calling a cake bakers!! question!!

L

laura mcgee

New member
hey i am making my sons first birthday cake and i need fondant. i see that you can guy it at the stores but you can also make it.. what is easier to work with and to color? also i will be coloring some black... how do i go about getting such a dark color?
thanks!
 
Get Wilton icing colouring. You can get it at Michaels if you have one near by. The stuff you get in the grocery store is, quite frankly, useless, and I wouldn't even bother with it.

Wilton's site is actually great for ideas and tips too. And I know they have a forum there. Been ages since I've done this sort of thing, but I know I learned a lot just browsing around there.
 
FlirtatiousBrat said:
You need Mikkel lol...she's our resident cake decorator
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Haha - thanks. Meg even IMed me on Yahoo to alert me, LOL.

I learned mostly everything I know about cake decorating from cakecentral.com.

You cannot, cannot, make your own black fondant. Is it impossible? No. But for you to get a TRUE black you'd need BOTTLES (yes, multiple) of black coloring. Do not attempt it - you will be sorry. (Same thing for red, btw.)

Wilton fondant tastes SO crappy. I would never use it...I used it on the first cake I ever made just to test out fondant but NEVER again. Then I started making my own fondant (marshmellow fondant recipe (MMF)...let me know if you want it) and while I still make my own I use Satin Ice and Fondx too. Yum! There's a lot of other brands out there that taste good too. Where do you live? I can see if I can find a cake store by you that would carry good fondant. (Btw - I make MMF b/c it's economical. Fondant isn't crazy expensive but it's not cheap.)

Let me know if you have other questions. I'm posting photos to show you the difference between MMF and black Satin Ice I've used.

The stuff that's fondant on this cake (MMF that I made) is the base blues of the three tiers, the yellow base of the stars (I painted luster dust on top of the stars, that is why they look shiny), and the clouds. The grass is royal icing.
WishUponStar_2-web-1.jpg


Darth Vader in black Satin Ice (it isn't normally shiny, btw - it's that way because I wet the fondant for it to look like a glossy helmet, but keep in mind that wet fondant usually means STICKY fondant! LOL):
IMG_1938.jpg
 
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OH MIKKEL, you are my queen. I wish you lived in Malaysia and could make a cake for my baby!

I'm so rofl becaue I, too, am making a cake for my baby's first birthday, but *I* need a box of Duncan Hines cake mix.
 
omigosh, Mikkel! those cakes are FABULOUS! that first one is adorable.

Laura, hope your cake turns out well. post a pic :)
 
MikkelPaige said:
Wilton fondant tastes SO crappy. I would never use it...I used it on the first cake I ever made just to test out fondant but NEVER again.
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What brand do you use for the colouring? I was referring her to Wilton's icing colours, not their fondant. I'm definitely not an expert, but I've found their colours to be nice enough and if you're near a Michaels they're easy to find. *shrug*

There's a cake supply store we've since found that I would probably use if I'm ever inclined to do this stuff again. However, said store referred us to a professional baker, and she's so awesome and affordable that I really can't justify bothering to do it myself anymore lol. Anyway, I did find Wilton's site good for tips for us laymen types, and their supplies are generally easy to find.
 
Joan said:
What brand do you use for the colouring? I was referring her to Wilton's icing colours, not their fondant. I'm definitely not an expert, but I've found their colours to be nice enough and if you're near a Michaels they're easy to find. *shrug*

There's a cake supply store we've since found that I would probably use if I'm ever inclined to do this stuff again. However, said store referred us to a professional baker, and she's so awesome and affordable that I really can't justify bothering to do it myself anymore lol. Anyway, I did find Wilton's site good for tips for us laymen types, and their supplies are generally easy to find.
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Oh - no no, I didn't think you were referring her to Wilton for the fondant. I was stating not to use it just to state that. The reason most people use it is because it's really easy to get a hold of b/c Michael's carries it (I think Joanns does too).

To that point though, yes...Wilton is carried at both Michaels and Joanns and their coloring is totally fine. I just started using AmeriColor but use Wilton too.
 
joelsgirl said:
OH MIKKEL, you are my queen. I wish you lived in Malaysia and could make a cake for my baby!

I'm so rofl becaue I, too, am making a cake for my baby's first birthday, but *I* need a box of Duncan Hines cake mix.
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Haha - thanks. Btw - you can make AMAZING cakes from box mixes. If you use the box mix as a base and add things like sour cream (I know, sounds crazy but it's YUMMY and makes it incredibly moist) and then eggs and stuff. Let me know if you want good recipes using box mixes as the base.

Also, if you sift the cake mix before you do the recipe it's SO much better. Same thing with confectioner's sugar if you're using it in recipes.
 
I would love some yummy cake recipes! I have both of my little ones birthdays coming up at the end of this month and plan on making my own cake this year!
 
*bows down to Mikkel* Loove those cakes!

I love making MMF...it's really quite yummy. I havent' tried fondant for a cake yet (only buttercream), but I've used it for cookies and they were a huge, huge hit.

cakecentral.com is the bomb, btw. Definitely go there.
 
MikkelPaige said:
Oh - no no, I didn't think you were referring her to Wilton for the fondant. I was stating not to use it just to state that. The reason most people use it is because it's really easy to get a hold of b/c Michael's carries it (I think Joanns does too).

To that point though, yes...Wilton is carried at both Michaels and Joanns and their coloring is totally fine. I just started using AmeriColor but use Wilton too.
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Ah, okay. I wasn't sure if you meant to avoid Wiltons stuff altogether, or just the fondant but, yeah, I was just referring her to it for the colouring. I did use their fondant once because I needed some quick but, to be honest, I can't remember what it tasted like. It was for my niece's birthday cake and I can't even remember if I ate any of it.

I'd love the MMF recipe! Just in case I decide to be adventurous and make some cakes again. We have become pretty spoiled with the woman we found, though. So it's made me more than a little lazy about making anymore cakes. :D
 
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