Pink Camo Fondant Tutorial

Start with about equal amounts of the colored fondant that will be in your design

Start to break off small amounts in different sizes and lay them out randomly on your work surface.

Continue adding your other colors in a random pattern. You can give them a slight roll in your hands if you like, but you want to stay away from perfect little round balls. The different shapes will give more character when you roll it out.

Once you are happy with the amount you have set out, give them all a little squish together. If rolling out to wrap a cake (like I did in this tutorial) try to keep it more rectangular. If you are going to cover your entire cake, keep it round to start with.

Gently start to roll out from the middle to the sides. Be careful with the direction you roll, each roll will distort the colors in that direction. Try to keep them as even as possible (two rolls one way, two the other etc). Once you have the desired length or shape, trim off any excess. Mine was being used to wrap the cake, so a long rectangle was needed.

Carefully lift it on to wax paper that is slightly longer than the fondant, so you have something to hold on to at each end. I was able to lift it over (long enough to wrap an 8in extended tier cake) without any trouble, but you could always use "The Mat" for larger pieces. Trim the wax paper along your straight edge of fondant, so you can use that as your guide along the bottom.

Wax paper trimmed down and ready to apply to the cake

Cake is prepared with a white fondant lid over the ganache. The lid can be applied before or after wrapping the sides, it will just depend on where you want the seam to be. For this cake I wanted the seam to be on the top rather than the side, so I applied the lid first.

Starting to wrap the cake

wrapping around

almost there

Once it is almost all of the way around, start to smooth it on to the cake. You need to make sure that the fondant has stuck to the cake before you try to pull off the wax paper.

Give the fondant another smooth and you're ready for decorations. For this Cowgirl Baby Shower cake I added some rope to cover the seams

The finished product

Ready for a party

Gumpaste Tiara Tutorial

This is just a quick gumpaste tiara tutorial to share.

In searching for inspiration, templates or tutorials for making a simple gumpaste tiara topper for a cake, I didn't find what I was hoping for.
I found some templates shared through Cake Central  for royal icing tiaras. My piping skills are not something that I really trust yet, so gumpaste was a safer bet for me.

Choose a template and print it or draw it to the approximate size

tape your template around a large can (shortening etc), then tape a sheet of wax paper over it

Tools needed; shortening can, clay or fondant extruder with discs, gumpaste, water brush, modeling tool, pallet knife (not pictured)

Discs used in the extruder. Square for the base and rounds for the other areas

water pen, modeling tool to join areas, pallet knife to cut and lift small areas

Starting at the base with the square disc start to extrude pieces of gumpaste and follow the lines working from the inside out. I used the larger disc for the main shapes and the smaller disc for the details.

Side view. Use a hand towel under the can to prevent it from rolling. Carefully place it somewhere to dry for a day or two. I used straight gumpaste and it was dry and ready to airbrush in less than 36 hours. If you use a 50/50 gumapaste to fondant mix, it will need to dry longer before carefully pealing off the paper and removing.

 

Crown after it has been aribrushed with pearl and some white disco dust added. (sorry for the bad photo, I lost everything on my camera and was left with this little one from  my iPad).

Giveaway time!

It's time for a GIVEAWAY!!!!

As a thank you for reaching 500 fans I'm giving away one of my favorite online classes. Craftsy and Jessica Harris teamed up to make "Clean and Simple Cake Design", which covers some great techniques for all levels of cake decorators. Now I know this class has been out for a little while, but I really enjoyed this class and what others to get as much useful information out of it as
Leave your blog comment about what tutorials you would like to see below.
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Ins and Outs of Ganache

When I think ganache all I think is......Yummmm.

It is my absolute favorite thing to have under fondant because it sets up firm and remains firm even at room temperature. It also makes it much easier to achieve sharp edges and clean lines with minimal effort. I will post a video tutorial soon on how I make my ganache along with the method I use for the ganache on my cakes. It really is such a simple process, but tastes and looks amazing. It is used in place of buttercream, cream etc. to fill and cover your cakes.

It took me many attempts of making ganache and wondering why I just couldn't get things silky smooth or tasting as fabulous as it did in the classes I took. Most of the classes I have taken have been in Australia, which is where I'm from and visit family there often. I would say that buttercream is only just starting to get a little bit popular over there and ganache is what you will be taught in all of the classes available. Therefore, because I started out with a cake and ganache combination, it is what I feel most comfortable using.

Now what is Ganache? 

Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and cream to create a fudge-like consistency when it sets up. You can make your ganache almost any flavor you like. Apart from the obvious dark, milk and white chocolate mixes, you can also infuse the cream before mixing or add different essences to give some amazing flavors. Lorann Oils has some great intense flavors that taste great and you only need a few drops to get a great flavor.
If you're adding the Lorann Oils or an essence you can add it once the ganache is mixed, but still warm. Be sure to give it a good mix through.
To infuse your cream you can let your choice of flavor seep in a tea infuser ball (like the picture) over night or at least for a few hours. The longer you let it seep, the stronger the flavor. Some great mixes to use with this are lemon/lime/citrus zest, tea such as Earl Grey or Camomile, and lavender.

Another alternative is to replace some of your cream with a flavored coffee creamer. My favorite is Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint. You don't need to replace the entire amount, but depending on how strong of a flavor you are after, it will need more. The only thing to be careful with this is that you may need to up the amount of chocolate or adjust the ratio you use.

 What kind of chocolate works best?

Good quality chocolate is not always easy to pick up locally, and sometimes buying in huge amounts just doesn't work either. There are a few options such as Restaurant Depot (a restaurant supply store in the US if you have a registered business), Pastry Portal (who ship great quality chocolate all over), as well most cake decorating stores. I never really knew what "good quality chocolate" was until I took a chocolate making class last year. Even now, I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but it did shine a light on a few things for me.

Cocoa percentage displayed on a packet refers to the total percentage amount of the cocoa bean that has been used in the product. The cocoa % could be made up of cocoa butter or cocoa liquor. The cocoa liquor also known as chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa solids among other things. This is made up from grinding the nib (center of the bean) into a liquid state.
The higher the cocoa percentage the less sugar is added and therefore is more bitter. Unsweetened baking chocolate is 100% cocoa and very bitter.
 In the US Milk Chocolate is required to have at least 10% cocoa, while Semi-Sweet or Bittersweet must have at least 35%. The Callebaut white chocolate that I use is 28% cocoa solids, while the milk chocolate is 33.6% cocoa solids. Both of these are higher grade than the average grocery store brands and my customers and friends have noticed the difference in flavor too.

When choosing a good quality chocolate for your ganache there are a few things you want to look for;

• If you break you chocolate, you should hear a "snap". If it is crumbly or discolored it may have been exposed to heat or it is just old. 
• You want one that has a higher % cocoa, not meeting the minimum and using Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Vegetable, Palm Kernel or Soybean). 
• While we can't always try a sample or even buy a small bag before a bulk lot, taste the chocolate before using it in your ganache. The chocolate by itself should be smooth and soft, and melt easily in your mouth while the flavor intensifies. The good quality chocolates melt much easier than grocery store brands because they don't have the extra additives to keep them as stable in nice little chips.
• Good quality chocolate is not cheap. I'm not saying go and buy the most expensive chocolate you can find, but expect to pay more than the weekly special price at the grocery store.

 

What ratio should I use?

 Unfortunately, the right ratio is something that needs to be tweaked depending on the weather where you live, the time of year, the brand of chocolate and even the type of cream you use. The viscosity of the chocolate (essentially how thick it is in liquid form) will vary from brand to brand even when using the same ratios. Once I found a great place to get good quality chocolate here in Houston, I gave up on the grocery store brands and switched wholeheartedly. I did have a problem though, my old ratios just weren't working so well with the new amazing chocolate. Once I worked with a few small batches and adjusted my ratios everything was great.

Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer Callebaut chocolate. For white chocolate I use a 3.5:1 ratio, milk chocolate 3:1 ratio, and dark chocolate (semi-sweet) 2.5:1. If you want your ganache to be a little firmer, just up the amount of chocolate and reduce the amount of cream. If it's too firm for you to work with, just do the reverse.

What type of cream should I use?

Finally, down to the cream. The cream while not quite as important as the chocolate, still plays a huge part in having your ganache turn out right. The fat content in the cream makes all the difference. The higher the fat % the better for ganache.
This is a look at what most of us are familiar with
Half-and-Half: 12% fat
Light Cream: 20% fat
Light Whipping Cream: 30% fat
Whipping Cream: 35% fat
Heavy Cream and Heavy Whipping Cream: 38% fat 

Heavy Whipping Cream is what works best!

I have my Ganache Table on my recipes page to use as a reference for quantities for different sized cakes.

If you have any questions or ganache recipes that you would like to share please feel free to post them.

Rice Krispy Treat Cake

Well.......it took a little longer than I hoped to get my first post up and going, but here it is.

Rice Krispy Treat Cake

I recently read Jessicakes (who's cakes I adore) blog post on her Hot Air Balloon Cake when I was making one similar for a friend. Jessica Harris gives you a run through of how she designed it, made it, and even gives a template for others to use. You need to check out her blog and while you're there follow her links to take all of Jessica's Craftsy Classes at cheaper price. Who doesn't love a sale code AND they are so worth it!!!!!

This is my cake from Jessica's tutorial

Up, Up and Away She Goes cake by Kristy Gregory Cake Creations

When I read Jessica's tutorial something caught my attention (other than her gorgeous cake and generous sharing of her design), which was the 4in rice cereal treat cake she used as her top tier.
What.....A Rice Cereal Treat Cake.......I have to try this!!!!

In my version I needed both tiers to be cake, so I would have the right amount of servings. I did however, have it stuck in my mind to make a rice cereal treat cake at the first chance I got.
I cannot lie, I have never made rice cereal treats from scratch before and wondered if I needed to get this simple recipe mastered to make this cake successful.  The good news is You DON'T!

On a whim I decided that today was the day to give it a go since I had some left over ganache ready and just waiting to be used. I took the easy option (I didn't want to load my kids up to make a trip to the grocery store), so I opened my Costco sized pack of Rice Krispy Treats that I had on hand to use for a sculpted cake.

I have some 4in high Fat Daddio cake pans that I just love to bits, but 3in tall pans, 2in tall pans or even a cookie cutter could also work. Why do I love my 4in high pans? It makes it so much easier to have 3in of "good cake" to use to achieve my 4in high tiers on cakes. When I say "good cake", I just mean that I find it easier to run it through my agbay (or cut the old fashioned way until very recently) and have at least 3 perfectly flat and even 1in layers ready to stack. There is no need to be filling with off cuts around the edges if it domed up, or have to fill in any spaces with extra filling or ganache to get things level. The three 1in cake layers along with fillings and ganache on top, add up to the 4 inches that is my usual height for tiers.  Note: the Up, Up and Away She Goes cake above has a 6in x 6in bottom tier and 4in x 4in top tier.

What you will need to make a 4in x 4in Rice Cereal Cake
Rice Krispy Treats (I used about 7-8) or the equivalent of still warm homemade rice cereal treat mix
a 4in diameter round cake pan or 4in round cookie cutter
Milk chocolate ganache
a small offset spatula
a small plastic bag (like what you put your fruit and veg in at the grocery store) or plastic wrap
a small decoration to place on top or a cute ribbon to wrap around and tie a bow (in this case I used an ebible wafer paper flower I had laying around from playing  that day before).
Cooking spray

Ganache Recipe
This is the amount I used for a 4in cake. This will make enough for you to fill the layers and also cover the outside of the cake. If you would like to use white chocolate or dark chocolate or make a different size cake  you can look it up right here on my Ganache table. I like to weigh all of my ingredients when mixing things because it will give you a more accurate measure. 

14oz (391grams) of good quality milk chcoclate
4oz (130grams) of heavy whipping cream


There are several ways to do this depending on how deep the pans you have are or if you are using cookie cutters.

Method #1 using a 3in or 4in high pan
Place a small plastic bag inside the pan and give is a light spray with cooking spray. Then begin to press your rice cereal treats in (or spread in the mix) until it is about 3in up the inside of the pan. You need to cover at this point and let it set and hold it's shape before pulling it back out. Put it aside and make some ganache.

Method #2 using a cookie cutter or 2in high pan

Place a small plastic bag (or plastic wrap) into the center of your cookie cutter or pan. Fill like the above method, but this time you will be making three 1in thick little patties. Pull each patty back out and wrap separately (be careful not to squish them out of shape). If any of the patties are too thick, just wrap them and you can trim them down later.

Placing the "patties" back in the pan to keep their shape

using a 4in cutter for the size

Once your ganache is set up and ready to go, carefully unwrap your 3in "cake" or small patties. Now is the time to trim them down, so you have three 1in patties ready for stacking. Give the sides a little press in, so there is some room around the outside when you go to cover it with ganache and then cut your layers. Try to keep them an even thickness, but It doesn't matter if they are not exactly the same because it will all even out once together.

Triming it down to 1in with my Agbay

 

Now you're ready to start layering your cake.

 Again I have 2 methods for you to choose from.

 Standard cake stacking method

  Take one of your Rice Krispy layers and "glue" it down onto your cake board with a small smear of ganache, then on the top spread a thick (about 1/2in) layer of ganache on top. Alternate between layers of ganache and layers of your cake until you use your last layer of rice crispy cake. Once everything is lined up you can use the remaining ganache to spread around the outside of the cake and also put a thin layer on top to level everything out and seal it in that yummy chocolate goodness.
When you have a good coating over everything you can start to smooth it out by scraping away the excess ganache. I find the easiest way to do this is by using a bench scraper and running it around the outside of the cake. If you make sure to keep one side flat against the cake board or turntable while the 90degree angle side runs along the cake, you will always end up with a cake that has straight sides. Alternatively, if you feel more comfortable using the offset spatula to smooth, go ahead. Carefully take the excess of the top and you will be ready to cover with fondant or leave it naked in only ganache.
If you would like it even smoother, you can use the "Hot Knife Method". This is the same technique as smoothing the sides earlier, but this time you will briefly dip it in hot water before swiping it along the cake. This will cause the ganache to melt slightly and give that ultra smooth finish.


Building your cake back into the pan method
I used this method for the cake in the photos for this tutorial. I used my 4in high pans and built my cake back into the pan. To do this method your cake pan needs to be the same height as you would like your finished rice krispy cake to be.

ganache in the bottom of the pan

First, you place some ganache in the bottom of the cake pan and then place in your first layer of cake (this will actually become the top of the cake). Give it a good squish down to make sure the ganache is evenly spread on the bottom of the pan to ensure your flat top at the end. Continue to alternate between layers of ganache and cake until you reach the last layer of cake which should lay flat on top. I added a very thin layer of ganache to fill down the sides and any remaining space before using the cake pan as a guide to level off.

filled and smoothed off to level with the top of cake pan

Once you have finished you can place it into the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want to make sure the ganache is set very firm, but not frozen.To remove the cake either use a culinary blow torch to quickly heat the outside and bottom of the pan, or place it for a few seconds into a pot of hot water. With either method you don't want to heat it too much or you will loose your perfect sides. Remove the heat and quickly run a knife down inside pan to loosen the sides, place your cake board on the bottom and carefully flip it over. It may take a little shake to loosen the suction on the top, but it should slide right out. If not, repeat the heat and try again. You might want or need to do some minor touch ups with extra ganache, but I found with this method that I didn't need it.

I wanted to leave my cake naked and only finished in ganache. I topped my cake off with a cute wafer paper edible flower.

For printed wafer paper visit my ETSY shop here.

Don't forget to share this fun tutorial with your friends and post photos of your cakes on our facebook page 

Enjoy making your rice cereal cakes!