Joyce Gourmet

I received a request to create a birthday cake for a wife who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta , a sorority founded at Howard University with over a hundred years of history.  He wanted the cake colors to be red & white, the colors of the sorority.  His design was to have the Delta Sigma Theta elephant with its truck held high on the top of a red cake, with hearts to go around the sides.  I thought this was so cute since her birthday was right after Valentine's and it also shows his love for her. Cake: Vanilla Butter Cake Frosting: Vanilla Buttercream Cake Toppers: Red & White Delta Sigma Theta Elephant & Hearts made of fondant Happy Birthday Connie!

  I was honored to teach a cake decorating class to support our military spouses and their families at the USO Wounded Warrior & Family Center.  The class was originally scheduled before Valentine's, but due to the snow storm, the class was rescheduled a week later. As this was the first cake decorating class that I was teaching, and perhaps the first for the attendees, I thought we should start at the basics.  I taught how to make buttercream the right consistency for piping, how to use a coupler, attach tips to couplers, then fill piping bags.  I also taught how to make rose swirls and flower petals.  My students also practiced piping letters onto parchment paper.  They took turns piping rose swirls onto the ombre cake, starting with the darkest color at the bottom of the cake and gradually piping lightest colors at the top. Though the rose swirls were not perfectly shaped nor equal sizes, I gave everyone 110% for effort and believe my student...