Improving and Learning

I had the urge to back the other day...white choc mud cake. I had enough mixture for

two tins, a 5" round and an 8" round. The bigger one burnt around the edges a bit (I really must give bake even strips a go), but the smaller one was fine...so I decided to decorate it, incorporating a flower I made last week, and edible lustre as well.

I learn so much each time I decorate a cake. This time, I learnt about the need for even, straight ganache under the fondant (if you are using it underneath). It makes a huge difference to the end product (in terms of neatness, overall appearance). Pity I didn't figure this out before I put the ganached cake in the fridge. I could have fixed it up more than I did.

Despite a few wonky bits, I can see that I have improved on my last attempts at covering a cake in fondant. It is a lot less bumpy and my edges are becoming sharper. Overall, I am happy with this cake. I think it looks pretty good actually.

So Pretty

I have started experimenting with flowers...making them, that is. After a few missed attempts, I thought it might be a good idea to start with something simple. And what better place to put a little flower than a cupcake. YUM!!!
The icing on these is another bit of experimentation. I found a recipe in a cookie book I borrowed from my local library.

It's softened fondant mixed with egg white. End result is something runny that you can spread on. I discovered that you don't need all that much icing on these ones...as you can see, it runs down the sides.

The Dinosaurs Where Dancing

OK, so maybe not really dancing, but I did get a new dinosaur cookie cutter and had to try it out. Yay, another opportunity to try out flooding cookies!!! These ones didn't make it much further than the kitchen bench.

I really love the variety of cookie cutters available. I seem to be developing a bit of a collection now!