Technique Tuesday: Ribbon Frosting

Ok, couple days past Tuesday, but I have NEVER been known for consistency :0)

I am hoping for forgiveness with this two-day overdue post.  Late is better than never, right?

A week or two ago I got a request for a tutorial on how to do the fabulous ribbon frosting like on this cake.  I finally got a moment to myself, so thought I would bust out that tut for you all now.  

The tip I use is Wilton's 127.  It is larger than the normal petal tip, but a petal tip it is.  You would normally use this tip for making roses, if that helps you process tips in your mind.   

It looks like a tear drop, but the 127 is huge.  If you are using your reusable bags, it won't fit in a normal sized one.  Lucky for me, the cute little cake supply store that just moved in by us carries these extra large disposable pastry bags!!!  Super excited.  They are only $.25!  Score!!!

I like to fold the bag around my hand for filling.  Grab the bag around the tip area.  Fold the bag down over your hand/tip part, then start filling.  I slide my hand up the frosting-full areas, pull the empty part of the bag up, then fill more until it is as full as I want for the project.

Here is my moment of truth.  I will tell you all this, but it doesn't leave this post, GOT IT!?!

I was making my famous white chocolate whipped frosting for a wedding cake a few weeks ago.  I added vanilla pudding to it as usual {not realizing that I usually used cheesecake pudding-which turns out is not as yellow :0P}.  The whole batch was bright yellow.  I couldn't have a yellow wedding cake for my bride!!!

With not much time, I ran to the local Kroger grocery store and begged the bakery for some of their frosting. I actually had three cakes that weekend, and just bought a whole bucket...for $45.00.  Here is the really terrible part... The Frosting Was DELICIOUS!!!!  It isn't normal buttercream, but whipped frosting.  It was SO good, I couldn't use anything else.  Couple weekends after that I had another three cakes, went to another Kroger store, and that bakery guy told me I could have been buying this stuff from the local cake supply store for half the price I was paying!!!

My cake supply in Phoenix carries the stuff in their freezer.  It is a frozen liquid.  You take it home, throw it in your mixer and there you have it!  Fabulous whipped icing at half the price.

When I called the ABC Cake Supply in Phoenix, they said the brand they carry is called Whippen Top or Whippen Ice.  The Whippen Top is like whipped cream, not sweat at all, the Whippen Ice is sweet like buttercream, but lighter.  That is next on my adventure list, get my hands on some of this stuff.  I actually live quite a ways from the cake store so I don't get there very often.  It is definitely on my to-do list though. 

For this sample cake I just ran to the store and bought two pounds of their whipped frosting at $2.99/lb.  I thought that was a bit expensive, but with my own recipe, you use white choc chips, butter, heavy cream....they are really the same price and this one comes already made!

OK, moving right along.  So, it is best if you have a cake turntable.  Not so much for the ribbon sides, but especially if you want the ribbon top.

Blop some frosting on the cake and smooth it out.  Normally when frosting, I try to never touch the cake itself with my knife.  I just smoosh the frosting down from the top until the cake is covered.  That keeps you from getting crumbs in the outside where they make the cake look dirty.

Today, we are just applying a crumb coat so crumbs in the frosting are no big deal.  The crumb coat encases any fly-away crumbs so we don't have them in our ribbons, plus give a white background in case the ribbons are not close enough and some of the cake show through.  

Now take that rose tip and hold it perpendicular to the cake...yep, straight up and down.

squeeze the icing out making a little piece about 1" wide, then fold back over, back and forth, until you have a  string of ribboned frosting.

I am terrible at taking pictures while doing things.  I don't normally touch the cake with the tip, just get it really close and the frosting kinda falls against the side.

Look at that!  Isn't it so cute!?!

The secret to getting this cake to look really good is to get these ribbons straight up and down, and keeping them all the same width.  Don't worry too much if they are not looking great.  It is hard to see when you have tons of them, just make the next one a little straighter, or scrape it off and try again.  They are super easy to scrape off, making mistakes easy to repair.

Put one next to another all the way around the cake.

This shows how much frosting you use.  TONS!  As for where to stop at the top, I just end the ribbon when it is even with the top of the cake.

Side view. You can see that not all of the layers are touching the sides.  It will be okcareful with real buttercream.      

When you get to the last row, just plug 'er in there and chalk it up at the back of the cake.

Fabulous!  Now to top it off.  I have done them flat on top, just plopping more frosting on top and smoothing it out, but I kind of like the top ruffles.

Same tip, go around the top of the cake with a zig-zag like motion, moving the tip up and down to create a ruffle.  

Once you have the first layer done, move in so the top of your tip is just past the bottom of the last row {overlapping so you don't have blank spots}, and do another row. 

This is where the turn table comes in handy.  You can just keep going like one continuous ruffle when you use the turntable.  

I threw a little flower in the center, and...TaDAh!

Love it.  It looks so totally cute over there on my table.  It isn't very often we get a cake for ourselves around here :0)  Can't wait to see the kids faces when they see this one just for them!!!

Let me know if you have any questions!!!

vanessa.cam5@gmail.com

Crystalized Flowers How To

It is super easy and so incredibly beautiful to crystallize flowers.  You can use any edible flower.  Roses, carnations, dandelions, daisies, marigolds and pansies are all on the list along with several others.  You do want to find out if the flowers were organically grown if you or your guests plan on eating them.  Pesticide isn't the best thing to ingest :0)

Here are my supplies:

Flowers and leaves

Super Fine sugar {or granulated sugar ran through the blender/food processor}

Egg Whites

Pliers to cut the stems

Clean, for-food-only paintbrushes

A cooling rack

Wax or Parchment paper

A pen to poke holes in the wax paper

You want to first use the pliers to cut the stems to 1-3" long, depending on where you are going to use them.

Then inspect them for any old or wilted pedals.  Pull off any that don't look fabulous.

Now dip your paintbrush into the egg whites and brush onto the outside of the flower.  

Once the outside is nicely coated, you need to brush the inside.  Find a outer edge and slide your wet paintbrush inside.

Lightly brush some of the inside pedals.  Don't worry about getting every one, or about getting all the way to the bottom.  Too much egg white is bad.  It makes the flower soggy and keeps it from drying in a timely manner.  You can keep working the brush further into the flower following the natural spiral of the pedals.

There is another technique.  It is much easier, but not nearly as pretty.  The flower on the left was done as described above.  The flower on the right was just dunked into the egg white.  See how it has clumped in the middle?

Painted on.

Dunked.

You may want to brush the outside once more to make sure it is totally wet, then sprinkle the flower with the super fine sugar.  Once all of your flowers are finished, discard any extra used sugar.  

Rose buds are fabulous crystallized as well.  Paint the outside, then lightly brush the top, smooshing the brush down into the petals lightly, then sprinkle with sugar.

I always like to do a few leaves too for accent.  Depending on what I am doing, I will also usually also do a couple loose pedals and scatter them on the cake or table.

I have those fabulous Pampered Chef cooling racks that stand higher and stack.  I like to cover those with wax or parchment paper, use the pen to poke a hole... 

then insert the stem.  I have skipped the wax paper and really regretted it in the past.  If you happen to get a little too much egg white and it seeps down to the bottom of the flower, the flower will stick to the cooling rack.  Now you know and don't have to learn the hard way yourself. 

There you have it!  Aren't they beautiful?

These are great on cakes, cupcakes, or just as accents on serving dishes.  They are pretty much dry in one day, but can take two or three if you went a little heavy on the egg whites.  You can make these ahead of time, up to two weeks, as long as they are stored in an air tight container once dried.  Do be careful though.  The sugar can crumble off the flowers if bumped too much.  

Are they really edible?  Yes they are!  If you eat them the first day they still taste like rose.  By the second or third day they just taste like sugar and are stiff.  

This particular project was a cupcake wedding cake for one darling bride.  She wanted fondant daisies on the cupcakes and the small topper cake, with other flowers as accent.  What is a better accent than crystallized roses!?!

I have crystallized daisies.  They are fun, but can really stick if you don't use that wax paper.  When taking the roses off the cooling rack I typically lift them off using scissors.  Again, the more you handle the flowers once dried, the more likely you are to have the sugar flake off.

Give it a try!  These crystallized flowers are really easy, inexpensive, and such an incredible addition to any edible display.

Technique Tuesday:Multiple Cuts

I have been playing around with switching the toolbox Tuesday with Technique Tuesday every once in a while.  As I have been focusing on wood crafting lately, I wanted to show you how to make multiple cuts one either the scroll saw or the band saw.

I buy sheets of MDF plywood at Home Depot.  They come in 2 foot by 4 foot sheets.  Home Depot has a section back in the plywood area with shelves of smaller pieces, usually called Handi Panels, that are all about 2'x4'.  These are nice because you don't have to track down anyone to cut them down so you can fit them in your car.  Also, if you aren't doing tons of work, you can buy just one.  Currently, the 1/8" is $3 and some change.  They have 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", and whatnot.  They also have other plywoods, but I have come to like the mdf the most since it is totally smooth {no wood grain or missing knots} and it paints super well.  

That said, I tape four or more sheets together with masking tape or painters tape.  I do a LOT of wood cutting, so I buy four or more sheets and cut them into smaller sizes after they have been taped.  You, of course, can buy one sheet, cut it into four pieces, then tape it together.  The benefit of buying 4 pieces of mdf is that all the edges are square and it is much easier to get the four pieces taped together.  If they all have different edges it is much more difficult, but not impossible.    

As you can see, this is a scrap-sized piece.  I would not be able to cut one heart out of a whole stack of 2'x4' sheets, they would be too big to turn on the saw.  1 foot pieces are fabulous.  Cut off a one foot chuck of wood and trace your shapes on that.  This is just a piece I had left over from another project.

Notice how I taped at the corners, in two directions.  I normally would have added more tape on the straight edges above too....not sure why I didn't.  You usually want tape on 3, if not all 4 sides.

Trace your shape.  I just drew this one....and not very well :0)  Obviously I am better on the computer with shapes than drawing them free hand.

Now to cut out.  I am going to use the band saw, but this piece is just as easily cut on the scroll saw.  On the scroll saw I would cut the heart out in one piece.  On the Band Saw I cut out the wedge at the top of the heart...

then cut a relief cut to the bottom tip, then back the blade back out.  

Finally I cut one side of the heart out.

Now for the other side.

And done!

There you have it.  Four hearts and all done in one!  I will tell you, with the 1/8" wood, you can actually quite easily cut {on the band saw} 12 boards at once!!!  Just make sure and tape them together really well.  With that many pieces of wood, I normally tape four boards together into one bunch, then the next four boards together into another bunch, and then the last four together in another bunch.  Finally,  I tape all of the bundles together into one.  It helps the boards not shift when cutting.

This technique is totally Fabulous when you are cutting 350 of the same project for Super Saturday ;0)