Classes, classes............

Hello all!

This weekend I am away (yes, AGAIN!!!) at a cake group meeting.  We had classes today and another one tomorrow, and then our meeting is tomorrow afternoon. 

I took the class this afternoon (yes I still like to learn new stuff, lol).  The class was on the Lambeth Method of decorating.  Here are some pictures of the cake that we did in the class:

What did you learn today?

Sugar Cookies.......

For quite a while I have been decorating cookies for both competitions and to give out as favors for various events.  I came to realize after the last batch I did, I don't like the icing that I've been putting on them.  It dries too hard and is too crunchy (it's Royal Icing made with Meringue Powder).
 
So yesterday, instead of working on decorating the cookies I need for this weekend for my cake meeting, I searched for new cookie icing recipes online.  I found one that sounded good, so I decided to go ahead and make it.

Here's the recipe I used:  (it's from allrecipes.com)

5 cups Confectioner's Sugar

3 Tablespoons and 1 teaspoon milk

3 Tablespoons and 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1¼ teaspoons almond extract (or flavoring of choice)

assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. Should be a consistency good for piping onto cookies. Recipe yields enough icing to ice approx 5 dozen cookies.

So, I weighed out the sugar into the Kitchen Aid bowl, added the milk and turned the mixer on.  Did I get a smooth result??  Far from it.  I got sugar that was a wet sandy consistency.  I thought, ok....I'll mix in the corn syrup and see what happens.  Go to measure out the corn syrup, and have 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.  So, I figure maybe I did something wrong, and proceed to measure out half the sugar and milk and put it in the KA again.  Same result.  Add in the corn syrup and it doesn't improve the situation at all.

Then I decide to sit down and read through the comments on the recipe.  One said 'don't use a stand mixer'.  Others said they had to add more liquid (milk or corn syrup).  I decided to add more liquid to the mess I had in the mixer.  I ended up adding double the amount of milk, and it actually turned out like I think it was supposed too.  I was shocked!  and VERY happy!

Went out for more corn syrup and finished making the rest of the icing that I had started.

So, today I decorated the cookies (all but 11 of them).  Have to make more icing and finish them tomorrow.

Here is what they look like:

There are 30 of each color combo.

Have you found a new recipe today?

Cake Pics from VA

It's been a few days.....been at the cake show, and recovering from the cake show, lol.

Here are the pictures of the cakes I entered in the show:

This is the Zodiac cake.  The zodiac symbols (on the side of the cake) are cross-stitched onto fondant plaques.  The top has a run-sugar 3-dimensional sun surrounded by the zodiac constellations. 

This cake won an Honorable Mention ribbon!

 This is the Rose cake.  It is a hexagon cake dummy covered in black fondant.  The roses on the sides are piped embroidery that was piped onto fondant cut to the shape of the flowers.  The roses on top are gumpaste, and then dusted with red.  The lines piped around the top were done with tips 0, 1 and 1.5, some stacked/piped on top of others.

This cake won a 3rd Place Ribbon!!!



 The trip down to Virginia and back was full of hilarious moments.  We rented another Book on CD for the trip home, but it wasn't nearly as funny or entertaining as the one we had on the way down.  We didn't even finish listening to it, lol.

On to my next project - cake meeting this weekend.  I am making cookies to give as favors at the meeting.  That is tomorrow's adventure - icing the cookies.  I leave Friday morning to head out to Western Mass, and have tons to do before then, lol.

Off to get some sleep so I can get up bright and early tomorrow :)

Proud to be an American

I've always been proud be an American, to live in the country we do, with the freedoms we enjoy.  There are many people in many countries that don't enjoy the same rights and liberties that we do. 

We spent today in Washington DC.  Our great nation's capitol.  A place that some Americans may never get to visit in their lifetime.  And we're lucky enough to live within driving distance of it.  This is the second time I've been to Washington DC.  The first time I was 11, and certainly did not appreciate what I was seeing and where I was.  I did get to tour the White House (something you can't do today).  Got to meet one of our state congressman in person.  Saw a lot of stuff about America's history, and sadly couldn't tell you some of it because I didn't pay that much attention then.  We mostly saw Memorials today. 

Here are the places we went:


Arlington National Cemetery: The Eternal Flame and John F. Kennedy's grave

Arlington National Cemetery: Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers - Changing of the Guards

Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool:

Lincoln Memorial:

World War II Memorial:

Korean War Memorial:

I just realized, I did not take a picture of the Vietnam Wall Memorial.  It is quite an impressive memorial to look at.  Walking around Arlington National Cemetery, and all the different war memorials has confirmed to me how thankful I am for all those that have served their country, OUR country, fighting to protect the freedoms that we enjoy each and every day.

My father served his country.  He was in the Navy, for three years.  He proudly served his country for those years.  During one of his years, he was stationed way out on one of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska (I'm not sure which one).  His job was translating the Russian's Morse Code messages into words.  It was obviously in Russian, and there was another gentlemen (or more, not sure) that translated the Russian into English.  He recently told me some stories from that year spent in Alaska.  On their days off, him and the guys he was stationed with used to go sledding on the island.  This was all years before I was born, but I'm glad he told me about it.  My father passed away this past year.  I purchased a tie-tack type of pin today, and am planning on bringing it home and burying it in the ground in front of his headstone. 

On a much happier note, lol, the cake show is tomorrow and Sunday.  We are getting up in about 5hrs to get ready to go.  There will be pictures tomorrow night from the show!



Are you proud to be a citizen of your country?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, roadtrips.............

Hello faithful readers (of which I think I have 3 :) )! 

Sorry there has been no post for a few days.  We were traveling yesterday.  We're in Virginia!!!  YEAH!!!!!  We made it.  We always do, lol.  We spent about 12 hrs on the road.  It would have been less had we not stopped at that bank (need $, right?), Walgreen's, Michael's (always forget something), Cracker Barrel (YUM is the only word necessary), and of course gas and bathroom breaks.  Oh, and let's not forget the backup at the George Washington Bridge.  Stupid, stupid, stupid we are!!!  EVERY time we say 'We should take the Tappanzee Bridge because it's better than the GWB' (yeah, we've done this trip a few times, lol).  We even planned on it this time.  Had our Mapquest directions and everything.  So, you might be asking yourself, 'How did they end up on the GWB?'  The simple answer? We are basically morons who don't know to leave well enough alone. 

We were on 95, and quickly approaching the exit for the Tappanzee.  You see, we have this misguided notion that there is only traffic in NYC at certain hours of the day.  While this may in fact be true, it seems that it's the hours we drive through, regardless of the actual time of day (we slightly suspect this means there is traffic ALL THE TIME in NYC).  Then we think, 'well it won't be so bad this time'.  I have no idea how we come up with this, since there is no rational basis for it.  So, as we are approaching the exit, a decision needs to be made, and fast (I don't drive slow, lol).  We mutually agree to forgo the Tappanzee and instead risk it on the GWB.

And of course, we totally regretted the decision.  You see, we had plenty of time to think about it while sitting basically stationary for a good 15 minutes trying to get onto the GWB.  Here's where we normally would have flipped out completely (neither one of us can stand traffic).  However, we were listening to a Book on CD, so it didn't seem so bad at least (more on that in a few minutes).  We did eventually make it over the Bridge (top level, the only one worth driving IMO).  We looked to our left as we crossed the bridge (ok....Janet looked, I glanced).  And we were treated to a view that makes all the agravation and sitting in traffic worth it - the skyline of NYC.  What a wondering gorgeous sight to see.  I believe it was Janet who said "and THAT'S why we brave the GWB."

I believe that was the worse traffic we encountered.  We had some through DC, but not much else that I can really remember.  And since it was only yesterday, you'd think I would remember bad traffic.

Have you ever rented/bought/borrowed a Book on CD (formerly known as Book on Tape when we all had cassette players in our cars)?  I never have.  Janet never has (that I know of).  We did yesterday.  Cracker Barrel (in all it's awesomeness) rents Books on CD at their stores.  It is pretty cool.  You pay the rental fee (3.49 in our case) and the cost of the Book (approx $22, this might be different for each title, not sure).  When you return the book (to ANY Cracker Barrel in the country!) within 1 week of the purchase date, the price of the book is refunded to you. 

We were going to pick a book we had already read, since we have a tendency to zone out/ignore the radio/talk, etc......  We thought we'd be "rewinding" a lot to re-listen to parts we didn't remember hearing.  How wrong we were!!  We ended up deciding to rent a book neither of us had read.  It was one of Debbie Macomber's Angel books.  If you've never read her books, you really should - they are good!  We rented "Where Angels Go".  It was an awesome story.  We found that the hours just flew by because we were paying attention and listing to the story.  I managed to drive the whole way and not really get tired at all.

Needless to say, we are finding a Cracker Barrel before we leave VA and are going to return the book we have and get another one.  If I ever have to take a trip by myself (driving), I will certainly be looking into getting another Book on CD, they are fabulous! 

Was the story a good one you might be asking?  Well, you'll just have to listen (or read) for yourself - I'm not giving away the story :)   We of course, also had lots of laughing and fun on the trip down. 

We are off to explore DC some today.  After some much needed sleep however.  Wednesday night I only got about 5 hrs of sleep and Janet got less than that.  We apparently are not smart enough to go to bed early when we have to be up and driving for long periods of time.




What do you like to do on roadtrips to keep yourself entertained?

Multi-tasking............Not always a good idea!

Ok, so we all try to multi-task when we're doing stuff.  I have a very bad habit of trying to multi-task when decorating.  This is not a good idea!  That was the lesson I learned this afternoon.

My hexagon cake (not the zodiac one) was all done and just needed to be attached to the cake board it goes with.  So, I pick up the cake from the dining room table to bring it into the kitchen.  Aaaannndddd my thumb pressed against one of the leaves on the side of the cake and snapped it off.  Ok, no big deal it can just be glued back on with either royal icing or super glue (hey, it's competition, it's not going to be eaten).  So, I bring the cake and the broken leaf out to the kitchen.  Set the cake on my turntable and the leaf on the table.  Then I realize the table is a mess, so I start straightening the table and putting my shtuff away that I don't need for the cakes anymore.  While doing this I noticed a left over cookie from dinner last night (had Subway and had a leftover cookie).  So I start eating the cookie.  And sit down to glue the leaf onto the cake.  Can you all guess what's going to happen next (cake in front of me, cookie on one side, leaf on the other side)?

I picked up the leaf and put it in my mouth like it was a piece of cookie, and bit down on it.  My first thought was "that was the ******* leaf" (family-friendly, remember?).  Sure enough, it was.  Did I throw a fit?  Did I scream and curse?  No, my faithful readers I didn't (this time....there will be a next time don't worry!).  Instead I laughed.  A lot.  Hey, at that point what else can you do??  So, after I stopped laughing, I cut out another leave, piped it, let it dry and attached it to the cake where the other one broke off from.  No harm, no foul.  Can't really tell it happened either.

So, I got new tires for my car today (yippee!).  Well, yippee for the tires, not the bill, lol.  However, this means we will have a good trip to VA and back.

Don't know how much blogging there will be for the next few days, not really doing anything cake related until the show on Saturday.



What lesson did you learn today?

Spending spending spending........does it ever end??

Hi all!  I've been busy here getting ready for the trip to Virginia.  Janet and I have each purchased some yummy road trip food and drinks (no alcohol, we're driving!).  Why do we buy snacks and drinks?  It's a misguided attempt at thinking we won't have to stop for snacks and drinks, only actual meals.  It is severely misguided by the way, lol.  We still manage to stop for plenty of snacks along the way, lol.  It is nice, however, to know they are there, and we do eat them :).  I have also been purchasing some much-needed maintenance for my car (along with those pesky things called tires).  So, I am a little bit poorer now than I was this morning, lol (ok ok, a LOT poorer).  However, we can travel safe with the knowledge that not only will we make it safely to Virginia, but also back home :). 

So........you're all probably wondering about the cakes I bet.  One of them is done (YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), the other will be done tomorrow (WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!).  Thanks to my bestest idea person, the finished cake is awesome looking!  You're probably all wondering why I'm not readily posting pictures and details about these cakes.  Well, it's like this.  There is the possibility of someone I know being a judge at this cake show, and although judges are supposed to be impartial, I feel it would be wrong to blatantly tell her which cakes are mine.  I have no idea if she reads this blog, but the link is in all my emails, so it's possible.  I will freely share details and pics about the cakes once the show is over this weekend!



What did you spend your money on today?