Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Our friend Stella loves pink, pigs, chocolate, and marzipan. So, it was pretty easy planning her cake. It had to have pink, pigs, chocolate, and marzipan. Surprise, Stella Bella! D did a great job on the cake. Cake Components 2 layers Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake (click name to go to the original recipe post) 1 layer Marzipan Cake (see below) 2 batches Simple Chocolate Frosting   Fondant Pigs 2 7-ounce tubes almond paste pirouette rolled wafers (I used almost 2 full canisters to go around an 11" cake) 3 yards of 2-1/2" ribbon Ingredients for the Marzipan Cake 1 7-ounce tube almond paste 1/4 C butter, softened 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 C ground almonds 2 eggs 1/4 t organic hazelnut extract 1/4 t organic chocolate extract 1 C flour 1 t baking powder Procedure Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line an 11" cake pan with parchment paper. Cream the almond paste with the butter and sugar. Mix in the ground ...

With his batch of Pink Hazelnut Marshmallow Fondant , D fashioned piggies for Stella's birthday cake. He made pigs, pig heads, pig bellies, and - most fun for a 10-year-old boy - pig behinds!

When D and I designed the birthday cake for our friend Stella, there was no question about what color it was going to be. Pink! So, D made a batch of hazelnut marshmallow fondant and dyed it pink. Ingredients 6 C minature marshmallows - loosely poured, not tightly packed 6 C organic powdered sugar 3 T water 1 t organic hazelnut extract pink gel food coloring Procedure Place the marshmallows and the water in a large saucepan.  Cook, on low heat, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. Add a few drops of food coloring to the melted marshmallows. Add 4 C of the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore. It will be paste-like. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto a table covered with parchment and dusted with powdered sugar. The mixture will be sticky and lu...

I have only worked with fondant once before. Thankfully, my cousin Tiffany, AKA the Cake Whisperer!, gave me some pointers and sent me links to a recipe for homemade modeling chocolate and one for chocolate marshmallow fondant . Thanks, Tiff! Of course, I can't follow directions to save my life, so I took aspects of both recipes, and the first marshmallow fondant recipe I made, and created my own chocolate marshmallow fondant. Ingredients makes three 5" rounds of fondant 12 C minature marshmallows - loosely poured, not tightly packed 12 C organic powdered sugar 6 T water 1 C unsweetened cocoa powder 1 t organic hazelnut extract 1 t organic chocolate extract cornstarch for kneading food coloring gel, optional (we made black!) Procedure Place the marshmallows and the water in a large saucepan. Cook, on low heat, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. S...

I have never worked with fondant before, but I needed to figure it out fast. Thankfully, my cousin Tiffany, AKA the Cake Whisperer!, told me how to make an easy marshmallow fondant. Thanks, Tiff! I don't have a microwave, so I adapted her recipe to the stovetop...and I also increased proportions because I didn't want to run out. We'll see how this works out tomorrow when I roll it. 6 C minature marshmallows - loosely poured, not tightly packed 6 C organic powdered sugar 3 T water Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional Place the marshmallows and the water in a large saucepan.  Cook, on low heat, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. I added a few drops of color at this point. Add 4 C of the powdered sugar ...