Swimmy Swimmy Little Ducky

I threw a baby shower for one of my best friends. Of course I had to make a cake, but I just couldn't decide on what I wanted it to look like. I searched and searched my books, internet, and brain, but just couldn't decide on an idea. Or maybe the problem was that I had too many ideas! There were only going to be a few people at the party so the cake was going to be small. Eventually I decided on a ducky idea that I adapted from a larger cake on the internet.

I bake two 10 inch round cakes and then angled them down so that the top was a bit bigger than the bottom. I covered the entire thing in swirly blue fondant. (Very easy to make by the way, just don't mix the color in all the way, roll out, and poof- you have water) I then made some swirly brown fondant that I made look like wooden planks and put these around the sides. I didn't like how blah the color looked so I painted them with brown food coloring mixed with vodka. I like this method as the color stays true and the vodka does not leave a sticky mess on the fondant. Finally I piped some frosting bubbles, put a pink rubber ducky on top and wrote the baby's name. I did add edible iridescent glitter to make the bubbles sparkle!

The cake was a hit and tasted yummy as always! I also had rave reviews about the fondant. I use MMF with melted white chocolate chips mixed in. Very yummy! I also had a bit of a break through. Two things....plan ahead - I would have made the wooden planks out of gumpaste to make them more realistic, but ran out of time due to my indecisive problem. And 2 - plain, uncolored vodka will "erase" any painting mistakes!

Fun for the Fourth!

I was asked to make cupcakes for a story time. I also get to read the story! I chose to read a story about the Fourth of July and freedom so I decided to make Fourth of July cupcakes. I have seen cupcakes like these on Pinterest (the best idea source ever!). 

I started with white cake batter and divided it into three equal (or as close to equal as I could get) groups. I used food coloring to make one batch red, one blue, and left the third white. I then put the batter into disposable decorating bags and taped the bags together close to the tips. I wanted the bags to be right next to each other in a line. I then filled my cupcake liners with strips of batter. I will say that it was a bit messy and towards the end they came out in a triangle shape, but they were cute. 

After they cooled I frosted them one stripe at a time and rolled the frosting in a bowl of sprinkles to make it look like ice. Finally I put the cupcake in a fancy Wilton cupcake liner and added half of a twizzler as a straw. 

Very simple, cute, and yummy! Easy for the baker who wants to try something that looks great, but is afraid to take on a big cake!