New Zoe Clark Book

Have you seen the new Zoe Clark book?

All of the cakes in the book are lovely.  I'm rather partial to the one on the cover.  Could be because I recognize the beautiful lace molds she used?

Decorate the Cake -- Applique Blossom Small

Decorate the Cake -- Applique - Mini Daisy Single

Decorate the Cake -- Applique - Blossom V

Not used but a larger version of the lace blossom.  Decorate the Cake - Applique - Blossom Large

We can't wait to see the creations you make based on Zoe's inspiration. 

Knock One Out of the Park!

A Thank You goes out to Robin Pennington of Fondant Dreams for the latest blog post. 

This great baseball and glove will knock your next cake out of the park!

Products Used:
DTC Baseball Glove and Ball Mold
Candy Melts
Wilton Candy Decorating Pen - Red

Slowly melt the candy melts in the microwave stirring often.

Carefully fill just the ball portion of the cavity with the white candy melts. Gently tap to remove air bubbles. Clean up any of the white that overflows the the ball area. Allow the white to mostly set up.

Top off the mold with the chocolate. Tap to remove bubbles and set aside to firm up.  Or place in fridge or freezer to get thing moving along more quickly.

Once the mold is set gently pop out. Next color the baseball stitches and check out your handy work!

It is the perfect topper to a grand slam cake!

For more cakes by Robin visit her Facebook Page:  Fondant Dreams

DTC Products Used:
DTC Baseball Glove and Ball Mold

Mother of Pearl

A HUGE thank you to the talented Shannon Bond of Shannon Bond Cake Design for this lovely tutorial using our bead border molds. 

Mother of Pearl Finish using the DTC Bead Border Molds

For this cake, I used a combination of the #2 and #3 Decorate the Cake Bead Border Molds on the bottom tier and the #2 Bead Border Mold for the design on the top tier.  Can I just tell you how awesome it was to not be finding pearls in the nooks and seams of my floors like I do when i place them by hand?!  These molds have so many design possibilities and are so user friendly with the great quality always produced by DTC.

 

Supplies Needed:

DTC Bead Border #2, white fondant, small rolling pin, paintbrush, palette knife and airbrush colors in Pearl Sheen and Copper (I used Americolor).

Press the fondant into the mold by hand. Using the small rolling pin, roll into the mold to evenly distribute the fondant into the mold pattern.

Remove excess fondant with a palette knife.  Chill in the freezer a few minutes to make removal easier.

Placing the mold fondant side down, gently flex the mold and peel it back to remove the chilled fondant.

Painting the Mother of Pearl finish.

For the bottom tier of the cake, I applied the fondant strips to the cake before painting the color.  For the top strip, I applied the color using this process.

Using a stiff paintbrush, paint the fondant pattern with the pearl sheen, making sure to get the color into the details.

Mix the copper airbrush color with the pearl sheen and dab into the fondant.  Gently blot the color until the desired amount remains.  If the copper is too bold, paint over it with more of the pearl sheen to mute the copper to the desired shade.

Let the fondant strip dry overnight and apply to the cake by brushing the back with a little bit of water and pressing onto the cake.

Stand back and enjoy the dramatic results!  Can you imagine the countless effects painting different shades onto the fondant beads?  So many amazing design possibilities!

Check out more of Shannon's amazing work on her website, Shannon Bond Cake Design, or follow her on Facebook.


DTC Products Used:
Trim - Bead Border 2
Trim - Bead Border 3

Dragons!

Products used:
Petal dusts from The Sugar Art
50/50 Modeling Chocolate and Fondant
Dragon Face Mold
Mini Palette Knife

Press the modeling chocolate/fondant mixture into the mold cavity.  Then using a mini palate knife remove the excess from the back of the mold.

If you are worried about distortion on removing modeling chocolate/fondant from the mold you may place it in the freezer to set up a bit. I usually place it in the freezer for approximately 10 minutes. 

Then invert and flex the mold to remove the molded dragon face. 

In the picture below you can see the progression of the dusting with colors from the Sugar Art.

• Dusted first with Sterling Rose (#S-1705)
• Next with Blue Bell (#PS-2102)
• Mixing Green Touch (#PS-2401) with a little vodka or lemon extract paint the eyes
• Finally I used straight AmeriColor Super Black to paint the eyes

 

 

 

 

 

DTC Products Used:

Dragon Face

Skulls and Roses

The thank you for this blog goes all the way to Korea!  Thank you, Janet, for the amazing job on this cake and permission to show it on my blog.

Lots of work went into this masterpiece.

After molding each skull she carefully placed each dragee using tweezers.  Once done they were then dusted with silver.

Check out how she did the flowers!  She formed the flowers on drinking straws so there were no wires for this kid's cake!


Now some more photos.

 

 

 Decorate the Cake Products Used:

Fancy Skull w/ Fangs

Skull Cameo

Mini Skull Cameo

Medium Skull

Hearts Set of 7

Sugar Gypsy Products Used:

Keys Mold

Sushi!

Many thanks to Chef Mitchie for this great blog post.

Often we see faux sushi or cakes with candy sushi presented on a wood-grain surface.  The bamboo sushi texture mat offers another element of realism and authenticity.  It's easy to use and the detail is incredible.

Material and Ingredients Needed:
Bamboo Texture Mat
1 lb Fondant tinted ivory or tan (for this project I used Choco-pan Caramel)
Shortening
Tylose Powder
Rotary Cutter or sharp knife
Petal dusts (for this project I used cinnamon and Caramel from The Sugar Art)
Assort soft bristle brushes
Rolling pin
Non-Stick work space
Paper Towel

Tighten up your fondant a bit by adding approximately 1/2 tsp of Tylose or CMC powder. Use the shortening if needed to prevent sticking.  Roll out your fondant to be at least 1/4 inch thick and at least a 1/2 inch wider on all sides of your texture mat. Carefully place your texture mat atop and press it firmly into place.  To ensure the texture is completely transferred use your rolling pin starting at the center and using a light pressure and roll to the edge. Pick up your pin and place in center once more and roll to the other edge.  Slowly lift your mat to reveal your beautiful impression.

Use a rotary cutter or sharp knife to trim all four edges evenly.  Allow mat to dry overnight if you would like mat to remain stiff.

 Choose your petal dust to color the "string" and place a small amount on a paper towel.  Lightly run your soft bristle brush into the dust and tap off the excess.  Run the brush across each "string". Take second color of petal dust and place a small amount onto the paper towel.  Using your other brush apply dust starting at "string" and work outwards through the "bamboo".  After covering the entire mat use a clean pastry brush to sweep away excess.  Lastly, for a more realistic effect use a modeling tool to indent edges.

Wasn't that fun?  By the way, you can cover that wood-grain cake board with this beautiful bamboo mat instead. 

For tips on creating the Ebi Shrimp with the rice mound check out the blog over at Icing Images. Click here.



Check out more of Chef Mitchie's wonderful work on her Facebook page.  Click here.









Decorate the Cake Products Used:
Bamboo Sushi Mat
Sushi Set by Chef Mitchie
California Roll by Chef Mitchie
Rice Mound by Chef Mitchie

Shrimp by Chef Mitchie

Brooches for Flower Centers

Use some little brooch molds to make some cute fantasy flowers for a cake.  

Tools Used:

Favorite brooch mold - We used Ruth Rickey's Brooch Mold 4

Flower formers

Ball Tool

Palette Knife

Coloring - We used Americolor Turquoise and Albert Uster Gold

Paint Brushes

Flower Cutters - We used FMM Rose cutters size 35 mm and 50 mm

Create all the brooches first. 

Make a small ball of fondant and make sure it is smooth then using your thumb, firmly press it it into the mold.  Using your palette knife trim off any excess then flexing the mold pop out your brooch flower center.  If the fondant soft it may distort -- if I'm worried this will happen I place the mold in the freezer for 3-5 minutes and then remove. 

 And your pretty brooch is ready to paint!

Use a little lemon extract or everclear mixed with your coloring to paint the brooch. 

Making the flowers:

Cut out your selected flower shapes. Then use the ball tool to thin the edges. 

Then layer the fondant flower cut outs on top of the flower former.  Place the brooch in the middle to make sure it fits.

Now assemble these beautiful brooch flowers on your cake.  

Brooch mold used:

Ruth Rickey Brooch 4