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Showing posts from September, 2014

Back to Basics Series : Part 1 Using Butterfly Plunger Cutters

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A few weeks back we all got a little excited over on Facebook about Kmart Australia selling these super cheap plunger fondant cutter sets. A box of18 cutters for only $10! Eeeeek! Bargain Alert OMGOSH! So cheap! It seems like a lot of you ran out and bought them but haven't actually used them yet, and lately I have been carried away with my own elaborate cake designs I have been neglecting my fabulous beginners.... so I am super excited to introduce to you my: Back to Basics Series!! Join me over the next few weeks exploring the 6 different shapes included in the box. Be inspired to get your cutters out and make some gorgeous sugar decorations that you can store and use up to 6 months later. So come on let's get started. Get yourself set up with a mat, rolling pin, CMC/Tylose treated fondant in your colour choice, and let's have some sugar play! Set one: Butter Fly Plunger The first set from this fabulous box is the Butterfly Cut

Top Tip Friday #19 : Keep Fluff & Lint out of your Fondant.

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Don't you hate it when you spend all that time rolling out fondant or modelling something awesome only to realise there's bits of fluff or lint stuck in it. Especially with white! Oh my gosh white fondant is totally unforgiving - everything,  and I mean EVERYTHING shows up! The best way to avoid this fondant fluffination (as I like to call it,) occurring in your fondant and gumpaste is to clean up the lint on your hands and work surface first.  Even after washing your hands it's inevitable you will still have teeny bits of fluff, lurking around in stealth mode, just waiting to make it's appearance to dull your creations. See, when you dry your hands on a towel (cloth or paper) those tiny fluffy bits are jumping straight on to your hand. Solution? To get your hands and work surfaces clear of this annoying fluff and lint, get a small ball of fondant and turn it into "The Fluffinator!"  Um yes I just made that word up, sounds pretty cool, so yeah I&

Inspiring Quotes to Uplift and Empower you to be Awesome!

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I have a group of very special cakey friends, we chat with one and other almost daily. Not just about cake but everything and anything. We are each other's rocks and work towards inspiring and empowering each other to be awesome. We all can be awesome, we all can be happy and that's the message I want to extend out to you all today, and each day from now on. So go on get some mushy positive love and spread that happiness every where! Each week I will upload a new "Quote of The Day" come back often and share them with your friends and families. Lets flood our social networks with good vibes and motiving inspiration. Come back next week for a new Picture Quote! Share ♡ Inspire ♡ Motivate :: Home Bakers Doing it for Themselves.

Lego Chima Laval Inspired Cake

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Okay everyone,  so continuing on from  last weeks Skylander Portal Cake  this was my son’s second cake for his seemingly month long birthday celebrations!  Now if you follow me on Facebook you would know that I had a Migraine knock me out for 36 hours this week – so I'm happy with what I still  managed to churn out on the rest of the cake ! Lots of crazy errors made (I mean loads of what was I thinking moments??) But I am just going to focus what I am happy with. Something I always preach to others, and need to learn to do more of myself. So here it goes.... 1) I loved my first 2D character standing head (the topper) most pleased with myself!  2) My 3 coloured ganached tiers survived the afternoon humidity quite well even though setting was rushed. Oh and if you are not familiar with my signature, that's right that blue cake is C o l o r e d  Ganache not fondant! Skip to Coloured Ganache Recipe here. 3) I really like my cake board!!  Now I am thoroughly caked out at t

Spyro Skylander Portal Cake

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So it's been pretty crazy in my house this past month! So much going on and so little time to fit everything in. It's like I am bobbing up and down out of water trying to breathe... But thank goodness, I think I may have just gotten through and I am clambering to shore! If you have been keeping up across the platforms you know I have been celebrating my son's birthday through cake and sugar for what seems like a month! 3 Different days of celebrations for one child! Now I have to be clear here " I do not normally do this! " It's just been one of those family life balancing acts where I have had to get more creative than usual! " Three  lots of baking  and Sugar Creations?!" Yes that's right! I made 3 lots of cakes and toppers for three  separate  days! 1) Minecraft Topper Cupcakes for school (previous posting) 2) Today's post -Spyro Skylander Portal Cake for a small school friends party 3) Lego Chima Laval 3 tiered C

Top Tip Friday #18: Best Cutting Tools for Fondant and Gumpaste

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While there are loads of ready made cutters available, one does not simply have the room to store them all (or the cash) and there really isn't a pre made cutter for every kind of creation, especially custom designs. At some stage you are going to need to free hand it. Most importantly for all your projects, from cutting custom sized bows to 2D Logos and everything else between, a good sharp blade is a must!  Sharp being the most important key here, otherwise your fondant will drag and pull and the result may not be as neat as you were hoping (and that's not a great feeling.) Also, there isn't just one knife that does all the jobs! But never fear, my three most favourite cutting tools covers most of them, and more importantly, can be disguised as being for other projects around the house, your family will be none the wiser and won't get on your back for buying too many cake decorating tools!!  Yes it's an ingenious  plan!  [insert evil laugh] "Mwahahahaha

Making Minecraft Fondant Cupcake Toppers

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Click to Play Mine Craft Such a busy time of year for my family, it seems like there's birthdays left right and centre! I feel like from June to December I should close my social networking platforms down because I get so time consumed with caking I run out of time to chat about it with you all! Thanks so much for always being there even when I am not! So last week I joined the squared eyed cake decorators club! Really! My eyes are square now! My fingers are aching!!!! I cannot believe how much time and patience these little squared fellows actually took!! It didn't help that half way through the process, let's just say 1am madness, I realised there where a few things I could  [should]  have done to make it quicker! I swear if I were to ever make these guys again I will definitely be using edible markers for the eyes! Cutting each colour and gluing each piece together was not my idea of a fun night! If you are wondering just what in the heck is Minecraft, you may