TUTORIAL
Christmas
CACTUS BY TAMMY VARELA
Celebrating Christmas in the desert heat? Make it more festive with this creative cactus! Using fondant and isomalt, bring this prickly ittle character to life, complete with his own Santa hat and string of lights.
Tammy Varela, from Cumming, GA, is a selftaught awardwinning cake and sugar artist with a bachelor’s in fine arts. She’s a master at combining sugar and cake to make fun edible art. Tammy is also making her TV debut on Food Network’s Holiday Wars Season 3. artisticcakedesigns.com facebook.com/artisticcakedesigns instagram.com/artisticcakedesigns1
SHAPE THE TERRA-COTTA POT
LEVEL:
COMPONENTS Edibles: Three or four 4-inch round cakes Buttercream Fondant: white, pink, red, black, and pale green (Satin Ice) Edible gel food coloring: peach, ivory, terra cotta, forest green, and red (AmeriColor) Clear isomalt (Simi Cakes) Petal dust: terra cotta, lime green, white, black, neon pink, and yellow (The Sugar Art) Dilution solution Piping gel Alcohol Airbrush colors: red, yellow, and blue (AmeriColor) Oreo cookies Equipment:
3-inch round cookie cutter Knife
Cardboard Rolling pin Fondant smoother Large paintbrush Silicone mat (Simi Cakes) Heat lamp Sugar pump (Simi Cakes) Blowtorch Fan Scissors Wood dowel Flower mold (Simi Cakes) Ball tool Foam mat Silicone bowls Extruding tool Tweezers Holly leaf mold (Katy Sue) Food processor Spoon
1. Stack the 4-inch cakes with
buttercream. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
2. Take a 3-inch cookie cutter
and press to make a mark on the cake. Then, take a knife and carve the cake at an angle. Be sure to use the mark as a guide. The top will be the smallest size, while the bottom should still be at about 4 inches. Then, crumb-coat the cake and place back in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Take a piece of cardboard and
use the cookie cutter to draw a circle and cut it out. This will be used for the base of the cake.
4. Turn the cake upside down.
Then, finish coating the cake with buttercream. Be sure it’s completely smooth before placing back it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
5. Color fondant by using a mix
of peach, ivory, and terra cotta
56 americancakedecorating.com November | December 2021
