Simple Garden Cake

Garden Cake

Tint fondant as follows: 2 oz. each rose, yellow, violet; 4 oz. green. Use smallest Flower Cut Out to cut approximately 50 leaves, place on thin shaping foam and use veining tool  to impress veins in leaves. Let leaves dry on flower former dusted with cornstarch.

Divide cake into 4ths and position large flowers 1 1/4 in. from bottom edge. Place 2 smaller flowers on either side. Attach flowers with damp brush. For stems, roll green fondant into 1/8 in. thick ropes and attach to cake with damp brush. Roll 1/4 in. white fondant ball for center of small flower and 1/8 in. white fondant ball for center of large flowers (flatten balls for center of flowers) and attach with damp brush. Pipe tip 1 swirls on center balls. Attach leaves and stems to base of cake with damp brush.

4th of July Cupcake

Step 1

Bake cupcakes in Stars & Stripes or Patriotic Themed Standard Baking Cups and cool completely on Cooling Grid.



Step 2

Prepare Buttercream Icing recipe. Tint 1/3 of icing with Royal Blue Icing Color. Tint another 1/3 icing with Christmas Red Icing Color.



Step 3

For fireworks, pipe a ring of fringe around rim of cupcake with blue icing and Multi-Opening Decorating Tip 233. Using same tip, pipe a concentric circle with white icing. Finish by piping red icing fringe in the center and inserting a 4th of July Party Pick.

NY CAKE TOBA GARRETT

Toba Garrett

I have known Toba for at least 20 years. She is a wonderful person as well as a talented Cake Artist. Toba  is Master Chef-Instructor, Cake Decorating and Design at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She started this department more than 14 years ago, and now her classes are sold out months in advanced. I am pleased to announce that we will be having Toba teach at NY CAKE in the fall!!!

Here is an interview I had with her.

What is your favorite cake flavor?

It would have to be my hi-yield yellow cake recipe, followed closely by my chocolate fudge cake.



If you had to pick one favorite cake tool, what would it be?

My absolute favorite cake tool is the PME dogbone tool.





If you had to make a cake for anyone, who would it be?

The first lady, Mrs. Obama.





What was your worst cake disaster?

My worst cake disaster was a cake I did for a chef who did not like the look of the cake. It was actually for his son and daughter-in-law. They absolutely hated the look of the cake but loved the actual taste of the cake.





What is your favorite cake moment?

My first cake decorated in the Australian style of cake decorating.





Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Teaching a lot less and perhaps doing more traveling with teaching.



Where do you get inspiration?

From everywhere, such as fashion, movies, various building angles and scrolls, gilding and flowers.





What are the trends you are seeing?

Wedding cakes in different colors and shapes. Wedding cakes made up of cupcakes and wedding cakes that are theme oriented.



Give us a funny story?

At the beginning of my career as a cake artist, I was asked to make a “divorce cake”. The client wanted a hideous cake in black icing and decorated in the worst colors imaginable. The money was so tempting that I decided to do it. I imagined that she was planning on throwing it in her ex-husband’s face after her divorce!

The Quickeset Birthday Cake EVER.....

I had 45 minutes to assemble, frost & decorate a cake to take to my friend's house for MY SON! With 24 hours notice, I baked the cake in the morning and assembled it after work in record time. I am proud of the fact that I pulled it off! Thank goodness for icing images. I quickly frosted the cakes with buttercream and threw on edible icing images. The cake looked great in minutes! A quick shell border a few stars, placed an Elmo image on the top, Elmo picks, and happy birthday picks and voila! It isn't my greatest masterpiece but my quickest cake EVER! How could I NOT make my son's cake! Jake-my 2 year old son loved it! The kids and adults got a kick out of the fact that they could eat what they thought was paper. Working mother of 4 made her son's day special with  quick cake- Mission accomplished!

Buttercream Frosting Recipe Video

Take a look at my new video on About.com to learn a great recipe for Buttercream Frosting!

Mothers Day Buttercream Purse cake

  Buttercream Purse Cake -

This is a very pretty cake and very easy to do. All my Cake 1 Students -You can do this - no problem-make me proud!!

Make 4 1/4 cups buttercream icing:
Tint 1 1/4 cups light violet (thin 1 cup with 3 teaspoons light corn syrup)
Tint 1/4 cup dark violet
Tint 1/4 cup rose
Tint 1/2 cup green/yellow combination
Reserve 2 cups white (thin 1 1/4 cups with 3 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup)

Decorate in Order

1. Ice background area and sides smooth in thinned white icing.
2. Ice cake top and handle area smooth with thinned light violet icing.
3. Use tip 3 and light violet icing outline purse.
4. Use tip 5 and light violet icing to pipe dots on flap and edge of flap.
5. Use tip 2B and green/yellow combination icing pipe 7 stripes on cake top spacing approximately 3/4 in. apart.
6. Use tip 3 and rose icing to overpipe outlines on stripes
7. Use tip 5 and rose icing to outline and pipe-in medallion on flap.
8. Use tip 5 and dark violet icing to pipe balls at center and edge of medallion.
9. Use tip 3 and dark violet icing to outline handle.
10. Use tip 3 and dark violet icing to add zigzags between stripes.
11. Use tip 21 and white icing to add bottom star border.

Baking Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F or temperature per recipe directions. Your cake will unmold easily, without sticking, when you prepare the pan properly. Grease the inside of pan using a pastry brush and solid vegetable shortening (do not use butter, margarine or liquid vegetable oil). Spread the shortening so that all indentations are covered. Sprinkle about 2 Tablespoons flour inside pan and shake so that flour covers all greased surfaces. Turn pan upside down and tap lightly to remove excess flour. If any shiny spots remain, touch up with more shortening and flour to prevent cake from sticking. (You can use vegetable oil pan spray or vegetable oil pan spray with flour, in place of solid shortening and flour or use Wilton Cake Release, for perfect, crumb-free cakes!).

Make one 2-layer cake mix according to package or recipe directions. Pour the cake batter into pan, and if necessary, spread the batter around with a spatula to fill all areas of the pan evenly. Be careful not to touch sides or bottom of pan. Bake cake on middle rack of 350°F oven for 30-40 minutes or until cake tests done according to recipe directions.

Remove cake from oven and cool on cake rack for 10 minutes. While the cake is still in the pan, carefully slice off the raised center portion of the cake. This allows the cake to sit more level and helps prevent cracking. To remove cake from pan, place cooling rack against cake and turn both cake rack and pan over. Lift pan off carefully. Cool cake at least one hour. Brush loose crumbs off cake.

To transfer cake to serving board, hold a cake board against cake and turn both cake and rack over. Lift off rack. Hold another board against bottom of cake and turn cake over. Be sure to hold cake, rack and board close together while turning to prevent cake from cracking
 
Thanks to Wilton for this cake design.

Mothers Day Daisy Cake

Mother's Day is here . This is a very quick and easy cake to make. Just cover you cake in fondant. Using the Daisy plunger cutter, cut out daisies out of fondant. I  viened  each petal with a viening tool. Next I rolled some yellow fondant into a tiny ball and glued it to the daisy with gum glue. Let the flowers dry. Attach the daisies to the cake with some icing.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Diamonds are a girls best friend....

These Edible Sugar Diamonds are all the buzz....

There are absolutely stunning on cupcakes, cakes and cookies. There are available in a multitude of colors and shapes-rounds-diamond, oval and hearts. Top off your cupcakes and take them to a new class of sophistication! I LOVE THEM!-Jenny

What do you think?

Ten minutes with Chef Mary

Chef Mary A. Moy-Hochstetler

-Pastry Chef for Izzy's Ice Cream Cafe St. Paul, Minnesota

 

Mary Ann, a Minnesota native, began her adventure with food at the age of 14, working in the kitchens of local restaurants. She attended Culinary School after high school and later accepted several Pastry Chef positions. At the same time, Mary began her career as a Sugar Artist. Now, a professional competitor at various events, notably the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show and Ultimate Cake Off on TLC. Most recently, she was an adjunct instructor at OSU Institute of Technology Oklahoma in their culinary department. She later took on the position of Pastry Chef for D’Novo, LXI and The Grocer and the Gourmet Tulsa OK. Her cakes have been seen on Food Network and photographed for publication, including the February/March 2009 issue of Bride’s Magazine. Accolades include gold, silver, bronze and divisional placements. She has done two tutorials for American Cake decorating on tiered fondant cakes. You can read her newest column in Cake Central Magazine-Diary of a Pastry Chef!

Ten Minutes with Mary

What is your favorite cake flavor?

I actually do not eat that much cake which is no surprise! I am a sucker for chocolate cake though.....anything chocolate in all reality!! I always order dessert wherever I dine at.

If you had to pick one favorite cake tool, what would it be?

I have many favorite tools that are used all the time. My all time favorite is my Dewalt 18 volt drill. I use it all the time when building boards and such! They are bright yellow and match my bubbly personality! I wish they came in pink!

If you had to make a cake for anyone, who would it be?

I am looking forward to making my daughter's wedding cake someday. I have made every birthday cake with the exception of her ninth birthday. I was shooting Ultimate Cake Off  in Los Angeles and missed her birthday. I was more sad that I was not home than losing $10,000. She already has her birthday cake drawing for her birthday in July!

What was your worst cake disaster?

I have had only one real disaster in ten years. I deliver all my cakes assembled and I had a five tier square wedding cake in my SUV. I was lost for two hours in eighty degree heat when a car cut me off. I hit the breaks and saw the cake shift. Not in a good way.....The entire second tier cracked open. So, I loaded the cake on a cart and wheeled it into the freezer. It was iced in butter cream and was fixed by removing an entire tier of cake. The Bride did not notice, but the Mother of the Bride did according the venue. They never asked me about it.

What is your favorite cake moment?

I have so many cake moments. I am blessed to be a part of a couples most important day! The cake is the first thing people see and the last thing they eat. How could I not feel special? I usually get a call a year or two later for a baby shower cake! My favorite would be seeing my wedding cake on a full page for Brides Magazine. I was at the grocery store and about passed out!

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

I see myself hopefully doing what I love! I am a strong believer of following my heart. I was never made to sit in an office or be cooped up doing the same thing over and over! I love teaching! Maybe, retirement if I am lucky! But I would get bored :)

Where do you get inspiration?

I love a quote from Coco Chanel. It reminds me of cake "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

I see and think in cake all the time!

What are the trends you are seeing?

The bigger the better! When I do cake, the Bride is usually trying to out do her best friend! My clients are very close friends of mine. They honestly just let me roll with whatever vision I have. It is a lot of pressure! Because of this, I do not see many trends. I think the Cricut will be hot in wedding cakes though.

Give us a funny story?

If you have ever met me, you will discover I am very modest. I was at the Oklahoma State Sugar Art show and this teenage girl came up to me. She has been following my work for years. Who knew! She started flapping her hands in the air and crying. I did not know what to do! I looked at her and said "will you knock that off!" She started laughing and I signed her autograph book. I am just a Pastry Chef!

Chef Mary A. Moy-Hochstetler

Magical making with Sugar!

New York Cake East

We wrapped up this last weekend with a great turn out for our Magical Makings with Sugar with Chef Mary A. Moy-Hochstetler! On Friday we held an eight hour private class. The students created two projects. The first was a three tiered cake with an under water theme. The second was a small sugar showpiece with a butterfly.

The students learned the basics of cooking sugar to advanced bubble blowing. We had a blast just learning how to make sugar bubbles!

Finished bubbles!

These are all the casted sugar pieces for both projects! We cast them all in clear and then airbrushed them with color!

For most, it was a first experience ever working with Sugar! Chef Mary made the class easy for the beginner to come in and create these beautiful pieces. She provides all the materials and all you need to bring is yourself! You leave with two great projects and the knowledge you take away is amazing!

We also hosted a two hour demo class on Saturday that was loads of fun! The next class is already in the works and will only have ten spots open! Book early for a day filled with sugar!

Happy Baking!

~Lisa

An Alice in Wonderland Tea Party Cake

This was a cake that I was asked to do for Kids LA Magazine Spring 2010. The theme was a tea party with the Alice in Wonderland  motif to be incorporated. I made a topsy turvy cake thinking that this was the perfect twist since this new version seems to be a little bit of a twist as well. My son, Joey was a great help to me -watching the trailer and telling me what colors to use and what to incorporate. I decorated the cake with fondant in vibrant colors and  I also did a few cupcakes using red cupcake wrappers and polka dot cupcake wrappers. I just piped buttercream and placed fondant cut-outs. I was happy to see it turned out well for the shoot!

Jenny Kash

Popcorn Cupcakes

 
These popcorn cupcakes are a staple at my house. Whenever my sons friend, Jonah, comes over for a playdate, these tasty treats have to be on the table ready. Luckily they are super easy and quick to make. 


First, I bake the cupcakes and let them cool. I used a recipe from Martha Stewart Cupcakes. 

I use a cupcake sleeve with a popcorn motif, just peel of the adhesive sticker and wrap them around the cupcake.

Frost your cupcakes with white icing and dip in mini marshmallows.

I use yellow Jimmies to sprinkle on top of the cupcake to look like butter!!!!

Voila!!! You have popcorn cupcakes in minutes.

Sweet Baking!
Lisa