It's Mardi Gras!

I can't let this day go by without acknowledging it. Since I don't have a new sugar piece to post celebrating the day, here's a couple of links to past posts:
Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez
More Mardi Gras Madness

The Diva has a musical Mardi Gras post at her blog Antonia's Music Notebook

Maria

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Not to be outdone by the Diva, I have also created a new blog. This one is meant to showcase my religious statuary restorations such as the rennovated Baby Jesus statue pictured to the left. There are plenty of before and after pictures as well as the stories of each of the statues and some of the techniques employed in the repairs. So please have a look: Statua Rinnovata

Maria

The Diva Launches New Blog!

I cordially invite you to view my new blog, Antonia's Music Notebook. Posts will cover my musical interests including tips and resources for the amateur musician. Don't forget about my websites The Music Classroom and Musical Theater World for additional resources.

-Antonia

A Valentine for Eileen and Eddy...

This cake represents my one and only foray into cold porcelain cake decorations. The dove, flowers, pearls and quilted ribbon are made from cold corcelain, a clay-like substance similar to gumpaste developed in South America and spread to the British Empire where it has become hugely popular among cake and sugar artists. Although it has a similar look to sugar work, is is synthetic and will last forever. It is worked like sugarpaste with slight differences; one has to keep separate tools for the cold porcelain and when placed on the cake should have a separator between the cake and the decoration. It can also be painted with oil paints. I have used only a slight touch of magenta coloring at the rose centers and overdusted the decorations with a pearl dust.

The pearl heart and the small dish on top of the cake are made of gumpaste. The dish and the separator heart-shaped disk have been painted with silver lustre dust. The heart-shaped cake is dense almond with an egg yolk rum buttercream, a lemon curd filling and a layer of almond dacquoise under the filling. It is covered in marzipan paste and finished with a citrus flavored rolled fondant. Because I chose a black foamcore base, I opted not to cover it with fondant. Instead, piped royal icing "doodles" decorated with silver dragees highlight each corner. At the back of the cake royal icing leaves finish off the cold corcelain rose. Large silver dragees stud the fondant which has been given a sheen with pearl dust.

Happy St. Valentine's Day to Eileen and Eddy and Lovers Everywhere! And a Happy Anniversary to Theresa and John!

Maria