First of Many Cakes to Come

Gum Paste has been the theme of the last couple of weeks. I have been learning how to shape, sculpt, and pedal dust gum paste to create flowers for wedding cakes. Learning about constructing and decorating cakes has made me realize how much I enjoy creating cakes!

Valentine's Aftermath

I wanted to post my chocolate showpiece on Valentines Day but it just didn't seem appropriate. This entire showpiece is made out of chocolate and sugar. It is truly incredible how much you can do with chocolate.

Cake and Love

Valentines Day is fast approaching and there is no better way to say 'I love you' than with a cake! For this cake I decided to cover it in marzipan (I prefer the taste of marzipan over fondant) and then decorated it with royal icing and a chocolate rose. I made the rose using chocolate plastic, which is simply melted chocolate and corn syrup. Chocolate plastic pretty much tastes like tootsie rolls. Cake on the Brain posted this great tutorial on how to make chocolate roses of your own.

Pipping Practice Makes Perfect

Star flowers, small shells, large shells, rosettes, reverse shells, fleur-de-lis, garlands, and roses have been the theme of the week. I have been practicing my piping so much that my hand is sore...but as my chef is always saying "piping practice makes perfect". I still have a ways to go but I made some good headway in my technique this week.

Here is a link to step-by-step instructions from Bake Decorate Celebrate on how to practice piping for your own cupcakes.

Marzipan Cupcake Toppers

Around the world, particularly in Italy and England, Marzipan is a popular sweet used for many occasions. I decided to use marzipan to make cupcake toppers. For every topper that made it onto a cupcake, another one popped into my mouth. I couldn't get enough of these almond delights!

honey pear cupcake

cream filled pumpkin cupcake with ganache frosting

lemon coconut cupcake

apple ginger spice cupcake

raspberry cream cupcake

chocolate carrot cupcake

temper...mold...fill...enjoy!

Mastering the art of tempering and molding chocolate takes a lot of practice but is definitely a skill worth developing! When making homemade chocolates, proper tempering is the key to create a beautiful sheen shell. Tempering varies depending on what type of chocolate you are using; whether it be white, semi-sweet, or milk.

Here is a helpful chart from Felchlin, one of my favorite chocolate companies located in Switzerland describing tempering different types of chocolate. Happy molding!

caramel sea salt candy bars

hazelnut ganache centers for enrobed chocolates

molding white chocolate

Cookie Craze

Nothing is better than homemade cookies. In class we went on a cookies craze and made a wide assortment of cookies....which were a huge hit for the holidays.

The cookie spread included lemon squares, pistachio macarons, sicilian fig cookies, mamoul, biscotti napoletani, american biscotti, linzer augen, macaroons, chocolate chip cookies, spritz cookies, palets aux raisins, amandines, spicy oatmeal cookies, rogaliki, and almond tupipe. My personal favorite were the classic chocolate chip cookies and the rogaliki.

Lemon Squares

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rogaliki Cookies

Pistachio Macarons

Checkerboard Cookies

American Style Biscotti

Amandines

Spritz Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Pistachio Macarons