The Magic of Modélisme de Chocolate or in english Modeling Chocoloate!

Ahhhhh....no only is it delicious to eat but so very versatile when it comes to cake decorating! During this class we learned how to work with white modeling chocolate. Now I'm sure most of you have seen the cake shows on TV where modeling chocolate is used to make figurines as cake toppers and decorations. But today we learned another application that can dramatically change the look and feel of your cake: panels! The great thing about this medium is that it's pliable, it doesn't dry up immediately and is very forgiving if you make a mistake ;-)
Just as an FYI, modeling chocolate is easy to make (chocolate plus corn syrup), so if you're working on small projects, save yourself some money and make it yourself. Make sure to wrap tightly any left over and refrigerate for later use.
So basically, paneling allows you to create exactly that, a panel to cover your masked cake. The 4 techniques that we applied were:

• Marbling - creating patterns of different colors for that "POW" effect (yes i said pow as in batman)
• Embossing - by using a stencil and a thin coat of buttercream you can create delicate, whimsical designs on your cake
• 2 Dimension - this technique allows you to create designs that have 2 dimensions as well as create backgrounds (see photo, hard to explain)
• Splash - If there was ever a better technique for a Nemo cake i don't know of it. Lots of fun and again, a medium that gives you extra time without drying out. Soooo much fun!!!

Art and Food - 2 in 1

Well it's been a while and there's so much to talk about. Unfortunately, with a full time job, school, family and friends and of course "caking" (yes, I use it as a verb, forgive me Mr. Thesaurus) time is a luxury. But i haven't forgotten my promise to share. There have been many many cakes baked, fillings whipped and  different mediums to create flowers, fruits and pretty much anything imaginable. One of my favorite things was creating a pâte à cornet (the design part of the cake) on a Jaconde sponge cake. By using a stencil you can create virtually any design, pattern or letters. A thin layer of sponge cake batter is then poured on top of your design and leveled off with an off-set spatula. After baking for a few, the end product is a delicious sponge cake that is then placed in a ring mold and filled with filling of your choice. In this case we went for several mousse flavors. We then topped off with edible flowers, what  great center piece!!! Although I wasn't crazy about eating the flowers.