Anyone in here decorate cakes?

[Angelhalo]

Yes. I'm a little old school

Well I'm a Wilton Instructor so even though I have only been decorating for a about a year and a half or so, I am old school too because I learned it from Wilton. I used color flow to make the pumpkin on my Halloween cake.

I'm always trying to learn new techniques though. The rocker cake was the first time I ever used my airbrush. I airbrushed all the buttercream layers and I airbrushed the fondant flames. I had been wanting to use it but was always so afrain I'd mess something up! LOL!

 

[hereyago]

Beautiful and fun cakes ya'll.

i would love to learn how to decorate a cake, but I can't even frost a cake with regular frosting and not tear it up. I let the cake cool for over an hour, what am I doing wrong? the frosting is at room level, I swirl that puppy around.

Then i love to watch cake boss, they did this one for a aquarium with fondant and rock candy looking stuff for a reef.

 

[LJC1861]

Oh wow! Look at all the classes! I have a question though, is EACH class $75?

Angelhalo.

Yes, unfortunately each class is $75. Each demonstration is $7. I will more than likely only be able to do 2 of the hands on classes and I am going to sign up for as many of the demos as I can.

It is pricey, but I think it is going to be SOOOO worth it. I hope you decide to attend and if so I hope we can meet one another!

Linda

 

[Angelhalo]

Beautiful and fun cakes ya'll.

i would love to learn how to decorate a cake, but I can't even frost a cake with regular frosting and not tear it up. I let the cake cool for over an hour, what am I doing wrong? the frosting is at room level, I swirl that puppy around.

Then i love to watch cake boss, they did this one for a aquarium with fondant and rock candy looking stuff for a reef.

I'm not very good with storebought frosting either. I like to dirty ice my cakes first but store frosting doesn't get a nice crust on it so you can't dirty ice.

Have you tried making your own buttercream before? When you make your own, you can dirty ice, or do what is called a "crumb coat. It is a thin coat that goes on first then you let it sit for maybe 20 minutes and it gets crusted over and it traps all of your crumbs inside of it. That way whatever you pick up in the first thin layer of icing, stay trapped in that layer. Then you can put on a thicker top layer and it won't get crumbs in it!

I can give you an easy buttercream recipe!

Now there are all kinds of variations on buttercream but this one is a super simple basic recipe for someone who may have never made it before.

1 cup of vegetable shortening
4 cups of 10x refined powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of clear colored flavoring of your choice
4+ tablespoons of water or milk

Just put them all in a mixer and mix until creamy. The water you have to play by ear until you get the consistency that you want.

I used to use merangue powder in mine but have found that it crusts without it so why buy more things than necessary.


Here is one that I also love (it has more ingredients but it is soooo yummy and creamy):

2 c. and 3 Tbs shortening
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp butter flavor
1/2 c. dry coffee creamer
2 lbs. powdered sugar

Mix the shortening, flavorings and salt until creamy. Add the sour cream and powdered creamer and mix again until combined. Then mix in all of your powdered sugar until fluffy and creamy!

 

[Angelhalo]

Angelhalo.

Yes, unfortunately each class is $75. Each demonstration is $7. I will more than likely only be able to do 2 of the hands on classes and I am going to sign up for as many of the demos as I can.

It is pricey, but I think it is going to be SOOOO worth it. I hope you decide to attend and if so I hope we can meet one another!

Linda

I definitely want to attend but will most likey stick to the demos. At $75 each I don't think I could convince my DH to shell out the moolah for any classes. I'd love to meet up if I end up going!

 

[hereyago]

I'm not very good with storebought frosting either. I like to dirty ice my cakes first but store frosting doesn't get a nice crust on it so you can't dirty ice.

Have you tried making your own buttercream before? When you make your own, you can dirty ice, or do what is called a "crumb coat. It is a thin coat that goes on first then you let it sit for maybe 20 minutes and it gets crusted over and it traps all of your crumbs inside of it. That way whatever you pick up in the first thin layer of icing, stay trapped in that layer. Then you can put on a thicker top layer and it won't get crumbs in it!

I can give you an easy buttercream recipe!

1 cup of vegetable shortening
4 cups of 10x refined powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of clear colored flavoring of your choice
4+ tablespoons of water or milk

Just put them all in a mixer and mix until creamy. The water you have to play by ear until you get the consistency that you want.

I used to use merangue powder in mine but have found that it crusts without it so why buy more things than necessary.

Now there are all kinds of variations on buttercream but this one is a super simple basic recipe for someone who may have never made it before.

Here is one that I also love:

2 c. and 3 Tbs shortening
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c. sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp butter flavor
1/2 c. dry coffee creamer
2 lbs. powdered sugar

Mix the shortening, flavorings and salt until creamy. Add the sour cream and powdered creamer and mix again until combined. Then mix in all of your powdered sugar until fluffy and creamy!

Thank you so much. I love to bake, but the frosting part just sucks for me. I will try your receipe. One day I would like to be able to use fondant-not sure if I spelled that right and make pretty cakes that some other Diser's have made.

 

[Angelhalo]

Thank you so much. I love to bake, but the frosting part just sucks for me. I will try your receipe. One day I would like to be able to use fondant-not sure if I spelled that right and make pretty cakes that some other Diser's have made.

You're welcome! You can also turn that same recipe into a chocolate buttercream by adding cocoa powder.

Fondant can be so much fun too. I always have a couple of people in my classes that just hate working with it and want to stick with buttercream. It take patience but once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun.

If you have a Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or AC Moor anywhere near you, you should call and see if they offer cake decorating classes. They are a great way to get started, and they aren't very expensive. They just changed the curriculum so now there are 3 courses instead of 4. Each course meets 1 night for 4 weeks so you can finish all of the courses in 3 months.

 

[pollymn]

Well I'm a Wilton Instructor so even though I have only been decorating for a about a year and a half or so, I am old school too because I learned it from Wilton. I used color flow to make the pumpkin on my Halloween cake.

I'm always trying to learn new techniques though. The rocker cake was the first time I ever used my airbrush. I airbrushed all the buttercream layers and I airbrushed the fondant flames. I had been wanting to use it but was always so afrain I'd mess something up! LOL!

The owl cake is my first cake fully covered with fondant. I have used it for awhile as decorations and sometimes covering the top. I have yet to try air brushing. I need to practice as my DS is getting married this fall and I'm doing their cake.

 

[LJC1861]

I definitely want to attend but will most likey stick to the demos. At $75 each I don't think I could convince my DH to shell out the moolah for any classes. I'd love to meet up if I end up going!

I am going to send you a pm with my e-mail address and Facebook information (if you are on FB that is) so we can stay in touch as the event gets closer.

Linda

 

[Angelhalo]

The owl cake is my first cake fully covered with fondant. I have used it for awhile as decorations and sometimes covering the top. I have yet to try air brushing. I need to practice as my DS is getting married this fall and I'm doing their cake.

Awww that's so sweet! I'm sure he will appreciate that!

And I love your owl cake!

I wanted an airbrush for ages but we refused to pay for the expensive cake decorating ones so we went to Harbor freight and got a %14.99 airbrush and a $25 air compressor and Wah-Lah! We saved over $100!!

 

[Angelhalo]

The owl cake is my first cake fully covered with fondant. I have used it for awhile as decorations and sometimes covering the top. I have yet to try air brushing. I need to practice as my DS is getting married this fall and I'm doing their cake.

Awww that is so sweet! I'm sure he will love that.

And, I love your owl cake. It's too cute!

I wanted an airbrush for ages but we refused to pay for the expensive cake specific ones. So we went to Harbor Freight and got an airbrush kit for $14.99 and a small air compressor for $25 and ended up saving over $100!

 

[Angelhalo]

I am going to send you a pm with my e-mail address and Facebook information (if you are on FB that is) so we can stay in touch as the event gets closer.

Linda

Awesome! Sounds like a plan!

 

[hereyago]

You're welcome! You can also turn that same recipe into a chocolate buttercream by adding cocoa powder.

Fondant can be so much fun too. I always have a couple of people in my classes that just hate working with it and want to stick with buttercream. It take patience but once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun.

If you have a Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or AC Moor anywhere near you, you should call and see if they offer cake decorating classes. They are a great way to get started, and they aren't very expensive. They just changed the curriculum so now there are 3 courses instead of 4. Each course meets 1 night for 4 weeks so you can finish all of the courses in 3 months.

Maybe I will try Michaels or Benjamin Franklin arts or parks and rec cause now I am all inspired. Thanks again.

 

[Angelhalo]

Maybe I will try Michaels or Benjamin Franklin arts or parks and rec cause now I am all inspired. Thanks again.

Hooray for inspiration! Glad to help!

 

[LJC1861]

Thank you so much. I love to bake, but the frosting part just sucks for me. I will try your receipe. One day I would like to be able to use fondant-not sure if I spelled that right and make pretty cakes that some other Diser's have made.

Give fondant a chance! I actually like it much better than buttercream. Practice with it a little and you will get the hang of it in no time. It is like playing with candy playdough.

Linda

 

[Angelhalo]

I have a good recipe for fondant too but for a first timer I really would recommend buying pre-made fondant so that you can get an idea of what it is really supposed to feel like. That way when you decide to make your own, you'll know whether it is coming out right or not.

 

[hereyago]

OK, so I called Michael's and they will have another cake decorating class at the beginning of next month, 1 night a week for 4 weeks. And they do have fondant and gum something course, but guess I have to work my way up lol.

 

[Angelhalo]

OK, so I called Michael's and they will have another cake decorating class at the beginning of next month, 1 night a week for 4 weeks. And they do have fondant and gum something course, but guess I have to work my way up lol.

Yeah. In order to work with Fondant you need to know buttercream. Some teachers will let students jump around but I always have mine work their way up. It's just easier that way. When you cover a cake with fondant, you have to cover it with buttercream first so it just makes sense.

I'm so excited for you. If you take the classes, I hope you'll keep us updated with your progress!

 

[DisneySunflower]

I have been wanting to take the Cake Decorating Courses, but after finding this thread and viewing your talent, I am signing up today. If only I could make cakes for my family that are a third of the beauty displayed here.

You are Rock Stars!

 

[Angelhalo]

I have been wanting to take the Cake Decorating Courses, but after finding this thread and viewing your talent, I am signing up today. If only I could make cakes for my family that are a third of the beauty displayed here.

You are Rock Stars!

You're so sweet! I'm sure everyone appreciates it!

I'm so excited that people are getting interested in taking classes!