Cake decorating chat Thursday June 5, 1997 "Graduation Ideas" Tis the season for celebrating. Recipes and decorating ideas for you. 

" HELLO KITCHEN " - THIS IS THE CAKE DECORATING CHAT HOUR WELCOME TO ALL NEWCOMERS TO OUR LIVE CHATS! WE ARE CHATTING ABOUT CAKE ECORATING..9-10 PM EST... ...HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY

Don't forget to turn on your log to record our chat tonight: to do: at the AOL opening menu, click on file, scroll down to log manager, under chat - click on new log...... (I save it in a folder titled chat logs)...save it as any name anywhere you want. After you exit aol you can use any word processor to read it.

WE ARE TYPING IN CAPS AS REQUESTED. This makes it easier for you to follow what the hosts of the chat have prepared for you. You can easily take it into your word processor later and change the format of the text. --- Cake decorating chats are SO well attended that they scroll by very fast. This is the only possible way to distinguish between what the host is sending versus general comments. 

Earlene's Part:

Graduation time is time to pull out the school logos and the silhouettes of graduates. Either one of these items can be used in many forms to accent those special graduate cakes.

MaraTLee: How about making silhouettes out of cookies and laying them...down

Last week we had some discussion on the lace wraps that sugar bouquets make. If you have your new ices newsletter you will find instructions on how to use these wraps. These instructions are basically the hand out sheet information I will use for my demo at ices this year. The silicone wraps are one piece molds that allow you to transfer lace patterns easily to your cakes. The wraps are much less expensive than the two piece molds and can be used on buttercream, chocolate, fondant and ganache.

I just received from Rosemary (last week) four brand new designs that will be included in her new catalog. It sure is fun for me to be able to play with new things that will be available in august at the ices show. One of the new designs is a pretty scallop that can be used on the sides of a two layer cake. I can envision this with over-piping and cornelli or soto above that on the sides and over the top of the cake. She has a neat leaf pattern that could be used this same way. Both of these pieces are about eight inches long and about one and a half to two inches tall.

One of my favorite lace 2 piece molds was #8n460 and it sells for $105.50 from rosemary at sugar bouquets. The same pattern in the one piece lace wrap is #10w460 and the cost is $29.50. That is a huge savings for you. And the wrap will basically do the same things and more but it just has to be handled slightly different.

Sugar bouquets address is 23 north star drive - Morristown, new jersey 07960 Phone number is (201 - 538 - 3542) phone order no. is (800) 203 - 0629 Fax no. is (201) 538 - 4939 and there is a minimal charge for the catalog. 

HINTS AND TIPS When you are stacking your layer cakes - use two flat cookie sheets to flip your top cake. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the top of the layer. Slip one cookie sheet under the cake - place another one on the top of that layer and flip - now slide that layer off of the cookie sheet and on to the bottom layer. The powdered sugar allows that cake layer to slide and not stick to your cookie sheet. The powdered sugar will dissolve into the icing below and will not show when the cake is cut. Parchment paper works great as tracing paper when you need a sheet to transfer a design onto one of your cakes. Trace your design - lay the parchment paper on top of a large piece of styrafoam and with a corsage pin punch holes in your lines of your design. Hold it up occasionally to the light to be sure you are marking all lines needed. When the entire pattern is complete lay the paper on the top of your cake and with a cotton ball (dipped in cocoa) rub over all of the lines gently. This will imprint your design on the top of your cake with little cocoa dots. Using your writing tip go over the outline of your design and fill in with small stars to finish your design.
Dolores' Part:

Graduation time is our busiest of the entire season. It doesn't last but a few weeks, but it seems that every graduate MUST have a cake. And people order larger cakes than the usual. Large cakes are probably a good idea since teenagers may eat more than other groups would. It is not unusual for us to have several 100 serving sheet cake orders for one day.

DECORATIONS are usually done to match the school colors. Requests are sometimes made for decorations for a girl's cake to be feminine -and a boy's masculine. For 100 serving sheet cakes we charge $42.50 base price. Plastics or ceramic figurines are sold separately. The grad cap cake, also sold separately we charge $3.00. The price is a bit high, but we place the cake on 2 large cardboards and in a corrugated box with a window lid.

TIERED GRAD CAKE: See my daughter's graduation cake on my web site at: http://w3.one.net/~proicer/index.html - The cake features THE STORY OF HER LIFE - to the big day. Find it from my Home Page under HOLIDAYS or choose SPECIAL TECHNIQUES and it will be under GUM PASTE. I have provided 2 photos for you. This REALLY was my daughter Sue's cake created for her when she graduated high school. Then I reproduced it again for a cake show later on. I made a baby in a cradle, a little girl with her dolly, a teenager with roller skates and a graduate. The cake is 3-tier with a stairway leading down to a small cake on the table. I placed the figures on the stairway with the graduate on the top. Directions are provided on my web site. 

ANOTHER GRADUATION CAKE IDEA is included in this month's Sugarcraft newsletter (front page).

My newsletter IS already on my web page. I did upload it to AOL Libraries also, under Cooking Club Windows Libraries but I have no idea when they'll choose to upload it to you.

It features a grad hat. The cap is made in the petite doll pan with the mortar board made using a graham cracker dipped in preferred color of coating chocolate. Write 'class of 97' on the mortar board and name of high school on the front - or just the school letter(s). USAGE: This cake can be placed on a tiered cake or any size sheet cake.

For a tiered cake, either place the grad hat on top, or between the tiers with a plastic or ceramic figurine on top. Add a long stemmed buttercream rose, tip 125. I use tip 5 for the stem add a few 'stickers' too. Pipe the rose and lay it on-side - add sepals, tip 4-5, for realism. Add two or three tip 67 or 70 leaves.

Did everyone see Pwd sugar's article about the Lace Wraps in the JUNE ICES newsletter? Nice Earlene!

Someone asked me for this icing a few weeks ago. You can substitute any cake of course.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH FLUFFY COCONUT FROSTING found on the web somewhere.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixer bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat 2 min. at medium speed. At lowest speed, mix in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into 2 greased & floured 8" round glass baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 30 min., or till cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans. Meanwhile, make the frosting:

FLUFFY COCONUT FROSTING:

In top of a double boiler, with mixer at high speed, beat all ingredients except coconut, till blended, about 1 min. Place over rapidly boiling water; beat at high speed till soft peaks form (this may take 7 - 8 min.) Pour into large mixer bowl and beat till thick enough to spread. When cake is completely cooled, spread frosting between layers and on top and sides. Sprinkle coconut on top and press onto sides of cake. Yield: 16 - 20 servings. FROM Shavkin: DEVIL DOGS Cream oil and sugar, egg yolks and mix well. Sift together cocoa, flour, B.P., baking soda, vanilla milk. and salt. Add alternately to sugar mixture with milk and vanilla. Drop by tsp. two or 3 inches apart on greased cookie (or make into oblong shape) sheet. Bake at 375 deg F ten to 12 minutes. Let cool and spread with filling. Put together like sandwiches.

DEVIL DOGS FILLING

(You probably will need an egg white substitute because of health reasons, This recipe was given to me back in the 50's before the egg white "scare". and a pinch of salt. Put all ingredients in bowl. Beat with electric beater. Spread with consistency. I don't think it needs to be refrigerator. Photogra4: RAL, I made pistachio frosting for the dark chocolate cake, it was so easy and tasted great.
Next week's chat: " Why do the Brides wait so long to order their cakes?" Lots of ideas to make order-taking easier.

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