You Asked, We Answered February 2013

Once again, this month for our weekly Tasty Thursday Facebook draw, we asked YOU to ASK the  question regarding anything CAKE related. 

What is your favorite cupcake and what is your favorite cupcake/cake/or other pastry to make? 
My favorite cupcake would probably be lemon and my favorite cake combination would be either lemon with lemon curd or lemon with raspberry filling. Other than cakes,  I also making pies, especially pumpkin pies and homemade cinnamon buns. 

For example the cakes in the bridal fair, how many layers of cake to each tier? And do you ever make posts for YouTube on decorating?  
Each tier is composed of ONE individual cake which is then split into layers.  All my cakes are composed of 4 layers of cake with 3 layers of filling which is then frosted in buttercream and covered in fondant. As for YouTube, I have only 1 post and that has been my recent interview on Shaw TV.

What is your most popular cake design and flavor to date? Is there a flavor that you can't help but have a weakness for when your baking?  
At this moment, I don`t really have a popular design, it just depends on what the customer orders. My most popular flavor requested right now is RED VELVET. Again, my personal favorite flavor is lemon or lemon poppy seed with either homemade raspberry filing or lemon curd. YUMMMM!!!

I have been a fan of your Red Velvet Cupcakes for many years. What do you use to make them red? 
We use red food coloring paste. Some recipes vary with the amount of red food coloring used.. from a whole bottle to a tsp. We try to limit the amount of food coloring we use. 

How far in advance should I order a birthday cake? 
It depends... during wedding season, from May-September, I would recommend a month in advance. Other times 1-2 weeks in advance.

I found I lost my sweet tooth as I got older and began to appreciate different frosting's. I cannot stand much of the sickly sweet frosting's on many children cakes but I have my daughters birthday coming up. What are some great frosting choices out there that are not over the top sweet and appeal to adults and children alike? 
I, personally like Italian Meringue Buttercream. It is not too overly sweet and is silky smooth...most adults prefer this. Most children, however, are not too overly fond of type of icing, because it not as sweet as the frosting's typically found on children`s cakes. However, it really depends on child, since my children like it, but that`s probably because it is the ONLY one I make. 
 
 How do you get the fondant so perfectly smooth? 
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Another thing is get your buttercream as smooth as possible under your fondant first before you cover your cake in fondant. Plus using a fondant smoother helps in give you a smooth surface too. 

What's the most unique cake decor you've ever undertaken?! Would love to see a pic too!
Probably the most unique cake I have have made was the mustache cake. A client requested me to make this for her father-in-law`s birthday. Apparently he had really ``unique`` mustache.  

I've had buttercream separate before. Is it from adding too much liquid? How do I prevent this? Usually if your buttercream is cold, your buttercream will separate and you will see liquid in your bowl. That happens to me too.. If you let your buttercream warm up to room temperate first, and then beat it really well, it will all come back together again.