Crocheted Mickey Mouse Blanket

The inspiration for this project came from two places. First, one of the blanket packages I bought from MaryMaxim.ca was completed all in single crochet (sc), which led to a great looking blanket and got me thinking that following that same 'pattern' of all sc, there would be no limit to what could be created.

From there, I searched online for people selling patterns, and bought 3 patterns/graphs from another blogger off of her website. Although this only cost me a few dollars, I couldn't help but think - hey I might be able to do that.

I started searching for software programs that would allow me to design my own pattern graphs so that I could create whatever I wanted to. I researched several programs and then tried a few of the trials offered, completed tutorials. I settled on the program from http://www.crochetdesigns.com/software/default.htm. This program was designed to create filet patterns that can be used to design doilies, tablecloths, etc. but I found it could also be used for blanket patterns. You are able to customize the grid size, import pictures, change colours, EVERYTHING. There is even a feature that allows you to print the pattern using symbols, making you able to use this program to create cross stitch patterns as well.

I decided to do the blanket in squares, each 80 x 80 to make the multiple colours more manageable. It was fun to make and came together great. My niece absolutely loved it and I can't wait to create more patterns in the future.

Frozen Buttercream Transfer

This was something I stumbled across on youtube when I was researching cake decorating methods. I loved the idea of being able to create edible characters on cakes that looked so accurate! I thought - hey! I might be able to do that!!

 

I made wilton's basic buttercream - http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing. It is important to use a buttercream recipe that has equal parts vegetable shortening and butter because it is the butter that freezes. If you do 100% shortening in the recipe, it won't harden properly and you'll have a big mess. I speak only through others whose disasters I have read about - I didn't try the pure shortening route myself, for fear of this not working.

 

I made a basic lemon cake and filling and then went to work on the images on the computer for the transfer. What was key was remembering that everything needs to be backwards when you print it off. I found the image I liked and then used the handy size tool in microsoft word to make sure the picture would be a good size for my 9 x 13 cake surface. I did the same with a font, choosing one I liked and making sure to flip it backwards in Microsoft Publisher before printing (yes, it should look like jibberish)

 

Next, I taped the pictures on the back of a cookie sheet. Tape one layer of wax paper over the images. Now get piping! Start with the black outlines. Do all of the lines. I did not want to waste all of my black food colouring, so I bought one tube of black Wilton Decorator icing, and used a small round tip. Next, set to dying your buttercream the colours you need and filling in the appropriate spaces in your picture. It is ok to go slightly over top of the black outline. Remember, what is against the table is the front of the picture so the black will still show up first.

 

Next, use a small spatula to spread the colours, filling in all the creases and holes.
Now take plain white buttercream (or the base colour of the cake) and cover the entire image, out past the black outline, everywhere. Do the same on the back of the words. Use the spatula again to create a smooth surface and fill in holes and creases.

 

Put in freezer until set.

 

Remove from freezer, invert ontio cake, peel away wax paper.

 

TADA! I totally did it, looked great :) Wonderful technique to master, and easy at that!

Pina Colada Cupcake with Pineapple Flowers

Pina Colada Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for a staff barbeque and they were a huge hit! The inspiration came from pinterest. I saw tons of posts with cocktail flavoured cupcakes and I thought - hey I might be able to do that!

 

I had a bottle of spiced rum I had won in a raffle prize at a stag and doe and couldn't think of a better excuse to crack it open.

 

For the cakes, I used the recipe found here: http://www.restlesschipotle.com/2011/07/pina-colada-cupcake-recipe/

 

I had some trouble finding the creamed coconut called for in the recipe, and ended up buying a pouch of powder that you add water to to create your own creamed coconut. The result was a watery substance I was highly skeptical of - it resembled nothing like I would expect something with the name 'cream' in the name to look like. HOWEVER, the cupcakes turned out great, they were moist and flavorful, although a little lighter on the coconut flavour than I would have liked. I may try using malibu rum next time to punch up the coconut flavour.

 

The cream cheese frosting was a nice compliment to the cupcake.

 

 

Pineapple Flowers

I stumbled across these beautiful flowers on pinterest also, and thought they didn't look too complicated. I followed the instructions by Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/281566/dried-pineapple-flowers

 

I used silicone baking sheets, which kept the edges brown but not too crispy and burnt looking. I used a muffin tin instead of an egg carton to dry the flowers in over night because I wanted a wider flower. When they came out of the oven, I was worried. They were still sticky and wet, and didn't seem as pretty as the ones Martha made. I stuck with it, though, and let them dry overnight and I was pleasantly surprised that they worked out. They looked beautiful on the pina colada cupcakes and people still ask about them months later.



This is the sesame street cake I created for my niece's birthday. Her mother was very specific about what she wanted, but provided only a picture from the internet for me to work from. The original picture is here -

 

After seeing the picture all I could think was "hey! I might be able to do that!!"

 

I used the same cake recipes as my castle cake post (the doctored chocolate pudding mix, and the vanilla almond sour cream cake) because I knew they would hold up the the weight of the tiers and I had to travel with the cake so I wanted it to be sturdy.

 

For the letters I used stencils from Michael's, placed on top of the fondant and painstakingly cut out with a small knife. Definitely learned that the investment in a cake decorating letter press could be useful.

 

The faces were another story. I could not, for the life of me find cookie cutters of the faces for the characters. I thought maybe I could eyeball it from looking at online pictures but the result was some freakish red face with big googly eyes that did not resemble any character I had ever seen before. - My solution was to print photos off to the proper size. I copied images from google and pasted them into microsoft word. In word, when you right click on an image and go to properties, you are given the option to resize the image. Because my cake tier was 4" high, I knew I wanted the faces to be no larger than 3". Now I was onto something.

 

Scissors in hand, I cut out the images. Then, using the same technique as the stencils, I placed the cut out over the fondant and lo and behold I had a shape that resembled elmo's head! I then cut out the other components, eyes, nose, etc, and repeated the process which ensured I got appropriate dimensions. I connected the pieces using a paint brush in a little warm water, and secured the faces to the cakes in the same way.

 

Not only did the pieces stay attached, but they turned out great! People kept asking my sister-in-law where she had the cake done, it was a great feeling.

 

In this case - I DID IT :)

Princess Castle Cake

I hope to start including step by step photos with my posts, but thought I would still share some of the projects I have done along with some of the details.

This was my first experience with fondant. I read a lot about it and decided to make my own marshmallow fondant (MMF) because I read that it tasted better than the store bought stuff. I watched many youtube videos on how to make it and was able to do it using the Wilton recipe: http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Rolled-Marshmallow-Fondant.

Towers
I started by making the turrets (towers). I covered paper towel roles in royal icing (http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Egg-White-Royal-Icing-1) - I used egg white royal icing because noone would be eating the turrets and the icing would dry hard. I then measured and rolled pieces of the white fondant around the paper rolls, and secured the edges with a little bit of water. I scored brick patterns into the fondant once it was on the role using a toothpick, which made it look more realistic.

The next step was to put the tops on the towers. I used cake-style ice cream cones - the traditional card board tasting ones. I put a layer of royal icing around the base of the cone and set it inside the covered tubes. This part was fun - I learned that these little cones are actually quite fragile, and wound up covered in bits of cone and royal icing. However, the do sit in quite qell if your gentle.

Next, I coated sugar style ice cream cones with royal icing and covered them in MMF dyed pink using gel colour. Then apply a thin coat of royal icing into the top of the cake cone (which is now inside the tube) and place the inverted sugar cone on top. It actually all comes together quite well.

Cakes
I wanted to have chocolate and vanilla cake. For the chocolate, I did a simple doctored cake mix recipe in a 9 inch square pan (2" height) - http://simplesavoryandsatisfying.blogspot.ca/2012/02/doctored-cake-mix-ideas.html
I did 2 square cakes and filled the centre with whipped cream (used Nutriwhip product).

For the vanilla cake, I used my favorite recipe which is Vanilla Almond Sour Cream Cake http://cakecentral.com/recipe/white-almond-sour-cream-cake-wasc. I baked two 2" high 6" round cakes and stacked them with cream in the middle.

Crumb coat and frost both tiers with the frosting of your choice. I used the nutriwhip product.

Assembly
Cut the corners off the square cake using a spare paper towel roll - this assured that the turrets would fit and the round edges left on the cake would fit tightly against the cake base. I then hot glued dowel rods to the bottom of the turrets, and then covered the glue with spare bits of fondant. I then slid the dowel rod into the cake until each turret was secure against the cake.

I placed the second tier on top and secured it with a dowel rod down the middle. I left this rod 2" higher than the cake, which serves to hold the top turret on the cake.



I had a lot of fun making this cake, and it was a learning experience for me. Guests loved the moistness of the chocolate cake, which was because of the added pudding. Both cake recipes held up, and the turrets were successful. Definitely would make again :)