Gum paste flowers

I learned to make gum paste flowers this week. These are the very first flowers I made. There's a rose, a stephanotis with a bud, a jasmine flower, and some leaves. This was fun to do! It's a little tricky to get the gum paste thin enough without tearing it, but once you do, it's amazing to see the flowers take shape. We made them out of white gum paste, then added color once they were dry.


These would be combined with other little sprays of flowers to make a decoration for a wedding cake. The dark shape above and to the left of the rose is another spray that a classmate made.

Rolled fondant

In Cake Design on Tuesday, I learned to cover a cake with rolled fondant. It's really not hard--you just have to be certain to get the fondant thin, but not too thin, and completely smooth.

Then, we mixed up Mexican paste (made from rolled fondant and gum paste) and used it to make swags and bows, watched our chef demo some royal icing techniques, and learned to make frills, ribbon insertion and pearls.

Figure piping

Thursday, we learned figure piping in my cake class. Our chef was out of town, so he left examples for us to follow, and we sort of had to teach ourselves. The animals were way harder than I thought, but I think they would look cute on cupcakes, if I practice them a little more.

I made a goofy-looking cat:


And a drunken alligator:


Does anybody else think this bunny looks demonic?


Poor sad puppy-dog:

I think my bear is gay:

I have the best job EVER!!

Woo-hoo! The head of the culinary program at my school recommended me for an internship position at a local restaurant (let's call it The Restaurant) that is considered to be one of the best in the country. I worked a couple of trial shifts, and they offered me a job! I get to bake stuff in the afternoon, and plate desserts at night, 3 days a week. Yay me! I'm working at a top-notch restaurant for a well-known, widely respected chef, and they're paying me for it. What could be better?