Hi Everyone!

I would like to invite all budding cake decorators to get a chance to discuss their motivation and journey in the world of cake decorating.

I am sure we can learn a thing or two from general discussion.

I am of the believe that when we share we get a lot.

My hope is that we can gradually create a community where we all grow and develop together through the power of the WWW.

About me:

I am a budding cake artist (if I can call myself that). I started baking over 20 years ago (making cakes with little royal icing experience but intermediate buttercream experience). More recently, I started learning how to decorate using fondant and my particular interest is in cake sculpting. I have never been to a school so bear with me if you think my ways are not particularly right.

Cake making is a hobby, decorating a beautiful cake is my passion and making it as a cake sculpture is my dream. One day very soon I believe I will get there.

I journal my cake experience on readybaked.weebly.com. The journal gets updated only when I make a cake. So if you want to be interviewed by me, why not drop a line.

Thanks

The link below shows some of the cakes I've made over a couple of years. I have learnt from my mistakes and in recent times, I am able to produce cakes that makes you stop and take a look again.

http://readybaked.weebly.com/cakes.html

In the next post, I will discuss how I made my first carved cake ... The flower pot cake

You can add your comments or ask me anything and I will respond when I can.

Cheers

Hi everyone! Hope you've had a great weekend? Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who have clicked on the links above.

In the hope to serve you better, I would be glad if you can kindly drop your comments or perhaps subscribe to my newsletter so you can get updates on new posts.

I am aware there is a lack of a one stop cake decorating blog as such would like to reiterate that Readybaked is all about your caking needs. It is directed to the needs of the beginner cake decorator whilst also journeying through the art of perfecting my decorating skills.

I will be posting tried and trusted cake recipes as well as reviewing some recipes so as to reduce "wastage" for most of the beginners out there.

My aim is to help beginners become professional cake decorators who produce exceptional designs with eyes for detail.

I know we learn everyday and as such if there is anything I have failed to mention or tackle, please post your comments.

Enjoy your week
God bless

hooeaqergv

tooofxzz

Step by Step guide to making a flower pot cake

Hi guys! Happy Tuesday

I would like to share with you today the making of my flower pot cake. I can categorically say this is my first carved cake as I like to always jump in at the deep end. So let’s go!

To make a flower pot cake, you would need:

1. A good cake recipe ideal for carving, like the chocolate mud cake found here or the lemon Madeira cake here, whatever rocks your boat, as long as it is dense and not too soft, you are go!
2. Two round cake pans in 2 different sizes. Let’s assume you intend to make a 7 inch cake, you would need a 7 inch and a 6 inch round cake pan. My cake consists of two 7 inch and a 6 inch
3. Fondant coloured in terracotta: I believe I mixed orange and brown until I got the colour I wanted to achieve (The amount of fondant you would need depends on you but as a guide you would need about 1kg)
4. Cake board in 5 and 7 inches
5. Fondant flowers (sunflower, roses, hydrangea …. Whatever you want really or whatever the client wants)
6. Cake board for presentation, I probably used an 8 inch, I’m unsure as I did this last year. You would need to prep your cake board by covering with fondant or with pretty paper. My cake board was covered in fondant and decorated in woodgrain effect. (I will discuss how to do this in a later post)
7. Ganache or buttercream.

Here’s the fun bit:
1. Level the cakes and place on cake board
2. Layer them by stacking the 7 inch on the 6 inch cake (trust me this is just so you can see the shape of your flower pot) making sure you fill your cake using ganache or buttercream
3. Once cake is attached together, you would need to flip your cake so that the 6 inch is now on top. You are now ready to ‘carve’. TBH this particular cake is already half way there since you are using two different cake sizes. Taper the bottom of your cake (which is the 6 inch) until you have 5 inch. You need to trim the sides a little bit too (make sure you do not eat the cut outs as we are going to need it for our soil)
4. You then need to cover your cake in ganache (You can do this upside down for ease). Smooth the ganache so that you get rid of bumps. It sets hard almost quickly, however you can use a metal scraper and hot water to smoothen it out
5. You do not need to cover the top in ganache because we are going to cover it in fake soil
6. Cover the cake in fondant. Measure your cake circumference and height. Roll up your fondant according to the measurements you obtained. Lightly moisten your ganache whilst cake is still upside down, wrap your fondant around your cake. You create just one seam (make sure this is the back of your cake). Use a fondant smoother to smooth out the line
7. Let cake sit for a little while until fondant is dry and then flip cake so that the 5 inch bottom sits on the cake board.
8. To create the rim, you would need to roll out your fondant in the same circumference as your cake, but only about 1.5 inches to 2 inches high. Dab the top of your cake with little water and then wrap your fondant around, making sure you match seams at the back. Do not forget to create a little lip by slightly raising your fondant rim.
9. To create the soil, use a food processor to slightly crush the cut-outs. If you don’t have leftover cake, you can use Oreo cookies or digestive biscuits. Don’t forget to crush them till it looks like soil.
10. Finish off your creation using fondant flower of your choice.

Although I do not have the photos of all the steps taken, you can find several variations of the flower pot cake on the internet.

Note: A chocolate cake works best as it gives you the look of soil

What I learnt from making this cake:

1. When using ganache, always moisten cake with sugar syrup ( 100g sugar + 100ml water, boiled and cooled) this enables fondant to stick to it
2. Taper bottom of cake or use a 4,5,6 inch, 5,6,7 inch or 6,7,8 inch pan (all depends on how many people you want the cake to feed)
3. It takes a lot of colour and mixing to achieve the terracotta look. Your fondant will lose its elasticity and you would probably need to let it sit for one day to regain its shape
4. If you plan to make this for a client, factor the colouring process in, otherwise look for Americolor in terracotta.

PS: Do not forget your support system; it is VERY IMPORTANT otherwise your cake will fall!

Thanks

Hi Cakers. Hope you're following one of the best caker around. Its none other than Yolanda Gampp. Her cakes are to die for and the tutorials are ace.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvM1hVcRJmVWDtATYarC0KA


Don't forget, readybaked.weebly.com is commited to building a sense of community for all budding cakers out there.

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