Tutorials — Page 25

Backpack Baking

February 21, 2013 by Jenn

For a while now, I’ve been trying to figure out how to combine our hiking adventures, and my love for baking into something that was more fluid. I’ve been doing cardio posts, spin routines, and outdoor activities for a while, but it seemed kind of disjointed, and without flow.

Well, Paul, being the internet guru that he is, found the perfect product for us! BEMCO’s Backpacker Oven! I do not claim to be an outdoor survivalist, or even know what half the gear I carry in my backpack does (Paul does, and I just carry it because he tells me to!), but this oven . . . I know what to do with it!! I love it. The first time we sat down, at the top of a mountain, on a cold, grey day and I got to bite into a warm muffin, was the best hiking event ever!

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Filed Under: Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: Backpack Baking, Backpack oven, Bemco Backpacker Ovens, MSR WhisperLite Stove, Outdoor baking

How To Make A Royal Icing Rose

February 14, 2013 by Jenn

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope you have had time to get your sugar high on with the one(s) you love!

Valentine’s for a cake decorator bring about many, many, many orders for flower decorated cakes . . . which is great if you love creating flowers- not so much if you don’t.

In my last post, How to Make a Royal Icing Ribbon Rose, I said that piping a ribbon rose is an act of pure relaxation.

But piping a traditional royal icing rose you ask? Not so much. It’s a little bit more difficult . . . you’ve got hand positioning issues, tip angle issues, and dread of it looking like a pine cone in the back of your mind!

Learning to pipe this royal icing flower is a little more work, but it is a fundamental when it comes to cake decorating. For some reason, people (ummm, of the older generation) LOVE to have roses on their cakes. This same technique is used for buttercream roses, so once you have the royal icing version of it mastered, you’re set for the buttercream as well!

What you need to make a Royal Icing Rose

A recipe for Royal Icing . . . find my instructional video here.

Petal Tip, I use Wilton #104

Round Tip, I use Wilton #12

Flower Nail…again, I use Wilton’s.

Parchment paper squares cut to 2″x 2″

Like I said above, angling the tip, and spacing the petals are the most tricky parts to this flower. Practice, practice, practice, and you will have it mastered! I am by no means a master at it . . . yet! But one day, I WILL CONQUER!

Filed Under: Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: royal icing, Royal Icing Rose

How to Make a Royal Icing Ribbon Rose

February 11, 2013 by Jenn

The act of piping a royal icing rose is a moment of pure relaxation for me.

It flows, it’s clean, and it’s simple. Often, cake decorating can be stressful! Gum paste bows breaking (yesterday!), fondant wrinkling when it’s not supposed to be . . . and wedding cake deliveries!!! I love my cake job, but moments of stress make the relaxation ones all the more important.

I first learned how to pipe a royal icing ribbon rose a number of years ago, and I am still following the same technique as back then. There’s not much to it to change!

To make a Royal Icing Ribbon Rose, you will need:

Recipe for Royal Icing, found here.

Petal Tip, I use Wilton #104

Round Tip, I use Wilton #12

Flower Nail…again, I use Wilton’s.

Parchment paper squares cut to 2″x 2″

For the procedure, watch the video! Happy relaxation!

Filed Under: Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: royal icing, Royal Icing Ribbon Rose

February 2013 Contest

February 8, 2013 by Jenn

I have just gone through the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of comments that have already come through my YouTube channel’s February Contest, and I have been incredibly humbled. The thoughtful, inspirational and awe inspiring comments have blown me away.

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Filed Under: Videos Tagged With: contest, video

Fondant Extruder: Baking Quick Tip

February 6, 2013 by Jenn

Since I’ve started decorating cakes, I have found cake tools (aka my toys) that I never would have imagine existed! There is seriously a tool for every technique that anyone decorating a cake could ever want or need. This Fondant Extruder is one of those tools.

When I first started cake decorating, I was instructed the “Wilton Way” by two great instructors. I learned how to decorate cakes and flowers and designs, and in one specific instruction, I was taught how to make a long “snake” like border. To do this, I was told to take 2 long dowels of wood (provided by Wilton) and to roll a piece of fondant between these two rods until I had a nice long “rope”. It worked, but it was constantly breaking and I was having to use many pieces of fondant to make enough of a rope to cover the base of a cake.

I knew there had to be an alternative method. While searching, I found a fondant extruder which was the answer to my problems! Using this tool enables you to produce a long rope simply buy twisting the handle, which presses down inside the tube against a disc, and out comes whatever shape you’re looking for! The version of the extruder that I have has many different discs, and many different shapes can be produced . . . square, diamond, multi openings for hair, grass etc, all sizes of circles for different widths of borders or ropes.

If you find yourself need a lot of uniform rope for decorating, I highly recommend getting yourself a fondant extruder. It makes the decorating process much quicker and produces a product that is uniform in shape and size. If you have any questions, just let me know!

You can buy a fondant extruder Here

Filed Under: Cakes, Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: fondant, Fondant Extruder

Making Cake Pops with The Babycakes Cake Pop Maker

February 6, 2013 by Jenn

In a previous post, I explained how I magically came across a Babycakes Cupcake Maker and a Babycakes Cake Pop Maker while searching amongst screwdrivers, bathroom faucets and TV’s!

The joys of small town Canadian shopping. Gosh, I HAVE to move. I’m going stir crazy lately, and remembering that I’m stuck shopping at a tire store aggravates me!!

Anyway. . . so while I grabbed a Babycakes Cupcake maker on a great sale, I also picked up a Babycakes Cake Pop maker. Making cake pops is not strenuous- it just tends to be a time consuming process. When I was using this maker, I quickly learned that using the maker cuts time in half!

One thing though . . . when using this cake pop maker, you risk people claiming that you aren’t making a “real” cake pop. According to smart people on the internet, a REAL cake pop must include the icing that is mixed in with the cake. But as long as you have a thick skin and the ability to make something from scratch that the smart people don’t, then I totally recommend that you buy and use this machine! Time is important people.

Have you tried any of the Babycakes products? I know there is a donut one and a mini loaf one too . . . but I think I should stop my shopping-for-mini-makers-problem right now.

You can buy the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker Here

Filed Under: Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: Babycakes Cake Pop Maker, cake pops

Babycakes Cupcake Maker Review & Demo

February 4, 2013 by Jenn

With my obsessive need to go shopping all the time, I love a good sale! Unfortunately, where I live the “good” sales tend to be at large *Canadian* box stores, not Nordstrom or Christian Louboutin! One thursday night I excitedly ran down to the local Canadian Tire (yes we have a store called that in Canada) and found TWO Babycakes products- a cupcake and a cake pop maker- on sale . . . amongst the wrenches, fishing rods and road salt. One has to love a “one-stop-shop”!

My first video that I did was a review of the Babycakes Cupcake Maker . . . I don’t think I would have bought one of these for full price, but at a sale of $15 CDN, I figured it was worth it to check it out and give a review.

The maker is CUTE (and pink!), which makes me love it . . . and of course it is rather small, so it conveniently can fit pretty much anywhere you need it to.

I was really impressed that the instruction guide came with recipes, because my recipes are quite large, and I was already worrying about scaling them down. I whipped up a batch of their chocolate cake, then followed the easy instructions on how to work the cupcake maker (preheating etc). . . and I waited for it to fail! I don’t know why, but I was convinced it wouldn’t work.

Surprisingly, it worked fabulously! Honestly, I found making the mini cupcakes in the Babycakes maker so much easier than using a mini cupcake tin that goes in the oven! The cupcakes domed up perfectly (but you have to put enough batter in the cup to do so) and came out rather easily. I’m sure you need to keep the metal plates and wells oiled after uses though, as I imagine the batter would stick to everything if not!

I wanted to make sure I could use the maker with cupcake liners too, so in some of the wells I put mini-cupcake liners, and though they appeared to not fit at first, once they were filled with batter and cooked in the maker, the liners filled the wells perfectly.

I wouldn’t buy this machine if you’re looking to do production work, but it would be a great tool to use with kids (watch out as the handles get hot) or if you’re just craving a small batch of cupcakes 🙂

I hope my video and blog review of Babycakes Cupcake Maker is helpful for you, and if you have any more questions, just let me know!

You can buy the Babycakes Cupcake Maker Here

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: Babycakes, Babycakes Cupcake Maker

Blueberry Bran Muffin Recipe (Healthy & Tasty)

February 2, 2013 by Jenn

During the Christmas holidays, I was on the look out for a “healthy” muffin that I could make for P and I to snack on. I had a couple of rules the the muffins had to follow.

1. The apples freezing in the garage had to be incorporated.

2. The bananas freezing the in freezer had to be incorporated.

3. The huge box of bran flakes I purchase because it was on “SALE”, needed to be used.

My final demand . . .

4. The pints of blueberries need to be used up!

So I went about searching for recipes that used all of the these things . . . and I couldn’t find one that satisfied all of the rules. I had to make a number of recipes up!

63 muffins later, I had done it!

The best one out of the bunch, which incorporates the blueberries and bran, is the one I have decided to share with you! It comes from a low fat cookbook, from the Looneyspoons series, and I have made some alterations shown in the recipe.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Tutorials, Videos Tagged With: Blueberry Bran Muffins, Blueberry Muffin Recipe, Blueberry Muffins

Backpack Baking

How To Make A Royal Icing Rose

How to Make a Royal Icing Ribbon Rose

February 2013 Contest

Fondant Extruder: Baking Quick Tip

Making Cake Pops with The Babycakes Cake Pop Maker

Babycakes Cupcake Maker Review & Demo

Blueberry Bran Muffin Recipe (Healthy & Tasty)

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