So when you are starting out there are a lot of things to take into account when trying to get your cake level, how it is baked, how you measured, how you cut or torted (optional), or even whether your bench is level.

More importantly when you start stacking cakes, it becomes even more important for the ones underneath to be level!

There’s a great hardware item you can use the spirit level!  Now don’t be put off they come in all sizes, you don’t need one that is a foot long!  You can get little ones which are perfect for cake decorating.

You can get them from hardware stores like Bunnings (I picked one up for $2), so another nice cheap item.

Or try your cheap shops, when I was in Hot Dollar the other day I found this little baby, along with two tape measures (one for home, and one for the bag, another helpful item!) for $3.99.  This one is great because it has the vertical, horizontal and angled level you can use and just the perfect cake size, so not a huge space stealer!

Once you are more experienced you can start to judge more by eye, but I think you’ll find not very many experienced decorators rely on judging it by eye when stacking is involved I’d highly recommend getting things even with this gadget!

How to use:

• Place on top of cake or
• Hold against side of cake or
• Place against any line of cake that you need to check is level
• Check if line moves inbetween the two centre lines, if so cake is level!

Do you get your cakes level using another method?  Please leave a comment letting us know how you do it!

A type of homemade fondant that is popular in America, due to many of their fondant’s tasting not very nice… apparently.  It has found it’s way to our shores with some decorators who don’t like the taste of our fondant and who have attempted to make a better tasting medium that is still easy to use, tasting very much like it’s marshmallow ingredient, you can flavour it or use coloured marshmallow’s and additional colouring to colour it during the making process, to reduce kneading, now that’s got to be a bonus right?

Here’s a recipe submitted some time ago by one of our Cake friends Mel, underneath I include the link to Cake Journal’s recipe/tutorial as an alternative, and a You Tube video for another play by play in making this medium.

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients

500g marshmallows (all white)
2tbsp water
8 cups (1kg) icing sugar

Instructions
In a bowl put marshmallows and water, and microwave for 30 sec. Stir. Repeat until marshmallow is completely melted. (Be AWARE, hot marshmallows are HOT!)
Begin stirring in icing sugar gradually. Once it thickens right up turn it out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar and gradually knead in the remaining icing sugar (you might not need all the icing sugar, just judge for when it becomes a lovely dough and is no longer too sticky).
You may need to wear kitchen gloves for this as it is VERY sticky to begin with.

Additional Information/Comments
Voila! if you want to add colour it is easiest to add it before adding icing sugar, but if you need to make various colours out of it, try microwaving the piece you want to colour for around 10 sec until it softens it up so that it is easy to knead in the colour.

Try Cake Journal for her How to Make Marshmallow Fondant Tutorial.

Try You Tube for this Video MMF Instructional Video.

Cakes & More love to hear about your experiences.  Have you used MMF?  Do you like it?  Do you have a different recipe you’d like to share?  Let us know about your experiences by leaving a comment or Contacting me through the Contact page.

There’s a new cake mag in town and it’s for the Aussie’s! Called Novelty Cakes, it’s actually step by steps of Lindy Smith’s cakes.

Starting off with some basic information on tools, how to cover cakes and some recipes, it then goes into the Lindy Smith styled step by steps of cakes from some of her books, including, tips and tricks, timesaver comments, alternatives AND templates.

In addition there is a two page spread on Cake Decorating Suppliers throughout Australia, mainly names and numbers with the odd website thrown in, I’ll definitely be looking into more of them to add to our suppliers directory!

Turn the page and there is another two page spread called On the Net, showing some popular cake blogs and sites, including Planet Cake, Cake Journal, Extra Icing on the Cake and a Shop squealing surprise to find The Cakes and More Blog included in the mix! Yep I did squeal in the shop when I saw it, lucky it was my local newsagency who ignored me anyway! hehehehe Unfortunately a screen shot of the brief orange colouring, it is still a huge coo to see Cakes & More receive it’s first official published press. With an average of 1000 hits a day, with on average around 350 of them unique (meaning each person is hitting the site approximately 3-4 times a day), we are doing very very well, so I hope to continue sharing ideas, tips and tricks with all our cake friends out there!

A new one in May is Party Cakes and will include more Lindy Smith delights by the look of the cover.

I’m not sure how many of these will be published, but here’s to Lindy Smith and the publisher for remember the Aussie contingent of Cake Friends and Decorators! If you only have one Lindy Smith book or don’t have any, definitely pick up this mag, great for beginners through to more advanced decorators. Thanks to Lindy & the publishers for including Cakes & More, it’s great to know we have made an impact in the Cake world.

So today and tomorrow are the big delivery days!  I’ve just spent an hour dropping off my five entries!  Five I know I am absolutely nuts, can’t believe I managed to get them all done… well one is a recycled entry from Challenge I figured I already paid the entry fee so what the heck.  The stewards there are just so lovely, they went and got me a trolley and the lady who helped me place my entries was ever-so patient as I fiddled with tags and fixing some minor issues, it really helped keep me calmer as I did it.  I mean it is already a nerve wrecking experience, to have the steward, calm, friendly, helpful, and offering kind platitudes helps so immensely!

Funnily enough I had exactly the same feeling I did when I dropped off my entries last year, I wanted to pack all mine up and take them home I don’t know if that bodes well for the fact that I did indeed take home two ribbons last year, but I go in with no expectations.  I am happy with all my ideas, would have loved more time to tidy up some of the execution and sure that will be reflected in the feedback, but I’m proud of the effort, better to have caked and lost than to never have caked at all!

So I am calling all cake friends who are entering as well.  I am attending the preview evening on April 7th.  Are you going too?  Contact me if you are so we can say hi!  Not going but want to know your results?  I happily called a cake friend last year direct from the preview evening so if you’d like to email me your mobile, or want the results emailed to you when I get home, then let me know what categories you entered so I can look out for your name.

Like last year I’ll be taking a load of pictures and will post a link to them as soon as they are up.

Good luck to everyone who entered!

Cake Journal is a Cake Friend Blog run by Louise, a mother of two who lives in Copenhagen. Her blog has quickly become popular throughout the cake community as have her personal styled tutorials and recipes that she regularly shares.

Starting her cake journey in 2004, culminating in Cake Journal’s creation in 2007, 2009 now sees Louise’s next step into the world of E-books.

Easter Treats, as it is called is aimed at designs coming up for Easter. A mixture of Cake Journal style tutorials, templates, tips and tricks, Louise says it contains:

• Tips and tricks, using Royal icing
• Tutorial: Easter cookie bouquet
• Tutorial: Easter cookie flower lollies
• Tutorial: Easter cookie gift box
• Tutorial: Easter brownies, 3 styles
• Easter bunny cookie template
• Easter chick cookie template
• Daffodil cookie template
• Tulip cookie template
• Various sweet presentation ideas including a “favor basket” tutorial

You purchase the E-book from Cake Journal’s E-book Shop, priced at US$24.95, it’s currently on special for US$19.95.

Here’s a peek at what it looks like inside.

If you haven’t been to Cake Journal yet head on over there and be sure to check out the Tutorial’s Page.

Congratulations Louise I’m sure it will be a big hit!.

On a personal note I would just like to add that this is one of THE most professional e-books I’ve ever seen.  While the theme is easter many of the projects can be adapted to many other occasions, particularly the flower cookies and the brownies with pretty sugar flowers added on top… maybe a great mother’s day idea!

Did you purchase the E-book? Be sure to leave us a message about what you thought.

Pictures courtesy of Cake Journal.