Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts

Saturday, May 1, 2010

A Birthday Cake

I’ve heard so many different things about fondant and their textures and tastes.  So when I saw marshmallow fondant somewhere on the internet I really wanted to try it.  I decided to make Jared the guinea pig. The verdict?  Mixed.  The texture is definitely weird.  I haven’t had regular fondant before, so I can’t compare.  The taste wasn’t great, but two of our kids did like it. I guess I’d do it again, but just for looks, not taste.  I can’t find the site that I originally saw it, but it was awesome.  I thought I bookmarked it, but I guess I didn’t.  FondantI’m sure if you Google ‘marshmallow fondant’ you can find a decent recipe.  I am going to go off my memory here.  You don’t need much as you can tell, so this will be pretty easy.Fondant1Take your bag of marshmallows and stick the in a microwave safe bowl.  Add a little water and start melting them in 1 minute increments.  Stir them after each minute.  They should be nice and smooth with no lumps. Fondant2Nice and smooth.  See?  Now add a little vanilla for flavor.Fondant3Next add your powdered sugar one cup at a time. Fondant4Stir it up and keep adding more until it begins to pull away from the bowl. Fondant5Then take your lovely, greasy Crisco and that’s right… Fondant6Smear it all over your countertop.  Smear a ton of it, all over.  Really.  All over. Fondant8Slap your fondant on the counter.  Sprinkle with some more powdered sugar.  Fondant9The consistency should be smooth and elastic, but not sticky.  It shouldn’t break when you pull on it.  Once you get to that point that’s it.  Stop adding powdered sugar. Fondant10It should have a nice satiny sheen to it. Fondant11Once you’re done stick it in an air tight container or bag and stick it in the fridge overnight. Fondant12Now we’re on to the the next day.  Sprinkle your countertop with cornstarch.  Yes, I said cornstarch.  Don’t ask why.  Just do it.  I don’t know the whys I just did it.  Now I got so into things I forgot  to take some snaps of what I was doing.  At this point, start kneading your fondant like bread dough to soften it up.  If it’s still too hard stick it in the microwave in 10 second increments until it’s workable.  You can also divide up the fondant and knead some food coloring into it.Fondant13Once you’ve got it rolled out place it on top of your cake.  Of course before you do that you should frost your cake.  That will help the fondant stick better.  Fondant15After you have placed a piece over your cake, cut the excess off.  We don’t have many “cake” tools around here, so a pizza cutter is what I used. Fondant16 The girls wanted to do the decorating.  Again we don’t even have many cookie cutters or things like that, so Rachel is using one of Anna’s bottles and Rebecca is using a biscuit cutter.  Whatever works, right?Fondant17For the most part the bottle worked just fine.  Fondant18Once the hard part was over I let the girls completely take over.  Rebecca did all the writing.  Fondant20They painted the circles on with water. Fondant21 The water acts just like glue.Fondant22The water also makes things shiny. Fondant23David tried to steal a little. Fondant24

Marshmallow Fondant:

  • Bag of marshmallows
  • 2-4 Tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Crisco
  • 2-4 cups Powdered sugar
  • Cornstarch
  • Food dyes

Place marshmallows in microwave safe bowl with 2 T of water.  Melt the marshmallows in 1 minute increments.  Stir after each minute.  Once the lumps are gone stir in vanilla.  Add 1 cup of powdered.  Stir well.  Add another cup.  Keep adding powdered sugar until fondant pulls away from the bowl.  Then smear Crisco on a large area of your countertop.  Put fondant on top of Crisco and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Knead until consistency is smooth and has a satiny sheen.  Place in air tight container overnight.  The next day, sprinkle your countertop with cornstarch.  Knead fondant until workable.  If adding color, knead the fondant until the color is well mixed.  Roll out your fondant or cut it into shapes. Stick it to your cake with water!  Have fun with it.  Don’t eat too much of it.  It’s not really that tasty.  :)

Monday, April 26, 2010

Jared’s Birthday Cake

CakeIt was nearing Jared’s birthday, so I asked him if he wanted cake or cupcakes.  He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “Well, cake, of course.”  I’m not very creative when it comes to baking, but I saw a recipe for marshmallow fondant somewhere in our cyber world and it made me want to try it.  So, Adriane, here is the cake you’ve been waiting for.  Details on this will come another day. Cake1Rebecca and Rachel actually did the decorating.  I know, it’s a little girly, but like I said, I’m not very creative with this kind of stuff.  We decided to make it purple and black because Jared and I went to the Rockies game on his birthday.  The Rockies team colors are purple and black in case  you didn’t know that. Cake2 Jared turned 32 on Saturday, but we ended up celebrating his birthday Sunday after church.  Then I forgot to get the proper candles, so Rebecca said the 3 and two other candles should work.  She’s so smart. 

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Happy Birthday Rachel


We recently celebrated Rachel's 5th birthday. She wanted a cake with flowers, so thanks to my mom and Martha Stewart this is what we came up with.

While diamonds are a girl's best friend, for a lot of women, for me it's glass (camera lenses), for Rachel it's Barbies. You could give her one hundred Barbies and she would still want more. A little girl can never have enough Barbies.

Oh, and mail or cards! She loves getting mail. Thanks Aunt Kristi! She loves her little gift from you. She was so excited when she saw mail for herself. The kids take turns checking the mail everyday.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Happy Birthday Rachel!





Rachel is now a big four year old!  She wanted a Tinkerbell birthday so that's what we did.  Don't ever tell a child NOT to touch something because when you say the word "don't" the temptation might be too much for them.  I put the cake on the counter and said, "Don't touch the cake."  Well,  guess what happened?  I bet just by looking at the photos you know what happened.  The cake no longer says "Happy."  Oh, well.  It was a fun birthday for everyone anyway.


Sunday, April 27, 2008

Surprise! Happy Birthday!








We went out to dinner with some friends.  When we came home...Surprise!  Our house was decorated with a game theme and people were waiting in our living room.  What a shock to Jared.  He had no idea, and neither did the kids.  Whew!  What a hard secret to keep.  I don't think I can pull off something like that again.  It was a game night theme!  What's a party without poker chip cakes and a little farkle.

Dad's Birthday

Thursday was Jared's 30th birthday.   We decided to make a cake.  It started out as a clean white palette.  Then I let the kids loose.  In the end they created a beautiful masterpiece.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Elmo Party!

We celebrated David's 1st birthday with an Elmo birthday party!


David even got his own Elmo cake.









He really enjoyed his birthday cake.  Can I really dig in and have the whole thing?



Time for presents.  I like the wrapping paper more than the gifts.  Paper is so much more fun!