Making a Sugar Christmas tree

Supplies :

Waffle Cones for Ice cream

Small bowl with 1/2 inch water

scissors

Forest Green Royal Icing

Piping bag with #67
Piping tip

Yellow colored Gumpaste

3/4" Five petal or Star Cutter

Gumglue or piping gel

Wilton Pastel Candies
Dragees

Place two waffle cones together as shown.

Place in shallow water for 15- 20 seconds.

Remove from water and, using scissors, cut away soft edge of cone

until bottom edge is even and level.

Using royal icing, attach the cones to make "trees".

Starting at bottom of tree, begin piping leaves pulling out as you pipe.

Continue until you have filled the tree with "fir branches", leaving about 3/4" at top bare so you can move your tree into place. When the tree is placed where you want it on your cake or board, you can fill in the remainder of the top of the tree.

Roll out yellow gumpaste to about 1/4" thickness and cut out a star using your cutter. Place a yellow pastel candy on both sides of star, using gumglue or piping gel. Place on top of tree and secure with royal icing. Hold in place until firmly set.

Decorate your tree with colored pastels and dragees, securing with fresh royal icing if needed.

Photography and Tutorial by Jacque Benson
2009 copyright all rights reserved

Sherry Cake

Decades ago, I looked for a good sherry cake from scratch, but wasn't able to find one. I finally decided to try to create my own.  I re-created Grandma's Sherry Cake using my Grandmother's Custard Glaze. 

This year, for my birthday, I revisited this cake recipe, doubled it, but instead of the glaze, I created a Sherry Cream Frosting starting with a custard base. I really liked the result. It's a little easier if the cake and the sherry custard are prepared the day before you make the buttercream and frost the cake.

 

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup cream sherry
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3-1/3 cups cake flour
2/3 cup almond flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside. With mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add sherry and incorporate into cream cheese, then cream in butter and add oil in a stream until emulsified.
Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add dry ingredients gradually until mixed in, then add vanilla.
Pour into 2  greased and floured  9" round cakes pans and bake for 40-45 minutes until cake tester comes out clean.
Place on cooling rack, and while warm drizzle sugar syrup over hot cake layers. Allow to cool completely before icing.

Sugar Syrup

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 c  cream sherry
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add sherry and vanilla.

 

Sherry Custard Buttercream Frosting

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk
1/4 cup cream sherry
2 T butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

4 oz cream cheese
2 T cream sherry
2 cups butter
4 cups powdered sugar


Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan.  Gradually add milk. Over Med-High heat, whisk constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in cream sherry in small amounts, whisking until smooth. Add butter and vanilla, stirring until
butter is melted. Pour into a glass container. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until thoroughly cooled.

Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature.
In a mixer bowl, using whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and cream sherry until smooth.
Add butter and beat until creamy. Switching to a flat paddle, add the cooled sherry custard, one tablespoon at a time, until fully creamed into mixture after each addition.
Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Spread the frosting on top of bottom layer. Top with second layer and spread frosting on sides and top of cake.
Makes 2 layer 9" round cake. 

Easy DIY Cupcake Tower Tutorial

This is an inexpensive, but sturdy method for building a cupcake tower. I have tried a few different ways before, but by far, this is the easiest and most sturdy one that I have built, so I wanted to share it with you all.



I always use foam core for making my cake boards, and there is usually about a 5-6 inch strip left over. Thinking I can use it for future use, I typically save them. Now I found that use! I needed 4" wide pieces of 1/2" foam core to create the platform for the tower; and using left over pieces of foam core can really save on the cost.

Another way to save on the cost is to use a craft store coupon. Also, Hobby Lobby and Michaels frequently run sales on foam core.





Here is the list of supplies you will need for the project:




1/4" Foam Core (2 boards)

1/2" Foam Core

Exacto Knife

Pencil

Ruler

Cake Pan (to use as a tracing guide)

Straight Pins

Craft Glue

3/8" Ribbon

Wrapping Paper, poster board, or foil (Opt)

Adhesive spray (Opt)

1.) Begin by deciding what size and how many tiers you will want your tower. An easy way to get a mind's eye view is to stack cake pans.
For my project, I chose 18", 13", and 8" rounds.

2.) Using your cake pans as a tracing guide, mark your circles on 1/4" foam core, then carefully cut them out with the exacto knife. Take your time on this step, cutting the circles as perfectly as possible. This really effects the presentation.



NOTE*(At this point, you can cover your circles with a pretty paper, poster board, or foil. Just spray with adhesive spray, then cover front and back.) Since the one I was made needed to be white anyway, I just left it "as is".)

3.) Mark and cut the 1/2" foam core into 4" strips. These will create the platform. Again, measure twice and cut carefully, as the cut of the platform effects the stability of the whole tower.

You will need two of each length for every upper tier.

  The length is the strip will be "diameter minus 2 inches". For instance, since I chose 13" and 8" upper tiers, I needed two each platform strips measuring 11" and 6".



4.) Butt the strips together and mark the center. Then measure 1/4" from center on each side.

With a ruler, trace a two vertical line 2" in length from the edge of the strip, as shown.

Cut these two inch strips out, creating a notch.

Place the notched side of platform strips together and insert, creating a stand.

Stack your stand and check stability.

 If it is not stable, then your cut was inaccurate.

 Remeasure the width of your strips, shore it up and recheck the stability.

5.) Cut the ribbon into 5" lengths. Glue to the edges of the platform. Run a bead of glue around the edges of the rounds, then attach ribbon.

6.) Mark the center of each round. Push a straight pin through the center of each tier. Run a bead of glue onto the tops and bottoms of the platform and insert pins into center for perfect alignment.

Remove pin. Allow to dry.

Here is the Cupcake Tower set up for my great-nephews' birthday Ninjago tournament. Just ignore the fact that I didn't manage to get the top cake centered!! Sheeesh! The good news is that my little guys didn't notice or didn't care!!



Have fun. Be Creative. Your cupcake tower will be hit!





Tutorial and Photography by Jacque Benson
All rights reserved 2013

Cake Ball Punkin Patch

How does that poem go?

When the frost on the pumpkin lies... or when on the counter the cake scraps lie?

You know what I'm talking about!

So what to do you with all those cake scraps?
Make cake balls, of course.

Don't tell anyone, but I actually made some petit fors that looked SO bad after I iced them, I threw them into a bowl and took out my frustration on them, beating them into submission...and that's how my punkin patch got started.

Oh, don't act like you've never wanted to do that!

 You know you have!

And I hate to just throw away scraps.

So, in addition to the orange petite for disasters, I made a batch of chocolate using the leftover scraps from a cake I leveled.

 So if you want to make some "punkins", just crumble cake scraps into a bowl.

Now at this point, you can add different things to make the crumbs adhere. 

To 2 cups cake crumbs,

you can add 

3/4 to 1 cup 

of Buttercream icing,

OR cream cheese, 

OR (my personal favorite) chocolate ganache!

 

Start with a half cup, then add the binding agent until you have a nice soft paste, you can add more

if you like. That is entirely a personal preference. 

The softer the mixture, the longer you will need to chill them before dipping the cake balls.

 Chill that mixture for a few hours, then, using a melon baller, just scoop them out, 

roll them into a ball and place on waxed paper.

For  pumpkins, score the cake balls, using a toothpick, as shown.

Cover them with plastic wrap and placed them in the freezer for at least an hour, or overnight. 

Melt 8 oz orange confectionery melts in a chocolate warmer or over a double boiler.

Add paramount crystals, a tablespoon at a time, to thin until it becomes a nice dipping consistency.

If you are making a lot, then try dipping half in white confectionery melts  for contrast.

Insert a toothpick into cake ball and dip into prepared confectionery melt, and remove quickly, allowing excess coating to fall back into pan.

If desired, dip in autumn leaves sprinkles, ground nuts, or even finely ground cake or cookie crumbs directly after insertion.  Remove toothpick. Don't worry about the hole or cracking. You are going to cover that up anyway. 

They don't have to be perfect. 

I have yet to find a pumpkin that is perfect when choosing one to carve!!!

Easy so far? It really is!!

Once the coating is set, you can brush on some edible luster dust for a little gilding.

 

For the final step, you will need icing tips  #2,# 4, and a leaf tip #67, a piping bag fitted with a coupler,

and 1/2 cup of leafy green ( your favorite green, I used moss green ) slightly thinned buttercream.

Start with #2 tip and fill with bag with icing.

Pipe a curlyQ vine on the ball. (This is where you can cover any cracks if necessary)

Change to leaf tip #67, and pipe a one or two leaves from the center top. 

Then, with #4 pipe the stem in the center.  

If you want to display them on Hay Bales, then make some Rice Krispie Treats.

Directions for hay bales are HERE!

That's all there is to it!

Punkins for sale!

Vintage Stacked Luggage Cake

VINTAGE LUGGAGE CAKES

Jacque Benson 2007

Supplies
3 – 9”X13” cakes
2 stacked, 1 cut in half and stacked



Non crusting chocolate icing
5 Lbs. dark chocolate fondant
1 ½ Lbs. ivory fondant
1 lb white fondant, divided
Divided- reserving 1 lb
Melted chocolate

16” square cake drum

2 cakeboards, cut to exact size of pre
iced cakes and a ½” hole centered
in the smaller board

1- 8 ¾” X 6 ½” box , covered with wax paper & dusted with cocoa

Gum glue
½ cup gumpaste fondant roller and mat

Silver Luster Dust pizza cutter

Ball tool (optional)
Gold Luster Dust

Wilton alphabet/number cutters

Lemon Extract, vodka, or Everclear
3/8 “round cutter & #6 piping tip

Paintbrushes

4- ¼:” dowels -4” length

2- ¼” dowels- 5” length
1- ½” dowel- 6” length

2 large marshmallows

Pattern tracing tool

Spatulas

TOP LID:

Knead together 3lbs chocolate fondant with 1 ½ lbs Ivory fondant until color is
fully blended. Cut off a small portion, and wrap the rest tightly and set aside.
Roll out a 9x11 rectangle approx 3/16” thick. Lay over box covered with wax paper.
Measure ½” down from the top edge of the box; and using a pizza cutter,
cut the edge of the lid . Smooth top of lid with a fondant smoother. Set aside to dry.
When firm, carefully lift from box and invert to dry bottom of lid.
When completely dry, take the pattern tracing tool and run a “topstitching” line around
the bottom edge of the lid.
Cut four Patches from dark chocolate and glue to each edge of the lid. Trace a stitching
line around the edge of each patch.
Cut 2 separate ½” strips of dark chocolate fondant about 8” long, rounding the front
end. Trace the “topstitching” line around each strip and punch three belt holes at
the front end of the strip using a #6 piping tip.
Glue each strip to the top of the lid, allowing the hang over the front. Fasten silver lock
on center front with Gum glue.
Handy tip-let the straps on this lid be your last step on the entire cake. Then your strips will still be flexible when placed atop the cake, avoiding breakage.

HARDWARE:

Roll out a small amount of firm gumpaste about 1/16th “thick. Cut out 2 lock plates.
Using the letter “I” Wilton cutter, punch out a slot in the smaller plate.
Cut 4 buckles using the “D” stretching the inner cutout and rolling the straight edge only, leaving the curved side flat.
Cut 4 d-rings using the “0”number cutter, stretching the opening slightly and rolling all the edges. Crimp and straighten one edge to make one side flat.
Roll a small amount of gumpaste ¼” thick, and cut two 3/8”circle. Press each round, flattening slightly and using your cutter, make an impression to form an outer ring. Then press a vertical line just to the center, forming a keyhole.
Cut 4 buckle tongues, using the “I”, flattening and curving one side, and rolling the other.

Take a ball of gumpaste (maltball size) and shape into a lock by elongating one side and smoothing with a ball tool to shape. Press a line across the top to define the lock. Glue the keyhole to the right side of the plate using gum glue.

Set aside to dry completely,
Mix the luster dust with alcohol and paint the lock and plates silver, and the buckles and d-rings gold.
For Handles, cut 2 separate 5/8” strips of dark chocolate fondant about 4 inches long. Fold over and Trace stitching line along the edge, then insert end through finished d-rings and glue on underside.

CAKE COVERING


The night before assembling cake--- From the blended chocolate fondant, Roll out and cut 2 separate 4 X 13” rectangles, 2 separate 4X 9” rectangles for the sides of the bottom tier,

1- 9X13” rectangle,
2 thin ¾”X 13” strips, 2 thin ¾” X 9” strips, and 2 separate for the lid of the bottom tier.

For the top tier cut 2- 9x4-1/2" and 2- 7x4-1/2" rectangles for the sides of the cake.

Allow to firm up overnight.



ASSEMBLING THE CAKE


Stack and Fill 2 quarter sheet cakes and one cake cut in half to form a 6 ½” x 9” two layer cake. Place each on a cardboard divider cut to fit the cake exactly and
Place larger cake on square drum. Ice the cake with non-crusting buttercream icing.
Measure your cake carefully and re-cut the edges of the rectangles to fit your cake
.
Measure twice, cut once.

Trace a stitching line around the bottom and sides of 2 of the 4X9 and the 4X13 about 1/8”-1/4” from the edge. Place along the side of the cake matching the corners.
Run a line of melted chocolate along the corners and smooth with a spatula.
Re-measure and cut the thin strips and glue them along the upper edge of the cake (upper edge of fondant panel) with melted chocolate.

On the large 9X13” rectangle re-measure and cut. Lay a 6 ½” X 9” rectangle pattern on top and faintly mark the position of the cake. Punch out a ½” hole in the middle, and 4 ¼” holes to allow for Dowel insertion.
Lay on top of cake and spackle edges and corner with the melted chocolate.



Cut 8 corner patches, tracing the stitching line on each outer edge. Cut 2 leather straps for the base cake about 15” by 5/8”, and 2 straps 2½ ” X 5/8”. Punch holes with the #6 tip and trace the stitching on the 15” strap. Cut a small opening in the smaller strap for the tongue of the buckle and wrap it around the buckle. Pull the end of the upper strap through the buckle and glue to the cake, cutting any overage at the base of the cake. Place the tongue on the buckle and glue.


Hammer the ½” dowel through the center hole, and insert the 4 inch-¼” dowels in the surrounding holes. Align the bottom hole of the cardboard divider with the center dowel and stack the smaller cake on top, using wax paper to protect the bottom cake. Ice the cake with buttercream, Place a layer of white fondant just over the top of the cake and follow the same procedure attaching chocolate fondant panels to the side, this time including an extra stitching line on the upper edge of each panel.


After the corners are spackled, remove wax paper & cut and prepare 2 separate 2” straps just as before with buckle and tongue. Glue to front of the cake. Cut two more 4” straps and glue to the back of the cake. Fasten the locks and plates to both cakes with gum glue.
Cut 4 handle holders (triangles). Insert the small end through the d-rings on the handles
And glue to underside. Fasten Handles to both cakes with gum glue. Prop up and allow
to dry. Insert the 6inch ¼” dowels one inch inside front corner. Cover each with a
large marshmallow.

CLOTHING

Roll out several different colored fondants into 6 inch squares. Texture and fold; Lay on top of cake. Roll out white fondant and cut with shirt pattern, then trace stitching line on shirt cuff. Cut 2 small circles for buttons. With toothpick, make 2 holes in center, then dust with pearl dust. Glue to cuff. Place immediately on left side of cake, falling over side.
Roll out and cut chocolate fondant, texture or stencil. Glue the three pieces together with gum glue and attach a white fondant ribbon to cover the seam. Make a thin 3 inch roll from white fondant for the straps. Attach one edge with gum glue and tuck the free edge under. Arrange over left side of cake

FINISHING TOUCH
Place lid on top of cake, resting on back edge and front dowels. Brush cocoa powder
randomly over surface of cake to give a scuffed and weathered appearance.