Care Bears Cake

I love Care Bears! So i was so excited when I was asked to make a Care bear cake.

When i was little, I think it was my 5th Birthday, my Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for my birthday and Grandma made me a Care Bear Carousel cake. I remember it had Care Bears made out of icing on straws like they were the carousel horses. It had a paper cover that made it look like a carousel. At the time I remember thinking it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I would try to sneak into my moms room where Grandma was keeping the Care Bears she was working on, just to get a glimpse of the cake.

 To match this Care Bear theme, the cake was made in a 6 color rainbow. The Care Bears are the little girls favorite toys. Her mom stole them away to surprise her with them on her birthday cake.

It was so much to make this cake and have the memories from my childhood come rushing back.
Enjoy!

A weekend of FUN!

Introducing my Amazing a Super Cute niece NATALIE!

Last weekend we were so excited to have Natalie come with her Dad (my brother or as he is better known in our family,  Crazy Uncle Ben) to visit for a few days. Natalie is about to turn 11 and she wanted to learn how to work with fondant and frosting. She did a great job! We first covered the cake in fondant and then she wanted to try piping with Royal icing.

Isn't her cake cute! She did a great job on her swags!

The rest of the weekend was spent swimming in back yard with my kids.

Saturday, Natalie spent the day with her Dad at Universal Studios walking down Diagon Alley, drinking Butter Beer and riding the new amazing Harry Potter ride - twice!

When they got home we celebrated her birthday with her favorite cake...

Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing

We didn't have 11 candles, so we improvised with 2 candles, to look like and 11:)

I think she had a fun weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE!!!

WE LOVE YOU TONS!

The beauty within us!

Since this is my blog, I get to expound on whatever I am thinking about, so here are some of my deeper thoughts.

There is beauty in each of us and we are each a MASTERPIECE! We may all be different, with different views, different ideas about life & different backgrounds and we are all beautiful. We were all created for a special purpose, to learn in different ways and to teach others as well.

This cake was created for a Young Women's group in our church. We discussed how each of us is a masterpiece of the Lord. He created us to be unique and to stand up for who we are.

Each week these Young Women (ages 12-18) stand and recite this theme.

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him.
We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things,
and in all places" as we strive to live
the Young Women values, which are:
Faith
Divine Nature
Individual Worth
Knowledge
Choice and Accountability
Good Works
Integrity and
Virtue.
We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values,
we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants,
receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

As in this pot of roses, no two are identical, but they are all beautiful. The Young Women who I am able to work with, stand each day for Truth and Righteousness as they walk through life knowing they are daughters of a Heavenly Father, who know and love them.

So stand today for who you are, know that you are loved and watched over and that today can be better than yesterday. You are His masterpiece!

A Flower Garden

I grew up with a front yard full of tulips and I loved visiting my Grandma and Grandpa's house and seeing their long rows of rose bushes. I loved smelling each one with my grandpa as he cared for them so lovingly.

 So, I was so excited when I was asked to make a garden cake covered with sugar flowers. The flowers were so much fun to make. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Have a beautiful day!

The NEW iphone 4S

Okay, we are a bit behind on our blog posts...but when we made this cake, the iphone 4s had just come out. The cake is red velvet with cream cheese icing and the cake was a surprise for a 50th Birthday!

We love being part of the surprise!

 Each App was picked out specifically for the birthday boy...I mean Man. Can you name all of the apps? I know you can get most, but can you get all of them?

Which apps would you pick to be on your cake? 

Dessert Bars..Not just CAKE!

 A few months ago, we were asked to do a dessert bar for a bridal shower. It was a blast! We went "outside the box" and tried all sorts of new desserts including: Raspberry Brownie Bites, Tangy Lemon Bars and deliciously sweet Key Lime Pies. As for cake...well, we of course added in Red Velvet cake truffles, Chocolate Petit Fours and Chocolate Lemon Cake pops.

 So, life is not just about cake...it can be about so many other things, like Lemon Bars and Key Lime Pies. Okay, really life is about family and finding joy in everything around us...but it sure does help if you are surrounded by cake:)

Enjoy!

How to CRUMB COAT a Cake!

Hello everyone and welcome to my tutorial on crumb coating a cake. I often get asked by friends and family how to crumb coat a cake and to get a nice smooth finish on the cake, so here is one of my techniques.

I know you are excited to jump into decorating your cake, but I need to clarify a few things about frosting. First, there are many different kinds of frosting, the kind Americans generally use is an American buttercream. This is the ultra sweet frosting made with powdered sugar, butter and sometimes shortening. There are also Meringue buttercreams which are a little more difficult to make, but totally worth it. For this tutorial, we are using an American buttercream.

 Before you begin, make sure your frosting is stiff, you should be able to scoop it up with your spatula and turn it upside down over the bowl without it falling or sliding back into the bowl. The frosting should hold its shape perfectly.

So, what is a crumb coat? That is a good question. A crumb coat is the base coat of frosting on a cake. Generally there are 2 layers of frosting spread on a cake, the 1st is the crumb coat. It seals in the crumbs, so that no crumbs can get into the second layer of icing and made your cake look dirty.

These are the tools I use to crumb coat a cake. A leveler, an off-set spatula and a scraper. All of these materials can be picked up at a craft store near you or on line. I also use a turntable and I ALWAYS have a separate empty bowl, which I will explain in a minute.

 The 1st thing you need to do is level your cakes. All cakes need to be leveled or you will get cracked cakes that will not hold there shape. I use a leveler which I bought at a craft store for about $4. If you do not have one you can also use a long knife and very carefully cut the top off your cake. If I have to use this option, I use the longest NON-serrated knife I have. I do not like to use serrated knives on cakes because the tear the cake and make more crumbs.

 Once you have topped all of your cakes, you are ready to start stacking. Start by spreading a thin layer of Frosting on your cake board so it will stick to the bottom of your cake.

 Place your 1st layer on and plop a big dollop of icing right in the middle! That was a weird sentence. Anyway, spread the icing carefully. I think of spreading frosting like spreading peanut butter on bread, you have to be very careful or it tears the bread, same with cake and frosting. Always add more frosting that you think you need. You can always take off frosting, and it is much easier and cleaner that trying to add frosting.

Once it is nice and flat like the picture below, you can stack the second cake. If you only have 2 cakes, turn the cake over so the bottom of the second cake is now the top of the cake. This will greatly reduce your amount of crumbs.

 As you can see, i repeated everything for the second cake and flipped my top cake so it is upside down.

Once you have filled your cake, use your off set spatula to smooth your excess frosting into the cake. This is where you fill any gaps on the sides, if there are any and make sure your layers are stacked properly. This is also the time to get out that extra bowl I told you to have ready.

 One of my tricks to getting a really nice crumb coat is to have my extra bowl. Anytime I get crumbs on my spatula, I wipe the frosting into my extra bowl. I always make sure to keep my frosting bowl crumb free, by putting my crumb covered frosting into a separate bowl:) It is the best way to reduce crumbs, I promise!

Note the angle of the spatula in the picture above. You want to keep you spatula at a 90 degree angle while spreading frosting.

 Now that we have spread the excess frosting around and off the cake. See my square pan has my crumby frosting in it (Above) We can begin spreading on the crumb coat. Again always start with more that you need. I like to spread frosting on the sides of the cake, then the top. Turn your turntable with one hand while you hold your spatula at 90 degrees. To get this right, it can take a while. if you see gaps of holes, fix them and keep going. Once you have a nice thick coat if frosting, use your scraper and hold it flat on the turntable so it is against the side of your cake (sorry I forgot to take a picture of that) then turn the turn table and the scraper will make a perfectly smooth coat of frosting.

 After finishing the edges of the cake, you will have peaks on the top edges of the cake, use you scraper or spatula to draw the peaks into the center of the cake, Then smooth again.

Once you have finished the crumb coat you are ready to cover the cake in fondant, or if you are making a buttercream cake, let the cake rest for a few minutes in the fridge and the coat it again the same way.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! Please let me know if you have any questions and enjoy caking!

Good Luck,

Wendy

MINI Cakes or Cakes for 2

For the past few months I have been contemplating the idea of Cakes for 2. These cute little cakes are completely customizable, but are tiny and only feed 2-6 people. I love making Over the Top cakes, but I understand that not many people need that much cake. Unless you are getting married or having a huge birthday party, which is always fun, cakes seem like too much.

So my answer to this dilemma, make small Over the Top Cakes!

 This New York Giants cake feeds about 6 people. The cake itself is Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese icing. The football is made of rice cereal treats and covered in modeling chocolate. I delivered this cake to the Swan and Dolphin Resort at Disney World and had it delivered to my clients room, so when she and her boyfriend returned to the hotel from a great day at Epcot, his birthday cake was waiting for him. She said it was a great surprise and it was fun to be a part of it.

This cake fed 2 -3 people and was made for my very tall brother-in-law who loves to camp!

Cakes for 2 can be a great way to surprise a loved one for an intimate birthday, anniversary or just to say I love you! They are personalized, fun and say I love you and I am thinking about you in a very SWEET way.

Let me know what you think of Cakes for 2.

Monkey Cake Tutorial

Welcome to Wendy Woo Cakes 1st Tutorial!

A few months ago I was asked to make a monkey and banana cake, with lots of bananas all over the cake. We made the cake and it was a huge success. The family loved it! Last week, we were asked to make the same cake for a baby shower, so I thought this time I would do a tutorial for the cake. Please let me know what you think, and if you have other topics you would like to learn about, I am always happy to share what I know.

All cakes, of course need to be crumb coated. This is the top tier which is Red Velvet cake with Madagascar Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream...say that 3 times fast:)

Smooth out the icing and place it in the fridge to chill. While it is chilling, cover your board in fondant.

 After chilling for about 30 minutes in the fridge your cakes are ready to cover. Just a reminder...your fondant will only be as smooth and flat as your buttercream and cake underneath. If the buttercream is lumpy, your fondant will be too.

 Cover the cake carefully and cut away the excess. I like to use a sharp steak knife that IS NOT serrated at all! Or sometimes I use an exacto knife. It depends on my mood.

 After your cakes are covered give them a few minutes (20 minutes) to sit and rest. The fondant needs a few minutes to start to harden. If you cover a cake then try to move it too soon, the fondant will slip, stretch, slide, or bunch and all of those things are not pretty.

I usually take this time to get my other supplies ready or make other decorations. Cut your dowels for your bottom tier. You will need at least 4 dowels inserted into your bottom tier to hold up the top tier. I forgot to take a picture of this step. If you don't want to use dowels you can also use large staws (Tea Straws) they can be found at craft stores or kitchen stores.
For this cake and most cakes, I also cut a long dowel that will run the height of the cake that can be hammered through all of the tiers to help with stability in transporting the cake.

For this I use my "gardening" shears, a utility knife and a hammer, all of which are only used for cake purposes and have never been used outside. I sharpen one end of the dowel with the utility knife, you could also use a pencil sharpener, just make sure it hasn't been used for pencils.

For this cake, make the dowel a few inches taller than the cake itself, so it can support the palm tree on top. Then using the hammer, pound the dowel through both tiers (through the cake board) and into the base. Don't be scared, it really will work and it wont hurt your cake. Although I will admit, it is terrifying every time you do it.

 After the cakes are stacked, decorate the cake the way you want it. If you look carefully you can see the dowel sticking out of the cake.

 For the top palm tree, I wrapped modeling chocolate around a large straw, then cut out tear shapes and started at the top of the tree and worked my way down, covering the entire tree trunk in "bark".
Now that it is finished, you can simply slide the straw over the dowel and down into the cake.

 After the trunk is in place I stuff modeling chocolate down the top of the straw. Once it hardens, it will help hold your wired leaves in place. The bottom trunks are made of all modeling chocolate with no straws or dowels. The leaves go on last. Leaves are a whole different tutorial:)

 The monkeys and bananas are made of modeling chocolate. I made the bananas the night before.  The leaves are made of gumpaste and were made the day before as well.

 I also used brown food coloring mixed with a little white coloring to paint the tips of the bananas to help them look a little more realistic. Add the leaves and viola!!! You have a super cute monkey cake!

Enjoy!
Please let me know if you have questions.

Wendy Woo
email me at wendy@wendywoocakes.com

Vroom! Vroom! Jeff Gordon!

Jeff Gordon's 2011 Cherry Red Car!

Happy Birthday to Phil, and a huge thanks to his wife Lori, who loves to challenge my abilities as a cake artist. She also ordered the Armadillo Cake. We love repeat customers!

The cakes was a Sour Cream Vanilla Cake with Almond Meringue Buttercream and Raspberry Filling. The cake is covered in fondant and all of the "stickers" are edible. The tires are gumpaste. The checkerboard is also done in fondant.

Phil loved the cake...here is what Lori emailed me after the party.

"It was AMAZING AND MOST MEMORABLE!!!! Phil was so very surprised and stood in awe of the race car actually being a cake.  He couldn’t wait to bring the boys to look at the cake when they first arrived at the house!  Pictures of the cake were sent all over cyberspace (Jax, Connecticut, New Jersey, etc.) by him showing everyone who wasn’t at our home and, of course, to all our race car fans!!!  The checkerboard board was a huge hit and again appreciated the effort and attention to detail!

    He did not want at all to cut it but to preserve it!  However, he finally relinquished and cut the cake in half lengthwise – he took the #24!  Of course, Jeff also came in second place at Brickyard!

Delicious and just over the top of any and all expectations.  Just know your name is out there now!  Can’t wait for the next “challenge” opportunity for a party and always let there be CAKE/an art masterpiece!

Thank you again to Lori and Phil!