Launch! Fondant, feathers, and bows!

I have long dreamed of a blog that documents my cake making experiences. Dreamed...and feared. I have always loved writing, baking, crafting, creating, you get the picture. A place where I can share my baking and decorating journey made sense. I have also been fearful to commit. Commit to documenting my successes and failures. Commit to writing often. Commit to limiting grammatical errors. Commit to entertaining and not boring my readers. So this is the year, the month, the day that I cast aside my fear and begin this journey.

I began this cake decorating journey about 6 years ago when I took a Wilton Course 1 cake decorating class with my friend, Meg. She suggested it and it seemed like a great time to get away with a friend and learn a few tricks. Prior to this my decorating skills consisted sprinkling chopped nuts on the side of my families famous carrot cake and maybe piping "Happy Birthday" on the top with store bought gel. Each week we learned a new skill or two and brought home our version of the sample cake using the skills we had developed. We had a blast and my family loved having a cake to eat each week. During this course I discovered I enjoyed many of the techniques I'd learned and used these to make a birthday cake for my boss. She later hired me to make my first cakes...all 6 of them and they were all for the same event! I didn't even own a stand mixer, much less more than two cake pans! Meg came to my rescue lending me her mixer and helping me to deliver the 6 cakes to the event. I wish I had pictures. I was so proud, and yet I am quite certain that they were pretty beginner looking. However, the encouragement of friends and family along with my genuine enjoyment in baking and decorating caused me to pursue this new found (albeit green) talent.

 My desire to create a smooth cake lead me into the world of fondant. I greatly dislike the flavor of store bought fondant, but loved the smooth and clean look that could be achieved using it. I heard from someone about marshmallow fondant and began scouring the internet for information about how to make it and use it. Cake makers are some of the friendliest and generous people I know. I have found many free tutorials, recipes, and inspiration from fellow bakers/decorators on the internet which in part, has inspired me to attempt to do the same. After many trials and error I was able to successfully cover a cake with fondant. Here are a few of my first attempts:

A baby shower cake for a sweet friends beautiful daughter.This was also my first sculpted cake.

A wedding shower cake for a friend from work. This was my first time painting fondant and using fondant molds.

Another wedding shower cake for another friend from work. This also included my first rice cereal, fondant covered figure. This pesky peacock was a delivery nightmare. My daughter was sitting with the cake in the back of the truck and with each bump she would shout out, "another feather fell" or "the head is drooping again". By the time we arrived at the shower the bird was half naked and his head was bowed in defeat!  A little fixing here, there, really, everywhere and it was OKish. Not my favorite outcome, but a challenging and fruitful learning experience. 

While fondant provided a smoother canvas I was still not happy with my finished product, but I didn't know how to make it smooth or have crisp edges. I searched the internet once more and happened upon a gem of a woman, Jessica Harris, She shared that she also had this same problem and through research, trial and error had discovered a solution: ganache. Beautiful and decadent ganache. Buttercream becomes soft quickly and yields easily to pressure, creating rounded edges and an imperfect finish. Ganache become and stays very firm once chilled and creates smooth cakes with crisp edges. So armed with chocolate, cream, a pastry scraper, and my new techniques I set about covering a cake in ganache and then fondant. Of course, in my true style this is not just any cake, it is person's wedding cake. Also, this is not a friend's wedding, but a strangers's. A stranger that was recommended to me by my good friend. A paying job. I was nervous, no I was petrified, but I just had to try. 

Here is the result of my first ganache/fondant covered cake. It is also the beginning of my more professional cake making days. Let's call it that pivotal moment when I felt that I had reached a level worthy of selling. I was honored to be recommended to make this cake and I am happy with the result. Really, my favorite part was that bow!

Since this cake I have made many more and I am constantly learning new techniques, recipes, and designs. I know this post has been about the past, but I felt it necessary to share where I came from in this arena before I can launch wholeheartedly into the future. 

Stay Sweet!

Janelle