A few years ago I attended a sugar paste workshop on Foliage (leaves), this has been one of the most exciting workshops I have ever done. Green leaves are not all born equal, to coin a phrase.
Take the time to look at leaves in your garden or when out on a walk. Always try to work from a real leaf for the correct colour. I have seen many beautiful competition cakes with amazing flowers, only for the cake to be let down by incorrectly coloured green leaves. Just because the colour on the bottle is labeled as 'Leaf Green' does not necessary mean that it is the leaf green colour that you require.
The following two cakes were made for competitions that I entered. Competition work allows more freedom to express your creativity and encourages one to think outside the square or cake, so as to speak.
The inspiration for the first cake began with my favourite colour combination. The pink, yellow and apricot roses was the colour combination of my bridal bouquet. Adding the green gave the cake a light and fresh feel.
For the flowers I was drawn to creating a feminine feel. The flowers that made the cut ( funny ! ) were roses, lilies, the hellebore and last but not least the blushing bride ( my favorite flower ever! ) and ivy.
The Australian Mud cake was used for all the cakes featured in this blog It is a dense and delicious cake, great for sculpturing as well as stacking. Make sure the layers are well supported with food grade dowels.
The inspiration behind this next cake was Paris, I wanted the cake to have a luxurious feel hence, the deep colours of the Roses.
Each layer have their own "story" the cake topper being the Eiffel Tower.
Next was a nod to the Moulon Rouge representing a corset with a lace up back.( I know it is conservative. )
A hat box always seems to represent luxury,with gorgeous vintage luggage labels representing glamorous destinations.
The cake topper was a piped Eiffel Tower using royal icing. The first and second level platforms were made using the flood work method.
A French chef I was working with at the time pointed out , that as I had not added the antenna at the top it was not entirely a true representation. Soon after making this cake the head pastry chef requested an Eiffel tower for a wedding cake he was asked to make. This time I added the antenna, pleased to report back that we had a very happy French chef in the kitchen. Thank you chef S, now it annoys me that there is no antenna :)
For the corset, a cake was made in an hourglass shape representing the female form. From previous experience baking this cake in a steam pudding tin, resulted in very little carving and a more structurally sound cake. In the past I have sucessfully baked a mud cake using an oven proof Pyrex dish. When baking in a pudding shape bowl or steam pudding tin line the base with a disk of parchment paper. Your cake will release easily once cold,there is nothing worse than leaving some of the cake behind in your tin
View of the back of the cake with the lace up detail. For the design on the corset I used a small calyx and blossom cutter. The paste was rolled out using a textured rolling pin, adding interest to the corset design.
Close up of the roses which were made in various sizes. Instead of making the roses on wire, I made them on food grade wooden toothpicks.
For the bottom layer I wanted it to have the feel of a vintage hat box. Edible imaging was used for the luggage labels.
The Paris inspired cake entailed hours of work and close to two hundred roses. The Eiffel Tower was a challenge but in the end I was thrilled with the result.
Once judging was complete the general public were invited to view the entries. The greatest compliment I received was from a couple who were visiting from their" hometown' of Paris. They seemed excited to see the cake and asked to take a picture of the it.
Art Deco inspired wedding cake.
During the consultation with the bride and groom, they revealed their interest in art deco. The colour scheme for the wedding was red and white. That colour combination is a bit of a tricky one for me. One needs to find the right balance as it can go from class to tacky really quickly.
My suggestion was a minimum use of red with a touch of black. The colour of the red powder is called Poncho. It is a beautiful red, ideal for Christmas. The Poncho is a concentrated colour, once it has been mixed into your sugar paste it does gradually darken.
Art chalks or pastels may be non toxic but that does not necessary make them food grade. It is always best to follow food guidelines set by your State or Country.
Working with coloured fondant / pettinice, my good friend V once gave me a fabulous tip. When I first tried to use the coloured fondant / pettinice, I was having trouble working with it as it crumbled really quickly and was difficult to roll out. Work in a little White fondant / pettince it binds it together and makes the fondant / pettinice more manageable to work with. ( colour is not compromised, unless that is what you want. )
The flat pieces on the cake needed to be strong, therefore they were made from Mexican paste. This paste dries really hard and I did not have to worry about the humidity making the pieces soft.
The decoration for the top tier was inspired by a mirror design.
The second was the ' fish scale ' design, this worked really well with the hint of red.
The bottom layer was inspired by a building facade.
Although in the style of Art deco , who would have thought that three images such as a mirror, wallpaper and a building facade would have resulted in a wedding cake.
Thank you to B and A for giving me the opportunity to make your cake.
The following images are where the inspiration came for the cake design.
Google, Art deco designs
Google, Century Hotel, Miami
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