Making the world a little sweeter one pastry tip at at time.
Another gem of a cookbook found for $1.00 and this time it’s The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook from Southern Living. Published in 1983, this has everything from layer cakes, cakes where the main ingredients are fruits (like Blackberry Cake and Sweet Potato Pound Cake), old …read more
With the June wedding season in full swing and May just ending, all the mum tips are back in stock. This flower tip is one of the most popular on the site. Visit the etsy store or the Pastry Sampler shop for a wide range …read more
I’ve updated the ball tip listings on the Pastry Sampler shop and the Etsy store to show the top detail of the Ateco ball tips 272 and 273. They each have a cutout in the top center.
Request for wedding cake trends from HARO (Help a Reporter Out) – food related: The link isn’t active, you need to type in the query email directly. You can also sign up with HARO to have all reporter requests sent directly to you. They are …read more
I, along with the rest of the world, watched the Royal wedding and was eager to see the cake. The pictures didn’t disappoint, and the baker who created it (Claire Ptak) gives insight on the cake: lemon sponge and lemon curd filling with elderflower Swiss …read more
There are a million variations on making cake sequins, namely from cutting out and painting scraps of fondant or gum paste, or painting commercially made sprinkle sequins. But these all look the same, namely like metallic colored sugar paste circles. I sew, and the last Halloween costume I did for my daughter had me hand sewing about a hundred or so large sequins on her Greek goddess dress. They were thin, metallic, and had a gorgeous luminescence to them. If you are looking to add beautiful gold realistic looking sequins to your cake, you need to actually create them from scratch.
The video from Cakes for Show below shows how to make edible, realistic-looking gold sequins – paper thin, translucent and metallic – from just a little water, gelatin sheets and edible gold luster powder. I love love love this idea and can’t wait to create some in my kitchen from the many shades of luster powder just waiting to be played with in my cabinet.
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon edible gold luster
2 1/2 sheets of gelatin, cut up
In the top of a double boiler, stir the edible gold luster in the water, and then add the gelatin sheets to soften. Place the pan over barely simmering water to melt the gelatin. Carefully mix to avoid adding air bubbles to the gelatin liquid. Pour the metallic looking liquid onto a sheet of acetate (needs to be shiny here so avoid using another medium like parchment paper). Spread thin by holding one side and letting it run. Let the thin gelatin sheets dry overnight. Using a clean and food-safe paper cutter, cut out the sheets into desired sequin shapes and sizes. The scraps can be reheated and reused.
Here’s a step by step video on creating a solid multi-colored chocolate lace wrap with a floral design. Julia M. Usher created this video, and in it uses untempered couverture chocolate. The video is below. But first, here are some handy tips if you are …read more
Here’s a great tutorial on creating a simple fondant character face from Zoe and Zoe’s Fancy Cakes. Not only is the instruction clear and the face super cute, but her voice is perfect. I could literally listen to her all day long, I love her …read more
From BuzzFeed – 10 life changing baking hacks, for your rushed baking pleasure. +Renee SheltonTwitter: @121degreesCPastrySampler.com
