Showcase your work!

[Becky]

Gosh, they're stunning!

 

[Sharzi]

Gosh, they're stunning!

Thank you so much! They are truly a labor of love.

 

[Becky]

I made my friend a fruit cake for his birthday, didn't really have a set idea in my mind how to decorate it but this is what I came up with:

It's a fruit cake fed with whisky, covered in marzipan, then orange-flavoured royal icing. Kinda wish I could try some!! I'll just have to wait until my Christmas cake is ready

 

[Sharzi]

I made my friend a fruit cake for his birthday, didn't really have a set idea in my mind how to decorate it but this is what I came up with:

View attachment 1801

It's a fruit cake fed with whisky, covered in marzipan, then orange-flavoured royal icing. Kinda wish I could try some!! I'll just have to wait until my Christmas cake is ready

That turned out gorgeous!! I love the way you decorate it. Reminds me of a beautiful snowflake. And it sounds yummy!!

 

[Becky]

That turned out gorgeous!! I love the way you decorate it. Reminds me of a beautiful snowflake. And it sounds yummy!!

I may have tested quite a lot of the icing and I can confirm it is delicious!

It's really difficult trying to ice a fruitcake without making it look either Christmassy or weddingy. I guess I could have added some colour, but I didn't really have time to play around. Maybe next time!

This is a fruitcake I made a few years back, I had a bit more time on my hands. Again, it was a whisky-laced fruitcake for a whisky lover, and I covered it in brown fondant to resemble a whisky barrel. It's a little wet in this photo, I brushed it with water to get rid of any traces of icing sugar:

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Gorgeous work as usual gorgeous work as usual Sharzi.

 

[Sharzi]

I may have tested quite a lot of the icing and I can confirm it is delicious!

It's really difficult trying to ice a fruitcake without making it look either Christmassy or weddingy. I guess I could have added some colour, but I didn't really have time to play around. Maybe next time!

This is a fruitcake I made a few years back, I had a bit more time on my hands. Again, it was a whisky-laced fruitcake for a whisky lover, and I covered it in brown fondant to resemble a whisky barrel. It's a little wet in this photo, I brushed it with water to get rid of any traces of icing sugar:

View attachment 1802

I love it! You do really beautiful work. It's a great idea for a whiskey lover!

 

[Sharzi]

Gorgeous work as usual gorgeous work as usual Sharzi.

Thanks so much!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I may have tested quite a lot of the icing and I can confirm it is delicious!

It's really difficult trying to ice a fruitcake without making it look either Christmassy or weddingy. I guess I could have added some colour, but I didn't really have time to play around. Maybe next time!

This is a fruitcake I made a few years back, I had a bit more time on my hands. Again, it was a whisky-laced fruitcake for a whisky lover, and I covered it in brown fondant to resemble a whisky barrel. It's a little wet in this photo, I brushed it with water to get rid of any traces of icing sugar:

View attachment 1802

I love fruitcake. Unfortunately it’s not popular in the US. My grandmother was a southerner so she baked fruit cakes every Christmas without fail. There are seven kids in my family; of the seven kids I was the only one that would eat the fruit cake. Same with her mincemeat pie I was the only one that would eat it other than her best friend’s husband. When fruitcake and mincemeat pie is done really well it is heavenly

 

[Sharzi]

I love fruitcake. Unfortunately it’s not popular in the US. My grandmother was a southerner so she baked fruit cakes every Christmas without fail. There are seven kids in my family; of the seven kids I was the only one that would eat the fruit cake. Same with her mincemeat pie I was the only one that would eat it other than her best friend’s husband. When fruitcake and mincemeat pie is done really well it is heavenly

Fruitcakes are popular in the North as well. My grandmother and one of my best friends made it every single Christmas until we got fruitcaked out. lol I make a white fruitcake, light on the fruit, that I like.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Fruitcakes are popular in the North as well. My grandmother and one of my best friends made it every single Christmas until we got fruitcaked out. lol I make a white fruitcake, light on the fruit, that I like.

I could never tire of fruitcake. I’ve never had a white fruitcake. My grandmother only made the dark fruit cake. She made it in October and aged it with brandy until Christmas. Yeah I think all that fruit is an acquired taste. My grandmother used to add walnuts; I like the way the nuts balanced out the fruit. But I was all about that rich moist cake—I’m guessing it was all that brandy

 

[Becky]

I love fruitcake. Unfortunately it’s not popular in the US. My grandmother was a southerner so she baked fruit cakes every Christmas without fail. There are seven kids in my family; of the seven kids I was the only one that would eat the fruit cake. Same with her mincemeat pie I was the only one that would eat it other than her best friend’s husband. When fruitcake and mincemeat pie is done really well it is heavenly

I think it's getting less and less popular here too, which is a shame. I didn't used to like it, but it has really grown on me. It's also good with cheese! I didn't believe it until I tried it, weird but true.

Have you ever made a gluten free fruit cake? I guess it could work well because there is so little flour in it anyway.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Cheese and fruitcake sounds really odd. When I was a kid people served apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese. I was like, “No.”

Never tried a gluten free fruitcake. I would think that would be difficult give all the heavy fruit and no gluten.

Off subject... there’s a café I go to the next county over whenever I’m out that way. They offer so many gluten-free options I can order pretty much what I like. And everything is delicious. I won’t lie I go there because all their desserts are gluten free, so I can eat all the cake I want.

So was over there a few days ago and they had a vegan gluten-free chocolate and coconut tart. The crust was incredible, A combination of a tart shell crust, oats, maybe a very basic granola, and coconut. It was lightly laced with honey. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how they created this crust. Since Ian can’t eat dairy do you make a dairy free tart

 

[Becky]

Cheese and fruitcake sounds really odd. When I was a kid people served apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese. I was like, “No.”

Lol, it's actually pretty good! The sweetness and the savoury balance out nicely. I suppose it's like having cheese with chutney. Apple and cheese sandwiches are also well worth a try

Since Ian can’t eat dairy do you make a dairy free tart

I sometimes make pastry with margarine instead of butter which works pretty well! I use a brand called Stork, but I'm not sure if that's available in the US...

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Lol, it's actually pretty good! The sweetness and the savoury balance out nicely. I suppose it's like having cheese with chutney. Apple and cheese sandwiches are also well worth a try



I sometimes make pastry with margarine instead of butter which works pretty well! I use a brand called Stork, but I'm not sure if that's available in the US...

Stork isn’t in the US. So I googled for an equivalent. Turns out Unilever makes Stork, along with s slew of other margarines marketed in the US under different names. But Unilever put their margarine business up for sale last year because sales are down. Seems consumers are buying butter again.

I bought some vegan butter alternative so when I have a bit of free time I’m going to experiment on that tart.

 

[Sharzi]

Working on some Halloween/Fall samples and finished a dog portrait for a customer whose daughter has a boxer. That cookie is 6" x 6".

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Working on some Halloween/Fall samples and finished a dog portrait for a customer whose daughter has a boxer. That cookie is 6" x 6".

Wow! They are all gorgeous, but I really love the bat!

 

[Sharzi]

Wow! They are all gorgeous, but I really love the bat!

Thank you! The bat is my favorite. I also love the tombstone with a skeleton hiding behind it.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you! The bat is my favorite. I also love the tombstone with a skeleton hiding behind it.

@Sharzi
Thought about your cookies today when I saw decorated (stenciled) cookies while in line at Party City, a big box party supply store.

I was curious as to how they could make a sugar cookie with a long shelf life, so I looked at the label. No ingredients are listed, just cookie type: shortbread. The best by date is in March 2019! I took a pic, see below. Shortbread makes sense for shelf life.

I don’t know what they are changing as there was no price tag.

I’m wondering if you could market your cookies thur high end speciality party stores and event coordinators. Hand painted is so unique and beautiful than these massed produced ones.

 

[Sharzi]

@Sharzi
Thought about your cookies today when I saw decorated (stenciled) cookies while in line at Party City, a big box party supply store.

I was curious as to how they could make a sugar cookie with a long shelf life, so I looked at the label. No ingredients are listed, just cookie type: shortbread. The best by date is in March 2019! I took a pic, see below. Shortbread makes sense for shelf life.

I don’t know what they are changing as there was no price tag.

I’m wondering if you could market your cookies thur high end speciality party stores and event coordinators. Hand painted is so unique and beautiful than these massed produced ones.

=======
Thank you! I really should contact some of the local sweet shops or bakeries.

I believe it's against the law to sell any product like this in a store without listing all ingredients. I know that when you license your kitchen to be able to make them from home, you have to not only list all the ingredients, but the address as well.