It’s very stable but the cost is so low you can roll it into the cake price, and no worries about getting any equipment back. (Love that!)

 

Stable Mabel is offering friends of SugarEd Productions a discount:

 

Save 20% on all Stable Mabel
Disposable Cake Support Systems

Includes Bulk Packs for a double discount!

Offer good: April 10 – 17, 2018

Offer does not apply to Wholesale orders.

Use Coupon Code:  Sugar20

 

 

You can shop here.

 

(They also offer a non-disposable version.)

 

You can see the new Stable Mabel how-to video here.

 

Check it out and let me know what you think. I know you will love it!

 

 

Happy Caking!

Sharon

SugarEd Productions Online School

 

The post Stable Mabel Support System Sale appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

4 Vegan Cake Recipes No One Should Miss Out On!

Eating vegan isn’t the grass and water diet that most people envision. In fact, it offers a varied and colorful array of delicious recipes. While we have a ton of meal ideas we could focus on, with spring dawning, we decided to compile the 5 best vegan cake recipes that we’ve tried. We promise you’ll love them as much as we have! And FYI – not all of them involve baking!

1. Lemon Blueberry

This amazing recipe is just, well, amazing. Its sweet and tangy taste and moist, delicate texture are sure to please! It also has an amazing lemon glaze to top it off, which really puts it over the top!. The recipe makes 8 slices, and as a healthy dose of fresh blueberries and lemon juice! There are also helpful replacements suggested, such as using vegan butter rather than coconut butter for a less “coconutty” flavor!

(pic comes from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/02/09/lemon-blueberry-layer-cake/)

2. Vanilla & Berries Naked Cake

Delicious and with a warm, moist texture, this recipe is a must for really any occasion. You can get a healthy helping of fresh berries – as it calls for 2 whole cups! It also utilizes warm and delicious oat milk. Something that we personally feel just doesn’t get enough love. It’s perfect for baking! This is also a great recipe to share with any skeptics that you may know!

(pic comes from http://dearkitchen.net/vanilla-berries-naked-cake-vanilijeva-torta-z-jagodami/)

3. Chia Spice Frosted Vanilla

If you want a more sophisticated twist to your basic vanilla affair, try this. It’s made with much more beginner-friendly ingredients (AKA much easier to find than more specialized ingredients some recipes call for) and is as moist as any ‘standard’ baked treat. With a great base and an absolutely mind-blowing frosting, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t absolutely love this! The frosting bares special mention, as we all agreed that it was the most unique and sinfully delicious frosting we’d ever had!

(pic comes from https://thealmondeater.com/2016/11/vegan-vanilla-cake-with-chai-spice-icing/)

4. Raw German Chocolate

You may not have ever had treat quite like this before! Eating raw foods prepared as desserts and even vegan-friendly sushi can be a different experience. The creamy, crunchy texture isn’t quite what you may be used to, but it’s more than pleasant. The delicious flavors will transport you to a whole different universe. Proponents of the raw movement also say that you get quite a bit more out of your food when you eat it in its natural state, meaning that you won’t have to feel guilty over this chocolate treat!

(pic comes from http://12tomatoes.com/german-chocolate-cake/)

We hope this gives you some inspiration to try baking vegan. It can be just as yummy!

Happy Baking
Sharon

The post Guest Post : 4 Vegan Cake Recipes No One Should Miss Out On! appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

We are back in the swing of things here, and thought we’d start the new year off with some valuable tips! These tips come from members of our  online school community. This is just a sample of the wealth of knowledge our members have, so if you are looking for place to learn and grow in your cake life..this is it!!

Lets get to it:

“Isomalt also works great as a glue! Throw on your gloves to protect your fingers from the heat and glue your heavy fondant, gumpaste, or isomalt pieces to your fondant cakes with just a dip into liquid isomalt! It’s clear, dries almost instantly, and melts into the surface of your pieces for optimum strength! It also works great for gluing ribbon onto your boards!”

– Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes

“For fine royal icing piping, without fear of clogs, cut a small square of clean nylon stocking and stretch over the end of a coupler before placing on the tip. Place on tip and tighten coupler ring. Works like a charm and keeps you from having to squeeze a large amount of royal icing through a clean nylon knee-high to strain it before using.”

– Claudia Butler

“I love the look of veined wafer paper petals/leaves. My tip to achieving this is to dip your leaf or petal into vodka and lay on the veiner chosen. Let dry completely before removing and you will have a beautiful veined petal. I prefer to use veg shortening mixed with colour dusts to colour the petals.”

– Nancy Travis

“Crystal Colors has some really good pearl dusts that are FDA approved. For silver paint, you can mix a touch of black gel color in with their Super Pearl & vodka- works super well! Mixtures of yellow and brown/ivory would give a good gold as well.”

– Renee Conner of Renee Conner Cake Design

Caulk” the seams between your tiered layers with a bit of buttercream to get a seamless, finished look. Just pipe a small line of buttercream onto the space between tiers and wipe off excess with your finger. It fills the line between tiers and gives you a seamless look! Works best on a chilled cake!

– Shannon Bond of Shannon Bond Cake Design

“To prevent luster dust paint from flaking or transferring when touched, mix it with confectioner’s glaze rather than alcohol. The glaze will seal the dust, making the painted item easier to handle with no dust mess.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane Custom Cake Studio

“You can put pieces of fondant in the freezer to keep them soft until time to place on cake. I found this hugely helpful when I did my lace covered cake. I was able to make the lace a week in advance (it took a whole week to make over 150 pieces). I stored them in a flat tupperware container with waxed paper between the layers. When it was time to decorate, I took them out a layer at a time. Perfectly soft like I had just made them!”

– Peggy Lee of Peggy Does Cake

“Rather than wasting unwanted colored buttercream left over from previous cakes, you can combine them to create chocolate frosting! When you have approximately three cups of an all shortening American type buttercream, simply combine, add ½ cup softened sweet butter, and mix in mixer. Add 9 Tablespoons sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, (or) 3 oz. melted bittersweet chocolate (or more, if a stronger chocolate flavor is wanted) and mix to a smooth consistency. From scraps to chocolate buttercream!”

– Kathleen Lange of Confectionery Chalet

 “My top tip is for placing pearls and dragees on cakes. I used to do it the traditional way of piping a dot or two of icing where I wanted my pearl and then struggling to attach it before the icing dried out. Unfortunately, it was either dried out, or too much so the icing mushed out around the pearl, or it raised it off the cake more in one spot than in another… and I never liked the look of it!

“”If you want royal icing to dry shiny – it needs a moving air source while it’s drying. Try putting the cookies in front of a fan or dehydrator for the first 15 minutes of drying time.”

– Georganne Bell of LilaLoa Blog

“Did you know you can color cake balls AFTER they’re baked? Here’s how: crumble the cake crumbs in the food processor. Add a bit of buttercream and combine. You should have dense crumbs that will stick together, sufficient for making cake pops or cake balls. Using a toothpick, add a bit of gel food color to the crumbs, and pulse in the food processor. Repeat / adjust the color until you’ve achieved the intensity you’re aiming for. Roll into balls and proceed with your project!”

– Angie Ivey of Sweet E’s Cakeshop

“Using a small piping tip? Cut out a 2″ square from a new nylon and put it over your piping bag before screwing the tip on. It will keep your tips from clogging with any crusty bits of frosting.”

– Georganne Bell of LilaLoa Blog

To make an easy pound cake perfect for carving, combine one box of Betty Crocker pound cake mix and one box of Duncan Hines cake mix in the flavor of your choice. Prepare both per directions on the boxes and combine. To create a chocolate pound cake, use one box of DH dark fudge with one box BC pound cake.”

– Wayne Steinkopf of Swank Cake Design

When using a paper template as a guide for cutting out fondant or gumpaste, reverse the image and attach the template to the gumpaste with a little shortening. This will prevent the template from shifting while you cut around it. The image is reversed so the shortening is on the back of the cut-out and won’t interfere with the coloring on the front.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane Custom Cake Studio

“Plastic molds are perfect for achieving a beautiful shine on your chocolates, but scrubbing them with soap can take away that nice smooth surface!  Make sure to only soak your plastic chocolate molds in warm water, only using a damp paper towel to wipe them out if needed.”

– Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes

“When making chocolate cake, use hot water for the liquid to activate the cocoa and enhance the flavor.”

– Barb Evans of Wedding Cake Connection

“Spray paper templates with non-stick oil to keep them from sticking to the dough or fondant when hand cutting. As a bonus… you can now flip it over to see the opposite design.”

– Georganne Bell of LilaLoa Blog

“Need extra flower formers? Use your existing flower former as a mold for heavy duty foil. You can make as many extra formers as you need out of foil. If your gumpaste pieces are heavy, just double or triple the foil.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane Custom Cake Studio

Whew! That’s a lot of tips! I hope they were helpful.

Happy caking!

Sharon

The post Member Tips and Tricks! appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

I’m sure you’re in full holiday prep mode by now and super busy. I hope all your projects are going well, and you fully enjoy the season.

I wanted to let you know about this rare and special offer:

AGBAY SALE!

You may know that the Agbay cake leveler is the best on the planet, and you may have seen me use it in some of my videos.

You may also know that they literally never go on sale.

BUT the kind folks at Agbay are offering a one time special offer of 15% off any model for SugarEd followers. Ask Santa to get you one for Christmas!

Use coupon code SUGARED15 (offer expires 12/31/17)

SHOP HERE

Note: I am not financially affiliated with this vendor and I get no commission for sales through these links. I just like to bring you news about products and services that I believe are of high quality and value.

 

———————————

 

The post Agbay Cake Leveler Sale appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Pumpkin Pie Cookies

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Cheesecake Leaves

Hiding Thanksgiving Turkey

Roasted Turkey Cake

Caramel Apple Turkey 

Turkey Topper 

Thanksgiving Owl Cupcakes

Happy Baking and Happy Thanksgiving!

The post Thanksgiving Tutorial Roundup appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

Today we have a recipe for you! This chocolate icing is awesome, and pro tip: starting with a chocolate buttercream makes black icing easier to achieve! Perfect for Halloween :).

Check it out below:

Sharon’s Chocolate Buttercream

Directions

It’s that easy! Hope you try it. Let me know what you think.

Notes

The post Sharon’s Chocolate Buttercream appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

While scouring through Pinterest, Instagram or watching the endless stream of cooking and baking channels available on TV, it’s easy to get swept away with the desire to create beautiful intricate designs that pastry chefs so easily whip up in their fully kitted out kitchens. However, what happens to all the people who want to produce fantastic cakes and other edible delights that don’t have every baking tool out there?

If you want to know how you can decorate your homemade bakes easily, even though you may not have all the bits and bobs. Hopefully, this will encourage you to try baking as 83% of all Americans report that baking some kind of dish at home improves your disposition.

Cupcakes

If you would like to decorate exquisite cupcakes for your child, one of the easiest ways to decorate icing without piping bags or any other tools is simply by using your hands.

Now, to ensure that the icing sticks make sure your cupcakes are no longer warm and then spread a good quantity of icing onto the cupcake using an ordinary spreading knife.

From there, you can either proceed to take your clean finger and gently push the icing down and pull the finger back up, in order to create little ridges throughout the icing which end up resembling a flower. But if you wanted something a little more feminine, you could always simply use your finger to create a circling spiral motion throughout the icing.

If you like the idea of a patchwork quilt or a chessboard of some kind, then you can either use your finger or a toothpick to run lines through the flattened icing. Make sure to do it so that way the one set of lines overlap the other so as to create a crisscross pattern. And remember if it doesn’t turn out perfectly you can just say that you were trying to achieve a rustic buttercream look.

Other treats

One of the easiest wow-factor bakes that doesn’t require any equipment and can be taken to any event from a birthday party to a wedding is a layered ombre cake. For the cake all you need to decorate it is a few zip lock bags, your usual spreading knife, a pair of scissors and a couple of bowls to mix the icing with the various food coloring shades.

Simply take your cooled cake, stack it with a little plain white icing and then spread a little of the icing around it so that it creates a solid layer for your piping to go through. Now you mix all your various icing shades, pipe them on in sections and then simply use your knife to smooth them into an ombre fusion. If that sounds a bit too advanced for the moment, might I suggest homemade fudge instead?

If by the end of this you are extremely exhausted and find yourself slammed with the rest of your long list of to-do’s then perhaps a little caffeine is in order, make sure to reward yourself with a nice cup of coffee and delegate the washing up to those who will be devouring your baked goods within seconds instead.

With so many options for you to create, that require minimal skill and equipment but yield outstanding results, all that’s left to say is “Ready, Set……Bake.”

Bio: Sarah is the author of Simmer and Zest. She is assionate about food and how it’s made, where it comes from, and how people can enjoy it to the fullest extent.

The post Guest Post: Pastry Hacks When You Lack Equipment! appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

I started SugarEd in 2007 when I saw a need in the caking community for good quality instruction on using buttercream.

It started with DVDs, and has evolved over the years to a fully comprehensive buttercream course, available to you right in our website!

This course teaches about the different types, pros and cons of each, the recipes, how to ice round and square cakes, and troubleshooting.

I have the course items listed below in the logical order for a beginner to learn.

• The Types of Buttercream:
  • Crusting vs Non Crusting Buttercream article
  • Types of Meringue Buttercream article
  • Making American Buttercream video
  • Making Swiss Meringue Butercream video
  • Making Italian Meringue Buttercream
  • Making Hybrid Buttercream

   

• Properly Preparing Cakes:
  • Leveling and torting cake layers video
  • Filling and settling a cake video
  • Freezing cake layers video

   

• Smooth Icing Techniques:
  • Icing a round cake with American buttercream video
  • Icing a square cake with American buttercream video
  • Acrylic discs icing method
  • Icing a square cake using cake boards
  • Icing a round cake with SMBC video
  • Icing a round cake with IMBC video
  • Repairing a blowout video

And of course we have even more tutorials that go from there: working with fondant, stacking, and endless decorating techniques.

Right now I’m offering a 30 day $1 trial to my online school to celebrate our anniversary.

This is a great opportunity to see what we have to offer, at no risk. You can cancel at any time during the first  month and never be charged again.

CLICK HERE  to read all the details.

I hope you will join me!

PS. Want to see what’s new in the online school?

 

These tutorials and over 400 more are available.

www.sugaredproductions.com/o2

 

The post Buttercream Course appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

Isomalt also works great as a glue! Throw on your gloves to protect your fingers from the heat and glue your heavy fondant, gumpaste, or isomalt pieces to your fondant cakes with just a dip into liquid isomalt! It’s clear, dries almost instantly, and melts into the surface of your pieces for optimum strength! It also works great for gluing ribbon onto your boards!”

– Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes

“For fine royal icing piping, without fear of clogs, cut a small square of clean nylon stocking and stretch over the end of a coupler before placing on the tip. Place on tip and tighten coupler ring. Works like a charm and keeps you from having to squeeze a large amount of royal icing through a clean nylon knee-high to strain it before using.”

– Claudia Butler

“I love the look of veined wafer paper petals/leaves. My tip to achieving this is to dip your leaf or petal into vodka and lay on the veiner chosen. Let dry completely before removing and you will have a beautiful veined petal. I prefer to use veg shortening mixed with colour dusts to colour the petals.”

– Nancy Travis

“Crystal Colors has some really good pearl dusts that are FDA approved. For silver paint, you can mix a touch of black gel color in with their Super Pearl & vodka- works super well! Mixtures of yellow and brown/ivory would give a good gold as well.”

– Renee Conner of Renee Conner Cake Design

“Caulk” the seams between your tiered layers with a bit of buttercream to get a seamless, finished look. Just pipe a small line of buttercream onto the space between tiers and wipe off excess with your finger. It fills the line between tiers and gives you a seamless look! Works best on a chilled cake!

– Shannon Bond of Shannon Bond Cake Design

“To prevent luster dust paint from flaking or transferring when touched, mix it with confectioner’s glaze rather than alcohol. The glaze will seal the dust, making the painted item easier to handle with no dust mess.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane CustomCake Studio

“You can put pieces of fondant in the freezer to keep them soft until time to place on cake. I found this hugely helpful when I did my lace covered cake. I was able to make the lace a week in advance (it took a whole week to make over 150 pieces). I stored them in a flat tupperware container with waxed paper between the layers. When it was time to decorate, I took them out a layer at a time. Perfectly soft like I had just made them!”

– Peggy Lee of Peggy Does Cake

“Rather than wasting unwanted colored buttercream left over from previous cakes, you can combine them to create chocolate frosting! When you have approximately three cups of an all shortening American type buttercream, simply combine, add ½ cup softened sweet butter, and mix in mixer. Add 9 Tablespoons sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, (or) 3 oz. melted bittersweet chocolate (or more, if a stronger chocolate flavor is wanted) and mix to a smooth consistency. From scraps to chocolate buttercream!”

– Kathleen Lange of Confectionery Chalet

“My top tip is for placing pearls and dragees on cakes. I used to do it the traditional way of piping a dot or two of icing where I wanted my pearl and then struggling to attach it before the icing dried out. Unfortunately, it was either dried out, or too much so the icing mushed out around the pearl, or it raised it off the cake more in one spot than in another… and I never liked the look of it!

So – I changed how I did it. Now, I take my piping gel container, spread a thin layer of piping gel on the lid and shake out a few dozen pearls or dragees onto the piping gel. Then I use my hooked nose tweezers and place them quickly and easily where I want them. The gel is clear and so you can’t see it; No need to color it, bag it, or pipe it; No more picking up the bag and then swapping out for the tweezers; The pearl/dragee stays sticky and immediately adheres to my surface whether it’s buttercream or fondant; Best of all – it gives a clean, finished look to the cake!”

– Jody Runyan

“You can make batter ahead and freeze it. Thaw it on the counter or in the microwave (at 50% power) when you are ready to bake. Extra tip: cooler batter domes so for cakes thaw completely but for cupcakes thaw it just to the point it stirs smooth.”

– Cristy Russell

“Want full 2-inch high cakes from your 2-inch cake pans? Grease your pan, then line the sides with strips of parchment paper that extend above the top of the cake pan. (The grease acts as glue for the parchment. Do not use pan grease or Baker’s Joy, as the flour prevents the parchment from sticking to the pan.) If your cakes still don’t reach the top, try adding more batter next time.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane Custom Cake Studio

“”If you want royal icing to dry shiny – it needs a moving air source while it’s drying. Try putting the cookies in front of a fan or dehydrator for the first 15 minutes of drying time.”

– Georganne Bell of LilaLoa Blog

“Did you know you can color cake balls AFTER they’re baked? Here’s how: crumble the cake crumbs in the food processor. Add a bit of buttercream and combine. You should have dense crumbs that will stick together, sufficient for making cake pops or cake balls. Using a toothpick, add a bit of gel food color to the crumbs, and pulse in the food processor. Repeat / adjust the color until you’ve achieved the intensity you’re aiming for. Roll into balls and proceed with your project!”

– Angie Ivey of Sweet E’s Cakeshop

“Using a small piping tip? Cut out a 2″ square from a new nylon and put it over your piping bag before screwing the tip on. It will keep your tips from clogging with any crusty bits of frosting.”

– Georganne Bell of LilaLoa Blog

“To make an easy pound cake perfect for carving, combine one box of Betty Crocker pound cake mix and one box of Duncan Hines cake mix in the flavor of your choice. Prepare both per directions on the boxes and combine. To create a chocolate pound cake, use one box of DH dark fudge with one box BC pound cake.”

– Wayne Steinkopf of Swank Cake Design

“When using a paper template as a guide for cutting out fondant or gumpaste, reverse the image and attach the template to the gumpaste with a little shortening. This will prevent the template from shifting while you cut around it. The image is reversed so the shortening is on the back of the cut-out and won’t interfere with the coloring on the front.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane Custom Cake Studio

“Plastic molds are perfect for achieving a beautiful shine on your chocolates, but scrubbing them with soap can take away that nice smooth surface! Make sure to only soak your plastic chocolate molds in warm water, only using a damp paper towel to wipe them out if needed.”

– Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes

“When making chocolate cake, use hot water for the liquid to activate the cocoa and enhance the flavor.”

– Barb Evans of Wedding Cake Connection

“Spray paper templates with non-stick oil to keep them from sticking to the dough or fondant when hand cutting. As a bonus… you can now flip it over to see the opposite design.”

– Georganne Bell of LilaLoa Blog

“Need extra flower formers? Use your existing flower former as a mold for heavy duty foil. You can make as many extra formers as you need out of foil. If your gumpaste pieces are heavy, just double or triple the foil.”

– Diane McCann of Cake Diane Custom Cake Studio

I hope you find these tips helpful! Happy Baking!

Join me in my online school for more great tutorials, recipes and more!

www.sugaredproductions.com/membership

The post SugarEd Member Top Tips! appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.

This week I want to share with you some of my favorite vendors for confection related goods.

I do not get a commission from these guys or any financial gain by promoting them. I just like to pass on to you info about products I trust and think will serve you well.

Simi Cakes

Simi Isomalt in Crystal Clear, Vibrant Colors and Classic Shimmering Metallics.
Hand Ccafted Simi designer silicone molds great for isomalt, fondant.

• LEARN MORE •

FabuLace

FabuLace is an edible, flexible, sugar lace perfect for adding that “something special” to any confection.

• LEARN MORE •

Cake Connection

Cake Connection offers a wide variety of cake, candy and cookie decorating supplies as well
as a full line of gelatin art supplies. Please visit our online store.

• LEARN MORE •

Tip and Grip Turntable

Designed to make decorating cakes easier and enable cake dummies to be decorated on a
sharp angle for painting, drop strings, oriental stringwork.

• LEARN MORE •

Swank Cake Design

Swank Cake Design carries a variety of specialty cake decorating supplies and unique
educational resources including hands-on and online classes.

• LEARN MORE •

Cake Boss

CakeBoss software shows you exactly how much your cakes cost you to make,
and helps you figure out how much to charge for them.

• LEARN MORE •

Flour Confections

Flour Confections is your sweet source for all things cake! We carry all the
name brands that you love & trust as well as harder to find imports.

• LEARN MORE •

Edible Artists Network

Awesome projects & recipes, insightful business advice, intriguing interviews with
industry stars and more are available in every digital issue.

• LEARN MORE •

Decorate the Cake

Decorate the Cake carries a full line of oven safe*, fondant, gumpaste, chocolate and
isomalt friendly silicone molds for every occasion.

• LEARN MORE •

Global Sugar Art

Global Sugar Art features over 10,000 products providing customers
access to unique items for the novice to the expert decorator.

• LEARN MORE •

Marvelous Molds

Marvelous Molds is Internationally famous for creating ingenious silicone molds that will
work perfectly with almost any food or craft medium.

LEARN MORE •

Stable Mabel Supports

Stable Mabel Cake Stands are designed to support tiered cakes, both stacked and separated.

• LEARN MORE

Candyland Crafts

We are your one stop shop for candy making and cake decorating supplies.
Whether you are a beginner or a professional, you’ll find everything you need.

• LEARN MORE •

Wedding Bouquet

B & B Cake and Decorating Supplies is home to “The Original” Wedding Bouquet flavor.

• LEARN MORE •

Full Blown Studio

With over 20 years experience, Full Blown Studio designs affordable professional
web designs that incorporate the newest technology and the best look.

• LEARN MORE •

Beryl’s

Welcome to Beryl’s Cake Decorating & Pastry Supplies for all your confectionery tool and supply needs.

• LEARN MORE •

Dawn Parrott Royal Icing Mix

Create the very finest royal icing with the Royal Icing Mix by Dawn Parrott, one of the
world’s leading specialists in quality royal icing.

• LEARN MORE •

I hope you find some goodies here you can use. Until next time, happy caking!

Sharon

The post Recommended Vendor List appeared first on Sugared Productions Blog.