Cake Decorators in the Philippines

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I admire the skills of Professional Cake Decorators. They have earned the respect of the people through the works that they have created which shows their talent and passion for what they do.

1. Chef Heny Sison - She was my teacher and continues to be my inspiration until today. When I was younger, I used to watch her on TV because of the beautiful cakes she creates and of course the delicious desserts! She is a premier cake decorator and one of the well respected name in the culinary industry in the country.

2. Penk Ching - Her name is famous for cake decorating here in the Philippines. She has created really beautiful cakes for big personalities in the country. Together with her sister, they own Pastry Bin where they cater to a wide array of clients. I think she was even recognized internationally when she made a replica of the bird's nest stadium in the Beijing Olympics.

3. Mrs. Avelina Florendo - She is known to be the Philippine Cake Queen and a pioneer in cake decorating in the Philippines. I got to meet her before when we guested for a TV morning show and her personality was a charm. With our short chat she got me inspired into taking up a cake decorating course. She owns CSS Bakeshop in Cubao and has also made the cakes of some of the weddings of big personalities in the country.

4. Dexter's Bakeshop - I always pass by their bakeshop in Katipunan but I have learned the inspiring story of the founder. He has worked hard to teach himself the art of cake decorating and has made a name for himself.

Shelf Life of Rolled Fondant

Rolled Fondant
As I've learned from my decorating class, rolled fondant can last up to 6 months to 1 year in an airtight container at room temperature. It should not be placed in the refrigerator because when you bring it outside, it will moist.

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From my research however, they have different views on the shelf life of fondant. Some say 1 - 2months if covered in room temperature. Others said it can be kept indefinitely because it doesn't get stale. Some said it can be refrigerated for storage but you have to let it stay at room temperature first before you can work on it.




Fondant Covered Cakes

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For fondant covered cakes, it is a different thing. You can't keep this for too long. If cakes are already covered with fondant, it can last up to 3-4 days if there are no sensitive ingredients in your cake. But if there are, you can refrigerate the cake but again it will moist when you bring it out the refrigerator. The latter option is not really preferred for storing fondant cakes.

3 Reasons Why Fondant Cracks

In our last practice session, the fondant cracked as I laid it on the cake. To fix this I tried rubbing a little amount of shortening on the cracks and pinched it together gently. I didn't know if this was correct but it improved.

I tried researching about how to fix this problem in cakes. I found this site, baking 911, where there are tips and basic information about cake decorating. So as I read about it, cracks are usually caused by:
1. dry fondant
2. thickly rolled fondant
3. the fondant was not rolled properly

To fix this according to them,
- you must moisten up the fondant by adding more shortening.
- you must roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick only
- also, when kneading fondant you should knead properly and not "under knead. To know that you kneaded it enough, they said to pinch the fondant and see if no crack will appear.
- tiny cracks can also be remedied through the pressing of the smoother or through the heat of your hands. try putting shortening in your fingers as you smoothen the fondant.

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So we're RIGHT after all! Next time I'll put into mind these tips to prevent cracks in fondant! Read this to know the full article and see other articles as well: Baking 911

Practice Session 2: Birthday Cake

I had to practice again and had to try out the new tools for decorating. I was supposed to try out designing a layer cake but didn't have the energy and time so just made a 9 inch cake.

I wasn't able to take pictures of our session because my friend and I were so engrossed in designing and finishing the cake. I only got the picture of the finished product!

1. Making the Fondant
I made rolled fondant again and tried to improve on my mistakes the first time. This time, I lessened the amount of powdered sugar that I added to the mixture (2 cups less). The consistency is better I think than the first one. But I will still improve it the next time I make one.

2. Rolling out the Fondant
Again, I had a hard time rolling out the fondant and covering the cake. This time, I had to cover a bigger cake (9 inch cake). It was harder of course as it gets bigger, level 2! The first try of rolling the fondant, it stuck on the work table again even if I placed powdered sugar under it. For the second try, I tried putting MORE powdered sugar and every time I rolled the fondant out, I turned it to make sure it was not sticking as I rolled it out bigger! SUCCESS! It didn't stick anymore!

The problem was that when I laid it on the cake, cracks appeared! I think the fondant was a bit dry. OR was it because I kept turning it around as I rolled it out? It didn't improve even after using the fondant smoother. What we tried to do is rub a little shortening and tried to gently pinch the fondant to remove the cracks. It improved a little bit.

3. Designing the Fondant Cake
For the design, we tried out our new tools! We used the alphabet cutter, the number cutters, the flower and butterfly plunger cutters. It was so fun to use. We were just like playing!

We wanted all the letters to stand up, but maybe we rolled the fondant thin so it didn't stand up. For the numbers, we tried a thicker one and it did stand up! Cool!

We tried to make a birthday cake, we even invented a name for the cake! All who saw it asked, who is Kylie? Haha we also don't know!

New Tools For Designing Fondant

Last Saturday, we went to a Food Expo and found very interesting tools for cake decorating. The items we saw were really cheap compared to my cake decorating tools hunt in the mall the last time. So we took advantage of this opportunity and went shopping for fondant tools!

We bought:
Alphabet and Number Cutters

Different Shapes Cutter

Flower and Butterfly Plunger Cutters

Spiral Pattern Roller

Fondant Ribbon Cutter/Embosser Set

Cant wait to use these new tools for the next practice session!