Vintage Bride?

I've been in Belfast for the past few days and today was the last day of the Bride and Groom class.  Playing around with phone apps (What did we ever do without them?  And who needs David Bailey! Lol!) and took this pic of my almost complete Bride.  I think this looks like an old Kodak Brownie photo and I think it makes her look rather sweet.  If you are wondering who the bald bloke is in the background, that's her unfinished groom but by the end of the day he had his hair, I promise you.  The figures appear to be spaced pretty far apart but in reality they didn't seem so far as this photo depicts.  (He's lucky I gave him cake room at all...just sayin!  Haha!)

The classes in Belfast didn't pull in the students that I'd hoped for and contemplated cancelling earlier in the year, but sometimes you have to go with your gut and see what happens....and I did....and I wasn't disappointed on so many levels, I can tell you that.  Thank you so much to my lovely ladies who came along and endured my bad humour and hopefully my not so bad Cake Pops!  Heading home late tomorrow evening and will see you all in New Jersey next in July.  Woohoooooo!  

Still most popular Online Tutorial is the Heads, Hands and Feet which you can find in the Extra Icing Shop on the website or on Facebook.  See the Shop on Extra Icing Facebook.  Cheers peeps!

Pastel Pops....hearts and flowers!

I'm really starting to enjoy messing around with these tasty treats.  The time that goes into these is ridiculous but I'm sure the more times you do them the swifter you become.  I wouldn't expect to get paid for half the bleedin' time I've taken here today but it was an experiment and just for fun.  I watched a video on You.Tube about making Rainbow Cake Pops but the chocolate used was Candy Melts and layered onto the cake ball too thick for my liking.  I had previously coloured white chocolate with paste colouring but found it went very spotted and didn't look smooth and neat at all.  But it didn't affect the flavour so they got disposed of quick enough...have no fear!  This time around I decided to colour the chocolate using Americolor Airbrush Colours and it worked an absolute treat.  No need to buy coloured melts...which don't melt very thinly and have to have a ton of other stuff added as far as I'm aware.  I'm only going by complaints on forums and online chats about these things AND I DID try them myself and ended up putting the cake pops that I wasted on them in the bin.  I didn't know at that time that it was necessary to add anything else to the chocolate to make it the right consistency but I just knew that I wasn't willing to faff around with that on top of all the other little steps you have to go through to get these things done.  If it doesn't melt and cover neatly and sweetly first time around then forget it.  I wrote the Instructions For The Lazy Git Manual here so I know what I'm talking about.  Trust me!  Yes...I think I'll play around with more of these, but maybe next time I'll use flower and heart cutters instead of spending time shaping these little things my hand.  They're pretty but would take up loads of time, unless you make all your little toppers in advance...but even then I'd be bored shi....eh....you know what I mean!

Naked workshops?

Actually...no...not naked at all.  But now that you are here, let me tell you about the classes coming up in New Jersey!  Hahaha!  Why else did you tune in if not to know??  The other day I posted about "Naked Cake Pops" and viewings for that day on this blog soared!  Next day when I posted "Fully dressed Cake Pops" the viewings reduced massively.  So what does that say about us?  Absolute gutter brains...so now that I have clarified that we are all of the same mind set...I thought I'd try and bring a little more attention to my upcoming classes in the same way and see what figures the viewings will reach today.  (childish, I know...but humour me!)  I probably won't get another sign up for this class on the strength of this post but who knows.  Don't knock it til you try it!  hahahaha!

SO...sign up for the last remaining places at New Jersey right HERE!  Don't miss out coz it's the best fun you'll ever have in a figure modelling class...fully clothed!

90 years young!

Yes....really....90!  Can you believe it?  This is the lovely recipient of the sewing machine cake and doesn't she outshine the cake by far!  It was a great privilige to do this and I won't forget it.  This picture made my day today.  I hope it makes yours too.  Happy Birthday lovely lady....and thank you.

Cake Pops fully dressed!

Here they are... or some of them at least. Orange Chocolate and Nutella Cake Pops. Absolutely delicious and dangerous to have around!

Naked Cake Pops!

Still messing around with these moreish blighters!  Yesterday I baked a chocolate cake in a tray as I was just using it for the purpose of crumbing there was no point in gaining depth now was there.  We need to be sensible about these things...we learn from our mistakes...*cough*  So after weaning myself off the STUPID pills, I got to work on some interesting chocolatey flavours.  The red naked cake pops you see on the tray were made previously and have been in the freezer since then.  The rest of these are chocolate and Nutella....but...Nutella to bind the mixture on it's own was a freakin nightmare! It is much too creamy a consistency for this purpose...in my opinion, I'm no expert.  But you do as you do and judge for yourself.  I like a firm ball (don't we all...dream on girls!) so I began with the Nutella and then decided that if I just kept adding more I would end up with a squashed up mess.  Sense did kick in just in time and I added a tablespoonful of buttercream to the mixture too which worked out perfectly.  You still get all of the taste of the Nutella.  My cake mix was an 8" mixture so there were loads of crumbs.  I split this into two so that I could flavour one batch with orange essence.  I dropped around 2 teaspoons of orange essence into the crumbs and also added a few drops to the butter icing, ensuring a good...but not too strong...orange flavour. The smell was heaven and if it doesn't nip your nose then you have added just the right amount!  The red balls (ooyah!) on the tray were coloured with red (funnily enough) paste colouring into the cake mix and a good couple of heaped tablespoons of strawberry flavoured buttercream added to bind.  Coated in white chocolate....oh...my...goodness.  (Translated as: FFS!) These are heaven on a stick.  I dipped the Nutella balls (there's something very wrong in that sentence....) into Dark Belgian Chocolate and then sprinkled with a few hundreds and thousands.  These are just tasters so I didn't take a lot of time with decoration, as long as they looked pretty and the taste is there I am fine with that for now.  They are to die for if you are a chocolate hound like me.  The orange flavoured chocolate balls I dipped in White Chocolate....but I coloured it with orange.  I didn't flavour it as I think the orange in the cake and cream is more than enough.  They are also heavenly and a chocoholic's nightmare.  I am going to add a little detail to the Cake Pops that I now have sitting on a stand awaiting wrapping...or eating!  So I shall leave you with this and post pics later of the finished BALLS!

Micely does it!

I finally added a little topper to the cake I used to teach the "Easy Painting!" online tutorial.  It makes a cuter display piece, don't you think?

You can find the tutorial for "Easy Painting!" in the Extra Icing Facebook SHOP.

This will have you in stitches...literally!

This was quite a challenge for me but I've had the most fun doing it.  No figure models this time, but a lot of hand moulding just the same.  Starting off with the sewing machine which is made from RKFT...Rice Krispie Treats for those of you not in the know....the 'F' is silent, at least in public!  Anyhoo...once the treats had set and I'd half heartedly (spell check says no...I say yes) moulded the shape, I had to wait until it all set before I did a little carving.  It's not perfect but for this not being in my comfort zone I am overall thrilled with how it all turned out.  I covered the machine with gumpaste and let that set all day before finally covering with black which I just took the time to cover in parts and rubbed out all the seams.  Easy enough with a little water on the tips of your fingers and rub carefully...not too much water, just dampen the tips of your fingers and smooth away the unwanted lines. (If only that worked on my face!)  The scissors were a second attempt, not that I messed up the first lot...no...what I did was more stupid.  I left the painted scissors on a sponge pad and left it next to the sink.  When I was clearing up, I scooped up the scissors into the water to wash them!  Plank!  So there it is.  A few days of work and a late night in between but it was worth it.

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Belfast classes...where have all the people gone?

My classes in Belfast are just around the corner, with this little miniature modelling piece being taught on the first day followed by the ever popular Bride and Groom the following two days.  However, if it wasn't for the Bride and Groom class just barely scraping by to let me make the journey to teach it I wouldn't be able to go at all.  It is a nice change for me to be able to teach something other than the bridal couple, it is turning out to be the only thing that anyone wants to learn from me, yet there is so much to know and do in something like the miniature modelling class...which in Belfast has attracted a mighty TWO students!  This only covers the cost of the venue for the day so really, it isn't worth my while taking the class at all...but I'm going to, because I love to do it and I know that the two people who have signed up for it will have a fabulous experience and a group hug!  This class is £100 and there isn't a thing you need to bring with you...except a smile and a good attitude.  The Bride and Groom class is nowhere near full at the moment, which is also a shame.  Compared to the same class in New Jersey this July which only has 4 spaces available now, I can only hope that some last minute bookings will make this easier...on me that is.  I need to fill my classes to a respectable number in order to be able to carry on doing what I do best, and not all of them survive if interest wanes.  But Belfast isn't the other side of the world for me, I am lucky that I can reach it with my own transport otherwise I wouldn't be able to make the journey at all.  The Bride and Groom is a fabulous class and I realise the "pretty" aspect of it too, but the little classes are much more relaxed and heaps of fun too.  Don't dismiss them...please...I guarantee you much enjoyment, relaxation, laughter AND chocolate biscuits!  All classes can be found at Extra Icing website.  Cheers m'dears!