Buttercream Icing Recipe

This recipe makes a GREAT tasting, bakery quality buttercream icing recipe. I went to the local bakery and asked them what they put in theirs - it's the trifecta of ingredients: butter flavoring, almond flavoring, and vanilla flavoring (pure vanilla). You need all three!

Makes about 3 ½ pounds

2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 cups Crisco shortening
1 teaspoon butter flavoring (Wilton’s makes the best flavored version)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I use Wilton’s Clear Vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 pounds powdered (confectioners) cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon meringue powder (optional but the texture will be smoother)*
Water as necessary (I usually add about 2 tablespoons but you may need more or less depending on the humidity in your neighborhood)

* You can purchase meringue powder at your local grocery store under the brand name of Just Whites, or at Michael's (they carry the Wilton brand).

In the mixer, mix butter, Crisco shortening, and salt together to incorporate, about 5 minutes on low.

Add almond, butter and vanilla extracts. Mix together well. Add about 1 pound of powdered sugar and the meringue powder and mix.

Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time and mix until you get the consistency you want.

Add a little milk, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary to thin the frosting. Blend well on low for several minutes.

Use immediately or cover and refrigerate. NOTE: Buttercream Icing will last for weeks as long as it is well sealed.

Enjoy!

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

This is an easy and VERY tasty recipe! I used this for the Baby Shower Cake and everyone thought it tasted great!

Ingredients:

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (use a good quality brand)

2 to 5 tablespoons water

2 pounds icing sugar (please use C&H Cane Powdered Sugar for the best results)

1/2 cup Crisco shortening (you will be digging into it so place in a very easily accessed bowl)

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave or double boiler: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix.

Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY (palms, backs, and in between fingers), then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle.

Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands. At this stage, you will swear this is a huge mistake, but hang in there!

Keep kneading, it will continue to be VERY stickey. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). It usually takes me about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.

It is best if you can let it sit, double wrapped (in saran wrap), overnight (but you can use it right away if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar). If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water.

Prepare the fondant icing for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic-type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible.

This marshmallow fondant icing will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks. Take advantage of the fact that this fondant icing can be prepared well in advance!

Backyardigans Cake

In April, my daughter Audrey turned three years old. She wanted a Backyardigans cake. Well, the fancy cake places won't do a character cake because they "don't have copyrights" to the characters. I'm an attorney, so trust me, I get it, but that's just well, stupid. They're kids. It's a birthday party. Copyright Schmopyright.

Anywho, it forced me to face the alternatives laid out before me: (i) crappy grocery store cake with plastic figurines, or (ii) make my own. I chose the latter. Here is how it turned out. The kids loved it, and most importantly, when she saw the completed cake for the first time, her eyes lit up and mouth dropped open. As difficult to impress as her mother is, this was truly a proud moment for me.


The cake is two cake box mixes - any box mix is fine. I figure if you're going to spend this much time on fondant, screw it on the "homemade" part. They make boxes for a reason. Use them. Love them. We used strawberry for this cake. I used two tiers here, which is two 9 by 2 cake pans on the bottom and two 6 by 2 cake pans on top. Bake all four, and then shave off the "dome" part of the top of each cake. They do need to be level, or you will have a leaning tower o' cake. Stack all four, and insert drinking straws into the cake to hold it together in three or four places.

Then you need to ice the cake with regular icing. I used store-bought, but you can easily buy some buttercream from your local bakery place. Then refridgerate for at least two hours, because you need it to "crust over." Term of art there apparently in the 'biz.

After it is crusted over, you can apply the fondant. I purchased my fondant from Fondarific, which is a great (but pricey) company where the fondant actually tastes like the Skittles colors it comes in. Very tasty. See their website at www.fondarific.com.

I dyed the white fondant all the colors you see here, and then used a knife to make cutouts. In order to get the fondant to stick to other fondant, you simply brush the back with a small amount of water. I used one of my daughters' paintbrushes and dipped it in water, then just held the fondant piece on the cake and counted to five. Voila!






The finished product! Everything except the fondant was purchased at Michaels' or Hobby Lobby in the cake making section.