Just finished one more of the “old” tutorial updates. This time it was for the cupcake flower, that many have asked about the past years. It is my all time favourite and I really like it together with the swirly blue cupcakes.

I have two more tutorial updates on my list that I am working on and you are proberly wondering by now, what’s up with all this tutorial updating? Well I cant tell you yet, but hopefully very very soon. All I can say, is that it will be super sweet and I am sure that you all are going to love it

Happy Caking!

Louise

As a follow up to the questions about the ribbon bow that was on my Valentine’s cake. Have I made a tutorial on how to make a ribbon bow for your cake. Remember to prepair your cake for the ribbon, by getting a nice and straight crumb coat -before the fondant cover. A side scraber is a great tool to use for that.

This is what I use:
Ribbon
Measuring tape
Scissors
Piping gel
Small brush
Double sided tape
And of course a cake.
Step 1:
Measure around the cake and add 1/2″ extra, so that the ribbon can overlap. Cut the lenght of ribbon that you will be needing.

Step 2:
Brush a thin coat of piping gel around the base of the cake. Let the piping gel dry until just slightly tacky.

Step 3:
Add the ribbon around the cake and make sure that it is all smooth. Brush a little piping gel on one of the ribbon ends and “close” by overlapping.
Note: I prefere to have the overlap at the “back” of the cake.

Step 4:
Find out how big you want the bow loops to be and cut a piece of ribbon in the desired lenght. Place a small piece of double sided tape in the center and fold in the ribbons.

Step 5:
Add another piece of double sided tape in the center of the bow. Cut a small piece of ribbon just long enough to go around the middle of the bow. Fold in the ends nicely.

Step 6:
Fasten the ribbon bow at the front of the cake with a small piece of double sided tape and you’re done.

Step 7:
If you want to make a double bow. Just cut an extra piece of ribbon at step 4 Make sure that it is a little longer than the first piece of ribbon.

Happy Caking!

Louise

I just wanted to let you all know that I am working on updating the tutorials. So far I have updated two of my tutorials with new photos and a little text editing:

How to decorate cookies with rolled fondant
How to make a turtle cake topper

Whenever Im not making new cakes or work on new tutorials, I will be updating the “old” as I go. For those of you who are new to my site, please do make sure that you visit my tutorial page. There are a lot of great things to learn.

Happy Caking!

Louise

I have received many requests on the race car cake toppers that was on my sons birthday cake last year. So here is my tutorial on how to make a race car cake topper.
It is made out of gum paste, but I have used store bought black rolled fondant for the wheels and the helmet.

TIP:
The “body” of the race car, starts with a smooth round ball!

This is what I use:
White gum paste
Black rolled fondant
Small amount of white rolled fondant
Gel paste color
Rolling pin
Cake smoothers
Tylo glue
Cornstarch (to prevent the fondant from sticking to your work board)
Small knife
Piping tips or small circle cutters in various sizes
Small paint brush
Ball tool (JEM)
Strip cutter (JEM) If you dont have a strip cutter, then you can use a ruler.
1 small plastic bag (not showing on the photo)

Step 1:
Start coloring the gum paste in your chosen color. Roll the “ball” into a cone, making sure that you keep one of the ends a little thicker (and the other end a little thinner). I try to keep the lenght of the race car to about 3″ (8cm).

Step 2:
Flatten the sides of the race car, using a pair of cake smoothers. Place the car inside a plastic bag and set aside. This will preventing it from drying out.

Step 3:
Roll out some gum paste about 2mm in the same color as the race car. Cut out the spoiler with the small knife. I cut out mine by hand, but you can of course use a ruler if you like. Make sure that the spoiler is a little wider than the race car. Set aside to dry completely.
TIP! Make extra spoilers. If the first one should break.

Step 4:
Roll out some of the black rolled fondant about 5mm thick. Find 2 different sizes of piping tips or circle cutters and cut out 2 large and 2 small pair of wheels. I have used round piping tips to emboss the center of the wheels. Set aside to dry.

Step 5:
Take some white rolled fondant and roll it out thinly. Use the strip cutter or a ruler to cut out 1 fondant strip.
Note: Do not cut out the fondant circle before step 9

Step 6:
Take out the race car from the plastic bag. Brush a very thin coat of tylo glue on the back of the white strip and attach it down the middle of the race car. Trimming of any excess of the fondant strip with the knife. Use the ball tool and make an indentation in the middle of the car, where the “driver” will be sitting.

Step 7:
Take a little black rolled fondant and roll it into a little ball/helmet. Make sure that it fits into the indentation of the race car. Brush a little glue and place the ball/helmet in the indentation. Cut a small strip of white fondant for the face shield and glue it on the ball/helmet. Set a side to dry.

Step 8:
When the wheels are almost dry, glue them on the race car with tylo glue. Small wheels at the front and large wheels at the back.

Step 9:
Roll two small oblong balls and glue them on each side on the white fondant stripe on the back of the race car. Brush again a very thin coat of glue and carefully attach the spoiler. Finish off by cutting out a small circle out of white rolled fondant and glue it on the front of the car.
TIP! It is easier to write the number of the race car, when the white fondant is all dry!

You now have a race car cake topper!

Happy Caking!

Louise

In this tutorial I want to show you how to make a five petal fantasy flower. The flower is inspired by a pink flower broche that I have. You are welcome to change the color for the flower, so that it match your color scheme.

Remember that the flower stamens are inedible, so you need to remove the flower before cutting the cake.

This is what I use:
Drinking glass
Foil
Foam pad
Ball tool
Rolling pin
Cornstarch
Five petal cutters in following sizes: 35mm, 80mm, 110mm
(Easy rose cutters 80mm + 110mm from JEM) (35mm/1 1/4″ any five petal cutter can be used)
Gum paste
Pink food gel color (optional)
Pearl & pink luster dust (optional)
15-20 white flower stamens (small round headed)
White non-parelis
Tylo glue
Small firm brush for the tylo glue
Small soft brush for the luster dust
Pair of tweezers
pair of scissors
Small pieces of foam
Paper towel
Flower former:
Start by covering the glass with double layers of foil, like shown on the photo. Dust it with a little cornstarch, so that the flower wont stick to the foil.

Step 1:
Color some of the gum paste pink with the food gel color and roll out the gum paste thinly. Cut out the first layer of the flower, using the large five petal cutter (110mm). Place the flower on the foam pad and thin the edges of the flower with the ball tool. Dust the tin foil with a littel cornstarch before placing the large flower on the tin foil “cup”. Shape the petals with your fingers and place small pieces of foam to keep them in place.

Step 2:
Take some white gum paste, again roll it out thinly and this time use the medium five petal cutter (80mm). Cut out the second layer for the flower, and place it on the foam pad. Thin the edges of the flower with the ball tool. Place the cut out flower on a piece of paper towel and brush the white flower, with white luster dust.

Step 3:
Brush a thin layer of tylo glue in the middle of the pink flower.

Step 4:
Place the white flower on top of the pink flower. Again shape the petals with your fingers and place small pieces of foam, to keep the petals in place while drying.

Step 5:
Roll out some pink gum paste thinly, and cut out the last petal for the fantasy flower with the small petal cutter (35mm). Thin the edges with the ball tool and glue it in the middle of the white flower with tylo glue. You can use the end of a paint brush to lift up the small petals. I dont use any foam pieces to keep the small petals in place here.

Step 6:
Take some white gum paste, make a small ball, that match the center of the flower and flatten it slightly. Brush the top of the ball with tylo glue and dip it into the white non-parelis. Secure the ball with tylo glue in the middle of the pink flower. Let the flower dry for 1 hour before you continue.

Step 7:
Take some small round headed white flower stamens and cut them a little shorter. Push in the flower stamens all the way around the edge of center with a pair of tweezers. Finish the flower by adding a little pink luster dust in the the center. Let the flower dry until firm, about 1-3 days. Remember to remove the small pieces of foam, when the flower is dry.

Tip!
You can also make smaller or larger flowers by using various sizes of five petal cutters, than the ones used for this tutorial.

Happy Caking!

Louise

This is the last part of my little “cupcake decorating school”. The final part is about how I pipe my swirls on my cupcakes. Not saying that this is the “right” way, but it is the way that works the best for me. There are many different types of swirls to pipe on cupcakes. Often does the final result, depend on what type of decorating tip that you are using.
Please see Cupcake decorating part 1 where I write about the decorating tips.

If you are new on how to pipe swirls on cupcakes or simply just want to perfecting your swirl techniques. Practice is the only way to do it. With some cupcakes and a batch of buttercream you can pipe swirls, scrape off the buttercream and start over again (of course re-using the buttercream)

I have built up the swirl in three parts, to make it more easy to see and hopefully understand So here goes:

Step 1:
I have used a star tip with a 11mm opening and filled the pipingbag with Italian Meringue Buttercream. I always start at the center of the cupcake (holding the bag at a 90 degree angle). Move the pipingbag to the right and go anticlockwise. While piping its important that you make sure to lift the tip slightly or it will ruin the star pattern while you pipe. Pipe close to the cupcake paper edge.

Tip: You can make a more flat swirl by finishing at the center again. Going only 1 round.

Step 2:
After a whole round, pipe a new round on top of the first.

Step 3:
Pipe the final round and finish in the center again. Gently pull back the piping tip.

The next photo shows the “built up” swirl to the left and the “real” swirl to the right, that is piped in one go.

Use the same technique for the mini cupcakes, only piping two rounds. I have used a smaller star tip (9mm)

Remember that practice makes perfect. I can sometimes pipe 10 bad swirls, before I am happy with the results

For those who love the “Wilton roses”. Try this special cupcake flowernail as a helper to pipe the flowers on the cupcake.

If you like to read the other parts about my cupcake decorating, you can find them here:
Cupcake decorating part 1
Cupcake decorating part 2
Cupcake decorating part 3

Happy Caking

Louise!

I got a few request on how to make a quick mini rose like the ones on the photo. They are super easy to do and even kids can make them.
The equipment is only:
Colored rolled fondant or gum paste
Small knife
Small leaf cutter
You make the quick mini roses in the palm of your hand, so remember to use some cornstarch on your hands, to prevent the roses from sticking.
Step 1:
Take a small amount of fondant and roll it into a ball and then roll it into a little sausage.
The amount of fondant determine the size of your mini rose. I like to go with a hazelnut or pea size when I make them.

Step 2:
Flatten the sausage with your fingers. Dont make it to flat and thinly. Use your forefinger and roll it into a little rose.
At this point you could use a rolling pin, but I find that this can change the look of the mini rose. Thats why I just flatten it with my fingers.

Step 3:
Cut any excess fondant of the mini rose with a knife, if needed.

To make the small leafs: Take some green rolled fondant. Cut out a small circle with the wide end of a piping tip. Now with the tip cut off small bits of the green circle. Pinch one of the ends and you have a small leaf.

Happy Caking!

Louise

The waiting is over as I am here with my cupcake decorating part 3. My first thought was that this would be the last of my little personal good to know about (my) cupcakes posts. But as this is all about buttercream domes and fondant discs, I have decided to make an extra part 4 with focus on the swirls. I hope you done mind that?

Previous posts part 1 & 2:
Cupcake decorating part 1
Cupcake decorating part 2

So today’s post is about how you can turn a “flat” cupcake into a pretty domed cupcake perfect for a fondant disc. If you dont like a buttercream dome, you could then bake some cupcakes using the great vanilla cupcake recipe that will make a beautiful dome and the need for buttercream is very small, if you want to decorate with a fondant disc.

You can of course substitute the buttercream with a chocolate ganache. Only make sure that you use 1 part cream and 2 parts of chocolate, as this ratio sets perfectly overnight without the need for refrigerating (btw, I got the tip from this excellent dvd). You will have to chill the buttercream dome, to decorate it with fondant. But we’re not talking about hours of refrigerating as this can make the cupcakes dry, but it will make the fondant part much more easy and less messy. I hope that the next steps will help you how to do it. Again it is all about practice.

How to make a buttercream dome.

Step 1:

The only tool you will need to make a buttercream dome is an offset spatular and of course some buttercream or chocolate ganache. Take your cupcake and a small amount of buttercream on your offset spatular. Apply it to the cupcake like I have on the photo. Make sure that you have your bowl of buttercream close to you, because you may add and remove buttercream as you go.

Step 2:

Go anti-clockwise with your spatular, while you are building up a short top of buttercream, but do not go all the way out to the paper case. It do not need it to be very smooth at this point, as you will need to add 1 more thin layer of buttercream. Try and keep the paper case clean from the buttercream. Place the cupcake in the refrigerator and start with the next cupcake. By the time you have made 3-4 cupcakes, the first one should be firm and ready for the final layer.

Step 3:

Apply the last thin layer of buttercream. Here you apply buttercream all the way to the paper case. Then chill again and with a warm spatular smooth the buttercream dome. Depending on how many cupcakes your are making, place the cupcake back in the refrigerator until you are ready to decorate with the fondant top.

Ok, so now you should hopefully have made some nice buttercream domes on your cupcakes and they are now ready for the fondant discs. I show it here with embossed fondant, but you can of course skip the embossing and just cut out the discs.

Decorating cupcakes with rolled fondant.

Step 1:

Roll out your fondant (3-4mm thick) and try to roll it out so that you can cut out more fondant discs at a time. Dust some cornstarch on your work area, take your embosser and dip it in the cornstarch. Then tap the embosser to get rid of excess cornstarch.

Step 2:

Now take your embosser and emboss the fondant randomly over the entire piece of fondant. Be careful not to cut right through the fondant with the embosser. If there are any white cornstarch dust on the embossed piece of fondant. Then use a brush to remove it.

Step 3:

Take a round cookie cutter (3 1/16″ -78mm. This works for me) and cut out the round fondant discs. Store the rest in a plastic bag, to prevent them from drying out.

Step 4:

Now take the top between your fingers and carefully pull and stretch the discs a little.

Take a cupcake and place it on top of the buttercream dome. Gently smooth out any pleats with the palm of your hand and your cupcake is finished.

Step 5:

If you should wonder how much buttercream there is under the fondant disc then here is a “cut through” photo.

Happy Caking!

Louise

I am ready with cupcake decorating part 2 and this is all about my favourite cupcake recipes.

Let us start with the cupcakes that I have received most questions about, the pink cupcakes below. It is all about the dome.

My best way to get a dome on cupcakes is not to cream the butter and the sugar, but to whisk the eggs and sugar and melting the butter with the milk, thats about it. Of course this method will change the texture of the cupcake to a more light and airy cupcake, but if the cupcake is going to be dipped in poured fondant this method is perfect.

That means, that with one recipe I can get “two” kinds of cupcakes. So what recipe is it then? It is the great vanilla cupcake recipe  from Joy of Baking, a fantastic baking site with many great cake and cupcake recipes btw. Other cupcake recipes can of course also make great domes but when it comes to poured fondant, vanilla cupcakes is my fave to choose.

So let me show you how this recipe works. First line a cupcake (muffin) pan with cupcake paper cases. Here I have used the “wonder” cupcake paper cases which are a bit higher than the more common ones. This also means that it takes a bit more batter, so you may only end up with 9 or 10 cupcakes instead of the normal 12 cupcakes.

Domed vanilla cupcakes:

1. Warm the milk with the butter so that the butter melts and set aside to cool down if too hot.

2. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy with the electric handheld mixer. Be careful not to whisk for too long as this can give to many air bubbles.

3. Mix in the milk and butter mixture.

4. Add the dry ingrediens and mix it all just until smooth and with no flour lumps.

This batter is more liquide, so I transfer the batter into a pitcher and pour it in to the paper cases. You can use a spoon to catch any batter drips there may come. Normally I would fill my paper cases 3/4 full with batter. If you only fill 3/4 with this vanilla recipe (egg & sugar), it will still make a nice little dome. But here I have added a little more batter about 2-3 tsp extra. This gives me, a higher dome and the cupcake rise as close as it can to the top of the paper cases. This also makes it easier to get a nice cover with the poured fondant. Place the cupcake (muffin) pan in the middle of the oven and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

This is how they looked today when I baked them…..Beautiful right? (I know that ovens can vary and some gets good results and some not. I can of course not promise that you will get high domes, but I do hope that you will be lucky).

During baking there can be some “vulcanos” in between, but that can easy be fixed the minute you take them out of the oven, by simply smoothing the cupcakes with the back of a spoon. This can also happen with the “original” method.

Just to show how nice they dome I have sliced two of them. The one on the left is the “egg & sugar” and the one on the right is the “butter & sugar”. By looking there may not be the big difference but in taste there is as the right ones are more moist. Remember that these cupcakes are best on the day they are baked. I ve stored them for 1 day and they will get a little sticky on the top, but still ok in taste. If you need to store them longer I would brush them lightly with a sugar syrup.

Other favourite cupcake recipes:

banana cupcakes

One bowl chocolate cupcakes

One last note: For more firm batter a ice cream scooper (size 16), is a perfect tool to scoop the batter into the cupcake paper cases and less messy.

Happy Caking

Louise

Over the last few days I have been preparing at little cupcake decorating guide to show you a little more on how I make my cupcakes. What cupcake tools I like to use, favourite cupcake recipes, how I build up a buttercream dome, so that I can decorate my cupcakes with rolled fondant and how I pipe my buttercream swirls.

You’ll never know, it could all end up with a little cupcake give away So let us begin with my favourite cupcake tools.

Cupcake pans:

I mostly use a regular standard sized cupcake (muffin) pan and a mini cupcake (muffin) pan to bake my cupcakes in. When I bake cupcakes I only have 1 pan in the oven at a time, except with the mini pans where I can can bake 24 in one go.

Cupcake paper cases:

One thing that I dont like when I bake cupcakes is the paper cases that look greasy and translucent after baking. A lot of paper cases does that So I was happy when I found a brand that makes greaseproof paper cases and that even keeps the color after baking. I think that it is the best cupcake paper case ever! They are also a little higher than the paper cases you usually buy (50mm base x 35mm wall (2″ x 1 3/8″). They come in pretty rainbow colors, polka dots and other patterns.

Note: The mini cupcake paper cases are just some regular ones, and not the greaseproof ones.

You can get the “wonder” paper cases here:
Australia
England
America

Of course if you cant get your hands on the paper cases you can always wrap your cupcakes in stylish cupcake wraps to cover up any “blemishes”.

Pastry tips & more:

To make those large swirls on my cupcakes I use large pastry tips. Many use the Wilton 1M tip, but I like those really large tips that is best used with a disposal piping bag. I got my pastry tips from a professional bakery supply store here in Denmark. But after browsing online for such large pastry tips, Ateco should be the brand to look for if you want really large pastry tips.

Now I have not tried the large pastry tips from Ateco yet, but I would really love to try them out one day. You should try and look for these large pastry tips below next time you are out shopping for cake supplies:

Open star:
# 827
# 828
# 829

Closed star:
# 847
# 848
# 849

French/fine star:
# 867
# 868
# 869

Round:
# 807
# 808
# 809

Another little tool that I like to use is my small offset spatular, that I use when I am making buttercream domes for rolled fondant covered cupcakes. But more about that in another post

Happy Caking

Louise