Design Me a Cake Blog

OSSAS!

2010-11-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

What is OSSAS?
It's the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show.
The biggest cake competition in the USA
and around the world. Every year this is the
destination for lots of the best Cake Designers.
The show is directed by Kerry Vincent, who is
a judge for the TV Show Challenge on the Food
Network.

I started attending this event in 2007 and it
was amazing. Now it has become my favorite event
in the "Cake World". I attend every year and mark
my calendar for the year to come. Not only is it
a "Cake Person's" fantasy land of inspirational works,
it has competitions for all ages and skill levels.
It is held at the Tulsa State Fair, so the entire
family can enjoy a wide variety of exhibits, rides,
games, and foods.

So here is a slide show with some of the cakes that
where in the show this year.

I hope you enjoy it!
Ta ta!
Edna :)

Contests an Competitions.

2010-07-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cake Contest!

2010-06-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have decided to do a cake contest for all my friends
around the world. The theme will be "Summer Sensations".
Basically anything that has to do with summer is acceptable.
Vacations, beach, Summer holidays, Out of school.
Let your imagination roll!

Here are the rules for this contest. READ THEM WELL

The cake should be 2 tiers. No more or less. 2 tiers.
Photos submitted must be of your work.
Photos must be of the theme of the contest.
No adult themed cakes
Limit one entry per person
Internationals can participate
Only one cake per person, up to 2 photos. I will decide best photo if you send 2
Photo have to be submitted before the end date of the contest to designmeacake@hotmail.com
No names or watermarks on the photos will be aloud.
Real cake should be used in making the cake. No dummies.

The photos have to be send to designmeacake@hotmail.com
This email is only for photos, is not for answering questions, so
please only photos for this email. Don't post the photos directly in
my page. They need to be submited by email only. If you do so,
the photo will be disqualified.

I will post the photos in Facebook on a Contest Album where
everyone can comment on the photos. No names can
be mention in the comments of who made the cake. This
can get the photo disqualified. Make sure you send your
photos no later than July 31, 2010. That's the deadline for the
photos to be entered. Anything sent after that, wont be posted
as part of the contest.

There will be 2 levels. One for Beginners and one for Intermediate
to advanced. When you send the photos, send your name location
and level of skill. Write the months and years you been
decorating and if this is a hobby or you do this for a living.

There will be 1 price for Beginner and one prize for
Intermediate.The prize will consist in a $20.00 gift
certificate towards a webstore purchase or your
choice of one DVD from,
http://designmeacake.com/stor.html

The winner will be announced August, 2010.

So start working on those cakes!

I will send reminders in my

Facebook page.

Don't miss on the fun and join this contest!

Until next blog, ta ta!
Edna :)

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2010-06-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

I know I usually talk about Cakes, but this time

I am posting this recipe by popular petition.

For those of you who have visited Red Lobster

and love their biscuits, here is a recipe that

is a great copycat of them. Easy to make and

delicious!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Yields: 12

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
4 tablespoons cold butter
1 heaping cup grated Cheddar
3/4 cup cold milk
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Topping:
2 Teaspoons of butter
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon dried Parsley Flakes
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven 400 degrees F.
2. Mix Bisquick garlic powder and butter with Pastry
    cutter or a fork (don't overmix). There should be
    pieces of butter the size of peas.
3. Mix in milk and cheese by hand (don't overmix)

I did mine in a food processor. Only use the pulse setting.
Just pulse until it comes together, dont overmix. Overmixing
will give you harder biscuits.

4. With ice-cream scoop, drop 1/4-cup portions of dough
    onto a cookie sheet. Bake 15-17 minutes or until biscuits
    tops are golden

Topping:
1. Melt butter
2. Add Garlic
3. Add Salt (optional)
4. Brush on top of the biscuits after they are done baking.

Nutrition Information:
Calories........................199
Fiber.............................1g
Carbohydrate................17g
Fat................................13g
Sodium..........................428g
Protein...........................5g

I didn't have any parsley at hand, and it tasted still wonderful.
Hope you enjoy! Until next blog....Tata!!
Edna :)

New Tutorial!

2010-06-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

Until Next Blog...tata!!
Edna :)

A New DVD!

2010-05-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

I was so busy in the month of April that I barely had a chance to
sleep. I will blog about it and post photos of my travels and what
I been up too very soon. So in the next few blogs I will talk more
about that.

Today I just wanted to let you know that my latest DVD is already
for sale in my website. That kept me busy too! For all those friends
that wanted a DVD with smaller flowers, here it is! "Blooms and Vines"

This DVD includes Hydrangeas, Blossoms, Simple blossoms

and an Ivy Vine. The Hydrangeas and Blossoms I explain how

to make them with cutters and with no cutters.

I explain how to make all these flowers and vines and how to color

them and how to arrange them.

For the Hydrangeas I teach how to do

with cutters and veiners and withouth them

Then you will learn a simple way to color it or

how to add different colors to the flower for a more

bold look. Plus you will learn how to make the

leaves and put the whole flower together.

The Blossoms is a gorgeous flower. I teach how to make

it with cutters and with no cutters. Then I explain how to

do a simple bud and a bigger bud.

Finally we do leaves, dust de flowers, the buds and

the leaves and put them together in a

branch. Blossoms are used a lot these days in

wedding cakes. And they for sure attract a lot of attention.

The Ivy vine is a great leaf filler

I teach how to make the leaf, color

and how to put the vine together.

The Simple blossom is the easiest filler flower

you will ever make. You don't need no cutter at

all for this flower. Looks great in any arrangment.

It can be done in all colors and they are

fast to make.

This DVD is 169 minutes long and it's

full of information.

In my next blog I will go through the materials I used

for making the flowers in this DVD.

See you next time, Tata!!

Edna :)

Latest News!!!

2010-03-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

This month I finally got my Magazine from Cake Central.
What a beautiful Magazine. Heath and Jackie have done
an oustanding job in creating a Magazine with so much
class. The photos are great! The quality of the paper
is almost like book quality. I enjoyed the articles and the
fact that there is very little advertisement in it.

Now, if you are wondering why I took this photo, it's because
they are running a thread in Cake Central where you take
a photo of yourself and the Magazine.

Here is Kerry Vincent and her photos!

So if you want to join the Cake Central Comunity

and post a photo of yourself with the Magazine

here is the thread you should go to.

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6728102.html#6728102

And for those who got the Magazine..thanks for the

wonderful compliments on my article and cake photos

in the Magazine. I was honored to be part of this

first edition.

This is all for now,

Ta ta!

Edna :)

Cake Central Magazine!

2010-02-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

I love anything that has to do with cake. I always loved
Cake Central. The people and the forums are a wonderful
place for cake decorators to meet and talk about anything
that has to do with cake.

Now Cake Central is bringing Cake Central Magazine!!!
I am so excited about this. The first issue arrives March 2010.

In the cover of the first issue you will see Kerry Vincent.
She talks about reality TV shows and shares her personal
story. In addition, there will be photos of the newest trends
in cake and so much more.

Visit http://www.cakecentral.com/ for more info on how
to order the Magazine. I already reserved mine!

ICES Mini Florida Classes 2010

2010-01-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

This year ICES had an Annual Florida ICES Mini Classes.
ICES,the International Cake Exploration Societe is an
organization comprised by 3,500 sugar artists cake
decorators and vendors from all over the world. Every
year they reunite around July in a big event that has demos
and classes and you will find vendors selling the latest
gadgets that can make cake decorating so much fun.

The Mini Classes are just a little taste of what ICES is.
But just as much fun with many of the big names and
artist in the Sugar Art World.

I decided to go and have some fun. Is always nice
to sit down an play with sugar! And deifinitively is so much
fun to meet friends.

I was late in choosing my classes, so I took whatever was
still open. I decided to sit down at a Class with Geraldine
Randlesome.

Her class was about stringwork.
Here is Judy practicing on a dummy. As for me,
I can say my dummy stayed pretty much as it
came in. I barely worked on it. I think I
enjoymore watching than sitting down and doing it.
Not cause I don't love it, cause I do! But
mainly cause I always work at a fast pace and
I find myself trying to relax when I sit down
and take a class.

Stringwork is one of those things that requires peace
around you so you can concentrate on what you are doing.

The Next class I took was Tiffany Box Petit Fours.

This class was taught by Kathy Scott. It was easy and

just plain fun to do this little toy cakes.

In the photo below you will see this lovely lady.

Finally I took a Class with Ruth Rickey.

I met Ruth in Tulsa at the OSSAS competition.

I will Blog about Tulsa another day

Ruth class was all about Tulips. Even though

I know how to make them, I wanted to sit

down say hi and enjoy what I love to do the most,

Gumpaste flowers. Her class was fun and

the highlight of my day.

Again I talked more than I worked. My flower was

not finished, but I had a wonderful time.

I got to say I love Ruth Chef Coat.

Is the coolest chefcoat I have ever seen.

In her website you can find where she

orders them.

http://www.ruthssweetejustice.com/

Other invited teachers where Nicholas Lodge,

Zane Beg, Norman Davis, wich is a pleasure

always to talk too.

Susan Carberry, Lucinda Larson and

B. Keith Reider.

To know more about ICES, visit their website

http://www.ices.org/ Is worth to be part of this

organization if you are a professional or a

beginner. So go check it out!

Until my next blog...ta ta!!!

Edna :)

Working with edible glue.

2010-01-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask me all the time about Edible glue.
So here is some information on it. Edible Glue is basically
used to glue Fondant, Gumpaste, or pastillaje.

Is it right to use water as glue? The answer is yes. Certain
details can be glued with a brush and water, but you have to
keep in mind that water is not alcohol based, so it doesnt
dry as fast. If you put too much, you will have a real
slippery mess.

So, the question is how much is needed? Think about when you
clean a table with a moist towel. That's about how much water is
needed. Small details like stripes, dots and other things like that
will be fine to glue with water.

Another glue that is very common is your basic extracts.

Extracts are alcohol based, so it gives you moisture, but

it will dry more than water will.

Next we go to Edible Glue with a little bit of more substance.

Why would you need it? Maybe a heavier piece, or a more

intricate detail. For example a small swag on a cake or some

fondant swirls. And this type of glue is used for making

gumpaste flowers as well.

For Edible Glue I start by breaking small pieces of

gumpaste into warm water, and letting them dissolve

for 15 minutes. You can decide how thick you want

your gumpaste to be by how much gumpaste you

add to the water. Or if it's too thick, just add more

water.

The other type of glue is based on Tylose powder.

For this, you can take a 1/2 cup of hot water and

add 1/4 teaspoon of tylose to the water. Stirr it well

to dissolve and allow to cool. Stirr often while it cools

down.

Both of these you can store in an airtight container, like a

small tupperware or a baby food jar. For a longer

shelf life store them in the refirgerator. They can last

from 30 to up to 60 days.

Some people will use eggwhites for gumpaste flowers as

a glue. But if you are not comfortable with raw eggwhites,

just know you have other options.

Hope this helps!

Until next blog..tata!

Edna :)

Ideas for Stargazer Lilies

2010-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a great New Year day! As I promised, here are some photos of Stargazer Lilies on some cakes that I have done through the years.

This first photo shows what a typical Stargazer Lily looks like.

But some Brides like to bring the colors of their weddings in the

color of the flowers that they want on the cake.

The first time I ever attempted to do a Stargazer Lily, the Bride

wanted to have it in a purple tone. I thought it might be different

and pretty, plus I was so ready to try one of these flowers.

If you notice, the center was not done right.I was studying a

photo and confused a natural coloration on the flower, for what

I thought it was part of the flower.But I did learn from this.

Still I fell in love with the flower.

The Brides loved the look of the cake and it was sold constantly.

Stargazer Lilies in fantasy colors can be just as beautiful as the real ones.

Finally, one day, a Bride decided she wanted a Navy Blue

Stargazer Lily. Imagine how diffucult the task was. If I

do the whole flower in navy blue, I would loose all the

beautiful details of the flower. Plus it would not

look as delicate. Keep in mind, this is a big flower!

So finally, I decided to do the flower in white and add some
blue petal dust, and then do the dots in blue. The final result
was a lot better than I expected.

So here you have it, three cakes. Basically the same style,

with different colors of the same type of flower. There are

so many options on how to use Stargazer Lilies on a cake.

I just wanted to show that just by changing the color of the

flower, you can adapt a cake to a brides taste.

Until the next post...tata!

Edna :)

Welcome to my Blog!

2009-12-27T23:29:00.000-08:00

I love designing and working with cakes as much as I love teaching. As for a blogger, Im not sure yet..lol
We can only hope for the best.. I've been decorating and teaching for awhile now. I've been posting tutorials in Youtube and people love them. Cake Friends have been asking for more tutorials on gumpaste so now I have 2 DVD's for sale on my website http://www.designmeacake.com/

The first one I did was "How to make a Stargazer Lily"

A flower easy enough for beginners but with details that will attract the more advanced. The second one is "How to Make Poinsettias"
But in this blog I will start by talking about the tools I used on this DVD.

The tools I used are easy to find. I added some of them
in my webstore for those who want a one stop shop in the internet. Plus I decided to add in the things I love the most. I will keep adding more of them over time.

For those who are asking about the materials I used to make the Stargazer Lily, here is a photo with the basic things you might use.

wire
wire cutters
pliers
Thick and Thin Foam
Ball Tool
Needle Tool
Florist Tape
Petal Dust
Cutter
Veiner

As for the veiner, even though I teach how to use the Wilton one,
I do prefer the Stargazer Lily Veiner.

This veiner has beautiful details that make the flower look incredible.

Another thing I love the most is the Multi Stamen Mold.

Even though I teach how to do the stamens and the center
without it, the mold makes it so easy that once you use it,
you are hooked!

This flower makes a statement, since it's so bold and beautiful.Once you learn to make it, you will absolutely fall in love with it. I will post some photos of cakes made with the Stargazer in

my next blog, so you can have more ideas on how to use this flower on your cakes.

Remember, you can email me to edna@designmeacake.com or visit my website http://www.designmeacake.com/

In there you will find plenty of Tutorials about cake decorating.

As for now..this is my first blog!..I will add more to it so don't forget to subscribe.
See you around!

Edna :)