Step 1 – Baking and Preparation

NOTE – use a firm sponge (e.g. Madeira) for the tops.

Bake half-sphere cakes (sized to match cupcake base). Once cooled, return to tray, trim level to create flat base. Turn out onto a new cake board or clean work surface.

Bake corresponding quantity of cupcakes. Once cooled, trim the top flat and cover to prevent drying out.

Step 2

Buttercream the domed surface of the half-sphere cake in preparation for covering with sugarpaste(fondant).
Roll out white paste to 5mm thickness, cut a large circle and apply to buttercreamed half-sphere. Smooth paste as needed, neatly trimming away any excess.

Use a cocktail stick to draw the ball seams as shown. (NB. do not cut through the sugarpaste)

Step 3

Gently run a small ball or bone tool down both sides of each seam. Smooth the remaining sugarpaste, leaving a slightly elevated ‘ridge’ either side of the seams.
If necessary, redefine the seams using the cocktail stick.

Step 4

Use red royal icing with a fine tipped plain nozzle to apply the baseball stitching pattern.

Buttercream the surface of your trimmed cupcake and apply to the ball top. if desired, you can then place the cupcake in a second decorative cupcake wrapper.

My constructed cake board and my templates, I added extra height to the sides to allow room for the steel rods to come through underneath the board.

I then cut out the aircraft template from mdf, this is where the cake will be placed.

I marked and drilled the holes through the plane cake board and the bottom board and placed the steel rods, this corresponds to where the wheels are on the real plane. I placed washers and nuts either side of the board and the plane cake board. I also measured with my side template the height at which the plane should be from the bottom board.

I then placed the plane cake board in place, covered in foil and made the rods food safe.

The cake being placed into position and shaped, I used my side template to get the shape right.

Here is the cake covered in chocolate ganache to make a smooth surface before applying the fondant.

Another angle showing how much the cake is lifted off of the bottom board.

And the finished cake once decorated.

My constructed cake board and my templates, I added extra height to the sides to allow room for the steel rods to come through underneath the board.

I then cut out the aircraft template from mdf, this is where the cake will be placed.

I marked and drilled the holes through the plane cake board and the bottom board and placed the steel rods, this corresponds to where the wheels are on the real plane. I placed washers and nuts either side of the board and the plane cake board. I also measured with my side template the height at which the plane should be from the bottom board.

I then placed the plane cake board in place, covered in foil and made the rods food safe.

The cake being placed into position and shaped, I used my side template to get the shape right.

Here is the cake covered in chocolate ganache to make a smooth surface before applying the fondant.

Another angle showing how much the cake is lifted off of the bottom board.

And the finished cake once decorated.

This is how I store and transport my wedding cakes until they are put on display. I can’t take credit for this, I saw it on the Ace of Cakes years ago. This plastic container of holding a 4 tier cake with a 15 inch base cake drum. A non-skid pad (a piece of shelf liner from the dollar store) is placed between the cake drum and the lid of the container. I turned the container upside down because it is wider that way. There are handles which makes carrying such a heavy load more secure. The transparency of the container lets everyone see what you are carrying.

I hope this helps,
Donna T. from
Cake Hatteras

Hello every one,
I made this unicorn topper for my dear friend’s daughter’s birthday cake who loves unicorns. She was pretty happy with her cake. I hope you like this tutorial. For more Tutorials please visit my Facebook page.

Thank You.

You can visit my facebook page to see the entire cake https://www.facebook.com/SilviaManciniCakeArt?focus_composer=true&ref_type=bookmark

Potato starch, vegetable oil and water are my new found friends. No I haven’t gone on a frenzy diet of carbs, I am talking about wafer paper.

Wafer paper has hit the cake decorating industry by storm and I have to say I am one of the people that have been fascinated by the stuff.

If you haven’t heard of it… wafer paper comes in thin transparent sheets. When dry it is brittle and can crack easily, but if it gets wet it instantly dissolves. So you really need to find a happy medium.

I have been experimenting with wafer paper a lot and curiosity has got the better of me. I wanted to see if I could paint the wafer paper by directly applying gel colour to it- would it be too wet and make it dissolve? Turns out I was onto something!

I made these little babies and I think they look stunning… you could use this technique on anything to do with wafer. To show you how easy it is, I have created this tutorial to show you how you can paint directly onto your wafer paper to get cool effects for any of your cakes!!

What you will need is:
Wafer paper (really who would have thought)
A flower cutter of your choice
A small piece of sponge
Gel colours of your choice
A paint brush
A small piece of fondant- it can be any colour to suit your flower
Piping gel.

To start off your flower use your cutter and press it into the wafer paper, firmly but gently. If you do it too hard you’ll crack the paper. I have chosen to do three layers for my flower so have impressed the pattern three times on the wafer.

Now it’s hard to photograph, but by doing this the outline of the flower will be indented in the paper.
Using the line as a guide cut out your three flower shapes. Don’t be too concerned if they are not perfect or a little rough around the edges, we all know that’s what defines and makes flowers special.
Once you have your shapes, lay them on a piece of paper ready for painting.

Choose two (or more) colours that you would like to use and pop a dot of each colour on a plate- DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO THE COLOUR, if you use a thinner your wafer will dissolve.
Cover your sponge alternating the colours, this is how you will get your mottled effect. Be sure it’s a thin layer on the sponge. You don’t want to overload it because too much gel paste will also dissolve the wafer.

Lightly press your sponge onto the wafer randomly, flip them gently and do the same on the back.

To bring out the flower and give it a little personality I decided to add some gold highlights. Add some gold to your smaller sponge and gently press it onto the wafer as you did for the other colours in the previous step.

To assemble your flower, on your paintbrush get a tiny amount of piping gel and brush lightly in the centre. Place your second layer on. Repeat this step to place the third layer on top.

Because the gel paste adds slight moisture to the wafer paper, it will make it flexible. Give your petals a slight roll inward to create movement in your flower.

Create a centre for your flower by rolling a small amount of fondant. I have decided to bejewel this one with some white pearls, which I have attached with piping gel. Depending on the look you are going for you could simply paint it or leave your fondant plain.

Attach your centre with another dot of piping gel and there you have it your personally designed wafer paper flowers. I can imagine these gorgeously flowing down the side of a cake.

The best part is they don’t take long to make and unlike fondant and gumpaste flowers there’s no drying time.
To attach your flower to a cake, using a little piping gel.

Make them in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes! Use your imagination!

Try your hand at wafer paper and see what creations your can come up with!

This is an original design by Marianna’s Caking Me Crazy © all rights reserved 3rd May 2014

Check out what else Marianna’s Caking Me Crazy is up to:
www.mariannacakingmecrazy.com
https://www.facebook.com/MariannasCakingMeCrazy

It’s no secret that edible sequins are completely the new fad in cake decorating. I see them popping up on cakes everywhere!

One method to create these edible sequins uses a technique of dropping coloured gelatine droplets onto baking paper and letting them dry out.

Sure I tried it, here was the result, Not overly impressive- to me anyway I mean they are OK.

I actually was trying to imitate the look of small peacock feathers when I was working on my Peacock cookie topper a few weeks back, that’s why some have a painted gold dot on them.

To create these was time consuming and I had to wait and let them dry out (those who know me can verify that I am the kind of person that needs everything done yesterday).

Then I found I had a variety of different sizes. To cut a long story short, I wasn’t happy and I thought there had to be an easier and faster way that gave a similar result!

Now everyone that has been following me knows that I am in love with wafer paper (maybe a little too much).

I remembered back to when I was creating the Peacock topper. I ended up turning to wafer paper to get the result I wanted by punching out a few small circles. I was much happier with this result!

Then it hit me like a lightning bolt * insert little brain light bulb here* Why not use this same technique on a bigger scale?

So I whipped out all the cake decorating gear straight away to give it a go! And who would have thought! It worked!

If you want to try out this technique you will need:

Wafer paper

Piping Gel

Brushes of any description

Pure cake decorator’s alcohol

Luster dust

Edible glitter if desired

Scissors

AND a hole punch… if you have one with multiple holes even better!!

(yes I forgot to add the piping gel and extra paint brush in my photo I was too excited!)

To create my sparkly sprinkle wafer rounds:

Mix the alcohol and luster dust together and brush sparingly onto your wafer paper (don’t apply too heavily or your paper will disintegrate like mine did in the bottom left hand corner!). You could also opt to brush luster dust directly to the wafer if you wish, It really depends what look you are going for with your edible project.

Brush lightly with piping gel and sprinkle your glitter all over.

Flip your wafer and repeat steps one and two on this side.

Get your hole punch and start punching away.Cut away the excess wafer paper as you go so you can keep punching the holes.

Viola edible sparkly rounds aka wafer sequins! It’s that easy!

To apply to your project use a little piping gel!

If you’re after an intense glittery effect such as my mermaid tail here, apply more piping gel so the glitter really sticks. I do recommend you leave this overnight to dry, prior to punching them out. If you don’t your glitter will just become a mess on your hole punch.

Give it a go yourself, you’re bound to love them!

Happy decorating everyone, Marianna xx

See what else I’m up to at
www.mariannacakingmecrazy.com
https://www.facebook.com/MariannasCakingMeCrazy?ref=hl

It’s no secret that edible sequins are completely the new fad in cake decorating. I see them popping up on cakes everywhere!

One method to create these edible sequins uses a technique of dropping coloured gelatine droplets onto baking paper and letting them dry out.

Sure I tried it, here was the result, Not overly impressive- to me anyway I mean they are OK.

I actually was trying to imitate the look of small peacock feathers when I was working on my Peacock cookie topper a few weeks back, that’s why some have a painted gold dot on them.

To create these was time consuming and I had to wait and let them dry out (those who know me can verify that I am the kind of person that needs everything done yesterday).

Then I found I had a variety of different sizes. To cut a long story short, I wasn’t happy and I thought there had to be an easier and faster way that gave a similar result!

Now everyone that has been following me knows that I am in love with wafer paper (maybe a little too much).

I remembered back to when I was creating the Peacock topper. I ended up turning to wafer paper to get the result I wanted by punching out a few small circles. I was much happier with this result!

Then it hit me like a lightning bolt * insert little brain light bulb here* Why not use this same technique on a bigger scale?

So I whipped out all the cake decorating gear straight away to give it a go! And who would have thought! It worked!

If you want to try out this technique you will need:

Wafer paper

Piping Gel

Brushes of any description

Pure cake decorator’s alcohol

Luster dust

Edible glitter if desired

Scissors

AND a hole punch… if you have one with multiple holes even better!!

(yes I forgot to add the piping gel and extra paint brush in my photo I was too excited!)

To create my sparkly sprinkle wafer rounds:

Mix the alcohol and luster dust together and brush sparingly onto your wafer paper (don’t apply too heavily or your paper will disintegrate like mine did in the bottom left hand corner!). You could also opt to brush luster dust directly to the wafer if you wish, It really depends what look you are going for with your edible project.

Brush lightly with piping gel and sprinkle your glitter all over.

Flip your wafer and repeat steps one and two on this side.

Get your hole punch and start punching away.Cut away the excess wafer paper as you go so you can keep punching the holes.

Viola edible sparkly rounds aka wafer sequins! It’s that easy!

To apply to your project use a little piping gel!

If you’re after an intense glittery effect such as my mermaid tail here, apply more piping gel so the glitter really sticks. I do recommend you leave this overnight to dry, prior to punching them out. If you don’t your glitter will just become a mess on your hole punch.

Give it a go yourself, you’re bound to love them!

Happy decorating everyone, Marianna xx

See what else I’m up to at
www.mariannacakingmecrazy.com
https://www.facebook.com/MariannasCakingMeCrazy?ref=hl

It’s summer time and this is an idea of summer treat with duck swimming ring form. It’s easy to make and cute way to presented. Hope you like it :)

It’s summer time and this is an idea of summer treat with duck swimming ring form. It’s easy to make and cute way to presented. Hope you like it :)

Candy’s Cupcakes began with baking and decorating cupcakes and giant cupcakes. I found that I made a niche by adding various designs to a giant cupcake and enjoyed the cute look of them.

I often get asked how I make giant cupcakes and their base. I thought I’d share with you the techniques I use. For photographs of the steps to follow please visit my website http://www.candyscupcakes.co.uk/blog/make-giant-cupcake/

1. Firstly, invest in a giant cupcake silicone mould. You can purchase these from most shops or eBay. I find silicone moulds are easier to use compared to the pan, as you can peel it away to remove the cake/case. No cake pan lining required (let’s face it, lining a cake pan isn’t the most thrilling part of baking).

2. Use a dense cake recipe such as a pound cake. Crumbly sponge recipes are likely to… crumble, and not maintain their shape when removing the mould.

3. Once cooked allow to cool. Using a sharp serrated knife level both cakes. I tend run the knife along the top of each mould (being careful not to cut into the mould).

4. Next, turn your mould upside down and gently peel away the mould and roll upwards until the cake is released.

5. You will then need to slice off the sides of the base, say around half a centimetre thick all around. This will allow it to fit into the candy base you will make next.

6. To make the edible cupcake case you will need a bag of Candy Melts. I find that Hobbycraft sell them cheapest (£3 a bag) and if you’re buying them in bulk they offer free delivery over a certain spend. Candy Melts differ from cooking chocolate as they are a much thicker consistency, will hold up to warmer weather and are less likely to crack and break.

8. Pour the melted Candy Melts into the base of the giant cupcake mould (now cleaned and ready to use again). Keep the used microwaveable bowl and spoon to one side. Using the back of a spoon coat the inside of the mould with the melted Candy Melts. Once you’re happy quickly pop it into a freezer for 10 minutes.

9. Cover your cake board with fondant and ribbon (so many people don’t do this but it makes a huge difference to the ‘look’ of your final cake).

10. Remove the base from the freezer. Gently pull the base outwards at the top to release the top edge. Do this the whole way around so that the top inch or so is released.

11. Gently roll the silicone base downwards until the whole thing is peeled away cleanly. You should now have a perfect cupcake case for your cake. Little tip: If any cracks do appear then you can use the Candy Melts to fill and seal the crack. It also acts as a fantastic glue to stick decorations to the base and the base to the board.

12. Re-melt the scraps of Candy Melts in the used bowl, if they’ve all ready set, and pop a little bit onto the centre of your decorated cake board. Put your giant cupcake case onto the blob of Candy Melts and allow to set.

13. You can now half your sponge cake and layer up the inside of the cupcake case. Be careful not to apply too much pressure as this will cause the cake to expand and crack the case.

14. Attach the top of the cupcake and decorate however you like :0). You can find my giant cupcake designs on my gallery page.

Thank you for reading x

http://www.candyscupcakes.co.uk/blog/make-giant-cupcake/