfections
7. Take approximately two-thirds of marshmallow fondant and place in the middle of a measuring wheel (I use the Wilton measuring circle) or on a very smooth surface that has been thoroughly coated with cornstarch
8. Roll fondant out until approximately 1/16 inch thick.
Make sure you keep you surfaces coated with crisco so your fondant doesn't stick.
Lift the fondant while rolling to make sure it's not sticking. There is nothing worse than rolling out the size you need, lifting and finding your fondant has stuck to the surface, so use plenty of Crisco or cornstarch.
9. After you get your MMF on your cake, lightly smooth the top with your hands. For the sides of the cake, I use a pizza cutter to remove the extra MMF.
10. Be careful not to stretch your MMF as this will cause you to have too much fondant on the sides and will make creases when you try to smooth.
11. Smooth from the top on the sides down to the bottom edge of the cake working around it trimming off the excess

Tips:

Grease everything with Crisco your hands, the bowl and utensils. Let the mmf rest overnight before using.
TO USE If fondant is too hard, place in microwave a few seconds at a time. Dust work table with cornstarch, and knead for a couple of minutes. Then roll as thin as you want with rolling pin dusted in cornstarch.
To color: Separate small amounts of fondant & color with paste food colors to the desired tone. Knead until color is smooth and completely uniform. This fondant does not set fast at all.

*www.cakecentral.com

Bratz Cake, Chocolate Transfer

2009-06-17T13:25:00.000-05:00

The Bratz logo is a choco transfer and the stars are made from fondant cut-outs and airbrushed in pink shimmer, gold and silver.

Lightening McQueen cake, Chocolate Transfer

2009-06-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

I am becoming a big fan of the chocolate transefer method. Mcqueen was made using this method. I will post a couple of more cakes using this method.

Cookie Bouquets

2009-05-19T19:33:00.001-05:00

I made these guys for Mother's Day. I baked round cookies on lollipop sticks, decorated them with royal icing. I think next time I will use butter cream. The royal icing dried to hard. It makes for good decorating, just not to nice to eat in my opinion. Once the icing was dry I placed them in a flower pot. Inside the flower pot was a piece of floral styrofoam, I just stuck the stick directly into the foam. I put some beans in the pot to give it weight so they wouldn't tip over. To finish it off I put the green crumpled paper on top.

One Tier Topsy Turvy Zebra cake

2009-05-04T22:04:00.001-05:00

I thought this turned out really cute. The twelve was also made using the chocolate transfer method. The little balls are made from fondant and then the whole cake was airbrushed with pearly stuff to make it shine.

Bobby Jack Monkey

2009-05-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

The Bobby Jack Monkey is made using the chocolate transfer method. I love using that method because you can make just about anything you want. Here is a great link that shows a tutorial on how to do the chocolate transfer method, it is fun and easy. Sadie was made using fondant cutout called Tappits, love these guys! The colored sprinkles on this cake were a complete accident. I had a bowl of them sitting next to the cake and I knocked the bowl so the sprinkles flew all over the kitchen, and on the cake. But I thought they added a nice touch.

Ladybugs and Bow

2009-05-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

Ugh! This picture came out awful! But the cake looked cute in person. The little black and red dots are ladybugs made out of fondant. I made each one by hand. And the the loopy bow on top.

Four prong bow for baby shower

2009-03-30T11:27:00.000-05:00

This is a cake I did for a baby shower. The cake is iced in butter cream icing. The bow is made from fondant. I put it through my pasta machine, which I love. It gets the fondant so thin that the finished bow looks more like real fabric. I used a textured rolling pin to give the fondant texture. This is the first one of these that I made. I really like it. The cake board is also covered in the textured fondant.

Whimsical cake

2009-03-26T12:34:00.000-05:00

I was asked to make a fun birthday cake. This is what I came up with. I had so much fun with this cake. I love the colors and the whimsical look. The two tiers were carved by my husband (because I can't carve!) to have a tappered look.

Wedding Cake

2009-03-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

This is a 3 tier butter cream wedding cake. The top tier is a 6" round, middle is an 8" square and the bottom is a 14" round. I made 300 royal icing flowers for the cake I ended up using about 100, so I have a ton left over. Each tier is wrapped with satin ribbon.

Mini Cakes

2009-02-20T17:00:00.001-06:00

These are mini cakes I made for a friends baby shower. I made a large sheet cake, filled it, froze it, then cut them up into 2x2 slices. I covered them in poured fondant that I made (if I can remember the recipe I used, I will post it).

They aren't perfect, you can really see through the icing. They were my first ones. I'll have to practice some more.

I cut out some little fondant daisy flowers and placed them on top.

Makeup cake

2009-02-03T16:48:00.000-06:00

The top tier of this cake is supposed to be a makeup bag. I think if I were to do another one of these I would not use dots. It looks kind of like it has the chicken pox. The makeup was made using molds and chocolate.

Elmo Slice Cake

2009-02-02T20:23:00.000-06:00

I did this cake for my niece Sammie. She wanted an Elmo cake. So I decided to make a "slice" cake. It was my first one. As you can see the slice of cake is a little tilted.

Shrek

2009-02-02T17:15:00.000-06:00

I made this cake for Gavyn's 4th birthday. He requested a Shrek cake. I had fun with this one. My husband really helped with the idea. Shrek is made from fondant it is a flat fondant figure, motiff I think it is called.

Froggie

2009-02-02T16:20:00.000-06:00

I think this frog is so cute! I made if from fondant to go on top of a cake for a little girl who likes frogs. I was told after the party that she carried it around in her hand like it was real. How cute!!

Hot Pink, Black and White

2009-02-02T16:09:00.000-06:00

This cake was done for as display cake at a really cool party place in Texas. It's still there. It is not really cake, it is styrofoam covered in fondant and decorated in fondant. It has crystals all over it. I really like this one.

Dragon

2009-02-02T16:03:00.000-06:00

Here is a closer look at the dragon.

Chinese New Year Cake

2009-02-02T16:00:00.001-06:00

I did this cake for the cub scout Blue and Gold Banquet. The theme was Chinese New Year. The cake is iced in butter cream and airbrushed red. I piped the Chinese characters and molded the dragon out of fondant.

Four Tier Square Cake

2009-01-16T14:27:00.000-06:00

This is a four tier square cake I did for a girl who was graduating high school. It is buttercream with diamond impression on the side and handmade silver pearls.

I really need to photography lessons!!

Christmas package cake

2009-01-16T14:14:00.001-06:00

I did this cake for my husbands work party. I know the bottom right corner is lopsided. I think I shaved to much cake off before icing it. It is actually sparkly but you can't tell in the pic. Overall, I like the way this cake turned out. And it did turn some heads at the party. My husband picked the colors, they were inspired by one of Duffs cakes from Charm City Cakes. I am sure you know the show as Ace of Cakes. Great show, and very talented artists.

Buttercream Icing Recipe

2008-12-08T17:57:00.001-06:00

Buttercream Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of white solid vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon of clear flavoring like vanilla, butter or almond
4 tablespoons of liquid* (see explanation below)
1 lb pure cane confectioners sugar

Cream shortening, flavoring and water. Add powder sugar and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.

*For your liquid you can use water, milk, flavored coffee creamer to name a few. I use non dairy creamer mixed with boiling water. It is non dairy so your iced cake can sit out and you won't have to worry about the icing spoiling.

You can double, triple, quadruple this recipe to make more at one time.

Tips:

Don't mix your icing for to long or on too high a speed.

You don't want to incorporate air bubbles into your icing.

Use a clear flavoring so your icing is white. If you used the brown vanilla your finished icing would be an ivory color, which is ok it that is what you want.

If you are coloring your icing it is best to start with a white icing.

Roll Out Cookie Dough Recipe

2008-12-08T17:14:00.004-06:00

This is Wilton's Roll out cookie recipe, it is a good one. But my favorite is Cookie Crazie's recipe

Roll Out Cookie Recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400. In mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. At this point you can knead in icing colors for colored dough. Do not chill. Divide dough into 2 balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 of an inch thick. Dip cookie cutter into flour before each use. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet for 6-7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

Makes about 2 dozen

Home made cake release...Your cakes will never stick to the pan again!!

2008-12-08T17:04:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had a problem with your cakes sticking to your pan? Well, not anymore. Try this homemade cake release recipe and you will never have another cake stick to your pans!

Recipe

1 cup flour

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup solid vegetable shortening

mix ingredients well, then use a pastry brush to "paint" onto your cake pan, cupcake pan, ect. Store the left over in your fridge and use it for your next cake.

Baby Shower Cake

2008-12-08T16:59:00.000-06:00

I think this baby shower cake is so cute, in my opinion :)

I made the baby, the pink pearls and the blanket from fondant. However, I would probably change alot on this cakethe blanket coulors would softer, and the quilt imprint would be deeper.

Strawberry Shortcake

2008-12-08T16:47:00.000-06:00

This is a 3 tier Strawberry Shortcake I made for my niece Sammie. I didn't come up with the idea on my own. I got it from a very talented cake decorater named Diane. This was one of my first cakes.

Wedding Cake with Gumpaste Roses

2008-12-03T13:43:00.000-06:00

Wedding Cake with Gumpaste Roses and gold leaves, pearls and drapes.

Slice of cake Stawberry Shortcake

2008-11-26T16:43:00.000-06:00

Slice of cake! I made a bow to go on this cake and at the last minute it broke. So I ran to Target to see if I could find something to put on it. I found that cute little curly bow. It worked out good.

Baby Shower pink and blue

2008-11-26T16:42:00.000-06:00

This cake was made for a baby shower for twins a boy and a girl.

Topsy Turvy Zebra cake

2008-11-24T13:15:00.000-06:00

This one is by far my favorite cake that I've done. I made it for a friend Jennifer who owns a cute little party shop for girly, girls in Denton, TX. The shop is called Sassy Katz .

I had the great opportunity to make cakes for parties for her shop.

Anyway, this cake is totally Jennifer's personality! I can thank her for the inspiration.

Stacked Round Strawberry Shortcake

2008-11-24T11:56:00.000-06:00

I love this Strawberry Shortcake. I actually got the idea from a cake I saw on http://www.cakecentral.com/ That website is a great source for cake inspiration.

Baby Shower Cake

2008-11-22T15:06:00.000-06:00

This is a little babyshower cake that can be taylored to a boy or girl or both.

Purple Topsy Turvy

2008-11-22T15:03:00.000-06:00

I think this cake turned out so cute. I was asked to match a party invitation.

Black & White Topsy Turvy

2008-11-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

This was actually my first attempt at making a Topsy Turvy. I made it for mine and my husbands birthday in 2006. Our birthday's are one day apart.
Anyway, I had fun making this one. The top two tiers are actually styrofoam dummies and the bottom tier is cake. I didn't want all three tiers to be cake, that's to much cake!
The little balls are made of fondant attached to floral wire and inserted into the cake.

Cupcake Tower

2008-11-22T14:44:00.000-06:00

Floral Cupcakes

2008-11-22T14:38:00.000-06:00

These are cupcakes iced to look like flowers. Some of them were airbrushed to get the color.

Basket Weave

2008-11-22T14:31:00.000-06:00

This is a two tone basket weave cake with royal icing daisies and apple blossoms. There are also some little ladybugs.

Princess Cake

2008-11-22T14:25:00.000-06:00

This cake was done for a 1 year old, princess party. This cake can be modified to just a princess cake or it would even be cute to make it for a boy and have it blue for a "prince" party.

Scrappy the Eagle UNT graduation cake

2008-11-22T14:23:00.000-06:00

My husband graduated from the University of North Texas. I made this cake for him. Scrappy the Eagle was the mascot, so I put him on top of the cake, made from fondant, and used the UNT colors for the rest.

Pink, Yellow & Orange Topsy Turvy

2008-11-22T14:21:00.000-06:00

Topsy Turvy

2008-11-21T13:20:00.000-06:00

I absolutly LOVE to do the Topsy Turvy cakes. They are so much fun. I was asked to do a Topsy that had orange and teal in it and this is what I came up with. The party girl loved it!