Making Gumpaste Daisies

Daisies are my favorite flowers to make for cakes.... either classic white and yellow ones or fun ones in all sorts of colors.  They are so simple and I find the technique to be so soothing.  Let me show you how I do it!

You will need:

gumpaste in your desired color

egg white or water

a rolling pin

a daisy cutter

an xacto knife

a toothpick

a piece of window screen

First, roll a piece of gumpaste very thin then cut out a daisy shape with your cutter.

Use the xacto knife to make the division between each petal a bit longer and to slice each petal in half.

Place the toothpick along one section of the petal and roll it back and forth to get a ruffled look.  Repeat for each section of each petal.  The key is to use a lot of pressure but keep the movement small so you don't go over the cut lines.

Next, make a small ball a little smaller than the center of your flower.

Press the ball on to a piece of window screen.

Peel the ball of the window screen.

And use the egg white or water to adhere the ball to the middle of the flower.

Making Eggshell Cupcakes

I used to love getting a few colored eggs filled with jelly beans in my Easter basket as a kid.  But it would have been way better to find an egg filled with chocolate cake!

I have been making a bunch of these for my clients this week but they are very easy to make so I thought I would share the steps with you.  

Materials

white shelled eggs

manicure scissors (dedicated to cooking)

vinegar

food coloring

cake batter

glass measuring cup

muffin tin

tin foil

Use the manicure scissor to poke a tiny hole in the top of your egg.

Use the scissors to cut away a dime-sized piece of shell.

Empty the contents of the egg into a bowl and save for the cake batter or another use.

Submerge the egg in a bowl of water with vinegar and soak for half an hour.

Fill a bowl with water, 3Tb of vinegar and a few drops of food coloring.

Place the eggs in the food coloring until they reach the desired color.

Drain the eggs on a paper towel while you prepare the cake batter and preheat the over.

Place a nest of tin foil in each muffin tin.

Use the measuring cup to fill each eggshell 2/3 of the way full with batter.

Place the egg in the tinfoil nest so it is sitting upright.

Back until the cake is browned and springs back when touched.

Learning Brush Embroidery

 

I love doing brush embroidery on a cake.   It is very simple to do but it takes some time so it is a lovely way to pass the afternoon deep in thought.  Let me teach you how.

You will need ...

parchment paper or cake

pen or food marker

royal icing 

(Beat together 1/4 cup meringue powder and 1/2 cup water until frothy.  

Stir in 1 lb confectioners sugar and beat until glossy but no longer shiney)

parchment cone

#2 tip

thin brush

Sketch your design .. on parchment to practice and on your cake for real.

Pipe the outline of your shape in royal icing using a #2 tip.

Find a very thin brush.

While your icing is still wet, place your BARELY damp brush into the icing and drag towards the center of your design.

Continue dragging until your design is complete.

Voila!