I've been signed up for this class for over a month, it was supposed to happen in July but she had to cancel on us. So I've had plenty of time to get all the supplies I need.
When I got there at Michaels they told us we'd be working at the makeshift classroom ( the classroom in the back was under construction so they put two tables in the front of the store, so of course a lot of people passing by interrupted the class, but I didn't mind) my mom had left and I had all of my stuff laid out on the table. The first thing my teacher told me to do was get out a pastry bag, a coupler, scissors and my 230 tip. 230? I didn't have a 230. I started to freak out a little bit. I had a 103 tip. Did I read it wrong on the website? I told my teacher and she brainstormed. "Okay. This is what we're going to do...you're going to LOVE this idea. Go to the cake decorating section, get the cupcake set and bring it back here to me."
If only you could've seen how my jaw dropped. My heart tends to feel achy and very heavy when I feel like I'm about to do something wrong. I stared at her for awhile and finally asked "Isn't that stealing?" She let out a bark of laughter "Not at all dear! I work here!" I looked at her again, acknowledged her comment and walked off to the cake decorating section and brought back the kit (which was $8.99... so that didn't help me feel any better about taking it). She was just as I left her, still laughing about my question. She looked at me and laughed "If only more kids were like you. There would've been SO many other kids that would've gotten it without question." I had told her in the beginning that I was probably going to be a bit different than the average teenager that she teaches. She asked me about shows on tv and the mall and was completely shocked that I'm not a regular for either of them. I think I gave her a new perspective on teenagers...there are some good ones out there. Where was I? Right! Cupcakes...
I filled 8 cupcakes with icing and the 230 tip out of the cupcake set (which she decided to let me keep since she'd canceled out on us.) The 230 tip is called a bismarck tip, it's longer and smaller than the average tip, you simply center the bismarck tip in the middle of the cupcake and push down until you're almost at the bottom then come back up with heavy pressure. I've seen many other ways of how to fill a cupcake in library books. Some people prefer to cut out a small hole, pipe in some icing, then put the small hole they cut out back in the same place, tap it down lightly and pipe a decorating over top the cupcake. Filling a cake is a completely different matter, if Mrs. Cristal teaches me how, I'll explain it to you. :)
These two are her examples for me.
Can't say mine was as good, but hey..she's been doing this for 30 years. I've barely been doing it for 5 months!
She taught me some basic piping on waxed paper. Stars, dots, and rosettes.
I already know them, but it's so much better to be taught it person. I learned better dots and way better rosettes than what I was doing for my Olympic cake on week six of Thursdays with Cake Crumb Girl.
Doing 90 degree stars over the entire cupcake was defiantly my favorite thing I learned today.
(Mind you all these cupcakes have made it through travel, so they may appear...damaged. I forgot to take my camera and only remembered when we were almost half way there.)
My teacher let me use all her sprinkles and color mist spray (which I used above)
This two hour class was very much worth it and I had a great time getting to know my teacher.
-Cake Crumb Girl
