Carrot Cupcakes with Flower Fondant Decorations

I've made carrot cupcakes before. I have also made fondant roses and flowers. I  have never combined them together, so here goes!

I think it turned out ok. This is the first project, although small, I did after moving to Northern California. My new oven is slow at preheating, and never reaches the correct temperature until 20 minutes after it says it did. So I got an oven thermometer to be safe.

I made these cupcakes for my husband's new co-workers. Most of them are men, so this is kinda girly, but I felt like making flowers. So this is what they are going to get!

So, since I have made both carrot cupcakes and fondant flowers. Here are the links to them if you feel adventurous and want to try this project out!

Carrot Cupcakes

Fondant Roses

I hope you have fun making either of the recipes.

Zebra Stripe Cake and Uniform Sized Fondant Ball Border

I made a cake yesterday. It was my first zebra stripe cake. I thought it would be pretty easy and fast, but it was very time consuming.

I planned out where to place the stripes before "gluing" it down to the cake. That's probably why it took so long. In addition to that, rolling the fondant ball border took a while also. I learned a neat trick though to get the balls to be all the same size.

To get uniform or same sized balls for your border, you roll out your fondant flat using spacers, or rolling bands to get it to the same width. Then, using any small cookie cutter, cut out several pieces. Then roll them into balls. Every ball will be the same size. Yay.

The stripes were pretty random, I just cut them out randomly, but carefully planned the placement of each stripe. On top of the cake, there is suppose to be the letter "G" in hot pink fondant. It was still drying when I took this photo. 

I learned another trick to get fondant to dry quicker and more sturdy. Add gumpaste. I made a 1/2 gumpaste 1/2 fondant mixture and formed the initial "G," it was the only one that defied gravity. The pure fondant ones broke. Sad =[ Gumpaste is my new love.

This is the letter "G" that will go on top of the cake.

Just imagine it on top. =]

I have been pretty busy this month making custom desserts for people. I'm having tons of fun and learning all these neat tricks that I get to share with you. I'm going to post some wedding sugar cookies I did this week next.

Bacon Roses

I made these roses for my fiance for Valentine's Day. He never ate them, but displays them at work. They're super easy to make.

You will need:

A miniature muffin pan

Rolled fondant or marshmallow fondant

Thick bacon strips

Skewers

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Roll bacon strip up and place into muffin pan. Repeat with all bacon strips.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove each bacon rose onto a paper towel and pour out bacon drippings from pan. Put back the roses into the pan and back into the oven. Repeat the 10 minute cooking time for approximately 40 to 50 mins or until cooked throughly.

Cover a skewer with green fondant. Allow to dry. Add leaves. Push sharp end of skewer into cooled bacon roses. 

Give to your lover.

Fondant Roses Tutorial

So I got an Ultimate decorating kit for Christmas, and I started playing with the rose making tools for fondant. I made an easy tutorial so you can make beautiful roses with fondant too! I made a New Years cake with the beautiful roses.

First off, you need fondant. You can by some from Michaels or make your own. I made a marshmallow fondant that can be found here.

The only special tools you need are (picture below):

thin foam

2 cutters

and a ball tool

I read online that you need wires for the roses to dry on, but I just used toothpicks and a styrofoam block.

So lets begin making roses! They are quite simple. 

1. Make small tear drop shapes fondant pieces and stick them on the toothpicks. Allow them to dry for an hour before moving on to step two.

2. Roll out the fondant as thin as you can. The thinner it is, the more realistic the flower looks. The fondant should almost be transparent. Cut out several pieces using the rose cutter.

3. Make five 1/4 inch long cuts in the rose at each petal. Place one of the pieces on the thin foam. Using the balling tool, with half the ball on the fondant and half on the foam, gently roll the edges of each piece so that it thins out the rose petals.

4. Poke the center of the rose piece with one of the toothpicks. Then wrap one of the petals around the teardrop. 

5. Alternating between the petals, wrap the rest of the petals around the tear drop. Brush on a little water to help make it stick.

6. To make a bigger rose, add a second layer of rose petals to the rose bud just like above. Remember to use the ball tool again. Alternate between petals again.

7. To make a full bloom rose, add another layer, for a total of three layers. 

8. Roll out some green fondant and use the second cutter. Using the balling tool with thin foam, roll from the edge to the center of each piece.

9. Hold the flower upside down, push the green piece through the center on to the toothpick. Slide it all the way down to the flower, apply some water to attach.

These are what a rose bud, rose, and full bloom rose looks like:

I hope this tutorial helps you make beautiful roses too!

Marshmallow Fondant

I've been wanting to make marshmallow fondant for a while now. I'm baking a birthday cake and want to put roses on the cake, but I can't pipe pretty roses. =[

I can mold roses much more pretty than I can pipe them. So I decided to make marshmallow fondant! Here's my first rose:

I'm hoping I can make prettier roses after more attempts!

Here is the recipe I used for marshmallow fondant:

Ingredients

21 ounces mini white marshmallows (2-10.5 ounce bags)

1/2 cup butter

2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting

1-3 tablespoons water

Directions

Place the butter and marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for 30 seconds. Remove and stir thoroughly. Repeat these two steps until the everything is completely melted and well mixed. 

Leave the marshmallow mixture in it’s bowl and pour half of the sugar on top. Mix the powdered sugar into the mixture.

Generously dust the countertop with confectioners’ sugar. Pour the fondant mixture in the middle. Coat your hands in confectioners’ sugar and sprinkle more on top of the mixture. Using your hands, this is going to be very sticky, begin kneading the mixture and sugar together, generously adding the other half of the sugar to the mixture, as needed.

Continue kneading the dough until it is smooth and firm, adding more sugar to the countertop and hands, as needed. If the dough becomes to dry and tears easily, add a little water to soften it, being very careful not to add too much.

Lightly dust the fondant with confectioners’ sugar and place it in a large zippered bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before sealing. Let it rest at room temperature at least overnight before using. You can use it right away on small projects, like covering cupcakes, but it will be too soft to do anything larger or to sculpt with.

This recipe holds well in the refrigerator for weeks, so it is helpful to make it ahead when you know you have an event or project coming up. If you make it ahead, just remove it from the refrigerator, allow it to rest, sealed and at room temperature, for at least 24 hours before using it.

To use your fondant, dust the countertop with confectioners’ sugar. Place the fondant in the microwave for 10 seconds (no more) to soften it. Place on the counter and knead for a couple of minutes to soften further. Now you’re ready to add color, roll it out, or start sculpting!

Here are the roses I make now-a-days after practice! =]