Cake Making & Baking Group

[Arlandria]

Oooh also i was wondering, like how do you do the writing?! I know you cover the cake board in fondant (is that the ready to roll icing??) you all keep saying fondant an i have no idea what it is!
But how do you get the writing so nice?!! xx

Aw thanks sweetie

Yeah fondant is the same as sugarpaste (i think its the american term - used a lot on youtube!) or ready to roll icing!

Tappits come in a range of different font styles with upper and lower case. Its a knack getting used to them as they can be a real pain in the arse but once you've cracked it your own way it'll get much easier.

For cupcakes I use muffin cases as they seem to be bigger

As Eoz said, i'd get some smoothers for your fondant cakes - it just helps to keep em neat!

And just to mention about you're food colouring, if its the liquid stuff you get from supermarket you might find it a little too runny - I use sugarflair or wilton colours specially for buttercream and fondant....i leant this the hard way!

Anything else - just ask, theres always someone in here willing to help xx

 

[xdaniellex]

also do you decorate your cakes like the day before there needed - so my nanas coffee ones are needed on wed - i have made them but shud i decorate them tomorrow? xx

 

[xdaniellex]

ahh where did you get that deep tin from? xx

 

[xdaniellex]

Thanks girls and cassandra yea i got some of the liquid ones, i will look for the ones you just mentioned now - should i just use a tiny little dot of it? xx

 

[Arlandria]

I was using the liquid colours in my fondant and it just makes it sticky - and in the buttercream it just made my butter curdle had a real mare with it...if you want really strong colours i'd use the ones designed for cake making.

Where abouts you live? I'm in north west x Nr Warrington! x

 

[xdaniellex]

I am near wigan and ahh ok well i only want a real pale pink, to go on 6 cupcakes, so wil put a teeny tiny blob xx
And i was going to purchase ready to roll icing pre coloured - do you use this to make the little models on cakes ect?
And i am just looking for some of the colouring you mentioned x

 

[xdaniellex]

i searched that sugarflair and it comes up with dusting powder or lustre?! :L xx

 

[Jo]

Wow danielle that is a shopping list and half
Sugar flair colours are fab, I tend to get mine from the craftcompany ( we have a list of online shops on first page) you can get them from ebay as well I think in bulks.
They are around £2 a pot but last for ages as you only need a tine bit.

I do tend to do my buns the day before icing them as it can be time consuming, as long as in an airtight container they should be fine x

 

[Tsia]

Tsia i have ordered a giant cupcake tin, i was just wondering how much ingredients you used and how long you cooked if for/temp many thanks x

brill danielle.. I use double the amount that I would use for making 12 cupcakes for the bottom half of the giant cupcake mould.. and the same as if I were making 12 cupcakes for the top half.. you can aways build this up with icing fondant after anyways.



Thats a great shopping list and I have realised that I have most the stuff on there apart from the square tins.. I have bought over the last few moneths since my baking craze kicked in.!!

Today I bought some lustre.. instead of ebible glitter to see what the difference is.. plunger cutters in butterfly x 3 and large flower x 3 sizes also.
Plus some funky capital letter cutters. and an edible silver writing pen!
ALL GOOD!
Cant wait for them to come.

In the meantime I wanted to try carrot cake for the first time.. had loads of mixture.. from the 'wallys carrot cake recipe'' on the first page of this thread. They turned out GREAT!! I even managed to do 12 cupcakes out of it with the left over.. so.. here they are!

https://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s51/tsia977/Image0948.jpg https://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s51/tsia977/Image0949.jpg https://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s51/tsia977/Image0950.jpg
i even made the little carrots on top myself from dr oertger coloured icing. lol


the moistest cakes I have eaten since I started this whole thing and the very first time I havent used a packet mix of cake batter and cheated! lol

Definately worth doing from scratch in my book.





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now I have a question..

the main part of the carrot cake I did in a loaf tin cos I wanna try and make it into a house shape. I have turned it out when cold is better, and cut it.. (hoping to be a carrot cake in the style of a house with 'new home' on as my younger sister has just got her first own place)
But the event is not til next week.. I was only practicing but seems a shame to waste.. can I freeze it? and ice it nearer the time? or shall I make a fresh one??

 

[Tsia]

p.s after many a trial and error I turn out when cooled a little.. always best not to break .. cos hot cakes crumble easier. x
(i also now use cake release) £3.99 from Lakelands.

 

[Arlandria]

Tsia, great cakes! I know you can freeze sponge so i'd assume the same with carrot cake?? But not 100% sure hun!

 

[xdaniellex]

Wow they look lush!! Well my new icing nozzles came today! So going to ahve a play as i have 30 cakes that need decorating
Thanks for the recipie, im well nervous about making it! lol! But will be a laugh! did you use the insert thing?
xx

 

[Tsia]

Wow they look lush!! Well my new icing nozzles came today! So going to ahve a play as i have 30 cakes that need decorating
Thanks for the recipie, im well nervous about making it! lol! But will be a laugh! did you use the insert thing?
xx

nope I found that silly insert to be a disaster.. it all went hard in the middle and oddly shaped.
Instead of filling it now I just put a layer of whatever flavour buttercream between the two halves.
gotta do another one myself thurs ready for sat.. and also someone just asked me to do their son a birthday cke for first birthday on sat too!
so loads to get carried away with. I am sposed to be doing a car boot on friday so I can see me in the kitchen all thursday and friday night! lol

 

[xdaniellex]

ahh ok so jus ignore the insert - is it easy to get them out? i was guna bake both parts then put choc buttercream to stick em together, then decorate - its for K's first bday next week so was guna accompany it with a load of pink cupcakes too x x

 

[Tsia]

my mould is a silicone one and that plus the cake release its really easy cos I just peel away the mould.. however never used a tin one.. but sure it will be fine if you grease the tin with stork or cake release and then let it cool slightly before turning it out.
The only bit you dont want to damage is the ridged sides of the bottom half of the giant cupcake.. everything else is covered by icing so it doesnt matter.

 

[Tsia]

I have a question..

whats the difference between baking powder and bicarb of soda?

first page carrot cake recipe says 2 tsp of one 1/2 of the other.. and I thought they were more or less the same thing! lol

 

[xdaniellex]

ooh i duno what the difference is sorry - i have never used either!
and yea ine is a silicone one too! so i jus plop it out? i havent had any good experiances with silicone at all lol!!! x x x

 

[xdaniellex]

arrrgh really need all you ladies help!!! i have ran out of cakes, and have loads of frosting left!!! what do i do? will it keep? should i chuck a big cake together quick? arrggghhh!!!!! xx

 

[Tsia]

it will keep.
as long as all the ingredients in it will stay in date. I have kept my icing for weeks in the frdge before.
that betty crocker stuff keeps for ages and sometimes I use that as the base.

I have been experimenting again this afternoon..
2 eggs, and same weight in sr flour, sugar and butter
choc chips in the mix..

iced with vanilla mixed with left over cream cheese orange frosting I did on the carrot cakes day before yeasterday. melting again so need more icing sugar i think.
and my new whisk blew up! i was only mixing in more icing sugar.. although it was going everywher.. my kitchen looked like a bombsite like it had been snowing!!
it just got hot and stpopped working.. so I left it to cool and now it wont turn on.. that'll teach me to buy an argos range £4.19 hand electric whisk! lol

https://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s51/tsia977/Image0957.jpg https://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s51/tsia977/Image0956.jpg

 

[xdaniellex]

oooh thats odd i have had my argos cheap one for about a year now an still works fine and thanks bout the icing info - i hav made loads of cakes for my nanas bday tomorrow - will put pics on when there at me mums - will use her cam its better than mine!
xx

ps my frosting doesent melt i make it liek this -
250g stork and a teaspoon of vanilla essence - mix
then add 600g icing sugar
then add 1 tablespoon of milk

xx

it even lets me add a drop of food coulouring an dont afect the stiffness xx