Cupcake Decorating Class - 3D Cakes

I recently went on another cupcake decorating class. My last class was at a bakery called The Scarlet Bakery in Dundee. This time I headed over to Edinburgh for the day to have some fun with Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen and my cousin Claire who blogs at A Kiss of Cookies. Our class was in 3D Cakes in the West End of Edinburgh.



Sue our tutor for the day started off by teaching us how to use sugarpaste. First we made butterflies and then gerberas. We then learned how to roll the sugar paste really thinly to make the finest of roses. It actually takes quite a bit of work to get it thin enough.

Sugarpaste Tips:

• Warm the sugarpaste in your hands until pliable.
• Dust your work surface with the smallest amount of icing sugar, you don't want to use much as it can dry out your sugarpaste.
• Rotate the paste as you roll.
• Work quickly.
• For fine flowers, you want to roll your paste so thin that you can see newsprint through it.
• One we had used our flower cutter, we then made the petals even thinner, by stretching them with our thumb and fore finger. You have to make sure to use the pad of your finger and not the tip. If you use the tip the petal will tear easily.
• Use an apple tray (made of cardboard, you can ask for one at a supermarket) or a egg carton to shape your butterflies, flowers etc, while they dry.
• The smallest amount of water will stick together different shapes. You are going more for damp than wet.
• Sugarpaste hardens and fondant stays soft, so sugarpaste is better for really fine work.

We left our sugarpaste shapes to dry and harden and moved on to fondant. Sue gave us a masterclass in making chubby hearts, ribbon roses, ladybirds and parcels.

I have to say my favourite was the ladybirds. they were so cute with their little smiles. I was amazed to find out there was even a tool to make smiles.

The hearts were the simplest to accomplish, the parcels needed a bit of careful handling, but it was the roses I needed a bit of help with. Sue was at hand to give a one-to-one  demonstration and I was soon back on track. I hadn't been making my petals long enough.

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Here are a few photos from the day:

Masterclass from Sue

Parcel making

Claire (A Kiss of Cookies)

Janice (Farmersgirl Kitchen)

Janice adding finishing touches.

Fondant Tips:

• Sugarpaste dries and hardens, so it is good for delicate work. Fondant is more like playdoh. You can shape and mould it into an endless variety of shapes.
• Use a brush dipped in a little water to stick fondant shapes together. Brush onto the back of your hand to take off excess water before applying to the fondant.
  
• Use the right tools. It might seem obvious, but the results speak for themselves. Buy a basic set of tools and work from there.
• Buys some moulds. You can get a huge variety of moulds online. They are a quick and easy way to  get professional results. Sue recommended an online shop called Squires.
• Check out this step-by-step guide to making fondant animals.
• Have fun!

Our final step was to dust and glitter our shapes. When you are dusting shapes, always use a very dry brush and dust off the excess powder before applying. To add glitter, dampen the area you want to add glitter to, with a damp brush, then dip in a bowl of glitter.

We gave our gerberas  a little dust of colour, layered them up and finished them off by rolling a little ball of black fondant and fixing it with a little water onto the centre of the flower. We then used the end of the paintbrush to dab little dots into the ball and then piped a few dots around the edges for an authentic finish.

Sue provided us with a box of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, then left us to pipe on buttercream and finished them off with our decorations.  Then it was time for clear up and some last goodbyes.

I stopped to buy a few supplies on the way out, then a few more, ahem!

A great day and a fabulous tutor.

Have a read of Janice and Claire's account of the day.

3D Cakes 20 Roseburn Terrace, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH12 6AW

Cake Design Team: - 0131 337 9990 Cupcake Order Line: - 05602051641  Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, I paid for this course myself. I was not given any free products or perks. The opinions expressed are my own.