Fondant and Gum Paste Class

Despite not taking the first course (which, technically is required before signing up for this one), I found that I really didn't need it. Granted, I'm sure there are some techniques that I don't know yet, and I have yet to really perfectly frost a cake, but I do have some experience in covering a cake with fondant...

Did I enjoy the class? Well, the fondant part was ridiculously simple. If anybody has ever tried to work with fondant, they know it's rather simple (if the consistency of the fondant is right). I learned a few tricks, which were handy, but nothing earth shattering. The best part of the course, by far, was making the gumpaste flowers.
WOW. My favorite were the carnations. I am excited about making more of them and playing with colors of gumpaste to make different ones. They are so beautiful I really could make a bouquet of them and display them on my table! They are super fragile, tho'. One drop and they shatter.


The other flowers were pretty cool, and I think I might go buy the kit that lets you make lillies, daffodils, lilly-of-the-valley, etc. They would be really cool to make, too.

Still, I don't know that I needed to sign up for a class to actually learn. The book is pretty specifically detailed, and has all the information on stuff you need. The instructor didn't exactly gives us "extra" tips (she never shared her marshmallow-fondant recipe, not that I couldn't find one on the internet, but she never even mentioned other options instead of spending $20 on tasteless fondant you peel off before eating the cake). Most of what I did was through trial and error, and I could easily have done that without a teacher. Although, I say that now...

Anyway, I've posted some of our final projects for the class. The cake I made (and remade) the second week turned out better- my fondant was stiffer, and there were more flowers (not daisies, but cute ones). It was pale green with white ribbon siding and a little lighter-green candy box full of M&M's on top- I gave it to my friend for her birthday. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to her, so I don't have a photo of that one. DARN! I really need to remember to take pics of my cakes the moment they are finished...

Would I recommend the class? Yeah, but talk to me about what you *need* to buy and what are the extras... if you don't want to buy everything they have listed. Still, the best part was taking it with my friend, Shanda. I wish we had taken these classes earlier so we could've completed them all before she moved away!

Carnation flowers with lots of fun ribbons and decorations made out of fondant-gumpaste mix.

Single-layer daisies. I thought she did a great job on her leaves. Perfect color and nice curve.

This classmate made awesome carnations. They looked perfect! Her fondant covering was also the best I've seen- definitely professional looking.

This is Shanda's unfinished cake. The daisy on the right that is a little darker in the middle is one I made (she was one short) and has some glitter dust in the middle (doesn't photograph well). I loved how she made the little star-daisies to go around the sides. I also LOVED how she dusted her carnations with the glitter dust- they looked so cool.
This was her final cake (she emailed me the picture). She's so good at this!

My "Valentine" cake. It has a heart-shaped box on top with the lid off to the side. I put plain carnations (I didn't want to powder them with dust) insdie the box. The fondant was too soft, so it wrinkled on the base (although why we were suppose to waste fondant that way I'll never understand). It also pulled on the sides, so they weren't very smooth. I can't wait to cut into the cake because it is a Snickerdoodle Cake made from a cake mix. I got the recipe from a cookbook a friend of mine let me borrow: The Cake Mix Doctor.