Gumpaste Moth Orchid Class

Lynn proudly holds her stunning moth orchid spray.

Members made beautiful orchids in a 2-Day Gumpaste Moth Orchid class held on March 6, 2009 and March 7, 2009. For more information on upcoming classes and demos, contact Dina, Organizer, NYC Cake Decorators Meetup.

Topsy-Turvy Class

Members beam with pride as they show off their whimsical cakes.

Isa (wearing the pink cap), taught her first whimsical cake group class for NYC Cake Decorators on February 22nd with great results! Members learned how to carve the bottom and tricky top tier, cover with fondant, and dowel. Although top cake designers say that topsy-turvy cakes requests are decreasing, it's still a fascinating technique to learn for all occasion cakes. For more information about upcoming classes with Isa, contact Dina at the NYC Cake Decorators Meetup website.

Tiered Cake Construction Demo

Isa demonstrated how to construct a tiered cake properly and gave tips and hints to eager members on January 25, 2009. This was the first Meetup we were able to tape thanks to the graciousness of Lynn and her husband.

Fun with Fondant Class

Members had a great time perfecting the technique of smoothly covering a cake with fondant. Real and dummy cakes were brought to the class and members practiced under the watchful eye of lead instructor Isabel Sanchez-Yanez. Members then practiced making gumpaste carnations, sweet peas and daisies.

Cupcake Ideas!

Royal Icing Snowman Cupcake: cupcake, # 1, 2, 10, 12 tips, string spaghetti, white stiff consistency royal icing, green thin royal icing, dark brown or black thin royal icing (Tip: you can also pipe snowman mouth, eyes, hat, and buttons white and paint with paste color diluted in lemon extract or clear spirits). Pipe the base of the snowman with #12 tip, exerting pressure to create a round shape. Let set a minute or two, then pipe the middle with #12 tip. Insert a small length of spaghetti for arms (Helen's idea. I used a short length of floral wire in the snowman photo). Pipe head of the snowman with #10 tip . Pipe a #2 line around the head of the snowman for the brim of the hat and a bulb in the center for the hat. Use cornstarch dusted fingers to mold into a hat shape if necessary. Pipe #1 mouth, eyes, nose and buttons and scarf with #1 tip.

Ideas: The cupcake snowman scene can be embellished with a candy cane, gumdrop, white edible glitter, coconut, sugar sprinkles, or placed in your gingerbread holiday house scene. You can sprinkle your snowman cupcake with a dust of confectioner's and display your snowman with the lovely holly cupcake wrapper shown here from Fancy Flours.
Fancy Flours has a lot of neat cupcake wrappers in seasonal themes. Personally love their spiderweb, butterfly and holly cupcake wrapper. I also love their vintage cookie wafer papers. Real neat to apply to your cookies.

Hope you liked the how-to directions.

Dina
Organizer

Cupcake Designed by Dina, Organizer NYC Cake Decorators

Royal Icing Violet in a Flower Pot: cupcake, #7 nail, and a small unglazed terracotta flower pot (washed in hot soapy water), #1, 59s, 104, and grass/hair tips; medium consistency leaf green royal icing, medium consistency violet royal icing, thin consistency yellow icing, small six 30 green floral wires, and small amount of green floral tape.

Base- pipe three #3 beads on wax paper on your work surface. While still wet, hook a small length of wire and place hook down into the bead. Let dry. Affix a small wax square to your flower nail. Petals -Pipe three violets on the flower nail with violet icing, pipe #1 yellow centers, and and leave to dry on a flower former. (Tip: Re-purpose a paper towel holder by cutting it lengthwise and pressing open. Now you have your flower former for free)! Leaves: Pipe three #104 violet leaves directly on the wires. Let dry. Attach the violets when dry on the bases with a tiny dab of icing. Take a small length of floral tape and wire the three flowers together. The attach the 3 leaves. Place cupcake into the terracotta flower pot. Pipe grass over the top of the cupcake with grass tip and green icing. Cut the wires of your violet spray and attach a toothpick with a small length of floral tape. Push into cupcake. (Only the toothpick should pierce the cupcake). Sprinkle with edible glitter, place a small royal icing or gumpaste ladybug or butterfly on the rim of the flower pot.

Ideas: The royal icing violet cupcake is a great choice for a garden party, gardener, gardening club event, Easter or Spring event, women's group, or Victorian Tea Party. Several of these flower pot cupcakes would be great lined up on a table, as favors, or as an unusual place setting. Why not bake your mini-cake in the unglazed terracotta flower pot? (see baking 911 for directions on how to treat the unglazed terracotta flower pot). The flower pot in the photo was purchased at Michaels Craft Store in NYC.

Sunsational Sunflower Cupcake Idea!

Cupcake Decorated by Dina, Organizer, NYC Cake Decorators

Royal Icing Sunflower Cupcake: 1 sandwich cookie, cupcake, # 3, 7, 3 and 352 tips, #7 flower nail, edible glitter/colored sugar, medium consistency royal icing (Wilton Lemon Yellow paste mixed with a little Wilton Brown paste was used for the petals and Wilton Brown paste was used for the flower center). Separate the sandwich cookie. Now you can make two sunflowers!

Place a small square of wax paper on a #7 nail, put a dab of icing on the wax paper and place the icing side of the cookie on your dab. Now put yellow icing in your bag fitted with #352 leaf tip and pipe around the rim of the cookie. Then pipe another yellow of leaves in between the first row and so on around the cookie, lifting the bag up slightly as you go around the cookie. When you feel you have the right amount of space left for your center, stop piping the leaves and start piping #7 beads around the outside of the center continuing until the beads fill the center. Overpipe a small circle of beads with a #3 tip. Sprinkle flower with edible glitter and dry.

Ideas: The royal icing sunflower cupcake is great choice for casual summer and fall gatherings, and can be used as a distinctive place setting or tasty favor wrapped with clear cellophane. Change the color of the flower to red with dark brown center and you have a spicy addition to a colorful tablescape. Want sparkle? Fill the center with colorful dragees. A white flower piped this way with silver or gold dragees is a lovely accent for your holiday table. This flower can also be piped with crusting buttercream.

Cupcake Design Class using Beginner Techniques

A wonderful day to eat and decorate cupcakes! It was the first time three members ever picked up a pastry bag and a refresher for some. Isabel demonstrated the Wilton Rose and poinsettia. We piped rose buds, half roses, and the Wilton Rose with royal icing. Then we split an oreo cookie and used one side of the cookie to pipe a royal icing sunflower. Members were particularly interested in the figure piped snowman and royal icing violet spray. Enjoy!

Cup Cake Design Class in September!

Members are looking forward to a fantastic cupcake design class scheduled for the end of September. Basic cake decorating techniques will be reviewed and cupcake displays will show how these techniques can be used to enhance cupcakes for all occasions. Only 3 weeks to go!

Gumpaste Hydrangea Class

Brush Embroidery Practice Mini-clinic

Gumpaste & Fondant Mini-Clinic

One of the display cakes decorated at the mini-clinic.

Cake Decorating Mini-Clinics

The Intro to Cake Decorating mini-clinic was lots of fun!!!! Newbie decorators gathered together, piping bags in hand and had a great time practicing basic buttercream flowers, borders, and flowers with their instructors close at hand.
One member had never held a pastry bag before attending the mini-clinic but by the end of the class, she was producing buttercream borders and stars with the confidence of a pro.














Swapping cake stories and piping buttercream with cake buddies--hey, what more can you ask for?

Practice does make perfect and the newbie decorators' piping skills are getting better by leaps and bounds! Besides the basic piping, we also piped icing swirls on cupcakes for two members who are cupcake fanatics. It was great!

Buttercream roses were piped at our Ode to the Rose Mini-Clinic. We tried the zero trans fat solid white shortening in our class buttercream recipe with no real problems. Whew! that was a relief!