The Growth of a Tree

I don't really do how-to posts.  I don't have the patience.

(This post is as close as it gets, and it nearly killed me.)

If you are looking for a good, informative how-to cookie/cake blog, try:  Bake at 350, Sweetopia, University of Cookie, or iambaker.  Those ladies are some of my favorites.  They have a whole lot more patience than me.

But after I did the bowling cake, I wished that I had taken pictures of each step because I had so much fun watching it come together.  So, when I decided to make a tree cake, I made sure to take pictures so I could show you!  This isn't really a how-to, more of a how it happened, for those of you that are curious. 

1.  The cake line-up.  I used 2 14" round cakes and a 10" square cake.  2. A dab of icing so the cakes stay stuck to the board.  3. I cut the square cake in half for the trunk.  4. The first layer.  I had to trim the trunk part to fit up against the round.  5. The middle layer of icing. I don't skimp on that part. ;-)  6. Plop! 7. Trim, then plop!  8. I carved the edges a bit to make the shape.  9. Crumb coated, or dirty iced, or middled...regardless of what you call it, a thin layer of icing to set the crumbs. 

Then you have to let that dry for a bit.

Oh, what to do while I wait...hmm...I should do something with those cake scraps...

That was an excellent idea.  Now, back to work!

1. I used chocolate icing for the trunk. I piped it on using a wide tip, I think it was #12.  2. Covered the whole trunk with the chocolate icing.  3. I smoothed it out.  4. I drew the branches on there using a smaller tip, like a #4.  5. I texturized the branches and trunk by dragging the edge of my spatula through it a buncha times.  6. I covered the top end in green.  (That's where everyone's names are going.)  7. The leaf-ing begins.  I used a leaf tip here, #65 and #67.  8. Just showing you that I covered up the seam where the brown meets the green.  9. I used a lighter green for a bit of depth. 

1. More leaf-ing.  2. Done with the larger, darker leaves.  3. The addition of the smaller lighter leaves.  4. Up close and personal.   

Then, once I got to my parents' house, I wrote the names on the sides and carved my parents' initials in the trunk.  (Take a look at the previous post for those details.)

All of that in a day's work.

Well, in addition to decorating 3 dozen baby shower cookies and the 16 personalized Lamb cookies.

It was a lotta work, but well worth it to hear my nieces and nephews rave about how I'm the best cake baker ever...I love being an aunt. ;-) 

And they're the best nieces and nephews ever!

Alright, so don't get used to these type of posts from me...I almost chunked this computer off the front porch several times.  And if you're wondering how I did those nifty collages, www.picnik.com.  But it tried my patience, too!  This is a pretty long post, I hope I'm not trying your patience!!  But just in case, here's my sign off...

As always, think cookies.

~B~