Table-Perfect Party Desserts

 

I recently hosted a baby shower for my cousin and I found dipped treats the best way to fill up the desserts table quickly but nicely. I bought strawberries, pretzel sticks and large marshmallows to be dipped in chocolates and two differents brands of chocolates just to try which one tastes good.

 

1.Wilton Candy Melts - They are the cheapest melting chocolates I know if you use 50% off coupon. The original price was $2.99 and you can buy them from Michael's, Jo-Ann's and A.C. Moore. It's smooth but I think there was an aftertaste, like a baby's unflavored liquid medicine. But if you are concerned about the price, this is the best thing there is. They offer a lot of colors too - pink, red, brown, black and more. They have milk and white, I do not think they have dark/bittersweets.

2. Ghirardelli White Melting Chocolates - I have tried other Ghirardelli brands for baking before so I thought of trying this just to know how it taste. I bought this on sale for $2.98 and that was a fairly good price because I know they're made from quality ingredients. I was not wrong. The white chocolate tastes good. The texture is smooth. I like this better than the first one just because there's no aftertaste. I think they also have the milk chocolate flavor but I am not sure about the bittersweet ones.

Here are some tips:
* Both chocolates can be melted at 30-second interval in a microwave. I suggest that you open the microwave door everytime just to release the heat and then start again. I use at most 10 pieces and just add some more as needed. Do not try to heat it for more than 30 seconds especially if the power of your oven is high, because you will burn them. The taste will become bitter and it will turn dry.
* You can melt them in a double-broiler. Also, I have tried melting some before on a glass cookware and it worked just fine. I placed the chocolates before I even started turning on the stove in a low heat.
* You can try dipping the regular chocolate bars too, like Hershey's, if you know most of your guests will like it. Just cut it in cubes so it'll melt easily. Do not try to put the whole bar.
* Add sprinkles and edible pearl candies for presentation. Be creative!

For me, the easiest way is still the microwave. But whatever method you choose, try a few chocolate first to see how it works so there's not much waste.

DISCLAIMER

I was not compensated in any way to do a review of the product/s or service/s mentioned above. Everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.

Wasted Money on Wilton Springform Pan

Tip: Use trusted brands and read reviews before buying.

I bought two 6in. (diameter) Wilton springform pan separately at different stores. I have tried using the first Wilton springform pan I bought and the batter leaked on the bottom. It was my first time to use a springform pan and I thought I did something wrong. I called the customer service and the person who I spoke with asked what kind of batter am I using. I told him it was carrot cake and he responded that that certain pan is not supposed to be for liquidy batter. What the?! I was new to baking then but I thought his reason was sooo ridiculous. A few weeks after, I bought some bigger pans of a different brand and they worked perfectly well. No mess at all!

I just bought a second one because I wanted to save time and energy for a 6in high cake. I want to put 2 pans at the same time. I bought the same 6in. Wilton springform pan just because I had it already. I think I was wrong because look at what happened:

Before buying the second pan, I tried to raise the pan in an angle where there is light so I can see if there's going to be a leak when I use it (I read that review somewhere). I saw none. That process was useless. Yes, both of them leaked, again! Instead of smelling the freshly baked cakes, you'll smell something burnt. And the terrible part is, I have to do additional cleaning and it left a stain on my oven floor! Argh!

 

I contacted Wilton via email and Facebook message (because I don't want to publicly announce the problem if we can resolve the issue provately first) but I didn't get any answer. I even sent a follow-up message, but I guess I am just a nobody because they didn't bother answering at all. I sent them the very same photos I am showing you. I am just frustrated with the kind of customer service they have. I use some other Wilton products and it's the first time I experienced this and what support do I get for buying their product? None! I just wanted to share with all the bakers out there because I don't want them to experience the same frustration of not getting an answer from a well-known brand.

 

DISCLOSURE

I was not compensated in any way to do a review of the product/s or service/s mentioned above. Everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.

Orange, Pink and Green Cake

Yes, this is what my friend of friend likes for her daughter's birthday. At first I can't imagine how the cake will look like because I am not used to incorporating bold colors in my fondant. Initially, she wanted red orange and forest green, then the three colors came up. Fortunately, this one does not look bad at all. 

 

I thought this will be the easiest fondant cake I'll ever make, so I did it the day before the event. I was totally mistaken for slept at 4AM to finish the two tier cake and wake up before noon to make the "3" topper. The hardest part is making stripes design on the bottom cake. I started this 'stencil' after doing the 1/6 of the cake. I am not sure if there's a cutter or a format but here's what I did.

 

First, use a cutter (so you can at least have one not crooked stripes) for the green strips and place but do not paste them yet on the cake. The reason is so you can always move them whenever you need to make adjustments with the other two stripes.

 

 

I took a few sheets of paper and a pencil, then placed it in between the two green strips. Then I sort of made a stencil to measure the exact size. I traced it again with black pen. I placed that paper on practice board (that blue thing with a plastic thing on top) and then rolled the fondant until I can see through the black ink.

 

 

Cut it accordingly and cut it again in half. Do this for the other two colors in the same stencil - pink and orange in this case.

 

 

Get the left part of the 2nd color (pink) and the right part of the 3rd color (orange). Note that you may not be able to use them in the other spaces because they for sure have difference measurents.

 

 

Once you're done cutting, paste them. If you see extra parts (look at what I'm pointing at), clean them by cutting them with your angled spatula. Else, you can always put decors like flowers just as I did.

 

 

DISCLAIMER

I was not compensated in anyway to do a review of the products or services mentioned this post. Everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.

Baking Tip 2

Since I started baking, I came accross several recipes which I considered my favorite and I swear I have been using them until this moment. I have also tried those that come in a box but "from scratch" is my favorite.

With regards to the outcome, I sometimes get a good one, though there are times it's the other way around. I got one really moist carrot cake once and when I did it again, the texture was different. The latter was rather dry and I saw a few uncooked or raw crumbs of flour. So I wondered, how come it was perfect the first time but then a disaster on the next? Then I tried for the third time and noticed how I measure the ingredients. Problem identified!

The solution is to just simply FOLLOW THE RECIPE. especially if you are not yet an outstanding baker. I know there will come a time where I can make my own recipe, but for now, I'll settle for the tried and tested already.

Sometime next week, I'll be trying a few recipes from a website. I will surely follow the instructions carefully. Tee-hee!

Baking Tip 1

I started baking just a few months ago because I wanted to learn how to make fondant-covered cakes. It's not that hard to do it from scratch as long as you follow the directions in the recipe carefully. And it's not as boring as I thought it is.

I do have the recipe for this blueberry cake but it's not mine and I didn't get the permission to post it yet. I will sure do in my next posts. And hopefully in time, I can make my own recipe. Oh, this excites me the more. I am not an expert (yet) but every time I bake, I learn something to improve on the next time.

The first tip I am going to share is:
USE ONLY THE BEST INGREDIENTS.

Yes, the  ingredients matter, a lottt. I only use the brands I trust starting with sugar. Domino for me offers the quality I need to bake better. I need not sift it, I need not check whether there are tiny black things in it, it's so white it looked like it was bleached. But of course, it wasn't. ;)

Blueberry Cake Prep

I followed the directions carefully, measuring each ingredient perfectly and I sure did not overdo mixing. My very first blueberry cake was great! It was moist with just the right sweetness. I hope I can share a slice just so you can see for yourself. ;)

Yes, I started baking and you know what the worst thing is? I forgot to take a picture of the cake itself. LOL! I already covered it with fondant and you can check it our in my next post. ;)

DISCLAIMER I was not compensated in anyway to do a review of the products or services mentioned this post.  Everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.