How to Make Disney Frozen Cake Push Pops!

Hey Everyone!
Disney’s Frozen is now out on DVD! While I admit, I haven’t seen it yet, I have heard great things! Frozen has been the most popular birthday theme at the shop for the past few months! Check out my video of the frozen inspired push pops I made! Super easy and fun to make! Kids and parents love this alternative to a cake or cupcakes. It is no mess and kids get a kick out of it! I hope you enjoy watching the video and remember you can use this idea for any other occasion! Having a rainbow party? Color your batter with rainbow colors and layer them in the push pop container…that would be super cute!

Happy Baking,

 Christy

Push Pop Containers: http://www.christymaries.com/collections/featured-products/products/push-pop-containers
FROZEN Rings: http://www.christymaries.com/collections/featured-products/products/frozen-rings

Gumpaste & Fondant….What’s the Difference?

   One of the most common questions I get asked every day is, “What is the difference between gumpaste and fondant?” Many people who come in and want to work with fondant or gumpaste for the first time are confused about which one is better to use for their particular cake project. They look exactly the same, sometimes on the outside, depending on the brand, as well as on the inside. I thought this would be a perfect question to explain on here!

                                     The most simple answer to our questions is, Fondant is used to cover a cake and gumpaste is used to make flowers, bows and 3-D creations.

Fondant is a soft, pliable, roll-able  icing to cover cakes, cupcakes and even cookies. It comes in an assortment of different colors as well as flavors (depending on the brand). My favorite brand to use is Satin Ice. Satin Ice is wonderful to work with and tastes good as well! The ladies and I at the shop even sometimes eat it right out of the bucket! I will be honest though, not all fondant has a good taste and is not so fun to work with. If you heard not so good things about fondant or have used it in the past and didn’t care for it, I defiantly recommend giving it another try! 🙂

Gum paste is a soft, mold-able substance used to make flowers, figurines, and other decorations. It will dry very quickly, while fondant doesn’t dry as quickly. It is very strong when dry, but will break if dropped or bumped. Gum pastes takes like an un-flavored neco wafer. You never want to cover your cake in gumpaste.  If you want to make sugar flowers you want to use gumpaste. You can roll the gum paste thinner, so your flowers have a more realistic look to them, rather than fondant. Gumpaste also dries faster, so it will keeps its shape.

You can also mix fondant and gum paste together and get the best of both worlds: the flexibility of fondant and the strength of gum paste. We refer to this as a 50/50 mixture. Any time you want to make figurines or something 3D, I always use half gumpaste and half fondant.

To sum it up….If you are covering a cake, you want to use Fondant. If you want to make sugar flowers, 3-D accents and even bows, you want to use gumpaste.  50/50 mixture is used to make figurines. Hope this helped clear up the difference between the two!

Be sure to see our selection of Satin Ice fondant that we carry at the shop! Also, click here to go to Satin Ice’s website to watch some fun video tutorials on how to work with fondant! 🙂

Happy Baking,

             Christy Marie

A flower spray made out of Gumpaste

Easy & Delicious Recipe: Mint Crackers

Hello Everyone! Today I wanted to share a super easy and delicious recipe that is very popular at the store! If your a fan of the Mint Girl Scout cookies or just love mint flavor anything, this is definitely a recipe you should try! I recently made these mint crackers to take to a friends house and they were a big hit! The best part is you only need two ingredients to make it…..now that’s my kind of recipe!

Here is what you will need:

• 1 lb of Dark Chocolate Mint Coating
• Ritz Crackers

(If you don’t have the Dark Chocolate Mint Coating available where you are, just add 15 drops of Peppermint oil to your dark chocolate coating, pictured below. )

Melt Dark Chocolate Mint Coating. Dip the Ritz crackers and coat completely. Using a dipping fork, drain excess chocolate
and allow to set up on Parchment paper.

Optional : To decorate, sprinkle jimmies on top of the crackers before the chocolate sets up.

You can also drizzle colored chocolate on top as well!

Once the crackers are set, you can arrange them on a nice platter, or do what I did, in a candy box.

These crackers make  perfect hostess. birthday, thank you or ‘just because’ gifts! They are so easy and will be sure to be a hit where ever you take them. Your friends and family won’t believe it a Ritz cracker! It’s up to you if you would like to tell them your secret and how difficult they were to make 🙂

Happy Baking,

 Christy Marie 

My favorite Cake Decorating Book!

 

Hello Everyone! I thought I would share one of my favorite cake decorating books with you!  This is simply the best book out there for novice and expert cake decorators! The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating is a comprehensive how-to book about all of the most popular cake decorating techniques, including piped frosting, fondant, and hand modeled figures. For each technique, there is an overview of the tools and materials used and complete instructions with photos! I am a visual person and usually when I look for cake decorating and recipe books, I always look for pictures. This book has step-by-step directions and more than 600 full-color photos! Even in the back of the book, there is a gallery of decorated cakes thats great to flip through for ideas!

Techniques & Ideas Featured:

• Covering a cake with buttercream, ganache, fondant, and even textured buttercream
• Covering a board with foil or fondant
• Stenciling
• Painting & coloring on fondant
• Gelatin accents & Isomalt
• Chocolate molding & painting
• Gumpaste flowers
• Hand- modeling animals & people
• Buttercream roses
• Sculpting cakes
• & much more!

We call this the textbook for cake decorating, as it has almost anything you’d like to know about decorating cakes! It even covers a little on candy making! Stop in the shop and see why we are IN LOVE with this book!

–Christy Marie 

Sugar artist Carpenter perfectly explains her book: “If you are a beginning decorator, this book will serve as a step-by-step course in cake decorating. If you are an experienced or professional decorator, this book will quickly become your go-to guide when seeking out new techniques.”

Batter Babies!

Love chocolate and vanilla cake and sometimes feel guilty for eating two cupcakes? Wish you could have the best of both flavors? Well now you can! Bake one of a kind cupcakes containing two flavors and/or or colors with Batter Babies! These dividers fit right in your cupcake cups and pans and divide your batter perfectly! Want to color your batters to match your party theme? Easily color your batter and use these babies to create two-color cupcakes! Your cupcakes will sure to be the talk of the party!

Batter Babies fit most standard size cupcake pans and cups. Made from a foodgrade plastic, they are reusable. Dishwasher safe.

The Batter Babies are quite simple to use, just follow these steps:

1. Simply place the Batter Babies in individual cups
2. Pour the two separate batters into each cup
3. Remove Batter Babies before baking

              Best of both flavors! 

What’s New! Character Sugar Pieces!

 

We just received one of our orders today and guess what we now have available?! Licensed character sugar pieces! Completely edible, these sugar pieces will sure to be a big hit on cupcakes or even candy! Great to add around a cake as a boarder too! Kids will love these and  the best part is- they will match their party theme! We have Barbie, Dora, Thomas, Mickey and Minnie currently in-stock! Pack of 6 sugar pieces for $2.89.

-Christy Marie 

NEW! Gumpaste Bows!

 

Just in! Gumpaste bows now in different colors! Have you ever decided to add a bow to your cake last minute, but didn’t have enough time to allow it to dry? Well, now we have them already made in an assortment of vibrant colors! Just attach the bows to your cake with a little bit of buttercream icing! Great for birthdays, sweet sixteens, showers or for any occasion! The bows measure to about 6 inches! Perfect for the top or the side of your cake!

-Christy Marie 

Add Sparkle to your next cake!

Our Diamond Wrap been getting a lot of attention at the shop! Almost everyone who stops in, mentions or compliments the cake! It’s looks beautiful and can add such an elegant touch to your cake. Not only is it great to wrap around cakes, but as well as cupcake stands, wedding bouquets, tables, candles, vases, cake stands and more! We’ve  had a lot of crafters who’ve been enjoying it too! So what is this Diamond wrap? It is a bendable, simulated rhinestone ribbon. It’s easy to cut and doesn’t fray. The ribbon bends to fit around all shapes and sizes! Ideal for Weddings, Bridal Showers, Anniversaries, Sweet 16s and more! This diamond wrap will be sure to be the talk of the occasion! Available in Gold or Silver. $2.00 a foot.

Next time you’re making a cake, why not add some bling!

-Christy Marie

My Favorite Baking Tools!

Hello Everyone! Today I am going to show you my favorite go-to tools when I’m in the kitchen baking! These are all great products and a must-have of mine when I am baking a cake! Let me know if you use any of these products or tools and what your favorite go-to tool is!

1. Professional Pans– When baking a cake, the quality of your pan has a lot to do with how your cake turns out. I love using the professional pans that we offer at the shop because they bake more evenly and last forever!

2. CK Pan Grease- This is a must have when baking in a cake pan! No Flour needed! Just brush a thin layer of pan grease in your pans! It is great to have on hand for character pans, as it gets right down in all the details! We suggest to apply it with either a pastry brush or your hand, rather than a paper towel. When using paper towels, you are wiping away more of the pan grease than you are applying.

3. Silicone Brush- This is my favorite brush to use when applying pan grease! I love using my pink silicone brush and it gets right into the small areas! The best part is I can drop it right in the dishwasher!

4. Magi-Cake Strips– These strips really do work magic! Do you ever have trouble with your cakes coming out uneven? These strips help prevent  high-rise centers, cracked tops and crusty edges and your cake bakes evenly! All you do is soak the strips in water and after squeezing the excess water off, simply wrap around your cake pan and pin together.

5. Cake Tester- Another favorite tool of mine is a cake tester! I not only use it to test to see if my cakes or cupcakes are done, I use it when I am cooking meals as well! I also love to use the tester when I am taking my cupcakes out of my pan. Simply stick the tester down between the pan and the cupcake paper and the cupcake will pop right out! I have about 4 cake testers in my kitchen because I am so worried I won’t be able to find one! Say goodbye to toothpicks! also great when cleaning out your decorating cake tips!