Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

 

To make these cupcakes, use any vanilla cake recipe that you wish, replacing the liquid in the recipe with pink lemonade concentrate, undiluted. You can also add a few drops of food coloring if you want it more on the pink side.

For the icing, use:


1 lb. unsalted butter (softened)
2 stick salted butter (softened
1 small pkg. lemon instant pudding mix
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar ( or more to suit your taste)

pink food coloring

In mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter until smooth and silky. Turn speed to low and add the pudding mix. when it is all incorporated, slowly add the cream, a little at a time. When fully incorporated bring speed up to high and beat for 5-7 minutes. Turn speed back down to low and add food coloring and add powdered sugar by tablespoons, tasting along the way. When it is sweet to your taste, beat again at high speed for a good 5 minutes to really break down any graininess that you might get from the powdered sugar. Bring back down to low speed and beat for a while to get rid of air bubbles. this recipe needs to be refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before decorating or serving.

For this cupcake stand, I just used foamboard and cake dummies I found how to make this cupcake stand from Cake Journal.

Rhonda Christensen
2009
All Rights Reserved
This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

Ballet Slipper tutorial by Shirley Wilson

 Shirley Wilson's Sugarpaste Ballet Slipper Tutorial

STEP 1-

 I bought the smallest pair of childrens ballet slippers ( size 7) from Payless Shoe Source for $19.95 but they can be used to make more than one pair. Cut off the elastic strap from shoes, it wants to pull the sides of the shoe in too much, without the elastic it may be too wide. So I made a large basting stitch with thread going from side to side and over the instep. to get the right shape. VERY IMPORTANT, Lightly coat the entire outside of shoe from toe, sides and heel with Crisco shortening so the gumpaste will release easily. Stuff inside of shoe with wads of plastic wrap inside the toe and instep. Put a 1/2" styrofoam ball inside the heel area.

 STEP 2-

Roll out pink gumpaste to 1/8" thickness and into an oval large enough to cover entire shoe with 1/2" excess around the entire bottom of slipper.

 STEP 3-

Carefully cut out center of paste from the instep and smooth cut edges with your fingertip.. Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes or until gumpaste will hold it's shape.

STEP 4-

Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes or till paste holds it's shape. Carefully remove paste from the real shoe by turning the slipper upside down into palm of your hand. Carefully ease the fabric slipper away from the gumpaste. Then turn slipper right side up. Carefully tuck 1/2" overlap of gumpaste under the slipper sole

STEP 5-

 Remove plastic wrap and styrofoam ball from shoe. roll out some white gumpaste to 1/8" thickness. Lay dried shoe on top and cut around to make the sole piece, also cut a small piece to fit inside the instep of shoe. Glue on with gum glue and allow to dry completely.

 STEP 6-

Make some pink gumpaste strips for the ribbons. Attach with gum glue to sides of shoe and overlap a bit to inside of shoe. Arrange strips into a furled ribbon look. I did the top stitches and little bow with gumpaste in a clay extruder and attached with gum glue. Allow to dry completely and then dust with super pearl luster dust for sheen. These shoes will fit on the top of a 10" round cake.






This tutorial and photography is the property of Shirley Wilson- copyright 2012- and used with permission from the author. This material may not be used, copied or printed without expressed permission from the author, Shirley Wilson.

Ganaching a Cake--The Upside Down Method by Eleanor Heaphy

 

Ganaching a Cake

the upside-down method

1.              Cut cake into three even layers, flip the layer which was the top of the baked cake over and attach to a base board (the same size as the tin the cake was baked in) with ganache. Spread ganache over the (now) bottom layer and then add the next (middle) layer of cake. Spread with ganache and then flip the last layer (what was the bottom of the baked cake) over and place on the top of the ganached layer. 
The bottom of the baked cake becomes the top, flat surface.

 

2.             Spread some softened white chocolate ganache on a larger “work” board. Attach layered cake (on its base board) to the workboard. Leave to set or put in fridge for a few minutes (no more).

3.             Trim all around the sides of the cake ensuring a 5mm gap between cake and base board- we will fill this gap with ganache.

4.              Apply ganache thickly to the outside of the cake, ensuring that you bring the ganache slightly above the top edge of the cake.

5.               Use a metal scraper (or straight edge) to remove the excess ganache from the sides of the cake. Place the bottom edge of the scraper against the base board and hold scraper completely perpendicular to the cake side. The bottom edge of the scraper should remain completely in contact with the workboard as you scrape. A turntable is useful here.

6.              Fill any gaps around the sides and scrape again- repeat process until the sides are smooth and perfectly straight.

7.              Using a spatula tip the top edge of the excess ganache over and smooth out towards middle of the cake.

8.              Add additional ganache to the top of the cake if required and make top of the cake as smooth and level as possible. Chill in fridge for 10 mins to firm up.

9.              Prepare a large square board, covering with florist’s cellophane. Using sticky tape on the paper side of the board, stick sides down, stretching the cellophane tightly. Then use scissors to cut cellophane off at corners.

10.              Soften some ganache slightly in the microwave. It should be pourable but not too runny. Spread a circle of ganache  0.5 to 1 cm thick over the prepared board. The circle should be slightly larger than the cake.

 

11.              Take the cake out of the fridge and flip over onto the circle of ganache. Working quickly, use a spatula to loosen the seal between the base board and the work board and remove workboard (we will reattach this later). Using a spirit level on the topside of the cake (ie against the bottom of the baseboard) move cake around on softened ganache until the top is perfectly level. Leave cake undisturbed until bottom layer of ganache is firm, but not hard.

12.              Scrape around the outside of the cake once again, use a heated spatula if necessary.

13.              Scrape and fill sides until they are perfectly smooth and straight.  Reattach workboard to top with a little ganache. Turn upside down and place in fridge for ½ an hour.

 

14.              Remove cake from fridge and use a knife to cut through sticky tape attaching cellophane to board. Remove square board.

 15.              Carefully peel back cellophane.

16.              Fill any small gaps caused by air bubbles on top of the cake. Leave to set up at room temperature for 12 hours before covering with fondant.

COPYRIGHT Cakeage Pty Ltd  2011

This tutorial was published with permission from the author,

Eleanor Heaphy

This tutorial may not to be reproduced without

permission from the author.

Making a curved board for your cakes

Tailor

I recently made a wedding cake for my niece, Tailor.  She wanted a cake with piping, not molded lace.  I showed her some cakes that I had done in the last year with royal icing piped details and we designed her a small cake.  I wanted the board to be curved up - not flat and since this was for a family member and a gift, I could essentially "play" with this cake. 

The bottom cake was a 12" cake that was on a 1/2 piece of foam core board cut to the exact size of the cake.  Make a batch of royal icing (I think you could use chocolate in the cooler months or even buttercream to do this with.)

Royal Icing

I then used a 13", 14" and 15" round pans turned upside down

(so that I was actually drawing a slightly bigger circle) and cut them out. 

Dab Royal Icing on the bottom board and add the next size to the top of it and then do the same to the next board.  Let dry til set.

Fill in between the boards with royal icing, smoothing as you go

Go around the board holding your palette knife at an angle to completely fill in the spaces between the boards.

Set it aside and let it dry to the touch.   

 

This can be made way in advance or the day of the wedding. 

 

Cover the board with fondant and mark the center the same size as the cake.

 

Cut the center out and remove the fondant circle where the cake will be set.  

Dab in royal icing to hold the cake in place.

Place cake into the opening on the board.  

I then ran a bead of royal icing around the seam.  I then sectioned it off to add in the lattice and pearls.

I added pressed lace pieces below the lattice, piped a ruffle with a shell on top of that, used a pressed flower petunia (you can get the lace piece and petunia cutter/veiner from Jennifer Dontz's Sugar Delites.  I piped royal icing details and used luster dust to bring out a pearl sheen to the board.  I added a piece of tasseled gimp to the edge of the board to finish it off.

  Voila!!!!  A board that is very romantic and part of the cake decor.

Tutorial and Photography by Denise Talbot

Copyright 2011

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

Hello Stripes!

I was trying to figure out how to make a Hello Kitty for a grown daughter and not make it too child like.  Not really sure if I accomplished that or not, but this is the result.  I had no fondant, but did have gumpaste and chocolate.

While I was scouring the internet for some ideas, I came across this striping effect for the cake.  Thought I would try it out and I loved it!!!

Here I used a vanilla cake recipe and tinted it pink and a chocolate cake recipe.  My batter was very thick, so I would suggest using something a little more thin.

I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup for this one, but if you want the stripes to be even closer and have a thinner batter, use about 3 tablespoons for each color.  If you are making more than one pan, make sure you do them at the same time so the batter will come out more evenly.

Keep alternating the two different batters until you have the pan half full.

Since this was so thick, I did had to tap it down after each addition.

Here it is just out of the oven.  Well after I took the cake out, it sank!!  I used an eggless recipe and I always have trouble with them!  Sorry, but you still get the idea for the cake.  ;0)

Here is the inside!  Oh man that is a lot of cookies and cream filling!!  lol!!  The effect is totally different then just marbling the batter.  It would be so fun to experiment with different colors and flavors!!

I then iced the cake with buttercream icing.  I let the icing set up for a couple of hours before hand painting stripes using luster dust and alcohol.

Then I had to try out some disco dust for the first time!  Oooo it's so fun, but messy!  Can't wait to use it again!

I have a candy mold that I used for the gem border.  I didn't like the pink color of this chocolate, so I used some magenta petal dust mixed with alcohol and then sprinkled pink disco dust on them.

Each gem was painted and dusted singly. 

I added the gems around the top and bottom border.  I thought it kink of looked more like a drum.  Oh well!  

I also made the Kitty and the "K" out of gumpaste.  The "K" was also sprinkled with disco dust before adding it to the cake.  Small pink isomalt gems were sprinkled on the top.  This was a fun cake to experiment with and the birthday girl and her daughter loved it.

Tutorial by Rhonda Christensen

2011

All Rights Reserved

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.