The Susdorf Wedding • October 2, 2010

 This cake was for a neighbor's daughter who grew up with my daughter's Anna and Erica. The color theme for this wedding was black & white. Each cake was set up on its own cake stand.

Using a Cookie Cutter for Fondant Designs (Bas-relief Technique)

Bas-relief, an ancient art technique of carving sculptures on a flat surface (stone, metal or wood) where the object raises a little from the background. In fondant work, it can be called 2 1/2 D, because it is neither flat nor standing upright. It is more common to hand-mould fondant pieces or use a tracing paper technique shown here by Dina Gandy and apply bas-relief technique. By using cookie cutters for bas-relief, we are looking at mass production and work standardization...as in factory work, so necessary when it come to festive season. Enjoy the tutorial below and hope it inspires you! 

Tools you need.

Step 1: Cut out fondant using the cookie cutter. I'm cutting out 2 for reasons you can see below.

Step 2: The first cut-out on the left acts as the background. From the second cut-out, cut the piece that you want raised. In this case, its the angel's dress. 

Step 3: Paste the dress on the background. 

Step 4: Hand-mould the face and halo and paste them onto the background. Indent lines for wings.

Step 5: Draw the eyes and mouth (easier when fondant is dry). Dust lustre dust on wings.

Another example...

Assemble cut-outs.

Decorate

A different style.

No Frills Cake - A Tutorial on Covering a Cake Board

"No-Frills", a term used to describe any service or product which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the cost low. A special mention for Malaysia's Air Asia, my inspiration in many ways, and currently is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline with a tagline "Now Everyone Can Fly". Let's apply this to cake decorating and have a no-frills cake. How about a tagline "Now Everyone Can Have A Fondant Decorated Cake"? :)

Step 1: Crumb coat cake with buttercream.

Step 2: Roll out fondant, cover cake and use the fondant smoother to smoothen top and sides, as in the picture.

Step 3: Roll a pizza cutter along the sides. Its the best fondant cutter as it would not drag the fondant as you cut it.

It should look like this...clean and straight.

Step 4: Roll out a long strip. 

Step 5: Position it to cover the board and trim the edges.

It should be like this. No frills, no borders. My type of cake! :)

Debbie Brown - Day 3

Third and last day...

We made Rainbow Magic cake...little girls would be familiar with this cartoon and the 7 rainbow faries. I have passed that stage...I have a living anime and manga dictonary at home now. 

Opps! Enough crapping...and keep my FB personality away from this blog. :)

 Step 1

 Step 2

 Step 3

 Step 4

 Step 5

What?! Only three faries instead of seven? Homework, please... 

Managed to squeeze Angelina Ballerina in...Thank you Debbie for these wonderful 3 days!

Lastly, thank you Rosalind for making me WMI of the Year 2009. And for these 5 days of class as its prize. Definitely renewed my interest and enthusiasm in the cake decorating field.

I have been asked a few times on how I get to be WMI of the Year...I'll just say here that I'm lucky, lucky, lucky! But if you were to ask me personally, I'll tell you the secret. :)

Debbie Brown - Day 2

The Making of Bob the Builder

Cute ya? Three inches in height.

Debbie Brown - Day 1

Third day, its cake sculpting with Debbie Brown, a well known cake decorator, tutor and author of many book on novelty or sculptured cakes.

Meet Debbie. 

 A cake trimmed off all crust top and bottom.

Stack into required shape and trimming.

"What you can't see with your eyes, you can feel with your hands" - a Debbie Brown quote to ensure smooth finishing.   

Place on prepared cake board and coat with buttercream. 

This is how to turn round styrofoam into an oval shape.

By now you can guess what cake it is.

 A penguin!

Pingu to be exact. 

 Book signing...that's me with Debbie and her Pingu. :)



Eddie Spence MBE - Day 2

Second day, Eddie explaining and showing techniques in covering cake with royal icing. That's Mok assisting him.

Book signing session.                                    

Finishing attaching the image and finishing touches on the plaque. Like my cloud and bird? Its free hand.

Everything up on the cake.

Borders up.

Some free hand scrolls to cover empty spaces.

View from the side...more scrolls required there.

That's it!