Doir, Hermes, Marchesa!!

I have to begin this post with some exciting news.  My zipper cake was featured in Grace Ormonde!  And it got a full page (see above).....so exciting.  Okay enough bragging;)

Recently I was asked by my friends at Sashay events to create a cake for a photo shoot.  Naturally, I went straight to my fashion archives to find the perfect inspiration!  But this cake ended up with a few different inspirations.  I couldn't decide on just one.

My first ideas came from the house of Christian Dior.....

As you can tell, I am feeling the gold and white!  I have always loved Dior, not only for the designs....but also for the shows.  Here is one of my favorites.  All of the dresses were inspired my flowers!  

That couldn't be more awesome!  Seriously, cake inspiration for days.  Here is another look that I love.  

So I am thinking white with a gold pop....something simple and textured with a dramatic statement.  I have also had this Hermes bag in my collection of pictures for a while now.....

Simple and all about the texture.  I have done texture like this many times and I keep going back to it because it's so chic.  Then, I found this Marchesa look....

White and gold it is!!  I want to make a simple and clean looking cake with texture and a dramatic hand made gold statement.  I started with this tool from Fat Daddio....

First, I rolled out some gumpaste...

Next I cut out some circles and placed in the mold...

Then stamp...

Perfect....kind of.  See the mold will distort the circle a bit, so you have to re cut the design after you stamp....

I did graduated sizes and staked them....

Good....but not enough.  I also added some textured pieces cut with an iris cutter and some using this little diamond cutter from Country Kitchen....

Here is the whole band put together....

Now I cut the whole thing in half to create a band to go along the bottom tier....

Yeeeessss!!!

Now for the gold!  I use this product from Albert Uster....

You can find this at www.nicholaslodge.com. I mix a bit with a little vodka (you can use lemon extract or even lemon juice if you cannot use alcohol).

Now there's a statement!  It came out great.  I also made this little broach from the same cutter....

And here she is.....drumroll please!!!

Yay!!  Okay speaking of the Hermes bag.....here is a link to my friend Elisa Stauss' class on Craftsy, where you can learn to make your own bag!  Click the picture and it will take you to the class.

And you can learn more about fondant textures in my class Fashion Inspired Fondant!  Here is the link to the class for a discount!!!....

One more thing.  At the top, the is a button labeled "Craftsy Classes!!"....I have added discounted links for my classes and my friends classes. Enjoy!

That's all for now.  You can subscribe by entering your email at the top right!

Bye!

Christmas Remix

Okay sorry for the half naked picture...but the Victoria's Secret fashion show was just on and I couldn't resist.  I watch every year.  It's the only time you can watch a fashion show on prime time television!  Everything else is you have to search for on YouTube.

So last year around this time, I was featured on a couple different blogs to promote my Craftsy classes.  I didn't get a chance to post them myself so I thought I would do that this year!

The first one I did was on cake pops.  Here is the recipe.

Christmas Tree and Santa Hat Cake Pops

 

Ingredients:

5 cups cake crumbs

½ cup icing

24 oz. chocolate (candy melts, red, white, green)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Pop sticks

Holiday sprinkles

 

First you will need to crumble the cake into a bowl.

 

Then add the icing and mix.  Keep in mind, all cake is not created equal!  So you may need more or less icing.  Just make sure that you achieve a "cookie dough" texture.

 

 

 

 

Now form the pops into the shapes you want.  I made spheres and cone shapes.

 

 

 

Then place the shapes in the cooler for at least 2 hours.  From there, I work one or two at a time, leaving the rest in the cooler.  Dip the pop stick in chocolate and then into the cake pop.  This will ensure that the pop stays on the stick while you are dipping the whole thing.

 



Then dip the pop.  I am using colored candy melts.

 

 

If you are making Christmas trees, you will need to sprinkle them before the chocolate sets.  This will give the illusion of ornaments!

 

 

 

 

 

Too cute.

 

Here are a couple others I made including Santa and elf hats and ornaments.

I poked holes into a cake drum to stand the pops upright for presentation.

 

 

 

The next one is a project that will help cut costs...cause gifts can be expensive!

 

Edible Holiday Gifts 

As an instructor for Craftsy, it’s my job to teach people techniques that will further their culinary careers and hobbies!  As a friend and family member, however, I am the one who is always required to bring dessert to an event…..and really, I don’t mind.  This is why every holiday season, I not only whip up treats for the parties, I try to make everyone a special gift from my kitchen.  Now anyone can just follow a recipe and hand it over in a decorative tin.  I’m going to show you how to make something unique and also how make it look like it came out of the pages of a magazine.

 

Decorative Boxes

Packaging can be expensive…..especially around the holidays.  So here is a way to make some customized boxes that are inexpensive, simple and beautiful.

 

Here is what you need….

1.)      Plain white boxes (Container Store)

2.)      Rubber stamps (you can use whatever design you like but choose one you will reuse often!)

3.)      Ink (these you can find at craft stores….they last a long time)

4.)      Ribbon and bows

5.)      Small name card (to personalize)

6.)      Tape

7.)      Scissors

8.)      Ornaments (optional)



 

 

 

 

This is super easy.  Just make sure you stamp the boxes while they are flat, let them dry, and then fold them.

 

 

Now to fill the boxes.  These are a couple of my easy recipes. 

Peppermint Bark 3 Ways

·         Peppermint Rice Cereal Treats

·         Swirled Peppermint Bark

·         Peppermint Diamonds

 

Peppermint Rice Cereal Treats

Ingredients

6 cups cocoa rice cereal treats

6 cups marshmallows (mini)

3 Tablespoons butter

4 to 5 candy canes (crushed)

7 to 8 peppermint patties (chopped)

Additional chocolate and crushed peppermint for the bark and diamonds

 

·         First you will melt the butter and candy canes over medium heat until dissolved

·         Add marshmallows and continue to stir until melted

·         Add cocoa rice cereal and patties and stir until incorporated

·         Then turn out onto a siplat or parchment paper and spread thin

·         Once this sets we are going to spread chocolate over the top and break it up to look like traditional bark

 

 



 

For the more traditional bark, I just melt dark and white chocolate and drizzle them together on parchment paper.

 

 

 

Then swirl them together with a skewer and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.  Once set, I break them up by hand.

For a variation, I use the remaining chocolate, mixed with crushed candy canes, to place in a diamond mold from Fred and Friends. This is a great site to get a funny gift too!!

 

 

 

Ta daa!!  Now here is an important note.  You will need to place the treats in a plastic bag or liner before placing into the boxes.  This will keep the boxes from getting greasy!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

See, gift giving doesn't have to break the bank.

 

Okay here is the last one!

 

 

Chai Tea Whoopie Pies

 

Pies-

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons instant Chai Tea

2 eggs

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

 

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

·         Place all ingredients into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment

·         Mix on low until all ingredients are combined

·         With a small ice cream scoop, dish scoops of dough onto a nonstick tray or silpat at least 2 inches apart

·         Bake for 10 minutes

·         Cool

 

 

 

 

 

While the pies are baking, you can whip up the filling.

 

Filling-

2 cup marshmallow fluff

2 stick butter

2 teaspoon vanilla

 

Place all ingredients in a stand mixer with the whip attachment and whip on high for one minute.

 

Now let's put them together.

 

So easy!  These are really good too! 

 

 

Okay that's all for now....more fashion cakes to come!  Subscribe for the latest updates!

 

Bye!!