Fondant Bears - Coming Soon!!!

The Little Mermaid - Coming Soon!!

Pink Teddy Bear - Step-by-Step Instructions

I enjoyed making this pink fondant teddy bear. It was fun and very easy. The step-by-step instructions below may seem too long, but it just me posting so many pictures... so don't be discouraged. Before I begin, I would like to first say: don't worry how your teddy bear is looking like as you make it, it all comes together at the end.

You will need:

1. Pink fondant for the teddy bear

2. A small amount of dark fondant for the scarf

3. A small amount of additional colored fondant for the silk rose (in this case orange)

4. Black gel food color for eyes and nose

5. Any icing tip for mouth markings

6. A fondant baller

7. Piping gel (or food flavoring or vodka) to 'glue' fondant pieces

8. Decorating brush / Pearl dust brush (optional)

9. Wilton cutter / embosser

10. Like always, toothpicks (esential tools for cake decorating)

11. Read, "Working with Fondant" that I have previously posted.

Ste-by-Step Instructions:

1. Carve a muffin into the bear body and cover with rolled pink fondant

2. Roll a log of pink fondant to use as teddy bear's legs. Cut in the middle to have two legs

3. Attach logs of pink fondnat to bottom body of bear with raw spaghetti to form the legs

4. Use your wilton cutter with 'stitch' wheel to emboss stitches across the teddy bear by rolling across teddy bear body and along the legs of the teddy bear (as shown in pictures below)

5. Roll two smaller logs of pink fondant to use as the arms. Flattend the log and shape

6. "Glue" one arm to the top of the teddy bear body with piping gel (if you don't have any, use food flavoring or vodka)

7. Position over leg as shown below

8. Repeat with second arm

9. Use your wilton cutter with 'stitch' wheel to emboss "stitches" across the arms

10. Insert two raw spaghetties on top of the teddy bear's body to support the head (don't forget to trim spaghetti so they are not taller than the head)

11. Roll a ball of pink fondant to use as the head and attach to top of the teddy bear body (emboss stitches across the head with your wilton cutter / embosser)

12. Roll one small ball of fondant to use as the teddy bear's snout and 3 tiny balls of fondant for the eyes and nose

13. Flatten the "snout' a little bit

13. Position the snout by by gluing with piping gel and pressing sligthly to flatten

14. Posotion and glue eyes and nose with piping gel (tip: use toothpicks if necesary to position pieces)

15. Use the wider end of a icing tip to mark the mouth of the teddy bear

16. Roll two additional balls of fondant to make the ears of the teddy bear

17. Use the other end of your decorating brush to indent the ears

18. Cut the ends of the indented balls of fondant to make the ears and glue with piping gel to top of the head of the teddy bear

19. Optional Step: Brush your teddy bear with a little pearl dust to give it a little silky shine finish

20. Roll a little strip of dark pink fondant and cut a strip with your wilton cutter to form the scarf

21. Position scarf at the base of its head and glue with piping gel

22. Roll a little strip of orange fondant (or color of choice) and cut a small thin strip with your wilton cutter to form the silk rose

23. Roll the strip to form the rose (tip: fold edges before rolling for a smooth finish)

24. Color the eyes and nose with black gel coloring with your decorating brush.

The end!!!

Tinkerbell Cake

I created this fun and colorful Tinkerbell cake for a baby shower in late November. The mom-to-be was a chocoholic, so I themed the flavor of this cake as "Death by Chocolate".

The cake was super moist triple chocolate cake (chocolate cake with chocolate pudding and chocolate chips), filled with Ghirardelli fudge and frosted with home made chocolate buttercream .

The cake was then covered with fondant and decorated with fondant accents. All fondant pieces included the purple flower where Tinkerbell is sitting on, grass, pink mushrooms, grey stones, leaves and the pink/purple flowers. The only exception was the Tinkerbell candle.

You can find the candle at amazon.com (Walt Disney Tinker Bell Tink Candle).

The base of the cake where 3 cake rounds that were covered with green fondant. I wanted to add some fun to it, so I wraped the base with a boa.

I'm glad to say that the cake was a success in this babyshower. It blended perfectly with the outside baby-shower party. The party's guest tables had center flower arrangements and we added little Disney Fairies figures to these arrangement, so guest could take home.

Marshmallow Fondant FAQs

Q- I live in very sunny, very hot and very humid country. I’ve often found that my fondant “weeps” and slowly dissolves from the moisture in the air when I leave it out at room temperature. Will this happen with your marshmallow fondant recipe as well?

A- Marshmallow Fondant (MMF) will hold up until about a weather of about 75 degrees F.

I can offer a couple of solutions:

1) Work and keep cake in an air conditioned room.
2) Roll the fondant layer thicker. This proves helpful.
3) I do not recommend to place a fondant covered cake in the refrigerator (due to humidity) but
I personally haven’t had any trouble when I place mine in there for only a short period of time. If you need to place the cake in the refrigerator (for a brief period of time) you can try bringing it to room temperature in the following way - Place the cake in a brown cardboard box to collect the atmospheric moisture and help the cake come to room temperature safely.

Q- I don't like the flavor of cornstarch, can I ommit it from the recipe?

A- Yes, you can use powder sugar instead.

Q- How do you color fondant?

A- I usually knead in my colors with gel coloring if separating the MMF into separate colors.
However, If you are doing one color for the whole batch, you can add the gel coloring in step 3, when you have all the mini marshmallows melted. Add the color mix and then proceed to step 4.

Q- How thick the fondant has to be so it won't reap or tear?

A- I usually roll my MMF about 1/8″ thick so it will be thick enough for handling and for it to have stregth integrity.

If your marshmallow fondant is still tearing, then it might be because it is too dry. Next time you do your MMF don’t add all of the sugar. If it is still dry, add water (about 1 tablespoon at a time) and knead. When kneading, knead until the MMF has a satin shine to it.

MMF works best for covering a cake if you let it sit overnight. Rub your MMF with a thin layer of Crisco, wrap it in plastic and place inside a ziploc bag. Let it sit overnight.

Q- Is the butter flavor necessary?

A- The butter flavor is just for… flavor. Just substitute for 1tsp of clear vanilla flavor (i.e., 2 tsps of clear vanilla extract).

Q- I was wanting to see if you could tell me what I could use on fondant to make it shine. Some cakes you see sort of have that dull look, but others have a shine. Is there something to put on them that makes them shine. I have read about alcohol, but is that right?

A- Yes, that is right. Some like to spray the fondant covered cake with vodka to give it that shine and to remove any starch.

I ususally just cover my rolling mat with a very thin layer of shortening when rolling my fondant. I flip it and cover the cake.

Another form of shine can be to brush it with some pearl dust.

Q- To what size do I need to roll my fondant to cover my cake?

A- To cover a cake, always measure its’s high and multiply by two then add the diameter. After you get this number add one inch (~2.5 cm). For example, 8″ x 3″ cake it will be:
a) 8″+3″+3″=14″
b) Now add the extra inch: 14″+1″=15″. This is the diameter you will need your fondant to be for an 8" x 3" cake.

Q- How do I make chocolate fondant?

A- Chocolate MMF recipe posted HERE.

Q- Do I need to ice the cake first before covering the cake with fondant?

A- Yes, ice the cake with regular icing and then cover with the fondant.

Q- I was wondering if the fondant can be kneaded in a machine (kitchen aid) instead of by hand. Will the result be the same as hand kneading?

A- That is a good question. I’ve never done the marshmallow in the mixer, and hand kneading it is not that bad. However, I did hear some myths about metal bowls turning the fondant gray. Don’t let this put you down as stainless steel bowls are just fine.

I have heard from other readers that it’s much easier to mix the fondant in their kitchen Aid Mixers. Just grease the bowl with a thin layer of Crisco to prevent the fondant from sticking and use the dough hook. The fondant should be done in about 8 mins. A hand mixer is a big no no. You may burn it.

Q- I'm placing some decorations on the side of my fondant covered cake. How do I ensure they don't fall off the cake?

A- The answer is piping gel. It’s ’superglue’ to me for fondant.

How to Make Fondant Bows

1. Roll fondant 1/16 in thick in desired color.

2. Cut 2 bow loops, 1 bow center and 2 streamers using a Fondant Cutter.

3. Cut ends of streamers in a 'V' shape.4. Set bow centers and the streamers aside, covered in plastic so they won't dry.

5. Pleat the ends of one bow loop cut out and fold over to form a loop.

6. Brush ends with some clear vanilla extract so the loop with 'glue' to itself. Press the ends lighlty to secure it. Stuff loops with tissue paper so the loop can dry in that form.

7. Make second loop.8. Place two bow loops over surface with two bow ends joined together.
9. Pleat bow center ends and wrap around the middle of the two joined bow ends. 'Glue' the bow center with clear vanilla extract.

10. Attach bow center with loops over frosted cake, or 'glue' with clear vanilla extract to fondant covered cake.

11. Pleat straight ends of streamers and insert them lightly under bow. If the cake is covered with fondant, use clear vanilla extract to 'glue' to cake.

12. Allow to dry, then remove the tissue paper from bow loops.

Voila!!!

Stacking Cakes (with or without pillars)

How to Stack Cakes - without pillars

You'll need:

• Cake boardsfor each cake tier


• At least 3-4 dowel rods for each cake tier (except top tier)
  

Instructions:

1. Place your base cake (the largest) on the largest cake board or cake base. Remember to 'glue' it by adding a dollop of butter cream or frosting.
   


2. Place the other tiers on cake boards of the same diameter size. The reason lies in that we don't want these boards to show.



3. On top of the large cake (first tier) mark the diameter of the cake you are going to place on top (second tier). Within this diameter imagine the position of the dowel rods as a triangle or a square ( 3 dowel rods if the second tier is not too big, 4 dowel rods if it is a big one).



4. Take a dowel rod (these are sold in cake supply stores and are FDA approved), and poke it into the base cake until it touches the base. Mark the height of the cake. remove rod and cut where you marked earlier. Repeat with the rest of the dowel rods you'll be using for the base cake.



5. Place dowel rods in base cake with a gap of 2-3 inches apart (remember they should be within the diameter of next cake tier.



6. Repeat the process for all tiers except the last one.



7. Stack up the cakes on one another.



8. Decorate your cake!

How to Stack Cakes - With Pillars

There are many pillar sets out there. Here is a quick link to Cake Pillars.

These sets come with their separator plates and pillars.

Instructions:

1. Start by placing your base cake on its cake base.



2. Identify next separator plate size and press gently on top of the center of base cake to mark the place for the pillars (don't press too hard so you don't spoil the icing on the cake).



3. Place tier cakes on their separator plates (with their respective size).



4. On the base cake that you have marked for pillars, poke each pillar until you can feel them touching the cake board. Tip: The pillars are normally hollow and I haven't had any problems with having stable cakes, however if you feel tha your cake is not stable enough, you can poke dowel rods at the center of the hollow pillars for extra stability.



5. Place second tier cake on top of the pillars by securing its separator plate to the pillars from base cake.



6. Repeat the process for all tiers, except the top most.