National Capital Area Cake Show

Thanks to the hubby, I was able to have a girls morning out yesterday with a great friend at The National Capital Area Cake Show. This was my first time at the event and I really enjoyed seeing ALL of the amazing talent that is out there.

The event featured displays of cake and cupcake artwork, vendors, a bake sale, and ongoing demonstrations and classes by world-class sugar artist. There were also Live Cake and Cupcake Challenges that occurred later in the day. Maybe next year I will be able to catch those. I did participate in a hour-long cupcake decorating class with my friend, Mindy. We learned different icing techniques as well has how to work with fondant. Mindy already has mad cake/cupcake decorating skills. I, on the other hand, came away with a few great tips as well as a greater appreciation for the art of cake and cupcake decorating. I think that I will stick to event design! I came away from this event inspired by some pretty creative pieces (and feeling refreshed from a girls morning out!). Here are a few of my favorites: How cute are these Apple Basket CUPCAKES. Yep, they are cupcakes. I know...amazing. Scrabble, anyone? The detail was amazing on this cake. This masterpiece was created using Edible Image decorations. I was not familiar with this type of product prior to the event and was amazed at the endless possibilities that it offers decorators. L-O-V-E this silhouette cake! If I recall correctly, a Silhouette Machine was used to create the images on this cake. How cute would this be for a birthday party! *I wish that I was able to give credit to the artist that created the cakes/cupcakes above. Since they were on display for the challenges, they were numbered and not labeled with specific vendor/artist information.*

DIY: A Fondant First

Last week I had my first experience with fondant. I wanted to decorate small sugar cookies for a Pink Elephant Baby Shower but I don't have the skills to do it with icing. So, I decided to give fondant a try even though I was feeling a little intimidated by the unknown. To my surprise, working with this sweet confection was fairly easy and lots of fun, not to mention the fact that it dressed up my little sugar cookies beautifully.


While I have to admit that it doesn't taste as yummy as a buttercream icing, it is a great option if you are looking for a way to dress up your cookies, cakes, or other treats and aren't gifted in the art of icing, like myself.

Here is how I did it:

I purchased Wilton's Ready-to-Use Rolled Fondant in pastel pink, a small Fondant Roller, and a mini elephant cookie cutter from my local craft store (Michael's).



I simply rolled the fondant out and used my elephant cookie cutter to cut out the elephant shape. I then used a toothpick to make an eye and took a small piece of fondant to shape an elephant ear by hand. I gently pressed the ear onto the elephant to make it stick and Wa-La! A cute little fondant elephant to dress up my sugar cookies.





I stored the fondant elephants in a cool, dry place in an air-tight container for about 1 week prior to the party. This allowed the fondant to harden up. On the day of party, I used a small amount of icing to adhere the fondant elephants to the sugar cookies.

See how easy that was. No need to be intimidated anymore!