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Fondant Recipe – Brandy’s experience

TheCookDuke — Sat, 22 May 2010 08:13:42 +0000

Brandy shows How to make fondant!

My Fondant Recipe brings a lot of mails and comments, but Brandy really got me speechless.

She followed my fondant recipe, and here’s what she wrote:

I tried your fondant recipe not only was it easy, but it tasted super! Thank you so much! Here is my cake. I think it turned out pretty well considering it is only the 2nd time I have used fondant.

Thanks Again

Brandy, 35

In Washington State

The reason for me being speechless is the quality if the cake she made in her SECOND attempt with fondant!

Fondant recipe cake

I must admit that m second attempt with the fondant recipe was much poorer than this, Brandy – I’ll be happy to post all pictures of future cake you make using my fondant recipe.

If you want to read more users stories of their experience with my fondant recipe, please visit:

If you make a cake using my fondant recipe you can send it to me and I’ll be happy to post it, my mail address is theduke@thecookduke.com

Happy Cooking

Fondant Recipe – Stephanie Experience

TheCookDuke — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:50:06 +0000

I got another reply for my Fondant Recipe, this time from 24 years old Stephanie from Tennessee.

Stephanie had a bad experience with the store-bought prepackaged fondant and she decided to give my fondant recipe a try.

Here’s what she wrote:
”
I just wanted to share with you how impressed I was with your fondant recipe!

I tried my hand at cake-making for the first time on my own this past weekend when I threw a bridal shower for a good friend. I had watched/helped my mom do several cakes, but I wanted to try it myself as well as save a little money and attempt to bring something creative to the table, and your recipe was the key!

When I’d helped my mom make cakes, we only attempted using fondant once and we used the store-bought prepackaged kind, which caused us to vow never to use fondant again… it was so hard that my husband couldn’t even get it rolled out flat- not to mention that it tasted TERRIBLE! Well, since then we have seen on TV and other places how great it can make cakes look and so I began investigating online for different recipes and came across yours. It was not only EASY, but it tasted so GOOD! I used it to create a smooth background for the zebra cake, and then tried my hand at making a monogram “B” – which will still need some perfecting or perhaps a cut-out I went on to your tips on how to color fondant and got the green and pink results that I was very pleased with. I got so many compliments on how great it looked and tasted.

As far as any complications, there were none, but I did notice while coloring it that it became rather sticky while kneading it after adding the gel coloring– all I had to do for that was just dab it into a little more of the confectioner’s sugar and continue kneading. This did require a little more than the 2 lbs. of sugar that was listed on the ingredient list, but I had plenty of that on-hand anyways, so no worries there.

Another helpful use I found for the fondant: When I stacked my cakes for both the round and square cakes, they sloped downward a little at the edges, so in order to even them out, I just rolled a little ball of the fondant, and placed it between the layers- at the corners for the square cake, and evenly spaced all around for the round. This was a life-saver as I opted not to buy some of the more expensive materials that keep it from doing that on my first try.

I have included pictures of the cakes with this email, and I will be checking in with your site periodically for other recipes!

THANK YOU, and HAPPY BAKING!

Stephanie B
”
And here are the pictures of the cakes she made:

Fondant Recipe

I think it’s a great success, I bet no one believed it’s her first attempt with fondant recipe!

If you want to try my fondant recipe you can find it in the post called… fondant recipe

You’re all welcome to send me pictures of cakes you made using my fondant recipe to theduke@thecookduke.com I’ll be happy to post it in my blog.

To see more pictures of people using my fondant recipe please visit “Fondant Recipe – Amy Johnson’s experience” , “How to make fondant – Gerbera Daisy Cake” and “Fondant recipe – Jacalyn’s Experience”

Happy cooking

Fondant recipe – Jacalyn’s Experience

TheCookDuke — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:58:32 +0000

My fondant recipe post is by far my most popular post, and the one thing I like best about it is that many people are kind enough to send me pictures of the cakes they made using my fondant recipe.

Jacalyn W. had a great success with my fondant recipe, here’s what she wrote:
”
Dear Duke,

I recieved alot of cake supplies for Christmas because I wanted to start making cakes as a hobby. I worked with the tips, and frosting and I was starting to get the hang of it. But I really wanted to try fondant. So a friend asked me to make her boyfriend a cake for his birthday, and she picked the Brown family crest for the cake. I told her I would do my best.

So I came across your fondant blog, read it, reread it, and started mixing. btw micheals and hobby lobby carry glycerin. I was very proud of my cake, so I decided to send you some pictures. I painted some additional color on for more depth, and it wasn’t dry during the pictures. that why some spots are shiny.

Thanks for sharing!
Jacalyn”
And here are the great pictures she sent:

fondant recipe

Fondant recipe

Fondant Recipe

As Jacalyn wrote, the fondant is shinning in some places, but it’ll be ok when the color dries.

I think it’s a great success, I bet no one believed it’s her first attempt with fondant recipe!

If you want to try my fondant recipe you can find it in the post called… fondant recipe

You’re all welcome to send me pictures of cakes you made using my fondant recipe to theduke@thecookduke.com I’ll be happy to post it in my blog.

To see more pictures of people using my fondant recipe please visit “Fondant Recipe – Amy Johnson’s experience” and “How to make fondant – Gerbera Daisy Cake”

Happy cooking

Fondant Recipe – Amy Johnson’s experience

TheCookDuke — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:10:57 +0000

Fondant recipe is the most popular recipe on my blog, and although many times I feel that many good recipes goes overlooked, at least I’m happy my fondant recipe is a success.

My fondant recipe post is also the post i get most comments about, and when the reader is as generous as Amy J I also get a respond letter with pictures describing the reader’s fondant recipe experience.

Here’s what Amy wrote:

Dear Cook Duke, It was my son’s second birthday this November and I decided I’d try my hand at fondant recipe since I’ve seen it used so much on TV and admired how it looked.
I consider myself to a very apt baker and decorator for just doing it in my spare time so I wanted to try something new this year as well.

His favorite TV show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so that was the theme I chose for the party.
I scoured the internet for what seemed to be the easiest and best fondant recipe since I didn’t really want to buy it from a store.
Yours seemed to need the least amount of effort and from reading other reader reviews, also the best tasting fondant recipe.

This was my first time using fondant, let alone making it from scratch, and also my first time attempting a 3-D cake (I used a dense chocolate cake for all the base elements and rice krispie cake for everything else).

I made two batches of fondant not knowing how much I’d use and not wanting to run out.
The first batch seemed to turn out ok but when trying to work with it seemed very dry compared to the second batch I made that didn’t crack at all.
For the most part it, I was very pleased with how everything turned out (considering it was my first time) and would definitely try it again.
My only concern was when I was adding color the fondant seemed to get kinda sticky and also, when rolling it out I assumed I was supposed to roll it out on a smooth surface lightly dusted with the confectioners sugar, only that altered the smoothness of my fondant and kind of took away from the original color.

Since I’m not sure what the consistency or texture of fondant should be, is there a better description you could give so I have a better idea (because I thought I had a smooth pliable mass but it cracked when laying it over the cake (this was the ‘grass’ part of the cake)).
And possibly any other tips you might have for rolling it out so that it looks as good as yours does in the pictures??

Thanks! I’ve attached a picture of my cake although I know it could look a bit better.
Thanks again for the great fondant recipe and I’ll keep trying ’til I get it right!

Sincerely, Amy Johnson Canada

As you can read, even when she encountered some difficulties, the fondant recipe experience is still a success.

And here are the pictures she sent, I bet her next cake will look better, but for a first attempt it’s a GREAT success!

Fondant recipe Micky mouse cake

Fondant recipe MM cake 2

Well Amy, I’m happy you enjoyed my fondant recipe and thank you for your mail and pics.

For better understanding on how to color fondant you can view my post named “how to color fondant”
and for all of you who hadn’t try yet – You’re welcome to try my fondant recipe, and more welcome to send me pictures of cakes you made using my fondant recipe to theduke@thecookduke.com

Happy Cooking

Pirate Ship Cake by Caroline J

TheCookDuke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:38:42 +0000

Pirate Ship Cake – Readers Experience

My Pirate Ship Cake recipe is online for almost 2 years now, and finally I got mail with pictures from someone who actually used it.

Caroline J sent me this lovely 2 Pirate ship cake pictures and I think the cake she made looks GREAT!

Caroline’s Pirate Ship Cake pictures:

Pirate Ship Cake

Pirate ship cake

After mastering the Pirate Ship Cake, I hope her next step is to learn how to make fondant, following my fondant recipe.

As always, it’s a great pleasure getting responds from my readers, and if you send pictures of cakes you made using my recipes it’s best, as other readers can see that the recipes are not impossible.

Caroline – Many thanks for the pirate ship cake pictures, I hope you’ll try more recipes and send more pictures J

Happy Cooking

Bisquick Recipe

TheCookDuke — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:02:01 +0000

Bisquick recipe???

I got many messages from my readers asking for a Bisquick recipe.

The only problem was that I wasn’t sure what they mean by “Bisquick recipe”.

When saying “Bisquick recipe”, do you mean recipes for food made of Bisquick, or are you looking for a recipe saying how to make the Bisquick?

As I’m not sure, I’ve decided to post 2 different kinds of Bisquick recipe – one Bisquick recipe that describes how to make the Bisquick, and one Bisquick recipe using the Bisquick as a major ingredient.

Bisquick recipe – How to make the Bisquick

Bisquick recipe Ingredients:

9 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk solids
2 cups shortening (which does not require refrigeration)

Bisquick recipe Preparations:

Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and cream of tartar and sugar three times
Add the dry milk and mix well
Cut in shortening with two knives until mixture looks like cornmeal
Store in room temperature

A quick tip: To measure the Master Baking Mix, pile it lightly into cup and level off with a table knife.

Bisquick recipe – How to make Bisquick Muffins

Bisquick Muffins recipe Ingredients:

1 Egg
2 cup Bisquick baking mix
1 cup of peeled and finely chopped Apple
1/3 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Milk
2 ts Oil
2 1/4 ts grounded Cinnamon

Bisquick Muffins recipe Preparations:

Preheat the oven to 410F
Grease the bottom of 10 medium muffin cups
Slightly beat the egg, stir in the Bisquick baking mix, chopped apple, sugar, milk and the grounded cinnamon, stir till moistened
Divide the batter evenly among the 10 muffin cups
Bake till golden brown, it should take 15 to 18 minutes

I hope that you’ll find at least one of those Bisquick Recipe useful.

If it’s not the Bisquick Recipe you were looking for, I found another good Bisquick Recipe at this blog post

Happy Cooking :-)

Peanut Butter Vanilla No Bake Cookie Recipe

TheCookDuke — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:06:37 +0000

Peanut butter Vanilla no bake cookie recipe

No bake cookie recipe everyone just loves.You are welcome to try it, to try any of my other No Bake Cookie recipe and you’re more than welcome to leave a comment.

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Bring sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt to a rapid boil in a saucepan for 1 minute
Add the quick cooking oats, peanut butter and vanilla and mix well
drop onto waxed paper or tray using teaspoonfuls (work quickly before the dough gets harden
Set aside to cool for 1 hour

Enjoyed this no bake cookie recipe?
Please visit some of my others sections, such as the Pork Chop Recipes or the Fried Rice RecipesAnd you’re always welcome to visit my post telling about my favorite cake: How to Make a Diaper Cake
Happy Cooking

Make your boys food healthier

TheCookDuke — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:54:21 +0000

The term “Boys Food” is a bit problematic, as boy can be anywhere between toddler and a teenager, this post refers to kids between the ages 4-9.

One of the biggest problems I encountered with my boys food habits is that they turn their noses up at everything isn’t a fast food.
For some reason they got the impression that if it is good for you then it must be boring, or not tasty.

I do my best to have them eat a balanced diet, but up until recently I had a very little success.

The change arrived when I made a little change to the old saying “if you can’t beat them, join them” and combined it with “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.

I know those saying usually refers to a different environment, but messing with the kids at the ages 4 and 7 can be quite a fight J

So how did I make my boys eat much healthier boys food?

I took the boys to the kitchen with me, made cooking a fun family event and pointed the way to healthier recipes.

There’s a great benefit in doing that for many reasons:

You get to spend quality time with your kids
The recipes you choose can help build your boys’ eating habits
Using a recipe develops your kids ability to follow directions
During the cooking kids are introduced to basic math skills and reading
Cooking food from different parts of the world is a wonderful way to teach your children about different culture
Giving your kid a role in the cooking experience teaches him about responsibility
You’re not only cooking food, but also cook some golden memories that will remain forever

A quick tip -
There’s a guide called How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthily”
It’s amazing how big a change can be done in less than 14 days; your kids eating habits improves dramatically and your family’s mealtime becomes much more enjoyable.
I advise you to take a look at this amazing guide.

Here is a list of things that helped me change my boys food habits, I advise you to give it a try:

Young kids cook best with their own personal set of tools
Having their own kit will make them more enthusiastic to cook
Make an apron that is solely for your little cook to wear
It makes them feel really important and contributes to their cooking passion
Teach small children the fun of cooking by helping them bake cookies
Baking cookies is a great fun, you can use many different and exciting molds, and most important – It can be a great lesson towards healthier food:
Instead of baking high fat cookies you can bake delicious whole wheat cookies which are very tasty and yet much healthier
Play tasting games
The testing games encourages your kids to explore fresh foods using all of their senses
In addition to getting familiar to different tastes, the kids learn to articulate similarities and differences, employ descriptive language, expand vocabulary, and explore choice and personal preference
Use the tasting game to introduce them to healthy ingredients, so they see that some of the flavors are really good
Make a “gastronomic trip” around the world
Choose a different country each time and make food originated from that country.
You can build a whole game around it, but use it wisely to demonstrate there’s a healthy food all over the world.
for example, if you’re making an Italian food, making a minestrone soup instead of a double cheese pizza makes a difference
Make Carrot Stamps
Take a few large carrots and cut a full 2″ of the tops.
Carve a shape or your child’s initial (1 per carrot) into the widest part, leaving the design intact and the remaining area carved away
Get a stamp pad, and let your child decorate paper with the carrot stamps to their hearts’ content.
For larger stamps you can use a potato
This fun game will make your kids smile every time they see a carrot and will change their thinking of potatoes as boring

Those tips worked for me, my boys food is much healthier than it was and we have a great fun cooking together.

Happy Cooking

Indonesian Fried Rice Recipe

TheCookDuke — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 08:16:34 +0000

The Indonesian Fried Rice Recipe is one of my favorite fried rice recipes, as it takes me back to the good times I had when I was visiting Indonesia.

Ingredients:

2 cups of long-grain rice
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
5 shallots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 red chilies, sliced
1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
sliced cucumbers (to garnish)
sliced tomatoes (to garnish)
8 ounces sliced chicken or pork
1 cup shredded cabbage

Directions:

Boil a medium pot of salted water
Stir in the rice and boil for 10 minutes (until done)
Drain the rice and set aside to cool
Use the egg to make a thin omelet; cool, then shred
Heat the remaining oil in the wok and fry the shallots, garlic, chilies and shrimp paste until the shallots are tender
Add the meat and the shredded cabbage, cook until meat is cooked through
Increase the heat to high and add the rice, salt and soy sauce, adding a little oil if necessary, stirring constantly until heated through
Garnish with shredded egg, cucumber, and tomato

Liked the recipe? Please leave a comment.
You’re always welcome to try some of my other fried rice recipes

Happy Cooking

Baby Shower Cakes

TheCookDuke — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:33:45 +0000

Baby Shower Cakes

A baby shower is a milestone event in the lives of expectant parents, and one of the centerpieces of the event is the Baby Shower Cake.
Baby shower cakes are made to celebrate both the mom and the future, or newly delivered, little life, so they should be lovely to look, good to eat and should match the baby shower’s theme.

Baby Shower Cakes are spectacular- some are fancier than the others, but all Baby Shower cakes are cakes that makes you WOW.

In this post I’m presenting a series of baby shower cakes pictures, to get you inspired and help you find a cake to suit your party’s theme.

Having a predefined theme to the baby’s shower is most important.
A baby shower is an opportunity to pamper the exhausted mother-to-be.
If planned well, it will distract her from third trimester discomforts, and good planning is the different between a doll evening to a night to remember! After facing some failures with planning and hosting a baby shower, I used a book that became my number one guide for planning a baby shower.
It takes you through the teeth-grinding first steps of planning your budget, learn how to come up with funds and find helpful co-hosts – while holding onto your serenity and even having fun!

You are welcome to use the baby shower NUMBER ONE planning guide; you are more than welcome to enjoy my Baby Shower Cakes Gallery.

And no baby’s shower is complete without a Diaper Cake

Happy Cooking

Related Posts:

How to make a Diaper Cake

Childrens Birthday Cakes

Childrens Birthday Cakes 2

Birthday Pirate Ship Cake

No Bake Cookie Recipe