Decorating Cakes With Duff Goldman From Ace Of Cakes

Watching shows on Food Network has been an obsession for me since my husband and I got DirectTV when we first moved into our house.  I had no idea there was a channel dedicated to food (no, I wasn’t living under a rock but it sure felt like it…lol).  I remember watching Emeril Live and Rachael Ray (they were my fave shows back then) cooking up some delicious meals,  I would get so relaxed but also wishing that I was there tasting all the yummy foods too.

My obsession is still with the Food Network channel but now it’s geared towards their cake shows.  After the first episode of Ace of Cakes, I was hooked!  They just don’t make cakes, they create masterpieces.  The cakes are phenomenal and breath taking. Some even look like the real thing but in a miniature form like the Harry Potter cake, which is my most favorite cake that was ever created.  You can take a look here.

Lately, I’ve been having some great opportunities to meet some of the chefs from the Food Network and I’m loving every minute of it.  Who would of thought that little ol’ me would be meeting some amazing, famous people? Not me, that’s for sure.

This past Thursday, I had the privileged of attending an event to promote Duff Goldman’s (Ace of Cakes) new cake supplies that are exclusively sold online and at your local Micheal’s Craft stores.

When I first got there, I was thrilled.  I couldn’t wait to learn how to decorate cakes and “play” with fondant (something that I have never done before).  I was really hoping that my cake would turn out like the cakes I see on his show (I know, wishful thinking).

Lots of people were there already with cool aprons that had his name on it and about 12 stainless steel rectangular tables that were set up as stations.  Each station was set up with cake stands, tools, bowls (for mixing icing and food coloring) and rolling pins.

After seeing a few of my friends, we were asked to choose our cakes (either chocolate or vanilla – I chose chocolate…yum) and get ready to do some cake decorating.  While we were trying to figure out all the supplies and setting ourselves up, Duff was mingling with everyone and talking like he knew everyone.  He seemed as nice as he is on his show which was great to see.

A few minutes later, as I had everything on the table, I was overwhelmed because there was so much “stuff.”  I didn’t know where to start but luckily there were professionals on hand to help us amateurs with whatever question we had.

(Photo credit: Vera Sweeney)

Even though I was a bit overwhelmed with all this new stuff, I stuck it out, went in and did my thing.

Here are some pictures I captured with my LG Dare (which didn’t go so great because the camera SUCKS! Time for a new camera.).

Our base cake.

I flatten my fondant (Note: You have to microwave the fondant so that it's pliable)

I molded the fondant onto the cake.

After trimming the fondant, this is what it looked like.

Using Duff's cake tattoos (so easy to use!)

The finished product! And yes, this was my first time doing this. Beginner's Luck!

Would you buy this cake? 😉 Trust me, it's delicious.

Too late. We ate half of it already! LOL

You see, I did meet him. 🙂

Thanks to Vera for letting me use her fabulous photos. Below are some she took with her fabulous camera:

Me and Vera working that fondant.

Look @ me mixing icing. Look @ Jessica working that fondant.

Adding the finishing touches to my creation.

Looking thru Duff’s great web site, I have promised my family to try this project next so wish me luck! 😉

A huge thanks to Sarah from Gartner Studio’s PR firm for inviting me to this special event. I had the best time ever! I’m still smiling 😉