Hand-Painting Your Decos

Handpainting cakes is the latest trend that I'm in love with.   The images below are lovely hand-painted cakes by Jamie Hoffman of Yuma Couture Cakes in Yuma, AZ  (Thanks to Jamie for permission to post her pics!)

 

Tuscan cake















Tuscan cake--detail

You can paint on Fondant or a layer of royal icing, or wafer paper--though fondant is the easiest way to get a good result. Regular icing gel color is mixed with a small amount alcohol--vodka, gin, everclear, or lemon extract (83% alcohol)--which allows it to be transparent, like watercolor, and dry very fast so your fondant doesn't get gooey. A little water doesn't hurt either. If you want a more opaque color, or a softer shade, adding a little "White White Icing Color" by Wilton will do the trick. Luster dusts, or petal dusts can also be made into "paint" by adding alcohol. I usually use a clean soda bottle cap as my little paint pot. Large amounts will dry too fast.

Hearts and Kisses

Happy February!  Hearts are the thing for Valentine cakes and cookies.  Smocked or quilted fondant, and royal icing or gum paste flowers are made for decorating Valentine cakes.

There are plenty of cookie cutters to make fondant hearts, they come in assorted sizes, serrated or straight edges, wonky or traditional.  Use a smaller cutter to cut out a heart-shaped hole in a larger cutout, inlay different colored small ones into the larger holes for a different look.

Quilting designs can be made with the pointy-edged rolling cutters, and the smocked look can me made with the back of a knife or the edge of a spatula to make ribbing, then pinch with a flat ended tweezer in offset evenly spaced spots covering them with little royal icing stitches,

All the flowers you learn in the Wilton Classes are usable for any of your Valentine decorating needs!