DianeB

I have the Kuhn Rikon too, and I love it.

thanks for the step by step on leaves (now why didn't I think of the sausage trick!) - and your roses are gorgeous!!!!! Can't wait to see more photos -

thank you so much for these wonderful directions and pictures!!! maybe now I won't be quite so intimidated!!

I wish I could convey how much I appreciate your time, talent and sharing ... to simply say 'thank you' just isn't enough....

thanks! the pole is a really thin candle, and the flag is gumpaste. The balls are dragees, the bunkers were done with brown sugar and sanding sugar to give it a little sparkle.

thought I would share a golf cake I did last year... with help from my golfing DH!

I would suggest putting the half ball cake on a cake circle, covering it with fondant, and bringing the fondant under the board for a nice neat edge. You could also finish it off with the grass tip #233 - as a border. I'm not sure if you know this, but it's important that your cake circle be cut to the same size as your cake, best to do after it's baked since it will shrink a bit. I would also suggest a few dowels (4 - 6) under the half ball to support it, although it's not absolutely necessary for the 1/2 ball (it's not THAT heavy). As a general rule, fondant should be rolled to about 1/8 inch thick. You might want to consider using a different brand if it's available to you (Wilton isn't the best tasting, there are others that are much better). For the dimples, you can use the end of a small decorators paintbrush - but you'll need to do it right after you put the fondant on your cake. If it starts to harden, the dimples won't take. For the golf clubs, do you have a clay gun ? You can form the clubs with fondant rather than use the pretzel sticks, although the pretzel sticks will be cute too. hope some of this helps - Diane

well, I'm not sure what to suggest as far as 'what route to take' since I certainly never imagined I would be doing this full time when I took my first Wilton class! or when I quit my job, for that matter! Shortly after my first Wilton class, I became obsessed with looking at cakes, dreaming about cakes... eating cakes! I started teaching Wilton, and found I really enjoyed that. Then, when I quit my job, it was actually to become a Family and Consumer Science teacher (Home Ec when I was in school) - figured I would combine my love of cooking, baking and sewing with my enjoyment of teaching... had to get up to speed, though, so I enrolled in a culinary program to take a few classes that were required. THEN, I attended the teacher orientation program, and realized FACS was a whole lot more than Home Ec ever was, and I wasn't interested in being a teacher afterall! Yikes! I quit my job.... now what? So I continued with the culinary program, and one instructor suggested that I call the Health Department, and if I was afraid of opening up a can of worms, to approach them like this "Hi - I'm a student in the culinary program at... and I have to write a paper about towns that surround me and if they allow home based businesses that involve food, for example either catering or decorated cakes?".... but what did I do? I called and just flat out asked. And surprisingly, many towns around me do NOT allow it, but thankfully my town does! I asked the inspector to come out before I spent one cent, showed him tentative plans that I had (I worked with another instructor on the design of my shop) - talked about what would be required of me, and what wouldn't (they didn't require a 3 bay sink, for example), THEN I called the state agency that would be issuing my bakery license, and discussed what my town and I talked about. I wanted to be sure one agency would agree with the other (again, before I spent any money!) Throughout the process, I consulted with both, I asked questions if I had concerns, I kept them updated on my progress. (The state inspector did his inspection when he came in, but we actually talked more about changing careers in our 40's!) The process started the end of May 2004, my cabinets were delayed, my counters were delayed, my flooring had to be rescheduled because of the cabinets... my electrical had to be upgraded in some instances and changed in others. Believe me when I say I went non-stop the entire summer! My original plan was to be complete and open before the semester started again, but that didn't happen. I officially opened mid - September. As far as the business end of things, I have cake buddies around the country that have shared their experiences and knowledge with me, talked me thru different scenarios, helped me organize receipts for tax time (this former Accountant hired a CPA for the actual filing of the taxes, I wasn't about to take on that project too!) - and I continue to learn something new every day. My DH is a great sounding board, although my friends often have better advice! I've met some great people, made new friends, and learned that not everyone is courteous enough to call and say "you know, I won't be putting that deposit in the mail after all, but thanks for your time". I've also learned that people run late... and I hate that! If they tell me they'll be here at noon, I don't want to be kept waiting until 2 pm! My only regret is that I didn't ask sooner... cause I might have quit my former day job years ago! Diane

I'm in CT - and was always under the impression that home bakeries were not allowed. One of my instructors finally encouraged me to call the Department of Health in my town, and lo and behold, it is!!!!!!! We remodeled our basement, and I now do custom cakes. My hours are by appointment only, as my zoning department said traffic has to be the exception rather than the rule. In CT, I am licensed by both my town and the State Department of Consumer Protection. The town issues a food license, the state issues a bakery license. I left a 20 year career in Accounting when I became obsessed with cakes!! It can be done, but yes... being the baker, decorator, shopper, clean up crew, merchandiser, advertiser... etc. gets tiring. I'm not complaining, 9 months in business and I'm doing well.

I had the pleasure of visiting NYC yesterday, and took over 300 pictures of the cakes on display. I've posted 200+ on my webshots site... many are closeups of the detail. I've also captured the sugar artist that created each cake, it's posted after each group or series of photos. Grab a cup of coffee, set it to slideshow, and enjoy!! You'll find the pictures here ----->NYC Cake Walk 2005

thanks for posting this! I have been looking for times, too!

Looks like I'll be there - possibly Tuesday and Thursday!! I'll take pictures too!

This is an awesome tutorial, an awesome design, but more importantly an INCREDIBLE work of art. You should be so proud of this... it's an incredible undertaking and you accomplished it as if it was a piece of cake (pun intended!). Thank you so much for sharing your techniques, comments, pictures... it is incredibly helpful to those of us that hope to be half as good as you!!