Cakes I've made.

Of course my dear grump.

Thanks! Southeast MI.

Apparently [from what some tell me], I'd make Mike Holmes proud too.

I was SO very pissed when my uncle showed me this picture of him partying it up "with the coolest guy he'd ever met". "He was paying for all of our drinks!" I screamed at him... It was DUFF!!!!! He didn't know who he was until I showed him my fondant container with his picture on it!!! I wanted to punch my uncle in the face at that moment. I guess Duff had been in Detroit for some contest or something and had just gone out for fun one night and lo and behold... My uncle hangs and partys with the man. My uncle is one of those guys that has this type of luck... He met Kevin Smith and got his autograph on a CD [Clerks II soundtrack] and gave it to me for a bday present one year.

Well, I've been told on several occasions that my cakes taste WAY better than most... Especially the wedding cakes. Most wedding cakes are dry and taste like cardboard......... Because they are going for looks over taste.

I go for both.

And the cakes I bake are so far from being good for you. I never use anything but REAL BUTTER [unless a WHITE cake is necessary to the bride - and most feel that Ivory is just fine]. And I generally use more butter than what it calls out for. ☺

It's not too horrible to work with fondant as long as you keep your hands and the fondant moist, so it doesn't crack. If you are working with a large piece, you have to work fast.

It's a pain in the arse to make fondant... It's not much more expensive to buy. I prefer the Duff brand fondant. Better flavor and great pre-mixed color.

I used the Wilton's fondant [and added clear almond & vanilla extracts] on the gold wedding cake. I used white and brushed on the gold/bronze edible dust. I know in the pic, it looks pinkish, but it was very gold/bronze. I had to use the 5lb box of fondant for that cake. I had very little left over when I was done.

And no, I've never had to do anything with a dummy cake. However, I've been told it's much easier to work with considering you don't have to worry about cake falling.

What many people think is that you need the cake relatively dry if you're using fondant... Au contraire. When I bake for a cake that's going to have fondant, I use a denser cake for the bottom so it doesn't sag or fall [of course, if it's a stacked cake, I use dowels and separators]. When the cake is warm to the touch [not 100% cooled], I cover it and then put it in the fridge while I get the frosting ready or decorations made [if using fondant or gumpaste for decor]. When it's done cooling in the fridge [sometimes I leave them overnight], I crumb [skim] coat the cakes with buttercream, cover & put back into fridge to harden the icing. These steps are what keeps my cakes moist and tasty. Once the icing has hardened, I put a slightly thicker layer of frosting, roll out my fondant [color and add flavoring at this time if needed], and cover the cake in fondant, one layer at a time if it's a stacked cake. To get my icing smooth before putting the fondant on, I use an 8 inch drywall knife. People are shocked when I tell them that... But that's what happens when a mechanic does cakes on the side... I've merged the two skills together. ☺ Of course it's brand new and sanitized. But it gets a REALLY nice smooth frosting with HALF the effort!!! A finishing masonry trowl works really well for getting the fondant level. ☺ And PVC pipe cut to needed length helps with getting large pieces of fondant on a larger cake. ☺ Again... All things washed and sanitized before such use.

Most women don't think about using other than cake tools... I helped educate the educator in my decorating class with these ideas.

lol. Use frosting... Whatever's cheap/easiest. If I don't have a lot of time, I buy a large tub [4lb] of buttercream for about $12. That will make the fondant stick to the foam the best. But... You could use just sugar water too.

Then you can't cover it in fondant.

You could however, use royal icing.

The spiders were in fact edible... Just not the legs.

I have a Bud Lite cake... Let me upload a resized copy.

I added some pix just for you Vlad... AND the other guys too. ☺

Fork you. ☺ I mean, here's a fork for you.

Thanks! Those daisies took me 4hrs-ish to make.

It was a broken up 4hrs... TRUST ME. I did some one night, some the next night, and the rest the morning of my daughter's bday party. My hands can't do all that in one night.

Thank you... But shipping real cakes isn't something I'd try. ☺ I don't use margarine for my cakes and frostings. Only REAL butter...... Things would melt and fall apart real fast. ☺

*blushes* Thanks Mrs.D.

I already did.