Working with shimmer dusts

Adding a shimmer finish to a specialty cake can really add a new dimension to the finish of the cake.

In this post I wanted to describe the two ways that we apply shimmer to our cakes. They are so simple.

1. Dust the shimmer onto cake straight from container. To do this you need a very good quality fat brush. Simply brush the shimmer all over. In my opinion this is ideal for white shimmer on white icing.

2. Mix shimmer with rose water and apply. To do this you need to mix shimmer (usually white) with decorator's rose water (also known as rose spirit). You may need to experiment with the amounts. Using a very good quality and wide artist brush brush onto cake in long strokes. You will need to do multiple coats to get the best effect so don't let the mix become too gluggy or thick. In my opinion this option is ideal for applying over coloured fondant.

I used technique 2 on the wedding cake above. The fondant was a mixture of dusty pink and rose pink and then multiple layers of shimmer/rose water.

Have fun playing with shimmer.

Til next time,

Belinda

www.ediblecreations.com.au

cake decorating tips

Sweet Handbag for girls

I whipped up this cake quickly last week for my niece who was turning 8. The idea for the design came from the cute woolen bag (made by Pashom) that was sent to my daughter as a gift at christmas. As soon as I saw the bag I thought it would make the cutest little cake. Yes truly.. that is how my mind works!
I love pink and red together. Such a sweet combination for girls. Here is the bag made by Pashom. Be sure to check out their fabulous website.

Black and White with a splash of Bright!

Whilst I am definitely still a fan of the sophistication of a black and white cake there is a trend at the moment that I just love! Brides are adding a great splash of colour to their wedding. Bright is definitely in and makes for a great statement with the cake and decorating of a function.
Here is a beautiful photo of Daphne and Jared cutting their fun cake.
This cake below was made for Vicki and Dean in early January. The bright green was an exact match to the bridesmaids and the handpainted design was requested by Vicki after falling in love with another cake we had made. Originally this couple had planned a very differently styled wedding but a change of venue led to an overhaul and the creation of this beautiful cake. I designed this cake to take to a bridal expo last June and yep Daphne and Jared fell in love with it and added there own twist. It certainly is a cake that will have your guests talking!

I just love the lime green in this cake. Meredith and Brendan were just blown away by the finished product. We had had the honour of making Meredith's sisters cake the year before so it was a true compliment that they as a family love our cakes enough to return.

I love this Amy Atlas desert table. The bright yellow is definitely what makes the display.

I found this cute table photo on google and just loved the splash of pink.

So what are your thoughts on black, white and bright?

Til next time,

Belinda

www.ediblecreations.com.au

Working with marsipan for a change

Ok so it is rare for us to do what we affectionately call a 'domed cake'. Traditionally, decorated cakes were traditional fruit cake layered with marsipan and then finished with fondant. Last week we went traditional and made four beautiful cakes for four 80th birthdays - a client who knew how to entertain put on one impressive birthday event!

This cake is adorned with deep red roses and natural looking green leaves.
This cake was a cake to be shared and cut at the event. As it was two men and one lady it was important to find the balance between not too masculine or feminine.
This lovely cake uses a combination of handpainting and piping.

as does this ...

Marsipan tends to be something people either love or hate. Unfortunately, for those who love it, it is very hard to purchase good quality marsipan in Australia. Thankfully our pastry chef is German and as we all know marsipan is pretty much synonymise with German. Nick imports this from Germany and whilst very pricey it is definitely quality!

We had a bit of fun trying to pronounce ...

Here is the actual marsipan. It can be quite tacky and very different from the imitation marsipans that are made in Australia. Nick was a gem and gave me fabulous advice. I had once heard not to use cornflour to roll marsipan but that is apparently not true which was good as we mostly use cornflour for rolling. This marsipan can be quite sticky and would be terrible to use with icing sugar.

Whilst it's good to embrace difference I am delighted to be back with ganache!

Til next time,

Belinda

http://www.ediblecreations.com.au/

Air Brushing

Air brushing is a great skill that adds a new level to decorating cakes. Last week we added a great funky look to a skateboard cake using the airbrush - see facebook for photo) this week we are airbrushing roses for a couple of cakes.

Now I am not going to pretend that we are airbrushing experts. If you would like to learn this fabulous skill from the best we highly recommend Wayne from Advanced Airbrush who runs fabulous courses. Ali attended a course last year and found it brilliant and learnt so much.

Here is a quick snap shot of Ali who dropped in for a couple of hours today to give a couple of light coats to the roses.
One thing you can be sure of when airbrushing is that it gets airborne and everywhere. Definitely don't do with other cakes near by. Ali sprayed into a box but still that doesn't contain the colour and very thorough cleans are required after spraying.

Below is a photo showing the correct technique for holding the airbrush. Interestingly I can't hold an airbrush properly. It's a bit of a joke around Edible Creations. But I can't hold a pen correctly either. It's the end result that matters I say :)

Here is one of the roses after a couple of light coats. Tomorrow afternoon we will put a deeper red over.

Things we are learning when it comes to airbrushing.

* Always spray light layers and add more layers rather than being heavy handed with the spray.

* We actually found that for some colours you get a better result with cheap liquid food colouring as bought from the supermarket as opposed to the specifically made air brushing food colouring.

As I said do check out Advanced Airbrush for courses. Despite not being specific to cake Wayne is more than capable of catering to these needs in a general class.

Til next time,
Belinda

http://www.ediblecreations.com.au/

Colour Inspiration - Brown and Green

Today I went for a walk (something I have not been doing near enough lately) and despite the very wet weather it was just what I needed. Whilst walking I was pondering my business and in particular my blog. I was inspired to reevaluate the purpose of my blog and I think you will be seeing a lot more posts from now on.

One thing I want to do regularly is share colour schemes. Today my focus is on brown and green. I do adore this colour scheme. Green has been a fairly popular wedding colour over the past few years and I love when brides choose to team it with brown.

Can't you just imagine this beautiful detail on a cake .. lovely change from black and white which is being done very often at the moment.

I know I'm not showing you a single cake in any of these pictures but I think sometimes we become limited by what others do. I find the best cakes I make are the ones where I trust myself and my ideas and go with my instincts.

This photo below throws out some fun ideas that could be used when making a christening cake and would be just perfect for a little boy.Til next time,

Belinda

http://www.ediblecreations.com.au/

Paper Orchid

A long time lover of stationary I thought I'd share this beautiful website I just stumbled across. They have so many beautiful products and if for no other reason than they have a pretty website I highly recommend dropping by.

These christmas cupcake wrappers would be a great addition to any christmas feast and because the actual papers are so detailed there is no need to highly decorate.
Anyways, check out Paper Orchid.

Til next time,
Belinda
www.ediblecreations.com.au