Yellow Chiffon Cupcakes topped with Ivory Buttercream,

sugar confetti and fondant candy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome 2011! May it be a very good year for us all!

As promised, this week's cake is cupcakes! We celebrate Kwanzaa each year which includes alot of handmade creative projects. This year we made a gingerbread Christmas Tree from a Wilton kit I got at the craft store. These are great for kids because it comes with all the necessary parts, nothing has to be baked and they get a chance to catch a little of the decorating fever! Our baking project this year were these yummy yellow chiffon cupcakes topped with ivory tinted buttercream, sugar confetti and handpainted fondant candy. Jack helps with the actual making of the batter and topping with the decorations while I do the baking and icing. Of course, he's convinced that they taste even better just because he helped to make them! Whatever the reason, they were a big hit at the New Year's Eve dinner party we all attended!

The "secret" this week is the fondant candy. Oddly enough I know how to do this because of another ribbon craft that makes curly hair ribbons. The same concept is used here. Just take strips of fondant, I mix in a little tylose powder to speed up drying time, and curl it around a skewer. Let it dry and then slide it off and stick it right into the buttercream! If you roll the fondant out very thin the curlys will look more like the paper they are supposed to resemble but they will be very fragile. They will dry quickly but also break quickly so make double the amount you think you need. Rolling the fondant a little thicker means it will dry slower but will be more sturdy so you won't have as much breakage. Either way, if you make them the day before they will have plenty of time to dry before you need them.

As a cake artist I am aware of the pace of my business. After the busy summer wedding season there is a small slow time before the holidays begin and then another one after Christmas when people are feeling the monetary pinch of the holidays. This gives me time to work on some fun projects like my flyers and display cakes that I will need for Bridal Faires later this year. I have a few fun designs swirling around in my head I can't wait to get into cake form so I'll be working on those the next three weeks. Then business hits again and I'm busy for a few more weeks. So this is my fun time. My I-get-to-create-what-I-want time. I'll share the first of these fun display cakes next Sunday!

Cat