Who knew that when I took the latest order that I would be writing with icing? This is a 6 layer dark chocolate cake filled with vanilla pastry cream and raspberry jam, covered with vanilla meringue buttercream and B&W meringue buttercream. Or that's what I call it since it was a light handed addition of dark chocolate syrup (thank you, Ina Garten) for color. I LOVE an all white cake, but thought that the outside should somehow reveal the surprise inside?
Anyhow, then there's the writing. I have been a calligrapher for years and love pen and ink. This was something new and completely different. I made a dark chocolate buttercream and loved the contrast in colors. I even practiced my lettering on 2 large sheets of parchment paper after tracing a circle on it. I thought, omg, if my writing was too big and did not fit the top of the cake. There are no erasers or starting all over- it was a one shot and that's it.
My husband reminded me that I had to move me or the cake to a better spot to have the best angle to write. I chose to leave the cake where it was AND perched myself on my kitchen stool "above" the cake. As it was, one of the "p" closed up and had to wait an hour for the thing to harden up in the fridge, so I could surgically removed it with a paring knife and icing palette knife. (Oh, said husband said I should always have toothpicks around to help with the extraction process or unclogging the round tips since they get clogged IF the icing is too thick...seriously with a pound+ butter , that buttercream should flow like thick olive oil!) so there it is...letters are still a bit wobbly, but all in all not too bad for the 1st time out.
And I think I will do more practising, since I love to write in Chancery cursive, instead of modifying roundhand...I'll try to remember to post these adventures later on....
Anyhow, then there's the writing. I have been a calligrapher for years and love pen and ink. This was something new and completely different. I made a dark chocolate buttercream and loved the contrast in colors. I even practiced my lettering on 2 large sheets of parchment paper after tracing a circle on it. I thought, omg, if my writing was too big and did not fit the top of the cake. There are no erasers or starting all over- it was a one shot and that's it.
My husband reminded me that I had to move me or the cake to a better spot to have the best angle to write. I chose to leave the cake where it was AND perched myself on my kitchen stool "above" the cake. As it was, one of the "p" closed up and had to wait an hour for the thing to harden up in the fridge, so I could surgically removed it with a paring knife and icing palette knife. (Oh, said husband said I should always have toothpicks around to help with the extraction process or unclogging the round tips since they get clogged IF the icing is too thick...seriously with a pound+ butter , that buttercream should flow like thick olive oil!) so there it is...letters are still a bit wobbly, but all in all not too bad for the 1st time out.
And I think I will do more practising, since I love to write in Chancery cursive, instead of modifying roundhand...I'll try to remember to post these adventures later on....
Remember I have the hardest time trying to remember to take pictures :-)
PS. I don't know who "Gaga" is...it's not Lady Gaga, for sure.
PS. I don't know who "Gaga" is...it's not Lady Gaga, for sure.
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