Desserts for the Deserving: Operation Cookie
Desserts for the Deserving
Dessert Delivery {July Tutorial Series}
Dessert Delivery
I must admit dessert delivery is one of the most stressful parts of the baking process. If you have ever had to deliver desserts to a party, you know it can be stressful. Whether you are a baker or you are on dessert delivery detail for a party you might find this technique helpful. My husband finds it hilarious to be with me when I am delivering a cake. All of a sudden my hands are at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and I take my turns with such care. I turn into the classic defensive driver. It’s amazing how spending 16 hours decorating a cake can make you an insanely careful driver. Careful driving is always a plus, but this method I use has taken a lot of stress out of the delivery.
Dessert Delivery Boxes
These boxes are not fancy but it works; they are like seatbelts for desserts on the go. The best part-THEY ARE FREE! There are no free tools in baking, that is for sure. I get these boxes at Costco, but any grocery store would have them. These are the boxes that fruit and vegetables are delivered in to the store. These boxes are interlocking so that you can stack them one on top of the other.
It does not matter if they are different brands. As you can see, one is a blueberry box and one is a tomato box and they stack on top of one another perfectly. Please excuse my poor “illustration” skills below. The bottom box has a “tooth” that sticks up. The box on top has an opening. This secures the box for stacking.
Sometimes I have large deliveries and instead of worrying about bakery boxes sliding around in the back of my car this allows me to fill each box with almost four bakery boxes.
This box above allowed me to bundle almost 150 cupcakes in just two boxes. The bakery boxes fit nice and snug in the larger boxes so that they do not shift around while driving.
On this delivery I was able to put my marketing materials in the box below and the all the cookies, cupcakes, and brownies in the box above.
The next time you are on dessert delivery detail, give this a shot. It might just help you save space and time figuring out how you are going to get your creations from Point A to Point B. Happy Baking!
Vintage Ruffle Flowers {July Tutorial Series}
Vintage Ruffle Flowers
During the month of July I have decided to feature different tutorials on techniques that have been requested on Facebook. First up: vintage ruffle flowers. The month of July is deathly hot in Arizona. We reverse hibernate around here. The streets are bare, parking lots half full and you really do not see any kids playing outside. Coming up with indoor activities is becoming a little nutty. If you have any good suggestions, I am all ears. I decided now is a good time to tackle some tutorials while being stuck inside. Well then, I will stop babbling and get to teaching.
Tools Needed To Make Vintage Ruffle Flowers:
- Ateco Fluted Round 12 Piece Cutter Set
- Silicon Molds {I use Way Beyond Cakes by Mayen Molds}
- Fondant Roller
- Ball Tool and Stick Tool
- Angled Tweezers
- Forming Cups
- Ateco Molding Mat {any foam molding mat will work}
- Plastic Wrap
- Fondant or Gumpaste
- Candy Melts
- Pastry Bag
- Sugar Pearls
- Cornstarch
- Sugar Glue
- Pasta Roller {added bonus if you have one}
STEP 1:
Now that you have all your tools and supplies it’s time to get down to business and make these ruffle flowers. We are going to make our molds first, that way, while the molds are drying you can make the other part of your flowers. Fill a pastry bag with a handful of candy melts. You can use any color you like. I always have white chocolate candy melts on hand and then use luster dust to tint them different colors. Put the pastry bag in the microwave on 50% power for two minutes. At the half way mark open the microwave and check the chocolate. If it needs to melt further do it in 10 second blasts.
Once your chocolate is melted, cut off the tip of your pastry bag and fill the mold. Make sure you get in the grooves and that there are no air bubbles.
Once the molds are full place them in the freezer to set.
Side Note: You do not have to use candy melts to make molds. However, I have much greater success getting detail out of the molds using candy melts. You can use fondant or gumpaste in molds as well. Feel free to read this prior blog post showing you some of the differences between what a fondant molded center looks like versus a candy melt.
STEP 2:
Knead your fondant or gumpaste to make it pliable. You may have to rub a little shortening on your hands as you knead the fondant. Once your fondant has been kneaded properly, sprinkle a little bit of cornstarch on your work surface. This helps keep the fondant/gumpaste from sticking to your surface.
The above fondant rolling pin is made by Wilton and it comes with two measuring bands. The light pink measuring bands are 1/16th. I roll out the fondant to this width and then run it through my pasta roller on setting number four. {Note: not all pasta rollers are the same} Before running it through the pasta roller make sure the fondant/gumpaste has a nice light coating of cornstarch. Otherwise it can get stuck!
If you do not have a pasta roller have no fear!! Take off the bands and roll the fondant/gumpaste until you can see through it. It should be paper thin. See picture below. You can see through the fondant/gumpaste to the lines on my work mat.
STEP 3:
The fondant is rolled and ready to be cut. The nice part about Ateco’s fluted cutter sets is that you can make flowers of all sizes. Large, medium and small. For this tutorial I chose to do a medium sized flower. If you want to see an example of a large, medium and small flower, click on the following LINK. Pick 4 cutters in the set that you like. The size you pick will determine the size of the flower.
Once you cut out the circles that you need, roll excess fondant into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Once wrapped with plastic wrap, I place in a baggie back in the air tight container.
Place fondant circles under a square of plastic wrap, so that the individual circles do not dry out while you are “ruffling”.
Place largest fondant circle and place on the Ateco molding mat. You can use any foam mat that you like. I prefer the Ateco mat because it is not as “cushy”. <—you like those technical terms! Take the “ball” tool and place it half on the edge of the fondant/gumpaste and half on the mat. Use a back and forth motion going around in a circular motion. Make sure the edges of the fondant/gumpaste have a little cornstarch on it, otherwise your tool can tear the edges as you go around.
STEP 4:
Next, take the stick tool with the pointy end and place it at the center of the circle. You can sub a skewer or tooth pick for the stick tool and get the same effect. Lightly impress and run the tool from the center to the edge of the circle. This gives the flower it’s textured look. Do this technique all the way around the whole circle.
Can you see the texture on the circle?
Place the largest round in a flower former and repeat this step on each of the sizes. Let the rounds sit in the flower formers for about an hour to let them harden a little. You still want the fondant rounds to be a little pliable.
STEP 5:
Now it’s time to put it all together and layer the rounds on top of one another with sugar glue. You can make sugar glue all sorts of ways. I simply took a little bit of clear vanilla and mixed it with powdered sugar to form a sticky substance.
Leave the largest circle in the flower former. Take a brush and dip it into the sugar glue. Place a SMALL amount of the sugar glue in the middle of the fondant circle. Too much sugar glue will break apart the fondant and make it a sticky mess. Place the next sized circle on top of the large circle. Repeat. Make sure to center it the best that you can.
Grab your stick tool again and poke it under some of the seams and pinch together. This helps give it that added ruffle, flower look. Does that make sense? See picture below as well. This will give you an idea of how to use the stick tool to lift certain areas, so the flower does not look flat.
This is what it looks like with the all the layers added, now it’s time to add the chocolate molded center.
STEP 6:
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Which mold to use? I love Way Beyond Cakes by Mayen’s Etsy site. She has a wonderful array of molds.
The cool part about making a bunch of white molds is that you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer. Then pop them out and color them what ever your theme is that you are currently doing.
Which one is your favorite? You can airbrush molds, paint them with petal/luster dust or just leave them alone. Take another dab of sugar glue, place it in the center of the flower and press the mold in the center. Let it dry.
STEP 7:
This step is completely optional. To give the flower the vintage look, I like adding a sugar pearl border around the mold. Take your brush and apply a small amount of sugar glue around the outside of the mold. Then take your angled tweezers to pick up the sugar pearls and place around the mold. Slightly push in the pearl into the fondant to secure it.
STEP 8:
Now it is time to let the flower dry. Let the flower dry for at lease 6 hours in the former. After you have let it dry for a little, take a brush and clean up the flower. Brush off any excess cornstarch hanging around. To finish the flower I airbrush it with pearl sheen. If you do not have an airbrush, simply take a large fluffy brush with pearl dust and brush on the surface. This may seem complicated at first, but once you practice a little you will find these are a beautiful addition to a cake that are not too costly. Did you know some flower arrangements on cakes can run $80 and up?
This simple vintage ruffle flower can dress up any cake.
If you make ruffle flowers you will have to share pictures of your cakes with me on facebook. I absolutely love seeing what people create.
Enjoy!
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About Me
Let me introduce myself, my name is Melissa Barbakoff and I have a passion for baking, nutrition and creating beautiful, edible gifts. I have loved to bake since I was a little girl but it wasn't until recently that it became a full time pursuit. The Baked Equation was born as a way to raise funds for our charity, Micah 6:8 Sudan. Our dream is to help train pastors and to build a sustainable farming community in Southern Sudan. So it all started with a "Bake Sale" and the sale has never quite ended. Sponsors
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