Clean and simple cake design - online craftsy class

One of my favourite things to do is learn from others. Sometimes you can just get one little tip or trick that can make your caking adventure so much easier. This class contained one OMG moment for me - you know where you sit back and look at all the cakes you have done in the past and wonder - why didn't I think of that???  

Jessica Harris has a wonderful blog - http://jessicakesblog.blogspot.com.au/ and I highly recommend you follow it as she has loads of great tutorials on there.

I also really do think this tutorial is great value for money - they are always on sale, and there really is something for everyone.

Here is the cake I made, inspired by this tutorial. I used Swarovski crystals, and a silver leaf ribbon just to bling it up a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

My Overall Review:

Rating: 10/10
Positives: Can learn a range of techniques at your own pace. Affordable compared to doing an actual in the flesh class. The classes are yours to keep forever, so you can keep going back to them when you want to. I also like the amount of topics covered in this class. I think there is something for everyone from beginners to advanced.
Negatives: You want to have good internet, otherwise viewing it could be painful. Sometimes it is hard to locate particular products used, as this is a US decorator.
Cost: $43.99 online from Craftsy - however it is 50% off if you go through Jessica's blog

I am Inspired - by Michelle that is :)

Every now and then, I like to treat myself to a little caking indulgence, and also like to tick something off my bucket list. (To do classes with all my caking idols). So with that in mind, I booked in to do a double barrel cake decorating course with the incredibly talented, and just a down right wonderful person, Michelle Rea from Inspired by Michelle Cake Designs.

If you don't already follow Michelle's work, then I have to say - get on board. She is an amazing person and is very generous with sharing her wealth of knowledge on all things cake. She has an excellent you tube tutorial on ganaching cakes which is the method that I use (and learnt from this very clip).

Here is a pic of my ganached cake - have to say I am pretty damn proud of this baby and all its chocolaty goodness :)

Had to also take advantage of the photo op and get my celebrity caking photo taken ;) For those of you who haven't met Michelle, she is on the left and her cake was the chocolate, orange and hot pink number which was just stunning!

 

My overall review

Rating: 10/10

Positives: Michelle is an incredible talent and she is more than prepared to share all her tips, tricks and advice along the way. The classes are small (max 8 people) which really gives you a good opportunity to get help if you needed, and to be able to learn from her. She provides all the equipment that you need, and has parking on-site. I am already planning on booking another one of her classes next year - that's how good it was!!!

Negatives: Hmmm, still trying to think of one, yes I don't have one yet

Cost: $350 for this particular class

 

Here is the photo of the cake I made - too good to cut, and will be a display for a little while yet :)

 

 

 

 

 

Agbay - the ultimate cake levelling tool

So I have to admit that the above heading is a pretty massive statement, but I mean every word of it! The Agbay truly is the best cake leveller EVER - and no I wasn't given a freebie and that's ok, because it is simply worth every penny. I purchased an Agbay junior with a single blade and this has been great for the cakes that I do. It cuts so easily through the dense mud cakes and fruitcakes effortlessly. You do need a little caution if you have crusty bits on your cake, but otherwise with a nice side to side action it will envenly cut your cakes to the height you set it at.

Here is a snap of the beautiful Agbay in action - levelling off the top of my chocolate mud cake.

 

My overall review:

Rating: 10/10

Positives: Cuts with ease, perfectly level layers for torted cakes, adjustable height and available in various sizes

Negatives: I guess initially it was price, but once you use it and love it, the price is honestly forgotten about. Also the blade is very sharp so beware of your fingers :)

Cost: Starts from $149.50 USD depending on the model plus international postage. I purchased mine directly from Agbay

Clear cake scrapers - by the Cupcake Lady

So I was excited when I saw a few fellow cakers posting about these new clear plastic scrapers - why was I excited? Well the great thing about these is that you can actually see what you are doing when stencilling, ganaching and whatever else you want to do with these such as buttercream, straightening stripes and patterns and whatever else you can think of. I know it seems like a small benefit, but in the world of cake perfection this is a massive bonus.

So far I have road tested these on ganaching a cake and also using it to smoothly apply an edible image around the sides of a cake. They really are super useful and I have no doubt this is about to become one of my go to tools.

There are three of these babies in a pack, just over 4, 6 and 8 inches high making it perfect for your single tiers, extended tiers and double barrels.



Here is a quick pick of the ganaching in progress using the clear scraper.

My overall review:

Rating: 10/10
Positives: Great size, shape and they are nice and lightweight. I definitely think it was worth the cost.
Negatives: Yet to find one - I suspect that I probably won't either.
Cost: $39.95 plus postage $9.90. I purchased these from The Cupcake Lady online sore and they were really quick to post them.

Number 1 Patchwork cutter by Marion Frost

I purchased this cutter and thought it would be great to use it for a topper on an upcoming first birthday cake I had to make. On the packet, it recommends using it for this purpose so I thought - perfect. I love the shape of it and its a great size so would be the perfect topper. The only problem is that you can't actually have your fondant or gum paste too thick as the cutter actually indents into the icing, so you need to have it pretty thin, which concerned me as it was for a topper and not to be stuck on the sides of the cake.


Here is how it looks if you make it too thick like I did on my first attempt.



So basically I ended up having to do it pretty thin, but fortunately it held up nicely. I ended up printing an edible image to match the birthday boys invitations and overlayed this on the top and glued it down with a little bit of Crisco - but overall I am pretty happy with it.

 

 

 

 

My overall review:

Rating:7.5/10
Positives: Great size and shape, made from plastic so its not going to get bent out of shape in my cake stash. Easy to use and gave a nice clean cut. Reasonably priced
Negatives: You can't have the fondant too thick or you get lines in it. I think this is a pretty big draw back, as it limits what you can use it for - cookies are definitely out for this cutter.
Cost: $6.30 purchased at Dijon Foods in Castle Hill NSW