Wilton Method 1 comes to an end...

Last night was our last Wilton Method 1 class. We even have certificates to prove it.

The task of the night was to learn to make sweet pea flowers and leaves as well as to finish roses. I chose garden colors because their tones were muted and fluorescent pink hurts my eyes. I made the icing for the roses too stiff, which is why the petals are broken and ragged on the tops. As much as the perfectionist in me was upset that my roses weren't smooth like others', I thought it let them pass as antique roses. With the addition of the Austen quote from Pride & Prejudice (it refers to Jane Bennett, or Bingley at that point), it all came together.


Closeup of the roses


and of the piping...


Next week starts the Wilton Method 2 class. It's mostly flowers. Hopefully I can get my icing kinks worked out by then or it's going to be all Austen/antique, all the time.

happy birthday mom!

My mom turned 50 this month and to celebrate, I made a special giant cupcake (with the pan I have courtesy of the dynamic duo, Amber & Anthony). Mark helped a great deal and came to the rescue in a frosting emergency. What a guy.

(Dad turned 50 last month and his birthday dessert was a fruit tart, chronicled on Mark's blog, here.)

I made Magnolia white cake and then carved it down. If you use this type of pan, take note. The base needs to bake longer than the top. Put the batter in the base first and cook for 15 minutes, followed by the batter in the top half. You will save yourself the trouble of prying the top out when the bottom has yet to set. (This happened to us.)


I made whipped buttercream (cooked icing) because that's my mom's favorite, and colored it blue and purple. Mark filled in the gaps between the pieces. If you see him, tell him not to kill me for featuring a photo with him in it.


We (mostly Mark) cut fondant strips and attached pastel circle sprinkles to them, and then strategically placed them around the base so as to look like a cupcake we saw featured in a Wilton book. That one looked better but I guarantee ours trumped it in taste.


Pipe on a birthday message......


And add some sprinkles... (and the holes for candles)


Tra la! We proceeded to scarf most of the top part in 5 seconds. The base didn't last another 24 hours, I gather.

super grover, away!

These cupcakes were actually made almost seven months ago, but they deserve a shout-out. Erin requested "something chocolate related to Richard Simmons, the Office, or Grover" for her birthday, as I recall.

I chose Grover. I made a few of those and then spelled Happy Birthday Erin! This was my very first time ever using fondant (for the faces only).



There were many. And they disappeared quite quickly.


See that cape in the bottom corner? The Super Grover cape carved by hand from fondant? It also disappeared. The question that has yet to be answered in seven months is who in the world would take a giant piece of fondant to eat? Particularly from a co-worker's box of birthday confections?


Grover doesn't know either.