Disney Princess Cupcakes

So I have finally gotten around to uploading some photos of my last cake order in Korea.  I have since had requests for more orders but *sob* *sob* I have been unable to take any of them on.  Please see my previous post for some ideas for other places to buy some cupcakes off the counter.
 
It had to happen some time.  I have always loved Disney cartoons and had always wondered at the creative genius behind the marketing person who dreamed up marketing the Disney Princesses as a product by itself.  So when I got the request for Disney Princess inspired cupcakes... YAY!

I wasn't sure I'd do a good job making the Disney Princesses with gumpaste and figured they will look prettier if it was the actual figurines themselves and R who ordered these cupcakes for her daughter's 3rd birthday liked the Princess cupcakes I made a few months ago so requested for something like that.  We spun a lot of ideas and finally decided on a customised cake/dessert stand so we can put the smash cake on top, R had a good idea of standard sized cupcakes and mini ones to break up the symetry a bit and have the frosting in Disney Princess colours.

I got the idea for the cake stand from Cake Journal who has a good tutorial on how to make your own.  I had to get some of the material from Malaysia (the cake boards) as I could not find good thick round ones here.  I got cake dummies as base for the tiers.  These were made from styrofoam and you can buy them from Wilton Deco.  I managed to get wrapping paper that went well with the frosting colours too.

R chose Strawberry for half the mini cupcakes, Rose flavour for the standard cupcakes and Mud Chocolate for the cake and the other half of the mini cupcakes.  The designs for the cupcakes may have been simple but the colours made them so appealing!  I created a special design with 3 hearts on top of the cake so R could put 3 Disney Princess figurines on top whch would have completed the look but she didn't in the end as she was afraid she would ruin the cake.  ^_^   I heard the party was fabulous and the birthday girl had a great time.

The cake stand was customised to compliment the colours of the icing.  I got the idea to make a cake stand from Cake Journal.  I  decided against using a single coloured paper to make it a little more fun.  Look under Cake Journal's tutorials to learn how to make it, I can't add the link here as the site is temporarily down.

These are the mini strawberry cupcakes freshly frosted and topped with a sugarpaste flower.

Standard sized cupcakes with super pink frosting topped with a sugarpaste butterfly lovingly brushed with petal dust and sprinkled with sugar pearls.

These butterflies were quite easy to make with a plunger cutter.  Dusting it reminded me of art class when I was in school.

The finished cupcakes all packed and ready to go.

The cake stand with the top base missing as that would be assembled on site.

The finished product.  The Disney Princesses are to stand on top of the hearts on the smash cake.

How to Cover Cookies with Fondant

This year was the first time I celebrated Halloween.  It was never a celebrated holiday in Malaysia or other parts of Asia and neither was it a popular holiday in the UK, countries which I spent some time in.  So I never really had the opportunity to celebrate it.  When I was young, I read about it in Archie comics and of course there was TV later.

Well this year my family was invited to a Halloween party and as it was potluck we were all encouraged to bring something.  I decided to make some Bat Cookies.  I used sugar cookies as a base and thought it might be easier to cover them with fondant instead of messing around with Royal Icing.  I hadn't tried flooding or decorating cookies with royal icing before so thought I'd wait for another time to experiment.

You will need:

Ingredients for Sugar Cookies. (recipe) 

Skewer/Thin dowels

Fondant

First soak your skewers in water for half an hour to ensure that it doesn't burn when you put it in the oven.  After soaking, dry it a bit so you won't have water dripping everywhere when you insert it into the cookie.  I've done it without soaking the skewer before with no problems, but if you're concerned, the soaking helps.  You aren't baking the cookie for more than 12 minutes anyway.

Follow the recipe and roll out your cookie dough to about 2/3 cm thick.  You don't want it too thin as the dough will split when you insert the skewer.  The cookies were quite small so I used skewers instead of the thin dowels that you can get at the baking market or some supermarkets.  If the dough is too soft and won't hold it's shape, put it in the fridge and chill for 10 minutes and then try again.

Using your cookie cutter, cut out the shapes.  Once you have pressed the cookie cutter down, try gently aggitating the cutter a little by moving it side to side or back and forth while pressing it firmly down onto the surface of your work table. This will help neaten the edges when you remove it from the cutter.

Next, gently insert the skewer through the center of the cookie, using your finger to feel it through to make sure it doesn't go in crooked and the skewer appearing at the back of the cookie.  I'm a bit particular about these things so if I screw up, I tend to start over with a new cutout.

Next place onto the baking tray that has been lined with a baking sheet and bake according to the instructions.  Make sure you leave at least 2cm of space between the cookies as they do expand a little bit.  Once they are done, cool on wire racks.  Now you need to prepare the fondant.

Knead your fondant to soften it and then mix the colour of your choice.  We can start assembling the cookie now.  Fondant dries quite easily and hardens when exposed to air.  It's best to use the fondant in small portions and wrap the rest in cling film and then put it in an air tight tupperware or zip lock bag.  Using a small portion, roll it out with a rolling pin for fondant (you only need the small one for this) and using the same cookie cutter, cut out the shape.  Don't aggitate the fondant this time like you did with the dough.  Peel it off slowly from the cutter or the table and shape the edges so it's neat.  Next, you can do one of two things.

You can either use a small brush and brush some water onto the fondant then placing it on top of the cookie OR you can use some edible glue like Tylo (CMC + water) and brush it lightly onto the surface of the cookie and place the fondant on top.  Both works fine although of course the Tylo gives a more secure hold and it is easier to brush the glue on the cookie than brushing the water on the fondant which is more wieldy.

Press the edges of the fondant outwards onto the cookie to get a nice neat finish.  For my bat cookies, I added some 100's and 1000's for the eyes which were really a handful to do as they were so tiny and hard to get onto the fondant.  I didn't have time to make some royal icing otherwise it would have looked cooler if I drew in the mouth and teeth and wings.  Have fun!

Add a little ribbon for a finishing touch.  More Halloweenish.

How to Make a Customised Cake Board

First of all I am going to apologise for the lack of pictures accompanying this tutorial. I know it's always more helpful with pictures but this time I didn't know that I was going to post about it until it was done. Doh! If I make it again and have my camera handy, this post will be more colourful.

You start off with wrapping the cake board in a wrapping paper of your choice. Wrapping paper will be a good enough thickness to cover whatever colours are on your cake board. Be sure to put (paste) glue on top of the cake board before you wrap it, not just glue the ends down. This is to ensure that when you poke the holes (later) for the toothpicks, the paper doesn't come away from the board.

Next, measure out how many cupcake liners you plan to place on the board. I was making it for 36 mini cupcakes so, or me it was 6 down and 6 across so after placing one row, I use a marker to dot where the centre of the liner ought to be. Remember, the paper liners will be narrower at the rim after you put them in the baking tray, so you might want to make the spacing between the cupcakes narrower if you don't want a gap between them.

After you mark the centre, take a small phillips screwdriver and poke holes into the marked spot making sure you don't push too hard into the board and end up making a hole in your table as well. Next get your hot glue gun and a box of toothpicks out. Measure the toothpick so that the top of the toothpick after the bottom is inserted into the cake board, does not stick up beyond the top of the liner. Put a small drop of glue on the blunt end of the toothpick then insert it into the hole. Do the same for the rest of the marks and at the end of it you have a mini version of the Viet Cong's death trap as seen in Rambo.

When the cupcakes have been frosted, gently push them onto the toothpicks. Simple and beautiful.

How to Make a Successful Sponge Cake?

This is a follow up to my previous post about baking sponges and the landmines that are associated with it.  Ok, maybe "landmines" is too strong a word but a lot of things can go wrong.  I have since learned 2 other ways to bake sponge cakes from my Wilton instructor (see my other blog on My Cake Decorating Journal here) Korean style.  I found this article that attempts to dispel the myths for successfully baking a light and airy sponge cake every time particularly useful.

Source: Pamela Clark and Fran Abdallaoui, Australian Women's Weekly

There seems to be a myth surrounding the sponge cake - little wonder so many of us are daunted by the thought of baking one.  Yet a bit of practice, know-how and a few basic rules will help you master the art in no time.

Sponge cakes rely on eggs for their lightness and structure, so very fresh, good eggs on low speed and, as they thicken, increase the speed to moderately high.  Add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, scraping down the sides occasionally to avoid any undissolved sugar.  This ste requires patience as it may take about 10 minutes to incorporate all the sugar.

Although only experience will teach you the best way to fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, there are a few tricks to it.  Start by sifting the dry ingredients three times to ensure the mixture is evenly combines.  Using a large metal spoon, rubber spatula, balloon whisk or even your hands, apply a light, deft stroke to lift the egg mixture from the bottom of the bowl and drag the dry ingredients thought hte egg mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl.

Deep cake pans give the best results as the depth of the pan protects the delicate sponge mixture, preventing a crisp crust from developing.  Aluminium pans conduct heat better than other types of pans.  Give your pan a light, even greasing with a pastry brush dipped in melted butter to keep the cake from sticking and achieve even browning.  When you are dividing the mixture between the pans, gently spread it to the edge as the mixture will not spread in the oven.  As a general rule, sponges cook best when the tops of the pans are in the centre of the oven.  If you are baking two sponges on different shelves, you will need to swap their positions halfway through the cooking time to ensure even cooking.  As long as you move quickly and handle the pans carefully, you should still achieve good results.

Opening the oven door does decrease the temperature, but will only affect the cake's rising if you do this during the early stages of cooking.  The sponge is cooked when it begins to shrink away from the side of the pan and feels slightly springy to the touch.  Sponges are best made ont he day of serving.  Unfilles sponges can be frozen for up to one month. 

Follow these tips and soon you'll be whiskcing up light and airy sponges that are 10 centimetres high.

How to Make Self Raising Flour

There will be moments in every baker's experience when they realise they are lacking one crucial ingredient just when s/he is about to start baking. This has happened to me when it came to... flour. It's incredibly hard to find self raising flour here in Korea. Either that or I just don't know enough Korean to distinguish which is the right flour to buy. I can distinguish Cake Flour, Plain Flour and those specially for making Bread. I can get it at a foreign supermarket but just can't justify paying the premium for such a basic ingredient as flour.

So, here's a way to make your own. For every 1 cup of plain flour add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk the mixture together until well combined and then sift it at least once (twice will be better) and there you go... there's your self raising flour.

How to Make Chocolate Monograms

I had an order for cupcakes for a Bridal Shower for today and was really excited to design the cupcakes when I got the order. I will post about the Bridal Shower cupcakes later but here I'd like to show how easy it is to make your own Chocolate Monograms.

The Bridal Shower cupcakes had 3 designs and one of them I decided to use the couple's initials. The cupcakes were White Chocolate Mud Cakes so I chose white chocolate to make the monograms to compliment the flavour.

Here are the ingredients and tools you will need:
(Makes 15 monograms)
100g White Chocolate finely chopped
Gold Cachous/Dragees
Piping Bag
#6 Round Tip
Wax Paper
Template with Font of your choice
Craft Tweezers
Cellophane Tape

Get started
1. First decide on the type of font you want and then print them out to the desired size. Try to fit max 6 on an A4 paper so it gives you room to pipe without accidentally touching a finished one and messing it up.

2. Print out the template and cut out a wax paper in the same size. Place the wax paper over the template and tape it on the table so it doesn't move.


3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Make sure the water is just simmering and don't get any water into the chocolate otherwise the chocolate will seize. If that happens, you better have some extra chocolate handy 'cos you will have to start all over again.

4. Gently stir the chocolate to ensure that all the bits are melted then take it off the boiler. Stir again to smoothen it out then let it cool for about 3-5 minutes (depending on the room temperature). You want it cool enough so it doesn't burn when you put it into the piping bag but it is ok if it is just warm. You don't want to leave it out for too long because the chocolate will harden quite quickly once it cools to a certain temperature.

5. Insert the tip into the bag and fill it with the chocolate. Gently ease the chocolate down to the end with you fingers trying to massage a bit to get all the air pockets out. Air pockets are nasty things when you are piping. It could ruin a nice line that you are trying to achieve. Once that's done, twist the top a bit so the bag is taut and tie it with a rubber band or a sealing clip/peg (I get my clips from Ikea and they are really handy).

6. Depending on where you start on the letter, gently squeeze the chocolate out at a 45 degree angle to the paper. Now depending on how thick you want the letters, control the flow of the chocolate by how hard you are squeezing against how quickly you draw the chocolate. You don't want the chocolate to be too thin because it will be prone to cracking if it is not handled delicately. Add a bit of volume and it will make it a lot easier to handle.


7. After you finish drawing one sheet, then remove the tape that secures it to the table. Quickly slide it onto a flat plate or chopping board and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes for it to set. Then start on your next set with another wax paper.

8. Remove the monogram fromt the freezer after 10 minutes. To take it off the wax paper, slide the wax paper to the edge of the table and pull the wax paper downwards so it peels off the chocolate. Using a flat spatula, place it under the chocolate as you are pulling the wax paper down to support it. You should be able to remove the chocolate very easily.

9. Line a tupperware with a layer of wax paper and place the chocolate monogram in there and use wax paper to sandwich the chocolate monograms so they don't have a chance to stick together. You can keep the chocolate monograms in the fridge until they are ready to be used.

For my cupcakes, I covered the cupcake with pink frosting then drew a darker pink heart on the top to give the monograms a bit of a pedestal then placed it on top.


Easy peasy. Just be sure to keep them refrigerated until the last minute when you need to serve or display as the chocolate can melt quite quickly and just *blerb* lose its shape (see below) if it's hot out like it is now. Keeping it in an air conditioned room should keep its shape.