2008 June « The Sugar Lane

Archive | June, 2008

Cake Topper- Little Mary Reading her Book in bed with her Puppies

Little Mary Reading in Bed, Close up of the writing in the book

Little Mary in Bed Reading

Mary in her bed reading with her puppies

This is a cake topper that I sculpted from Gum Paste for an upcoming birthday cake for a young girl. I call the little girl in the cake topper Mary and she is reading a book about cats, her puppies are in the bed with her and they are all looking at a cat who has just entered the room.

I enjoy creating cake toppers that you do not see everyday, and most importantly to me I want them to tell a story. The nice thing is that these cake toppers can be saved because they are created using gum paste which does harden as time goes by. Gum paste is great on cake because it is edible, not like clay or other materials that you see people using. Gum paste is really just sugar and if it gets wet will get very soggy. I have had people who have put their cake toppers in a glass dome and have saved them as a keepsake.

If you are one of those people who are like myself and love to work with sugar art, I am in the process of creating videos that will show those who are interested in making these very cake toppers how to sculpt their own for cakes and such. The sky is the limit as to what you can do with gum paste (sugar dough) and the nice thing is that you can design it around a story or the person for whom its being created for.

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Categories Cake Decorating, Gumpaste Cake Toppers

Hawaiian Punch Cupcakes

27 Jun

I decided to get a little creative one day when making cupcakes, I was tired of the same ole same ole. I made cupcakes with Hawaiian Punch in the batter. Well let me tell you they are out of this world and my boys loved them, they were all gone that afternoon of course. And the great thing is that they are soo simple to make. If you do not have Hawaiian Punch available you could always use regular fruit punch. I would think that a grape punch or orange would taste just as great. Just check out the different drinks available on the market and get creative with your cupcakes or for that matter cakes. There are soo many different things you can do to jazz up a regular cake mix to come up with a customized flavor that you can’t normally find.

Use a regular cake mix such as Duncan Hines, Pillsbury, or Betty Crocker. I used Duncan Hines. Mix the batter according to the directions on the back of the box, however DO NOT add the water like it says. Replace the water with the Hawaiian Punch or fruit punch. Then mix the batter according to the directions. Thats all there is to it!! It does not get any simpler than that. I used cool whip on my cupcakes. But really any icing would taste great. To get the different colors on my cool whip I just add a very small amount of food coloring to the cool whip and mix it in. Go ahead and give it a try and if you have kids they will think your all that when you make them cupcakes that taste like their favorite drink.

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Categories cupcakes, Recipes

My favorite Cake Decorating Tools include Play Doh Toys

24 Jun

I have had many people ask what are some of my favorite cake decorating tools, when I first got started I had no idea what I was doing but I loved working with fondant, however I did not have all those fancy tools that are on the market for fondant. So I would go to the grocery store and everything I looked at, I would ask myself is there anything I can do with that as far as in cake decorating. I bought straws which have turned out to be one of the things I use regularly, they are great for cutting the end in half and using it to make a mouth on my figurines. Another cool thing I came across was the play doh factory, omg how cool is that I thought to myself. I bought one which only cost me $4.99 and it has been the best $5.00 I have ever spent. I use it to make rope, borders and many other things. My mom bought me a cool kids backpack that was full of different pay doh tools, I was like a kid on christmas day, now your not going to catch me running around town with that little back pack on but I have put those little tools to good use. It had little cutters shaped like fish, flowers and other animals as well as cutters, and little extruders. People see all the play doh toys I have and think that I have regressed back to my childhood. I can remember making fake hamburgers and fries out of play doh as a child and loving it, who would have thought that one day I would have the opportunity to play with fondant which in my opinion is an adults play doh. I guess that may be the reason I love fondant and all the great things that can be made with it. There are soo many things that can be used as a cake decorating tool you just have to use your imagination many of the things in life can be used for other purposes than for which it was created for.

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Categories Cake Decorating

Ohio State Lamp Cake- Made with actual lamp base and the shade is Cake

21 Jun

This is my latest cake and let me tell ya it was quite a job. The toughest part was doing the design on the shade free handed. I am not happy with how my lines look but after working on it for so long I decided to just go with it. At least the next time I know that I need to plan ahead for any design I decide to put on the shade. The base is an actual lamp base that I modified to attach the cake to which became the shade. This is one of those cakes that as a cake designer you never forget but I must say it was worth it in the end.

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Categories Cake Decorating

I need your help, regarding feedback on online cake decorating classes.

18 Jun

Hello fellow cake buddies

I have some ideas I have been thinking on and really need your feedback if you would be so kind to provide.

When I got started in cake decorating there were no classes available in my area. I scoured the internet looking for online cake decorating classes to which there were none. I spent hundreds of dollars on books only to be disappointed because they did not scratch the surface of cake decorating or they only covered the basics of cake decorating. I would have given anything to had been able to find online cake decorating classes that I could do at my own pace from my home. So I have decided to create a site that offers Online Video Cake Decorating Classes. I am still in the planning stages but would really love your feedback, I will share with you some of my ideas and would love your input. As a huge thank you to those of you who provide me feedback along with your top 3 classes that would be most valuable to you I will give you your first video class free from my website. Be sure to include your first and last name along with your email so that when the website is up and running I can send you a link to your free video class.

I have been approached by many to do local cake decorating classes in my area but I can’t help but think about all those online that are like I was in the beginning, looking for a way to learn cake decorating. So I began thinking, yes as hard as it is for me sometimes, he he he. Anyway I thought I could provide on my website, online video cake decorating classes that you could download and view at your convenience and in the comfort of your own home. For example lets say you already know the basics of cake decorating but would love to learn the basics of fondant then you could purchase and download the basics of fondant class. Or maybe you already know the fondant basics but have always wanted to learn how to make fondant characters, then you would just purchase the fondant characters class. This way you can customize your cake decorating learning and only purchase the specific classes that you want, not like a traditional class where you must take cake decorating 101 before you can take the fondant class.

The other idea I have is to provide a live chat that is available to those who have purchased one of my online cake decorating classes. This would give me the opportunity to interact with you on a personal level so that I can help you with any problems that you may have ran into during a class you have recently taken as well as answer questions you may have such as, while applying the fondant to my cake I noticed I have lots of air bubbles in it, what should I do to get rid of those without causing holes? In addition I will also have a forum that is available to those who have purchased my online classes so that you can talk with others, share ideas, ask questions and so on.

As you can see, I think this would be a great addition to the internet community, however I want to see what you all think about something like this before I pour huge amounts of time and money into it, in addition I want to build it with the help of you all out there in the cake decorating world. I consider your feedback to be very valuable and would love to hear your ideas. Let me know what kinds of classes you would like to see offered on my site. below is just an example of some of my ideas.

1. The basics of cake decorating which could include, baking, leveling, and icing a cake.

2. Making a wedding cake, from start to finish.

3. How to make a designer fondant purse cake. From start to finish.

4. A cake decorators guide to the tools that make all the difference in cake decorating, what they are and how in the world do you use them.

5. Sugar cookies and how to decorate them, the different icings you can use, themes and so on.

6. Sculptured Cakes, how to sculpture them, ice them and decorate them.

7. How to airbrush cakes, the tools needed, and how to get started.

8. Fondant basics, making your own, where to purchase the commercial fondant, rolling out, lifting and covering a cake without holes, creases and so on.

9. Fondant/Gumpaste characters, how to make all those cute people you see on others cakes.

10. Fondant/Gumpaste animals, how to make your own little animals for different cake themes.

11. How to make a Lamp Cake, the base is a real lamp base but the shade is all cake.

12. Sculptured puppy cake, tools needed, how to cut ice and decorate.

I could go on and on but I will spare you the details, I just wanted to give you a glimpse into what I am thinking so that you could get an idea of what my plans are. Along with the ideas above I would also like to do videos on specific designs from creating a diaper bag cake to using cookies to create a scene on a cake.

All the video classes would be taught by me so as you can imagine this will take time to build but my plan is to get this started as soon as possible. I have already begun the basics and would love to know which 3 classes would be most valuable to you along with any ideas and feedback you may have and remember just for providing me your feedback and your top video class choices (you can choose from the 12 I have listed above or your own ideas) I will give you, your first video class free. Make sure you give me your first and last name and email so that when the website is completed I can email you the link to your free video class.

Please send your feedback to donnalane7@msn.com

I truly thank you for your time

Donna Lane

Comments 11 Comments
Categories Cake Decorating, Cookies, Gumpaste Cake Toppers

How To Make Gumpaste Roses on my You-tube

18 Jun

For all of you out there in the world of cakes I have finally posted my videos showing how I create my Gumpaste Roses. Now I do them several different ways however the video I just uploaded will be easy enough that anyone could make them and all you need is a simple circle cutter, some wire and of course some gumpaste. Some of you may not know that you can make gumpaste with fondant and another ingredient called tylose powder. You just add the tylose powder to the fondant and presto you have gumpaste. But If that is too much to deal with an even easier way is to buy some of the wilton fondant, now don’t get crazy and try to eat that stuff it really is not fit for humans in my opinion, it taste horrible which is the main reason fondant has gotten such a bad rap… Other than the wilton fondant, all the others that can be bought are very tasty. Anyway the wilton fondant is much like gumpaste and you can use it to make some awesome roses for any cake and it comes in some real cool colors. To get to my you-tube page so you can see how to make gumpaste roses click here—-> http://www.youtube.com/user/donnalane626

In the next day or so I will posting a video on you-tube that will show you how to create a gumpaste calla lilly without any cutters so be sure to check back soon for that. In the meantime Happy Creating!!!

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Categories Cake Decorating, Gumpaste Cake Toppers

Gumpaste Sculpted Animals and Figurines Are All The Rage in Cake Decorating

13 Jun

The world of Cake Decorating has changed so much over the years. Normally when you wanted a cake you went to a bakery or your local grocery store and ordered a basic sheet cake with roses on it. However cake decorators have changed the face of cake decorating with their skills and have taken sugar to a whole new level. Cakes now come in all shapes and sizes from cakes with a soccor ball on top to imitation designer purses. Sculpting has become one of the lastest crazes in cake decorating with cakes that are 2d, 3d and sculpted to look like the everyday things that are all around us in life. I love to scult cakes into shapes that would a person say, “Is that really a cake”.

Sculpting figurines and animals are becoming all the rage these days and are becoming one of my most requested designs for cakes. These animals and figurines are made with a sugar dough by hand sculpting. Not all cake decorators offer cakes with sculpted sugar animals and figurines but as the demand continues there will be more cake decorators willing to learn this skill. I don’t think this craze will come and go. I believe it’s going to get bigger and bigger because of the ability to personalize cakes to reflect something that is important to someone, such as a cake showcasing a sculpted man( dad )using his power tools to cut wood for a cabinet that he is making. To a cake for mom that showcases a string of sugar pearls which is her favorite necklace and a basket of flowers that are made from sugar as well.

The sky is the limit when it comes to using sugar dough to decorate a cake. This is so exciting, as a cake decorator who designs cakes that tell a story, I never get tired of designing cakes with sugar dough sculpted figurines, animals and flowers.

So when deciding on your next cake design use your imagination, you don’t have to settle for a grocery store that is full of preservatives and has possibly been sitting in a freezer for up to 60 days at a time. Find a local cake decorator who specilizes in sculptured cake designs. There is nothing like presenting a cake for that next baby shower that is actually a diaper bag made from cake and everyone at the shower thinks the diaper bag is the real thing but is actually a cake made to look like a diaper bag.

The above pictures are some examples of sugar figurines that I have designed for different cakes I have made in the past.

Comments 53 Comments
Categories Cake Decorating, Gumpaste Cake Toppers

Ooh So Creamy Buttercream Icing Recipe

4 Jun

I have had many people ask for a good Buttercream Recipe. This is a great recipe that I use from time to time on my cakes. This recipe is not too sweet, and is very creamy.



1 stick butter (unsalted) 1 stick butter (salted) 1 cup shortening 2lb bag of confectioner’s sugar 3 teaspoons clear vanilla extract 5-6 tablespoons of milk (cold)

Cream butter and shortening. Add clear vanilla extract then add confectioner’s sugar. Allow confectioner’s sugar to blend well then add milk.Instead of adding the Vanilla you can acheive other flavors such as almond by just adding your flavoring in the place of the vanilla.