4 minute read
SHIMMERING ORGANZA RUFFLES
FOR DESIGN & ASSEMBLY:
One 8" cake or dummy, covered in fondant Unflavored gelatin packets Water
Microwave safe cup Americolor Gold Sheen & Copper Sheen airbrush colors
7.5" x 11" acrylic sheet Nisha notes: You can also use the clear flexible cutting mats that can be found in a dollar store. Quilting ruler X-Acto knife
1/4" circle hole punch Nisha notes: You can also try a polka dot punch cutter to cut more sequins at once. Piece of Styrofoam™ Sewing pins Clear piping gel Paint brush
1.
In a microwave safe cup add 4 tbsp. cold water and sprinkle 1 tbsp. gelatin. Let sit for five minutes until the gelatin is bloomed.
Microwave the gelatin mixture in 15 seconds intervals until the gelatin is melted, making sure that the gelatin does not foam too much. Use a spoon to remove any foam that has built up.
Add a few drops of Americolor Gold Sheen airbrush color to the gelatin, mix it and then add a few drops of the Americolor Copper Sheen airbrush color and mix to your desired tone.
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4.
Pour the mixture onto the acrylic sheet and, holding the two ends of the sheet, move the sheet back and forth in a rocking motion until the gelatin is spread in a thin, even coat over the sheet. Nisha notes: Any excess gelatin should be poured back into the container, because if the coating is too thick, it will be hard to ruffle the sheets.
5. Let the sheet sit for a couple of hours until dry. Then, cut 1-1/4" width strips 6. to be used for sequins and 1-1/2" width strips to be used as the ruffles. Nisha notes: You can use a fan to dry the sheet faster. To make the ruffles take a 1-1/2" width strip, and starting 1" from the end, make a fold to form a pleat. Apply a little bit of water to both sides of the pleat and glue it together. Repeat this for the rest of the gelatin strip and on the other 1-1/2" strips.
Nisha notes: Don’t use too much water as it will dissolve the gelatin sheet.
7.
Use piping gel to attach the ruffle to the cake and hold in place with sewing pins until the piping gel has set. Nisha notes: For this design, I placed the ruffles with a 1" gap between.
8.
Take two of the 1-1/4" strips and glue them together with a little water, repeat with other strips until you have enough for the circumference of your cake.
9.
Take one of the extra strips and with the 1/4" hole punch, cut out the sequins. Place these on a piece of Styrofoam™ and use a pin to make a hole in the center of each.
10.
Apply piping gel to 2" section of the long 1-1/4" strip and sprinkle the sequins on. If there are any open areas where sequins are missing, use tweezers and place the sequins individually to cover the gaps. Repeat until entire strip is covered with sequins.
Apply piping gel to the back of the sequin sash as well as to the cake and then attach the sash to the cake. Use sewing pins to hold the sash in place until it dries.
11.
Nisha Fernando is the owner of Sweet Delights Cakery in West Bloomfield, MI and has been decorating cakes for more than 10 years. She won the grand prize at the 2014 Michigan ICES Sugar Art showcase and her work has been published in this magazine as well as Cake Masters. In addition to providing custom cakes, she also offers a variety of classes for all ages in the Oakland County area as well as a series of tutorials on her website. Weblinks Sweetdelightscakery.com Facebook.com/sdcakery Twitter.com/SD_cakery YouTube.com/SweetDelightsCakery Instagram.com/sd_cakery Pinterest.com/sdcakery1
