Valentine's Day Treat

This batch of cupcakes are my second that were sold at an event, this one a Valentine's Day bakesale. These sweet treats were an easy bake and I used my Wilton Color Swirl Kit (2 parts red, 1 part white) and Wilton tip # 2D. I used Valentine's Day conversation hearts for the top.

Toppings Used:

Buttercream Frosting
Valentine's Day conversation hearts
Wilton Color Swirl Kit

Birthday Cupcakes

Despite my birthday being in July, I decided to celebrate it at my school in January. Needless to say, I made cupcakes. I got a lot of baking equipment for Christmas, which I put to the test. For these cupcakes, I used the Wilton Color Swirl Kit, a tri-color frosting tip. I used the Wilton dyes Teal Blue, Purple, and a regular white.

For the piping, I used Wilton tip 2D (this might be one of my favorite tips). This tip is compatible with the Swirl Kit, and it worked very well. I also decorated the cupcakes with Wilton White Sugar Pearls.

This is the first set of cupcakes that I was actually pleased with the outcome.

Toppings Used:

Buttercream Frosting
Wilton Edible Pearls, White
Wilton Color Swirl Kit

Arabian Nights...

These next set of cupcakes were my first cupcakes made for a professional event. My school was performing Aladdin and his Magic Lamp and they needed items for the concessions. I decided to bake something even though I was performing in the play (Aladdin's sister) and needed to focus on memorizing my lines.

To create these cupcakes, I first made the lamp decorations. I used regular, white-colored fondant and fashioned them into lamp shapes. I then used the Wilton Edible Gold Spray Paint to tint them gold. For the frosting, I colored the frosting a lavender purple, probably using a store brand frosting dye. I then frosted the cupcakes using a round tip (tip # unknown). Finally, for the purple glitter, I used Wilton Purple Sanding Sugar.

Toppings Used:

Buttercream Frosting
Wilton Fondant, White
Wilton Purple Sanding Sugar
Wilton Edible Gold Spray Paint

The First Concoction

It all started in the fall of 2015, my sixth grade year at St. John Paul II School. My Literature teacher issued a middle-school wide book report, but instead of an actual summary of the book, students had to create a scene or symbol from the book they read...that had to be entirely edible! It was called the "Edible Book Fair".This was the first time I had EVER done anything that involved baking or cooking of any sorts. Up to this point I was certain I would have no luck in the culinary department, but that changed quickly, however.

As soon as this project was assigned, my mom instantly enlisted the help of our neighbor, to help with decorating our cakes. She was well known throughout the neighborhood for her beautiful cakes and fabulous fondant work, and my mom thought it a good idea for her to give us a crash course in Cake Decorating 101. She lent us some of her tools, and, before I knew it, I was head over heels in love with fondant and frosting, and simply cake-decorating in general.

I have to admit, my first fondant creation was not the best. In fact, it was FAR from it! This two-cake tall concoction was layered in frosting, fondant, and more frosting... in that order. Not to mention the amount of sugar pearls and pink Nerds encrusting the cake as well. Poor preserving methods ensured that anything we kept in Tupperware containers overnight became soggy as well (fondant and cupcakes).

Nevertheless, I was so fascinated by this type of baking and decorating that I decided to stick with it and see what I could learn in the years to come, and hopefully become a better baker.

Toppings Used:

Wilton Fondant, Assorted Colors
Wilton Sugar Pearls
Nerds Candy
Buttercream Frosting