I'm sitting in my bed, having a cup of hot oatmeal for dinner, thoughts are running through my head, and I suddenly realise that thoughts are like mise en place..thoughts set the stage for the decisions that we make in life, just like how we prepare our ingredients and equipment to bake our pastries. I came to this "epiphany" of sorts because I was, well, reading a book on the fundamentals of baking science. In baking, accuracy, well-calculated combinations and balance of ingredients, and a sound understanding of their properties give rise to a good product. Similarly, rational, logical thoughts give rise to good decisions being made, while those random whirlpools of thought tend to result in less than desirable outcomes.
That aside, I did real mise en place for my fruit cake lesson this coming Thursday and Friday. We're going to work with icing for decoration to create a cake for a special occasion. I've decided to do a classic - the wedding cake..and I foresee there isn't going to be enough time to do all the different decorations in class, so I did my bride and groom figurines at home first.
That aside, I did real mise en place for my fruit cake lesson this coming Thursday and Friday. We're going to work with icing for decoration to create a cake for a special occasion. I've decided to do a classic - the wedding cake..and I foresee there isn't going to be enough time to do all the different decorations in class, so I did my bride and groom figurines at home first.
These were made using RTR (ready to roll) almond flavoured icing which I bought from Woolworths. RTR icing is great to work with because it is so much easier more pliable than marzipan, and it dries out quite slowly, giving an amateur like me more time to play with. (It's also quite yummy actually..I had a taste before I started work on my figurines..and of course the high sugar content gave me the much needed energy to sustain my 5-hour marathon to make these figures.). The body parts are stuck together with water and spaghetti sticks, while the icing is simply coloured with water-soluble food coluring.
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with what I made, except I noticed that I had made a black shirt instead of a suit for my groom only after I had finished. And for my bride, she was meant to have a smaller upper body and a longer, more voluminous skirt. And she was meant to have long hair..but after I made the wig and put it on her head it wouldn't come off haha..so she was destined to have short hair..)
I hope to make a bicycle with royal icing to complete the cake and maybe some pulled sugar wedding bells..hopefully it will be good..
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with what I made, except I noticed that I had made a black shirt instead of a suit for my groom only after I had finished. And for my bride, she was meant to have a smaller upper body and a longer, more voluminous skirt. And she was meant to have long hair..but after I made the wig and put it on her head it wouldn't come off haha..so she was destined to have short hair..)
I hope to make a bicycle with royal icing to complete the cake and maybe some pulled sugar wedding bells..hopefully it will be good..