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Acorn Tutorial

Monday, September 27, 2010

Here's a quick tutorial on making an acorn for all your fall cake decorating:


Here's what the finished acorn will look like. Now lets get started...


You'll need brown and tan colored fondant, plus a small piece of plastic canvas. (The plastic canvas is available at any craft store.)




Roll the tan colored fondant into a smooth ball.



Roll it into a cone shape.



Flatten the top of the cone.



Pinch the bottom end of the cone making a small point,



Roll the large brown fondant piece into a smooth ball.



Flatten the ball slightly under the palm of your hand. This piece will be the acorn's "cap".



Brush a small amount of water on the bottom of the cap piece.



Put the cap on top of the acorn and push it together so it sticks well.



Push the top of the cap into the plastic canvas.


This gives you that grid pattern acorn are known for.



Roll the small brown fondant piece into an elongated cone shape. This is the stem.


Poke a hole in the top of the acorn with the end of a paint brush.



Brush a tiny bit of water into the hole then push in the stem.


There you have it... your finished acorn!

Enchanted Forest Cake

Friday, September 17, 2010


What do you do with left over strawberries? Strawberries and cream? Strawberry Sauce? Strawberry Lemon Muffins? Strawberries on your breakfast cereal? Strawberries with vanilla ice cream?  Several years ago I found myself trying to answer this same question. Not enough strawberries to use in most recipes, but too many to just sit down and eat by myself.

I know you've heard of Black Forest cake... chocolate cake, cherry filling, whipped cream frosting etc. Well, I thought why not try to make something similar with strawberries??? Genius! (At least I think I'm a genius... just don't ask my kids.) After I came up with this recipe, my husband immediately proclaimed it to be "Enchanted Forest Cake". Genius! (I always knew he was a genius.) It's been one of my families favorite cakes ever since. No fancy decorating with this one... but it will "make your toes curl" with yumminess!

Just makes your mouth water doesn't it.... ;)


Make your favorite chocolate cake recipe but stir 1 1/2 C mini chocolate chips into the batter. You can use regular sized chocolate chips but they will sink to the bottom of the cake as it cooks. (We actually like it better when they sink to the bottom because it makes a firm chocolate base.)  Bake in a 9x13" pan as directed.


You'll need strawberries, 1 pint whipping cream, 1/4 C + 4 Tbls. powdered sugar, 8oz. cream cheese and 1 tsp. vanilla.


Put the softened cream cheese and 1/4 C of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.

Beat until smooth and creamy.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the cooled cake.
Thinly slice the strawberries and put them over the cream cheese mixture so it's evenly covered.
Combine the whipping cream, vanilla, and 4 Tbls. powdered sugar in another bowl.
Whip until it's fairly stiff... be careful not to whip too long or you'll end up with very sweet butter. (Butter doesn't taste very good on chocolate cake. LOL)
Spread the whipped cream over the top.
Garnish it however you like... I used chocolate shavings and a couple of partially slices strawberries.
Serve with a nice cold glass of milk!
Try to eat just one piece. I promise you'll be begging for another one... or two!

Autumn Pumpkin Tutorial

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The air is starting to feel a little cooler, so Autumn must be just around the corner. This nice weather has me thinking about fall holidays and all the beautiful decorations. Here's a tutorial on how to make one of those cute little harvest pumpkins:

You'll need orange, green and brown fondant; dental floss and a toothpick.
 
Knead the orange fondant until it's soft, then roll it into a smooth ball.

Slightly flatten the top of the fondant ball.

Wrap a piece of dental floss around the ball.

Pull the ends of the floss slightly, leaving an impressed mark.

This is what the impression should look like. If you stop now... you have an apricot!

Continue dividing the sections in half until you have 8 sections.

Now you've completed all the pumpkin lines.

Poke a small hole into the top of the pumpkin with a toothpick.

Roll a small piece of brown fondant into a long cone shape. This is the stem.

Put the stem into the hole on top of your pumpkin.

Roll a piece of green fondant into a long tapered rope shape. This is the vine.

Wrap the vine around a toothpick.

Cut the green fondant into a teardrop shape with a gum paste cutter. If you don't have a cutter...  just use a knife.  Impress small veins into the leaf with a toothpick.

Slightly pinch the pointed end of the leaf together.

 Add the stem, vine and leaf to your pumpkin. There you go... you've just finished!   If the pieces don't stick together, just use a little water as glue. Now isn't that the cutest little pumpkin you've ever seen?
 

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