All posts by Melissa

Draped Pearl Cake

Celebration Cakes

Draped Pearl CakeI love this cake.  I loved it so much that I wanted to keep it for myself.  I was asked to make a small pretty cake with flowers and this is what I created.  The inside of the cake is chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling.

Draped Fondant Pearls

I covered the cake in white fondant.  Then I draped different size fondant pearl strands around the cake.  To make the pearls, I use a silicone mold with three sizes pearl options.  I dust the mold with powdered sugar and press a thin rope of fondant into the mold.  Then I spread the mold open and pop out the strand of pearls.  I use some water to attach the pearls to the cake.

Pink and Gold Gum Paste Flowers

I made three fondant bows to top off the strands of pearls.  I filled in the center of the cake with these beautiful pink flowers that I bought (don’t tell anyone that I cheated!)  I bought these flowers a while ago and I though this was a perfect time to use them.  They came in pink but they look kind of flat so I airbrushed the edges in shimmery gold.  I really think the gold detail brings the store bought flowers to life.  Finally, I airbrushed the whole cake in shimmery pearl color to give it some glitz and glam!

Art Themed Birthday Cake

Celebration Cakes

Tapered Layers Art Themed Cake

I was asked to make an art themed birthday cake to celebrate the 60th birthday of a special lady.  The birthday girls daughter contacted me about making the cake.  At first she just asked me to do whatever I wanted, but then after I ran one of my ideas by her, she got all these other ideas in her head.  After a while, she had sent me so many ideas, we were both so confused and overwhelmed.  So I told her to relax, I will figure something out and this is the cake I came up with.

Art Themed Cake

The cake layers have a tapered look.  This was such an easy technique, but it gives the cake a really modern look.  For the bottom tier, I baked and filled a 9 inch cake.  After chilling the cake, I placed and 8 inch cardboard cake board on top and carved the cake at an angle.  Then I flipped it over and decorated as usual.  I did the same thing with the top tier except I used a 6 inch cake carved at an angle down to a 5 inch.

Tapered LayersThis is my new favorite cake shape!  It’s much easier than topsy turvy and just as cute!  Happy Birthday Clarisse, from one artist to another!

Pie Dough “Fries”

Pies and Tarts

Pie Dough Fries

My Thanksgiving weekend was great!  My friends and I all got together to celebrate with a huge pot luck meal.  As always, I brought pies.  A few days later I was stuck with a problem that comes up often.  What should I do with my leftover pie dough?  If you are like me, you wrap up the extra pie dough, stick it in the fridge or freezer for “later use”. Then at some point it gets thrown out.  What a waste!

Perfect Pie Dough Fries

I was determined to find a use for my pie dough scraps.  After a quick google search I found lots of great ideas!  Some involved frying, others involved fillings, but I was looking for something quick and easy.  Pie dough “fries” was the perfect solution!

Pie Dough Fries With Fluted Wheel CutterI took out my refrigerated pie dough, and rolled it out thin.  Using a fluted pastry wheel cutter I cut out strips of dough.  I brushed the dough with melted margarine and sprinkled the dough with lots of cinnamon and sugar.  I spaced them out on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked them at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes.  That’s it!  No more leftover dough!

Pie Dough Fries With Jam Dipping Sauce

 I love how these look like those crimped french fries, how fun!  If you don’t have a fluted cutter, you can just as easily use a knife to make homestyle fries.  The pie dough I used for these (recipe here) is not a sweet dough so I made sure to sprinkle it with lots and lots of sugar, but it was still a little savory.  To sweeten it up a bit more I served the “fries” with a side of cherry jam.  What’s great about this, is that it sort of looks like ketchup!

Pie Dough Fries Served With Jam

I’m sure you could get pretty creative with the dipping sauces.  These would be so cute for a dessert table!  I might have to make a batch of pie dough just for these “fries”!

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Pie Dough "Fries"
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Ingredients
  • Pie Dough
  • Margarine, melted
  • sugar
  • cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Roll out chilled pie dough on a lightly floured board.
  4. Cut dough into thin strips.
  5. Brush with melted margarine.
  6. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
  7. Space the dough on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until lightly brown.
  8. Serve with your favorite jam!