Pink Grapefruit Sorbet

 

 

     This class, we made pink grapefruit sorbet. I'm very impressed with the ice cream maker and its ability of keeping so cold for so long. The process of creating sorbet is surprisingly easy. The recipe is also very simple.

 

     The sorbet was a little too sweet for me. However, the texture was exquisite. It was very light and had the same texture as fine, powdered snow. Overall, I found this fun to make and would definitely make this again. 

Ice Cream Sandwiches

 

     In this lab, we created ice cream sandwiches! The cookie was a really rich chocolate cookie and the icecream was vanilla. I don't really know what happened but our icecream turned out really watery and pretty unworkable. I saved some ice cream in a piping bag though, so it was easier to pipe it onto the cookie.

 

 

 

     Overall, the cookie was delicious. I really would've liked trying out the ice cream but it melted before I could taste it! I would definitely try making ice cream again.

 

Fondant Cake

 

 

     This is my complete cake! I created all the decorations on this cake; from the small strips of pink and white on the side, to the bow on the top. Even though this was very stressful, I think that the end result was definitely worth the effort and time! The cake itself is a simple white cake and the 3 layers are held together by plain buttercream.

 



 

     After dirty icing the entire cake, I laid my sheet of fondant overtop. We created marshmallow fondant in the previous class. However, I found this fondant extremely dry and had absolutely no stretch. I couldn't even roll it out without it cracking and splitting. Due to the non-workable nature of my marshmallow fondant, I decided to cover my cake with store bought fondant by Wilton. After covering my cake with the fondant, I applied strips of pink, then thin strips of white fondant. I cut everything out with a pizza cutter to get even lines.

 

 

     The bow topper is my favourite part of the cake. I made a bunch of little ribbons and connected it onto a base in the middle. It was actually pretty easy to make because I was following a tutorial that I found on Pinterest. The link is here: http://rosebakes.com/rose-bakes-how-to-make-a-poofy-bow-fondant-or-gum-paste-part-1-gender-reveal-cake/ I originally planned to place the roses on the side parts of the cake, however, after seeing the bow, I just decided to use them as fillers.

     Overall, I was very satisfied with my final product. The cake I was inspired by was the middle tier of this cake: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388861408864/.

Daisies and Leaves

 

 

     In this lab, we created pretty daisies. I only had time to do one but I think the result was pretty nice. I find that all the fondant flowers take a really long time. The daisy was really simple to make, since it was just 3 cut outs.

 



 

     Beside the flowers, we also created leaves. I didn't find these leaves very realistic and they were way too weak and thin in my opinion.

Roses

 

     The method for making this rose is really not efficient. I found that the rose didn't look very nice. When I threaded the petal through the spaghetti, it was very dry and would just crack when I was trying to work with it. Due to this problem, I couldn't really follow the instructions fully since I was panicking trying to scrap the petals together as they broke off of each other.

     In summary, fondant dries really fast and is not willing to work with you.

Mums

 

     I absolutely hated creating mums. They were extremely time consuming and the petals would keep breaking off of the spaghetti because they were way too dry. I found that the petals were way too thick to look anything near realistic. Also, the end result wasn't pretty at all. I would probably never use these on a cake

Button Flowers

 

     I found that these button flowers were the easiest ones to create out of all the flowers. This is because they're made with a simple cutter that cuts the fondant into the exact shapes you need.

     The button in the middle is really cute and I learned that you need A LOT of cornstarch to get the textures on the petals without them sticking!

Carnations

 

     I think that the carnation was my best flower. I created the carnation by ruffling out a bunch of layers then stacking them on top of each other. the little rips on the edges of the flower actually made it look a lot more realistic and delicate.

As I added more layers, the flower got really heavy and hard to hold. So I put it in a circle cutter to hold the shape. Overall, I found the carnation simple to make and very pretty. However, it was time consuming.

Calla Lilies

 

    For the next couple labs, we will be creating a different type of flower each class. This class, we made calla lilies out of fondant. Personally, I don't think mine looked very realistic. However, I'm sure with lots of practice, a realistic looking lily could be achieved!

     We started the lily out by cutting out a heart shape and ruffling the edges with the ball tool. Then, we wrapped the heart around a cone flower former to let it set. While it was setting, we created a little sausage from fondant and dipped it in yellow sprinkles to form the middle part of the lily. We also created a green half circle for the calyx.

      I learned that flowers are kind of difficult to make and take lots of patience.

Fondant Cupcakes

 

     In this lab, we made delectable chocolate cupcakes with cute fondant toppers. I decided to go with a minion theme because I think minions are super fun and add a really cute touch. The cupcake itself was very rich and the buttercream was light and fluffy.

     I created the base of the fondant topper using the lid of a sprinkles jar and cut out the smaller circles using the open end of icing tips. For the eyes, I used the smaller end of the icing tip to create different sized circles. For the tongue, I rolled a small ball and flattened it. Then, using a pairing knife, I pushed a line into the middle to create detail. After these toppers dried, I iced my cupcakes with a star tip and placed the toppers on the icing.

Overall, I think that these cupcakes would be really great for kid parties. This lab made me realize all the different possibilities with fondant! I think that it's really fun but frustrating to work with.

Bread Braiding with Pulla Bread

 

     In this lab, we created detailed braids with dough. The bread itself was packed with flavor and was very delicious. It was perfectly soft and the cardamom added an amazing scent and taste to the bread. This loaf was so scrumptious that I couldn't resist not eating it...explains the broken off end in the photo above. 

     The dough started off really sticky but after the flour, it turned pliable and ended up being easy to work with. We left the bread to rise in the bowl for around 2 hours. The ceramic bowl ensured that the heat would be kept within to help the yeast grow.

     I did a four-strand braid for my loaf. It was really simple and made my loaf look a lot more attractive. We also sprinkled the tops of the bread with sugar crystals. As soon as the bread came out of the oven, we brushed it with a coffee glaze which produced a gorgeous shine.

     Overall, I thought that this bread was delicious and the braiding made it look extra pretty. I would definitely make this again!

Bread

     Making bread, hoorah, how exciting! This was my first time creating home made bread and it was a fun time! Coming to school at 8 made me feel more productive throughout the day. I personally had a really fun time watching the yeast grow inside the beaker.

     I thought that this dough was a little too stretchy and sticky to work with. I tried making a pretzel but it looked a little wonky and lopsided. The clover buns were reallllly delicious though. My favourite thing about them is how the 3 different parts of the bun can be peeled apart so that they're easy to eat. Kind of like string cheese but bread version. This recipe inspired my mom to start creating her own bread at home which is great because her bread is really delicious.

Pysanka

     The above photo of my pysanka is the result of dropping it in my car and wrapping it in a wet one which rubbed off the dye. I think it looks better like that to be honest. Anyways, this was a really fun lab! I've always wondered how these intricate designs were created and after this lab, I've realized that it is a lot easier than it looks!

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     My favourite part about this egg would probably be the ombré spokes coming off of the flower. I was trying to go for a gradual gradient starting from green to the purple in the middle. I found the dying process the most fun because it was really easy. Tracing the pencil lines took such a long time but in the end it was worth every second!

Easter Carrot Cake Eggs

     These carrot cakes were a lot of fun to make because I got to be crafty and creative with the designs. The cake batter was so thick that we thought we did something wrong! 3 of them ended up cracking but other than that, everything was fine.

     I didn't actually eat the cake so I don't know how it tasted. I thought that the daffodils were easy to make but not very pretty. They dried very slowly and also cracked easily. I think I placed a little too many on my purple egg so it looked slightly messy...I loved the colours though! For the second egg, I decided to go for a more classic looking egg. So I piped these swirly designs on with my buttercream and added a pretty white flower on top with the star tip. I would totally make these again!

Galaxy Cake

 

 

     Baked this cake for my little brother's 12th birthday party! The end result was absolutely stunning...definitely worth the 6 hours it took to create it! I baked the four layers of chocolate cake a day earlier so that I'd have a whole day just to focus on the decorating. I whipped up a salted caramel chocolate buttercream for the frosting mmm. I used the same chocolate cake recipe as the Ombre Icing post down below!

    A little close up on the luster dust that I applied to my cake! The dust was magical and added the most amazing shimmer to really complete that space effect. I brushed it on with a clean food only paint brush and made these pretty swirly galaxies!

     I covered the cake with white fondant. Then I put food colouring into a small spray bottle and sprayed that onto the cake to create a space effect. It turned out almost looking airbrushed which was really exciting. The star sprinkles on the outside were really thin and hella expensive but totally worth it! I also made galaxies out of the white ball sprinkles!

 



     I used the premade fondant by Wilton which was actually super easy to work with but ripped a bit on both layers of the cake. I find the fondant really sweet but in the end, it looked super bomb so it didn't even matter!

 

My Go-To Buttercream Recipe (Salted Caramel Version)

1 cup of salted butter (if using unsalted butter, add 3/4 teaspoon of salt)

4 cups of icing sugar

4-5 tablespoons of heavy cream (I use coffee cream)

Desired amount of caramel extract (I used about 4 tablespoons because the extract I used was quite thin)



Ombre Icing

 

     The cake is a chocolate and vanilla cake marble. The icing is a caramel buttercream mmm. I used a large icing tip to create the large swirl on the top of the cupcake. The large tip created a beautiful design but I couldn't fill up much of the bag because the coupler was HUGE which was a bit of a let down. To create the ombre, I fill the right side of the bag with yellow icing, middle of the bag with orange, and left side with red. Also, I can't believe just how expensive cupcake liners are! I got these at Michaels and they were $6.99 for just 24 of them! Anyways, this chocolate cake recipe is the best that I've ever followed so here it is (got it from the blog Add a Pinch):

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

 

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.

1. For the cake:
2. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
4. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Cake Pops

     I've always wondered how these little balls of deliciousness were created aaaand now that I know, I don't think I'll be making them often. I had no idea that a single cakepop was equivalent to an entire cupcake calories wise. During this lab, I learned a couple things, you have to crumble the cake before you create the balls and the crumbs are mixed with frosting. After this lab, I finally understood how cakepops could have that rich and moist texture to it.

 

      I tried the cake at this point and found that the frosting changed the cake but in a good way. Of course, the batter was more dense and a lot richer but it wasn't a lot sweeter than the original cake which surprised me because the frosting is just icing sugar and butter (margarine).

 

     I was just a tad worried when shaping the cake pops because they weren't exactly perfectly spherical but the candy melts really evened and rounded them out. It was really irritating working with the candy melts and the cakepop on the stick because the cakepop would start slipping off. Also, the candy melts would settle quite quickly and I'm not the best at working within a time limit so this wasn't really my thing.

     Making these chicken cake pops was the most irritating thing. I would either accidently wait too long and the candy melt would be too dry to stick sprinkles in; or I wouldn't let the candy melt settle for long enough and the sprinkles would just go wack. Since my chickens weren't the greatest, here's a picture of food artist, Sophia, decorating her cakepop chicken.

     I'm the most proud of these swirly designs that I piped on with a paper piping bag. I wish the candy melt was just a little thinner so that the leaves could have better stems instead of just being these huge blobs. I thought that the overall look was really beautiful though! The bus driver complimented it and said that it was "simple yet elegant". Not to mention, they tasted incredible!