Off Set Stacking?

Okay so I have no idea if that is what it is really called but it sounds good to me so I'm going with it!
This is one of my favorite ways to stack a cake, it is as impressive as it is easy.
Below are the steps I took to stack a cake in this style.

Step 1: Start with your tiers, decorated and each on their own cake board (cardboard or foam board, your choice, I use cardboard cake boards). If you plan on a no border design make sure you tuck a little bit of the fondant around the edge and under the board for a clean look. If it is butter cream just frost all the way to the bottom covering the cake board.
These are all single layer 8" rounds, torted and filled. You can use all the same size cakes or graduating sizes, even a mix of shapes, whatever you want.

Step 2:Using a cake circle the same size as your cakes place it on top of the bottom cake where you wish the next cake to sit. Letting it hangover the edge about 1.5"-2" inches or so. You can let it hang off more if you'd like, what ever you are comfortable with.

Trace the circle lightly with a knife or toothpick, just enough so you know where to dowel and place the second cake.

Step 3: Now for the next step I doweled with 1/2 the amount I usually would for a double layer cake (8" round stacked on top = 8 dowels), some say you don't have to dowel when it is single layer cakes but I like to be on the safe side so I do. So if you want to skip the doweling then be my guest. I used bubble tea straws.
Edited to add: if you are using double layer cakes you will need to dowel your cakes. These are single layer cakes so doweling is optional.

Step 4: Using a small amount of royal I then stacked the second cake on top of the first, lining it up within the line I traced earlier.

Step 5: I then repeated the first steps and stacked the 3rd cake.

Step 5: I only needed 3 tiers but you could go as high as you wanted.

Here are the 3 cakes stacked.

I then added a 6" round and a cake topper and drove a center dowel through the entire cake.

Here are a few more examples of off set stacked cakes.

Hope that helps a few of you. It really was easy wasn't it?

Easy Gerbera Daisy

Here's a slide show on how I made my gumpaste Gerbera Daisy.
I'm not an expert on GP flowers so I don't have any specialized cutters or tools, just the basic flower tools that come with the Wilton set.
So if I can make these then anyone can.
Thy aren't the most realistic flowers but they turned out a pretty and that's all I was hoping for anyways.
Happy Flower Making!

Painting With Royal Icing

Oh Oh Oh I have been wanting to try this for sometime now but between all my cake orders and 4 kids that apparently have to at least 3 times a day I haven't had the time to mess around lately.

So when I got the chance to do a Coraline cake I had to use this method.

Was I sure it would work, no, did that stop me from trying ,no, did it turn out better then I could have hoped for...yes!

Ok so basically it's nothing more then painting, but instead of using water colors or acrylics which I have much experience with (been painting my entire life) I used Royal Icing, thinned down to the consistency of poster paints, or acrylic craft paints.

For this go I did the tunnel that Coraline crawls through and the moon and night sky.

So the design was pretty basic, for my next attempt I'd like to try something a little grander but we will have to wait and see.

Here are some pics of the cake and the inspiration behind it.

The tree topper is a bamboo skewer wrapped in floral wire and covered in royal icing, I was on a Royal icing kick that week..lol

Finally got THE book!!!!

Ok so after 2 failed attempts to purchase this particular book on Half.com, a city wide search of all bookstores new and used and a stubbornness that just wouldn't allow me to spend 10$ on shipping... I finally found the book I've been looking for at Micheal's.




It is Annie Lang's Polymer Clay Characters by Stacey Morgan.




Super cute little critters with easy step-by-step instructions.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn figure building.

Polymer clay is very similar to fondant so many books/tools on polymer clay can be used for fondant.

I use polymer clay tools ,cutters and molds,lot of times they are cheaper then the "speciality" cake gadgets.




I couldn't wait to play around with some fondant so I stayed up until 4am working on this little baby,awww isn't he cute!

I changed the design a bit but still kept it's Annie Lang cuteness.

Here is a slide show on how he is made.

Monkey Business

1. Roll 2 balls of fondant, one slightly larger then the other (the exact size doesn't matter, you can make the monkey big or small)

2. Using circle cutters cut 2 circles from some light brown fondant, one for the face and one for the tummy.

3. Attache circles with some fondant glue, use a toothpick to add a belly button.

4. Cut some ears from fondant that is rolled to about 1/4" thick, it needs to be somewhat thick so it will stand up.

5. Add the pink centers and using a circle cutter cut off a small piece. This will allow the ear to sit flush on the round head. Let dry while you work on the other pieces.

6. Add the nose, mouth and eyes. I used fondant but you can use a edible marker or food color. Put 2 toothpicks in the side of the head, these will support the ears while they dry and be removed later. The head is the larger of the 2 balls.

7.Attache the ears using a little dab of fondant glue. The ears will rest on top of the toothpicks.

8. Make the tail and hair from fondant, let dry hard.

9. Roll a sausage shape and taper at one end for the legs and arms. Make 2 legs and 2 arms, the arms will be slightly smaller then the legs.

10. Make small indention's where the toes will go, this will help them stay in place while the glue dries and not roll off.

11. Roll 12 tiny balls of fondant and attached for toes using fondant glue.

12. Sit body upright and stick a toothpick into it. Make sure the toothpick won't stick out of the top of the head, you might need to trim it down depending on the size of the monkey.

13. Attache head to body by sticking it on the toothpick, you can also use a little bit of glue.

14. Glue arms and legs on the sides, pressing gently and shaping them to the body.

15. Let the monkey dry on his back, supporting his arms,legs and ears, this will eliminate the fat squished look. Once he is dry you can sit him upright and he won't sqoosh down.

Attache the hair and tail once they are dry and he is ready for your cake!

Here's my version of the Wilton Monkey .
I made this guy for my Jungle Babies cake but he can be used for any monkey/jungle themed cake.

I used mmf with some tylose powder added.

It drys hard like gumpaste but not as fast so it allows you time to work with it and shape it .

I also used fondant glue which is water and tylose powder mixed together. I keep it in a old baby food jar.

I don't have an extcact recipe for making it I just add tylose powder (1/2 tsp?) to some hot water (1/3 cup?), microwave it , stir it and let it sit until it thickens and the lumps disappear.

Lady Bug Smash Cake

This tutorial is for a lady bug smash cake but the cake can be made any size.
The steps will still be the same, just use bigger cakes.
She's really easy to make, basically half a ball.
I do have the Wilton ball pan but I don't like how it bakes, the outsides are always really dark and hard and the inside is raw so I carve my own.
This tutorial could also be used for a turtle, of course it would be green and have legs but the shape it the same.

I survived the weekend!!!!

Yippee I made it thru the weekend, whew I didn't think I would.

I have a new found appreciation for sleep, apparently you do need it!

Ok so I promised a couple of tutorials and I am here to deliver.

The first is a slide show on who to make a Gum Paste Bow.

I know they have been done a million times but I have received quite a few request on how I did mine.

I had never watched or read anything on how to make them until after I had already came up with my own method, turns out I don't make them that much different then everyone else.

But any who here's the slide show, I'm trying to figure out how to add some nice elevator music to the clip so bare with me.

And sorry again for the quality of the pictures, seems that even if you save your money and invest in a nice camera you still have to actually know how to use it, which I obviously do not ;)