happy halloween! cake time!

hi all!

well the snow has mostly melted.  we will be heading to the vet shortly with one of my older cats, fluffy.  something is really wrong with her.  at first i just thought - hairball.  but that is not it.  she is making weird noises, having a lot of trouble eating and can barely growl at bubba kitten.  she appears to be very uncomfortable yet she is able to jump and go up and down the stairs so i have no idea.....

but aside from keeping a watchful eye on her all weekend pezza and i got out the cricut cake and had some halloween fun!

 ok yes it's a bit plain - i kind of choke near the end and forget the details (like the lustre paint and the colored sprinkles.)  here is the side band:

i CAN say that this was the most pleasing cricut cake experience yet!!!!  i had abandoned it for quite awhile because i had finally gotten it all down using the Cricut gumpaste in the tub and now i have searched and searched and can't find it anymore.  i couldn't find anything i liked the taste of as much and i just can't see spending so much time on something no one wants to eat 'cuz it tastes nasty.

then i discovered Candy Clay while figuring out what i was going to make for Pezza's birthday.  i looked into it a little more and started thinking i could use it in place of gumpaste.  further research on Cake Central and YES i could!!!!!!  holy moly why hadn't anyone mentioned this before?  i mean this stuff tastes freakin' awesome!!!!  all it is  - 1 bag of candy melts, melted and mixed with 1/3 c light corn syrup.  i decide to consult with my cake expert buddy Ann so i sent her an email asking about it.  but do i wait for an answer? no i just jump right in and start mixing up a batch.  i turn it out on wax paper and become a little suspicious:

i mixed and mixed but no matter how much i stirred i had this mysterious puddle of tasteless liquid........

i head to the computer and see ann has answered...her most important bit of info - be careful not to stir it much or it starts to separate and you get a puddle of oil.........ooooohhhhhh.......we decide i should proceed with it so i let it cool and then wrap it and let it sit overnight like instructed.

pezza and i got to work the next day - the pile of candy clay (also known as modeling chocolate) was HARD AS A ROCK.  but i started kneading it and sure enough it quickly warmed and became the consistency of playdoh - perfect!  we used some coloring gel and made our colors and then rolled it out just like gumpaste using a mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch to keep it from sticking.  it cuts like a dream!

now i will tell you right now as you can see in the picture - way too much cornstarch powdered sugar mix on top there.  after i put it on the mat i put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to stiffin up a bit and then cut it.  of course my ever-present small helper was by my side as usual...helping...

i love the powdered sugar on the nose! of course i needed a cake to decorate.

1. mix up cake mix from box  
2. look for 8" cake pans and remember you forgot to ever buy them  
3. use the 10" pan
4. pour batter in and realize you did the butter but forgot the flour  
5. send hubby to the store for the second box of cake mix and heavy whipping cream i forget EVERY time

eventually we had a cake frosted with the BEST buttercream EVER - Rick's Special Buttercream.  now here are a couple things i learned along the way.  

1. thinner is not better - i rolled the white out much thinner and it did not work quite as well.  it needs to be just thin enough to fit under the roller.  
2. you do not have to make it with white and then add color - you can make it with the colored candy melts which is what i did with green.  of course if you don't need an ENTIRE bag of one color doing it with white and then mixing in the coloring is better.  
3. one bag of melts is more than enough to cover 2 12x12 mats.  
4. it does NOT need to sit overnight in order to work well.

here are some close ups:

the one thing i did not like was the little bit of raised -ness on the edges.  i also read in the chirp recently that they recommend cuts be 3" or larger - my ghost, cat and pumpkin are only 1 1/2" and they were a bit difficult but still turned out pretty well.

i also did not like all the powder on top of my cuts BUT if i am more careful next time or perhaps wipe them a bit with some butter it will be better.  when we do Pezza's birthday cakes i will be painting the cuts with lustre dust and sprinkling them with colored sugar so it won't matter as much.

what i DO love - it tastes AWESOME!  just like the candy but better.  last year at pezza's party the kids were all freaked out by the gumpaste even though pezza kept insisting it was good.

BTW - i took a break in the middle of writing this and went to the vet.  Fluffy will be fine.  vet is not sure what happened but she is full of gas from gulping air - perhaps from a throat infection causing pain.  so she got a shot of antibiotics and one to help with the gas and should feel better by tomorrow.

so what do y'all think?  anyone else ever messed with modeling chocolate/candy clay?  hhhmmm i may need to go get a piece of cake......