Sunny Spring

Hello all!

Spring is finally here! Or so I think. For now maybe. I'm pretty sure the weatherman said "snow" when describing the next few days. I can't give you details because I'm pretending it didn't happen.

Instead, I'm consoling myself with this little beauty. Bright, colorful and cheerful enough to overcome all of the bad feelings brought by the weatherman! (I should really just stop watching him, huh?)



I don't like to play favorites, but I really love love love this one! Though the base color of each tier is fondant, all of the decorations are made from modelling chocolate. Now, I have only made modelling chocolate once before and it was a total disaster. I really didn't understand how anyone could use the stuff, let alone love it. But I kept reading and hearing how wonderful it was, so I watched someone make it on YouTube and tried again. As it turns out, all those lovers of modelling chocolate were right! And I had just mixed it a little too long on my first attempt, turning it into a broken, oily mess. This time, with the proper tips, it turned out beautifully and really was great to work with. For a recipe and tips, just search for Lauren Kitchens on YouTube and watch her own video on making modelling chocolate. She also has a great class on Craftsy.com if you want to learn even more.

Back to my cake! :)



The bottom tier is 8 inches around and nearly 5 inches tall, a little taller than I usually make my tiers. I found a pattern online that I liked (brackets stacked on top of each other) and turned it into a template. I sized the template so that it was the exact height of this tier and would repeat evenly without overlapping. So, I had a template for one panel and would need to repeat that panel 7 times to cover the entire tier. Once that was done, I copied it and cut out just one of the brackets. I took that little paper bracket and covered it on both sides with packing tape, or "poor man's lamination" as I've heard it called. That kept the bracket from sticking when I used it to hand-cut all the brackets used on the cake. I was also able to wipe it down afterwards and keep it to use in the future. Hand-cutting the brackets individually was definitely a time-consuming process, but worth it in the end!

To make the colors and create the ombre effect, I started by making two colors of modelling chocolate: white (or off-white in this case) and yellow. I just used Wilton candy melts because they are easy to use and I had them on hand. Once those two colors were prepared, I took about a quarter of each color and mixed it together. That gave me a lighter yellow. I needed five colors in all for the five brackets in my template, so I continued blending the colors by taking some of the original yellow and mixing it with the new middle color to get the fourth shade and by taking some of the original white and mixing it with the middle color to get the fifth shade. This leaves you with a perfectly subtle graduation of colors from bright yellow to white. I then cut out all the brackets and left them to dry a bit on the counter. One of the nice things about modelling chocolate is that it doesn't dry out like fondant does, so you can take a little more time with the overall design. You could do this design using fondant, but you wouldn't want to let the fondant sit out or it would lose the flexibility it needs to mold onto the curve of the cake. To get all the brackets on the cake, I used my template and Jessica Harris' wax paper transfer method. She teaches it on her blog and in her new Craftsy.com class, which I highly recommend! Her method worked so well for this design!



For the top tier, I did just a simple little band with a bow in the bright yellow color I started with. The flower on the top is also modelling chocolate in that same bright yellow with a white center. I think I will be using these flowers a lot more often. They are so easy and require no drying time at all. The modelling chocolate petals will hold their shape right away and can be joined together by simply warming the ends with your fingers and pressing them all together. (You could also use melted chocolate, which may work better with a larger flower.)



I hope you liked this cake as much as I did! There are so many more detailed instructions I could give, but perhaps I'll save those for another time. Or this post would have no end!

Until then, here is a slice of the top tier for you. Lightly lemon cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Delish! I would have saved some of the bottom tier for you, too, but we were hungry! That one was chocolate cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. So good! Enjoy!

Spring Has Sprung

Hello!

That title is wishful thinking for me. Spring has not made it here quite yet, though I am wishing hard for it! Maybe soon it will be here. And maybe I can help it along with this cheerful little cake.

I recently saw a clutch on Pinterest with cute little folded circles on it. I immediately thought of cake and fondant circles. This week, I had the opportunity to try it out and I love how it looks!

I so wanted to post the inspiration picture here, but in my non-tech-savviness I cannot figure out how to do it. But I can give you the link! I do hope you take a look! Click here to see the inspiration for this cake! Here is the direct link to the blog post where I found the picture. Go and visit and show her some love too! And if any of you sew, she has some really fantastic ideas!

Now, back to the cake.




I wanted to use spring colors and my kids helped me to choose. We decided on green for the main color and a peek of yellow and orange in the circles, though in the pictures it looks all yellow. Of course, you could do this in any color combination or design.

To make the design, roll out some green fondant pretty thin and cut out all the circles. This design, including the little flower in the top of the cake, used 18 circles and a 1.5-inch round cutter. Cover them all with saran wrap to keep them from drying out while marbling some orange and yellow fondant. Use big pieces of each color and don't knead them together very much at all because they will just blend more when you roll it out. You can see from mine, above, that by the time I was finished with them, the orange had nearly disappeared. Roll and cut the marbled fondant just like the green, creating 18 new circles. Next, place the marbled fondant circles on top of the green fondant circles, sticking them together with a brush of vodka. Roll each one just a little to bond them together. Make sure to keep the rest covered so they won't dry out. The rolling will stretch out the circle a bit, so cut a new one with the same cutter and smooth the edges with your finger. Immediately fold over the top part of the circle on each side to make a little roll at the top with the bottom flared open. Seal the fold with a bit of vodka and press lightly but don't flatten it altogether. Place them on the cake beginning with the lowest line. Cover the pinched tops with the next row of circles. The pinched tops of the upper row can be covered with a strip of fondant.

For the flower on the top, Place six of the folded circles together with the flared ends facing out and cover the center pinched ends with tiny balls of fondant bunched together to look like a flower's center.



This cake was just for my family, so it is pretty small (6 inches). It is lightly lemon cake with strawberry jam and strawberry swiss meringue buttercream filling. I covered the cake in swiss meringue and then in fondant.

The whole time I was planning and working on this cake, I had in mind the inspiration that I linked to above. When I was nearing the end, it finally dawned on me that these little rolled circles were shaped just like calla lillies! There is nothing new in the world, huh? Well, I think this is a new spin on the calla lilly shape. I hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!