June 2009 Cake of The Month

Denise is a talented cake designer who absolutely loves to create beautiful and fun cakes. Her towering wedding cake is just the cake to kick off June --wedding cake month!

Dina's Kissing Couple Bas Relief Tutorial

Bas Relief is a favorite technique of mine. This particular kissing couple design is from a book by Kate Venter, Sugar Decorating Filigree, Flowers, & Flooding. Venter used a color flow technique, whereas, I decided to try bas relief. For starters, cover an 8" x 10" board with light blue or light green fondant and let dry. Then trace the kissing couple design with a #2 pencil and cut out.

Using your tracing paper cut-out as a guide, cut out the kissing couple in fondant. Affix on the fondant board with water, gum glue, or egg white. Best to color all your fondant now according to the colors you wish to use for the couple. When working on the sugar art, water, gum glue or egg white is used to attach the fondant.


In bas relief, you must remember to complete the parts of the drawing that are behind other parts of the drawing first. Thus the girl is finished in the following order: socks which are inside the shoes are made first, then the shoe in the background, the shoe in the foreground, the dress, the apron, the apron strings, the arm, and then the hand. (Work on the boy next, since the girl's bonnet is the last piece of clothing to be completed).

Close up view of the bas relief kissing couple.

Close up look at how the hands are created. Use a cell stick to open up the wrist of the figure and dampen with water, egg white or gum glue and attach the hand.

Next, work on the boy's clothing. First the left shoe in the background, then the right shoe in the foreground. Take bits of fondant and place on the legs to simulate thigh and calf muscles. Roll out a bit of dark blue fondant for the boy's pants, and using your tracing cut-out as a guide (leaving a little extra around the edges) cut out the pants. Apply carefully over the figure tucking in with your gumpaste tool and discarding excess fondant with a sharp knife.

Complete the boy's shirt using the same technique. Attach a small bit of fondant on the stomach area. Then cut out the shirt, dampen the area with water, egg white, or gum glue and apply carefully. Make the boy's arm. Insert a cell stick inside the wrist to make an opening for the hand. Apply a small amount of water, egg white or gum glue and insert hand. Put a small piece of fiber fill or tissue under the hand until firm. Use an extruder for the boy's shirt collar, tie, and hair. To complete the girl's bonnet, attach small bits of fondant on the edge of the bonnet (the rounded section which cradles the back of the girl's head). Again using your traced cut-out, cut out a piece of fondant slightly larger than the bonnet and attach to the figure. Extrude strings with an extruder.

Take a small piece of white fondant and using a cell stick, needle tool, or friller, ruffle the fondant. Attach to the bonnet with water, egg white or gum glue. Be sure the bonnet covers the boy's face as in the drawing.

Closer view of the kissing couple. A small amount of grass was extruded through a clay gun to make grass.


Now comes the dusting. Apply petal dust to form shadows on the figures. You can shine the couple's shoes by dipping an artist's brush in confectioner's glaze and brushing the shoes. This scene is rather plain. Be daring and more creative with your background. After you're done you can protect your art work in a neat little shadow box like the one I purchased at Michael's Craft Store. Enjoy!

Great Cake Flavors!

Pineapple Coconut Cake, oh my! Pineapple and coconut are great flavors for your cakes. This recipe is courtesy of Silma.

Golden Pineapple Coconut Cake

1 stick butter
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. milk
4 eggs
16 oz. can crushed pineapple (in its own juice)
1 c. sugar
juice of 1/4 lemon
3 tab. cornstarch
2 c. flaked coconut

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add 1/3 of this dry mixture to butter and beat to incorporate. Add half the milk, beat well. Then add another 1/3 of the dry mixture, then rest of milk, then the last 1/3 of the dry mixture, beating after each addition. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Pour into 2 greased 10" cake pans. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Rock-a-Bye Fondant Baby 'n Bear Figures

Baby 'n bear were created by Dina, Sugar Designs NYC

Ever since I learned that Ximena Sempertegui will be teaching how to create a fondant baby 'n bear at our June 7th Day of Sharing, I've been itching to try a mold set I purchased on a whim several months ago. I had some left over fondant from another project and after several attempts, I ended up with the sugarpaste baby pictured above. I used a liner art brush to highlight some of the facial details and cut the hat, shirt, and blankets and fitted directly on the doll. The cap texture was achieved with a nifty rolling pin I purchased from Diane Shavkin at her 3D Fondant Doll class last Sunday. The baby's cheeks were lightly dusted with pink petal dust and a round artist's brush. The teddy bear was made following Lorraine McKay's (Aine2) tutorial. It's still a bit rough but not too bad, huh? I can't wait to meet Ximena and learn her tips and hints of creating these sweet baby figurines.

Dina

Memorial Day Cake Ideas!

What a great cake for your holiday picnic! This whimsical cake was designed and decorated by member Laura pictured above. Laura is a pastry chef trained at the French Culinary Institute and a former pastry cook at Ritz-Carlton. Got Milk?

What a wonderful way to show your appreciation to those who have given so much for us. Member Cindy was honored to design and decorate this stunning cake.


This Stars and Stripes cake was designed and decorated by award-winning cake decorator and member Connie Di Tommaso --a perfect choice for a more traditional cake design.

Here Comes The Wedding Cake Contest - Do You Have What It Takes to be on Top?

This cake was designed and decorated by member, Aldana

Massachusetts I.C.E.S. has announced its first ever Wedding Cake Challenge, which will be in conjunction with its Day of Sharing June 28, 2009. Teams of three will work together to create a tiered wedding cake in only 1 hour. Trophies and ribbons will be awarded! Do you have what it takes to be on top?

For more information and to download the applications, visit the NYC Cake Decorators Meetup and click Files. All the Massachusetts I.C.E.S. newletters are posted and are accessible to the public. You can also contact Massachusetts I.C.E.S. at MassICES DOS, PO Box 572, Dighton, MA 02715. The deadline to apply is June 19, 2009. Good Luck!

Create a Motorcycle Cake at CaraLinn Cakes!

Motorcycle cake courtesy of CaraLinn Cakes

NYC Cake Decorators are crazy about cake and especially LOVE 3D carved cakes. We will be heading over to Brooklyn, NY in July to make our own motorcycle cakes. Why not join the fun and meetup at CaraLinn Cakes! For more information, contact Dina at New York City Cake Decorators Meetup. See you there!

Cupcake Lovers Contest!

Cupcakes and cake were designed and decorated by member Stephanie H.

Hey, cupcake lovers! It's Spring and what a better time to decorate and eat cupcakes! To help us celebrate, upload your best Spring cupcake photos to the NYC Cake Decorators Spring Cupcake Contest Group Pool on Flickr from May 16, 2009 through June 20, 2009. (You have to join Flickr but membership is free). Make sure you include a way to contact you. NYC Cake Decorators will judge your entries. We are looking for happy and colorful cupcakes, whimsical cupcakes, and floral cupcakes. Grand Prize is a copy of "Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor" and First Prize is a Cupcake Pedestal Set. Both items are available from one of our current sponsors, Cake 'n Crumbs.

Good Luck!

Cupcake Lovers Contest Coming May 16th!

This cupcake was designed and decorated by member Sara

Do you love to eat cupcakes? bake cupcakes? decorate cupcakes? dream cupcakes? Well, so do the NYC Cake Decorators. In fact, we are so crazy about cupcakes that we are going to launch our first online contest on May 16th for all our loyal blog readers, foodies, and cupcake fanatics. So be sure that you visit our blog on May 16th to get all the sweet details. All you need to enter the contest is a love for all things CUPCAKE!

And the Winner is...Award Winning Cakes!

Member Connie Di Tommaso took the Grand Prize in the Wedding Cake Competition at the Great American Cake Show in Maryland this past weekend! Connie is a talented sugar artist who also took 1st place and Best of Division (Advanced) at the Mid Atlantic Cake Show and one of her cakes graced the December issue of American Cake Decorating Magazine.


Member Dianna Lopez also entered the Great American Cake Show this past weekend and not only did they bump up her cake to the Semi-Professional Division, she took first place. The icing on the cake was that Dianna then won Best of Division! Dianna is a fine artist, self-taught cake designer, and is an intern for famed sugar artist Buddy Valestro.



Member Natalie Johnson's stunning black and white cake won a blue ribbon and Felicitations from the Jury at the Societe Culinaire Philanthropique, Salon of Culinary Arts, held at Jacob Javits Center.

Detail of Natalie's intricate stringwork and embroidery. See Natalie's other outstanding cakes at her website, A World of Cakes.

More Spring Cake Ideas!

This cake was designed by member Amelia, Amelia's Cakes and Favors.

A lovely idea for a spring special occasion cake! This bright sunny cake with stunning red peonies and butterflies would make anyone smile. Why not bake and decorate just the top tier for a great Mother's Day gift for mom?

Cupcake Decorating with Kids!

NYC Cake Decorators partner with community organizations to promote cake decorating and sugar art. Kids loved the cupcake decorating class held on May 1st. Two groups of kids learned how to swirl icing on their cupcakes or make "spaghetti and meatballs" cupcakes. Everyone had a blast!