Cake #2: Fondant Calla Lily and Chocolate Fondant

My favorite flower is a white calla lily, so when I was searching the internet for decorating ideas, I came upon a picture of a cake with fondant calla lilies.  They looked so similar to a leaf that I decided to try my hand at creating my own.  I used a leaf-shaped cutter on white rolled fondant and then wrapped it around a bit of yellow fondant that I had rolled in my hand.  I made them two days ago and left them to dry and harden.

The cake is a white cake with chocolate ganache icing and covered with chocolate fondant.  I bought the fondant since I've been told it's a mess to make and even pros generally buy it when they need chocolate. I used royal icing to do the filigree maze-like piping on the sides and the zig zag top and bottom.

The New School of Cooking: Artisan Breads and Flat Breads

We began baking with yeast two weeks ago and have made several different breads since:

Rustic Country Bread       

Rosemary Olive Bread














Foccacia and Spicy Country Crackers                  

Challah

We also learned how to make pizza dough and Carol's Classic Pizza sauce.  I was too busy eating the pizza that she made for us to take a picture, but I plan to try my hand at home soon and will then post the recipe and photos.

This week we are moving on to brioche, puff pastries, and croissants.  Only two classes left.  I will certainly miss it.  I intend to go back to the beginning and bake everything I've learned again--at home, on my own.  Recipes and photos will be posted then as well.

Cupcakes by Les

While searching the internet for cake decorating ideas, I came upon this web site; Cupcakes by Les.  Her rose and floral designs are stunning.  I emailed her immediately to tell her she's an inspiration.  She thanked me for making her day and explained how she got involved in cake decorating: 

"I just kind of jumped into cake decorating when one of my children was ill & out of school for a few months.  I started decorating cakes and cupcakes to take my mind off of things and quickly discovered that I loved it (and so did my neighbors - free cake! ha,ha).  I began experimenting more with piping and fondant - some things turned out beautiful while others didn't.  :)  But it is a passion that I absolutely love sharing with others!"    

Her skill and creativity are something I aspire to.  Just check these out and be sure to go to her website for more.

                                    

                          

This one was for a bridal shower with the theme: Julie and Julia.

                                           

        Isn't this adorable?

                                          
  And this I want to learn how to do--so lovely!

My First Solo Flight: Despite Significant Turbulence, I Managed to Land with the "Plane" Intact and only a Few Minor Injuries!

Well I did it; made my first fondant-covered cake all by myself at home.  All from scratch--the cake, buttercream, and fondant--put the whole dang thing together, came up with my own design, and, voila,  here it is!  A beginner's cake, nothing fancy, just fondant cut-outs, but it's a start! Yet what a harrowing experience along the way--just ask my husband.  It was a flight I won't ever forget, but then we learn best from our mistakes--and I sure learned a lot.

The Take-Off
My take-off was very bumpy.  I started in the morning, figuring I'd whip up a cake and be ready to move on to the next step in no time at all.  Well, my cakes didn't rise enough and I ended up with two feeble layers that would not be worthy of a layer of fondant.  So I took a deep breath and began again. I checked the baking powder first to be sure it wasn't out-dated--it wasn't--then put a pinch in some hot water to see if it would bubble--it did, so I know knew it wasn't the baking powder. I followed the steps of my recipe carefully and this time came up with a much smoother batter.  Who knows why?  These rose a bit more than the others, so I now had four layers to work with.  I wrapped them in saran wrap and put them in the fridge as instructed.  (John recommends at least three hours or more.)

Mid-Flight Turbulence!
Next I moved on to the fondant, and at this point my flight seemed to be going quite smoothly. To my surprise, making my fondant was not that difficult, just gelatin and water and corn syrup and lots of 10X (powdered sugar).  It formed a nice ball in the mixer, so I turned it out on my counter to knead.  I was so pleased with the ease of my fondant--until the turbulence began!  I looked down to see little brown specks all through  my nice white dough!  Disgusting flecks from the grout between the tiles!  Yes, I wanted to cry, but again, I steadied myself, took a deep breath, and reached for another bag of 10X to begin again.  This time when finished, I did the kneading on a silicone mat that I bought for the purpose of rolling out my fondant and should have been using from the start. Won't make that mistake again!

A Few Bumps
So now I turned to the buttercream, and here I came quite close to putting the plane on automatic pilot for the whole process worked beautifully, from boiling the sugar, to tempering it into the eggs, to whisking it cool, adding the butter and vanilla--ah, a lovely, light, creamy buttercream emerged.  A few minor bumps when I attempted to ice the cake, some crumbs and crumbling layers, but it had been a long day and I knew I was almost home, so I finished and put it in the fridge to set.

Now for the landing!
As I approached my destination--a nicely covered and decorated cake--I knew this would take some skill.  I carefully rolled the fondant, gently placed it on the cake and then began to smooth it over the top and around the sides--then one tear, then another! There was no way I was going to pull up at this point--no way.  So I just  pressed and secured it the best I could, figuring I could cover my mistakes with my decorations--which is exactly what I did.  I won't go into the mess of trying to color the fondant, or that I think my flowers should be thinner, or that the cake looks bumpy.  I won't point out the flaws and cracks that I see when I look at it.  What's important is I created and completed my first cake.  It was not the smoothest of flights, but I made it and learned quite a bit in the process.

We haven't tasted it yet. I'm not quite ready to cut into it.  Maybe later tonight or tomorrow.  And anyway, we've been too busy eating what was left of the layers after leveling the cake and some extra chocolate ganache that was in the fridge!  

                                        

Not Just Cake Decorating at Cake Crumbs in Encino, But Truly Creating a Work of Art http://cakecrumbs.com

After three full days of non-stop, minute detailed work, I created this lovely "cake."  No, you cannot eat it--not only because I wouldn't let anyone dismantle this baby after all my hard work, but because while what's outside is edible, what's inside is not.  This is a cake dummy or model: styrofoam forms that are covered with fondant--just like a real cake.  It's what you see on display at cake shops, and it's how you practice and learn.

While I learned a lot about working with fondant and gum paste, the most important thing I learned with John and Susan Rota at their Introduction to Cake Decorating Workshop concerned the process. I had no idea how much time and effort and skill went into these creations and what an amazing creative experience it is.  While we began with a picture of someone else's whimsical design, we were able to make it our own depending on size and shape and placement of pieces or how we chose to hand-paint the leopard spots.  While parts of the process were pain-staking and at times frustrating, it was exhilarating to see it all come together, and this exhilaration only inspires me to want to do it all again.

John was incredibly patient modeling techniques, encouraging me when I made mistakes, and spending as much time as needed on each stage.  There were three of us in the class, which allowed for a lot of individual attention, but it's clear that both John and Susan love what they do--designing, creating, and teaching--and that's what made this experience so much more special.  I don't think I'd be as excited about wanting to learn more if I'd had a teacher who was just going through the motions to make a buck.  I think I'd feel overwhelmed and under-qualified.  Instead I feel like I can do this if I take one step at a time and practice, practice, practice.  Maybe in a few years I could be at a professional level.

Here's an idea of the day to day process of decorating a specialty cake.

Day One

Imagine three different size cakes baked, shaped, layered and iced with buttercream and ready to cover with fondant--so this really wouldn't be day one.  We, of course, used styrofoam forms.  First we rolled fondant to cover each cake form.  (John makes his own fondant: powdered sugar, gelatin, water and corn syrup, and his own gum paste: tragacanth, water, glucose, and powdered sugar.)

After covering each form, we began making ribbons and blossoms out of the gum paste.  The little white blossoms were a bit tricky and required a lot of trial and error.

        

Day Two

We made fabric roses out of a combination of gum paste and fondant and set them aside to dry.

 

Next we assembled the three tiers, then cut out diamond shapes and rolled little balls from fondant and attached them (with a touch of water) on the bottom tier. Last I made little pearls out of gum paste and fondant and set them aside to dry.

                                         

Day Three
We added strips of fondant to the top tier

and hand-painted leopard spots on the middle tier--which I was amazed I was able to do after a bit of practice.  Then with royal icing, we piped little beads at the base of each tier--which as simple as it seems, I could not master.  Try as I might, mine looked nothing like John and Susan's perfect beads.  This one I need to work on!

                                        

Next we assembled our ribbons, forming bows...

                                       
and strung our pearls...
                               
and began placing the bows, and pearls, and flowers and blossoms and leaves                    
                                      
wherever we thought they looked best-- until it was complete!
                                         
And I even received a certificate!
                                       
                                              
I managed to get my whimsical cake home intact, where it now graces the corner of my desk.

I'm already thinking of ideas for cake designs, but of course I must first begin at the beginning--on my own.  I went out today and invested in some necessary items: turn-table, fondant roller, cutters and former trays, etc. to get started.  I plan to make a single-tier cake and cover it with my own fondant and start with a simple design.  So keep an eye out for my first solo specialty cake.

To John and Susan I say thank you for opening the door to such an enjoyable and delightful art form. I've no idea where this will lead, but I am so excited to get started--and that's what life is all about.

Definitely a Happy Mother's Day!

A wonderful Mother's Day spent with my son and daughter was topped off with the perfect gifts.  Claire got me a lovely pie dish from Williams Sonoma--a red one, of course--and Dean, the latest Williams Sonoma Baking Book for the Home Baker.  You'll be seeing the results of both in future blogs.  Thanks Dean and Claire--I love you!

Experimenting with Form

Baking sourdough bread is now part of my weekly routine.  I keep refreshing my mother starter, creating a sourdough starter, and then baking about every three or four days.  Now I'm experimenting with the form of the bread--beyond baguettes and batards (torpedo loaves). I tried my hand at epis which are meant to resemble shafts of wheat.  You make cuts in proofed baguette dough and twist each section to alternating sides.

If you love the crust more than the crumb--like my husband--these are perfect.  You just tear and eat.

  

And then there is a  fougasse (ladder shape) and a boule (rounded shape).

The fougasse is flatter than it appears in this photo--again more crust so needs to be torn and eaten fairly soon, whereas the boule can be sliced and keeps fresh a bit longer.

As for my baking class--last week was chocolate:

I still prefer my bread!