Hello everybody!!

I still don’t know the first person who after having seen the Great Gatsby movie was not impressed with the style that characterized the 20’s.

Apart from the majestic Art Deco style that was born with the 20’s, what most caught my attention was the fashion, where colors like black and gold, long pearl necklaces and large flowers were the distinctive elements of the glamour that predominated at the time, that are also perfect details to be reflected in a cake.

When I had the opportunity to make a Great Gatsby cake for a birthday party, these details were basic for this wonderful theme, also I took the time to do an easy tutorial about how to make a big flower, which can be used in any occasion to enhance your cake with an exquisite and elegant touch..but before the tutorial some details about this cake:

• It was a two tier 6″ and 8″ cake, both of them vanilla cake with Dulce de Leche filling and buttercream icing.
• The cake was covered and decorated with homemade marshmallows fondant except for the black fondant which was prefabricated.
• For the golden details I used homemade marshmallows fondant colored first in yellow and then painted gold with this spray.
• To make the number 30 cake topper I used this cookie cutter set.
• To make the borders and the necklace I used this silicone mold (one of my favorites and most used).

                                                                        BIG FLOWER TUTORIAL

• You are going to need two 5 petal flower or rose cutters, one large and one small . Cut two flowers of each one.

• Place the flowers in a flower foam and using a ball tool smooth the edges to achieve a natural look of the petals.

• Stick the flowers to each other with water from largest to smallest order and let it dry on a flower shaping bowl or on any curved surface , for the center of the flower make a little fondant ball, flatten it and stick it to the center of the flower.

Here is a close-up of this extremely beautiful flower placed on the cake:

The cake was a great success and I guess that it was largely because of the elegant big flower detail in the decoration..please do this flower, you will see that it is very easy to make and the result is simply beautiful!!

Thanks for reading me, see you next time!!

Blessings,

Cecilia

Hello Everybody!!

As is usual at this time everyone is getting ready for Halloween so to keep up the mood I want to share with you this Black Buttercream Halloween Cake.

As I’ve told you on previous occasions I always make my own fondant and buttercream but when it comes to colors like red, brown or black I prefer to buy them prefabricated because it is difficult for me to achieve these colors, but in this occasion I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and I decided to take the risk of making my own black buttercream.

I have to admit that at first I felt a little doubtful but I made the attempt  anyway and the truth is that it was totally worth it..this frosting turned out to be easier than I thought and the best of all is that the taste is delicious, so of course I will share the recipe but before some details about this cake:

• It was a 6″ round cake, to make this cake I prepared a vanilla batter then I divided it into two equal parts and on one of them I added a few drops of orange food coloring to get a cake with two tones inside.
• It was filled and frosted with black buttercream, recipe below.
• For the decoration I used these sugar pumpkins and these sprinkles.

Here you have a picture of the cake already cut so you can see how beautiful it looks inside and below you can find the recipe of the black buttercream frosting:

                                                                       BLACK BUTTERCREAM RECIPE

-1 STICK UNSALTED BUTTER

-2 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR

-1/2 CUP UNSWEETENED COCOA ( I USED HERSHEY’S COCOA 100% CACAO UNSWEETENED)

-1/2 TABLESPOON VANILLA

-MILK OR HEAVY CREAM (OPTIONAL)

-BLACK GEL FOOD COLORING (I USED WILTON ICING GEL BLACK)

PREPARATION:

-Beat the butter for two minutes until smooth, add vanilla.

-Add the sugar one cup at a time, if you notice that the consistency is very thick add a splash of milk or cream or if you see the consistency is very loose add more sugar.

-Add the cocoa and when it’s fully mixed add 1/2 spoonful of black coloring, you will notice that the frosting will turn dark gray then add another 1/2 spoonful of black coloring..the trick to achieve a good dark black buttercream is to let it rest overnight, in my case I wanted the buttercream to look super black so I added another 1/2 spoonful of black coloring.

-This buttercream has a delicious chocolate flavor, the food coloring does not change the flavor or the texture, this amount is enough to fill and decorate a 6″ three layer cake, if you cake is bigger than that you can double or triple the amount.

Please make this buttercream, if you are a chocolate lover like me you will love it..don’t forget that the most important thing is to let it rest overnight and another important suggestion, do not use white clothes because it is sure that you are going to get dirty!!! LOL

Thank you so much for reading me, see you next time!!

Blessings,

Cecilia

Hello Everybody!!

Since the month of October arrives the United States is preparing to celebrate one of its most popular festivities: Halloween!!

Although it is true that this celebration is not to the liking of many, we can not deny that for the majority Halloween means fun..we see as from people, houses to shopping centers disguise themselves with allegorical themes and not to mention how much children enjoy collecting candies and sweet treats.

And talking about sweets and candies if I had to choose the one that most represents this occasion without a doubt, I would have to choose the Candy Corn, called thus not because they have corn flavor but because of their similarity to the colors of the corn kernels.

It is for this reason that today I want to share with you this easy but fun idea for your Halloween desserts, Candy Corn Surprise Cupcakes..so let’s do this:

• Bake your cupcakes, to make these cupcakes I prepared a vanilla batter and then added a few drops of orange food coloring also I used Candy Corn  themed baking cups to give them an appearance more in line with the theme but you can use white plain baking cups and they still going to look really good.

• Hollow the center of your cupcakes, I used a cupcake corer but you can use a knife.
• Fill with Candy Corn.

• Frost your cupcakes with white icing or your favorite icing color, to achieve this swirl I used Wilton 1M tip.
• To finish your decoration add sprinkles, I used this ones and I also put a Candy Corn as a cupcake topper.

And here you have a close-up of the surprise cupcakes, ready to eat:

Well, I hope that after seeing how easy it is to do and how beautiful these cupcakes are you feel encouraged to make them and to enjoy them with your friends and family..in my house they did not last more than 5 minutes!!

And that’s it for now, thanks for reading..see you next time!!!

Blessings,

Cecilia

Hello Everybody!!

Without fear of being wrong I can assure that if there is a sport that everyone likes, that’s Baseball!!!

In my case and being Dominican, baseball goes beyond being an entertainment..it’s a culture!! Since we are small children our parents take us to the stadium and that’s when our love for our favorite team begins to develop and that happens generation to generation and also I have to mention the Dominican baseball players, for me the best in the world, who so proudly represent us in an international level.

As the baseball season is almost ending here in the United States and almost starting in my country Dominican Republic I want to share with you a couple of ideas for your Baseball Cakes but first I want to show you an easy way to make a fondant baseball bat, the decorative element necessary to complement your Baseball Cake..here you have it:

• You will need 3 strips of fondant, one brown ,one beige (mix brown and white fondant) and one white smaller than the previous ones.

• Twist the strips of fondant together and knead until the colors are partially mixed.

• When fondant looks like this, similar to the wood, stop kneading.

• To form the bat make a small sausage with the fondant and then with your finger make an indentation to about 3/4 the length of the sausage.

• To finish the bat push with your finger the remaining quart of the sausage, shape it until you feel satisfied with the results.

And here you have a couple of pictures with some Baseball Cakes ideas:

My dear friends, hope with this cakes and this easy baseball bat tutorial you feel encouraged to make your favorite team Baseball Cake..thank you so much for reading and Happy Baseball Season!!!

Blessings,

Cecilia