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(dramatic music)
- Hi, I'm Carolina, the owner operator of Lady C Cakes
based in Los Angeles, California.
And I'm gonna show you
the process of making a wedding cake today.
Let's get started.
When I get the call for a wedding cake,
I know it could go in so many different directions.
The inspiration usually comes
mostly from the story of the couple,
what their traditions are.
And I'm trying to design the cake around that.
The wedding cake is gonna be the centerpiece of the event.
The couple is gonna take pictures
next to the cake, cutting the cake, so it has to be perfect.
You have to be able to reflect that story in that cake
so they can have it in that picture forever.
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I like to have equal amount of buttercream and cake
so the person that is eating in the cake
is able to have all the flavors in one bite.
so you have to trim the cake and clean it up a little bit.
The trick to do it is using a turntable
and always keep the knife in the same position.
Don't move the knife, just move the turntable
and the layers will be all the same.
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I usually start with the buttercream,
mostly work with Swiss meringue buttercream
which is a very silky and smooth buttercream.
And one of the things that my customers love the most
is that it's not over sweet.
For me, it's very important
that the cake will be as good inside
as it is outside as well.
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You crumb coat it
and put it in the refrigerator for a little while.
A few minutes will work until you can do the final coat.
This is one of the most important parts.
The cake will reflect whatever mistakes
your making in the final coat,
it will show through the fondant
so it's very important to achieve your sharp edges
or whatever shape you're looking for in the cake.
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Working with fondant is, it could be very complicated.
Fondant can crack, it can melt.
And when you start rolling,
little air bubbles start popping up
and you have to try to manage to take them out
because they look horrible in a cake, of course.
Using a little bit of shortening
helps you to keep the moist in fondant.
The opposite, when the fondant is too sticky or wet,
it's not easy to work with,
you use cornstarch or powdered sugar.
I prefer to use cornstarch.
Powdered sugar, to me,
kind of dries out fondant a little quicker.
And it's very trendy right now
to have cakes with sharp edges on the top.
One of the ways that it works the best for me
is flipping the cake over and smooth the fondant
once the cake is upside down.
Which is a little risky, and sometimes it can go wrong.
All bakers have techniques to do different things.
I guess I like to live on the edge all the time
and that's kind of like my thing.
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I use this technique to kind of have that look of concrete
I would say.
And it's a pretty simple technique with tin foil.
The result is very unique and impressive
with a simple tin foil ball.
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To make the flowers you can always work in different ways.
You can do it by hand
or use this amazing tools that we have these days
with different silicon molds, which makes it easier.
And in this case,
the idea of the look of the cake
is to blend those flowers are coming out of the concrete.
One of the best ways to glue fondant with fondant
is just a simple tiny bit of water
and that will act as a glue as soon as it dries out.
Fondant hates humidity.
You live in Florida,
or any other part of the country that rains all the time,
it will be very hard for you to wear with fondant.
I still these days will still experience times
that I have to take the fondant out because it didn't work,
because the fondant breaks.
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I love, which is very trendy as well,
to add little touches of gold
using luster dust with a little bit of vodka,
it looks very real.
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The last details of the cake that I used today,
I wanted to add a little bit of a modern twist.
So, I decided to come with this idea,
which is a simple technique
but it looks so beautiful at the end.
I use wafer paper.
You have to be a little more careful. It breaks very easily.
It's wafer, it's edible.
And you simple glue the bottom
with a little bit of piping gel
and then place it on the cake.
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It's very surprising how people can get so emotional
when they see a cake, they cry.
I understand, but I can't believe it sometimes.
Why are they crying? You know, it's a cake.
And again, I remind myself,
it's not just the cake,
it's what they were telling me for months,
you know, that they wanna see what they went through.
It's incredible.
It's such an honor to be part of a celebration like that
with one of my cakes, it's beautiful.
(electronic version of Ave Maria)