I know this is off topic but I want to talk about what is like to be a husband of a cake decorator.

The first thing you learn about being a husband of a cake decorator is that they are all type A people to the max. They are very high strung and some of the most caring and loving people in the world.

You need to be the safe person they can come to at the end of the day. The following are my suggestions or commandments as I like to call them of how to be that safe person that she can turn too at the end of the day.

1. Shut up and listen!

    (This means no talking at all or no trying to fix it! Just listen)

2. Support and encourage them to grow as artists.

    (Duh! come on I hope you can at least do this)

3. When your cake decorator starts shouting at you let them!

    (They are stressed and they just need to get it out)

4. Try to learn how you can help by being a part of her team.

     (Note I did not say your team here)

5. Massages of the decorating arm are a must!

    (That decorating arm is as valuable as a baseball pitchers arm protect it!)

6. When all else fails refer to number 1 above. It will save you!

    (Like I said, Refer to number 1!)

Thank you

Brian. :)

One of the easiest and tastiest candies that we make at Christmas time is Peppermint Crunch Bark. The best part is that it is one of the simplest chocolate Christmas candies to make and it always gets rave reviews at our house.

This is how you make peppermint crunch bark.

To make peppermint crunch bark you first you take your Mercken's white chocolate or Peter's white chocolate, a couple of pounds will make a nice sized batch, and melt it.

The recipe for peppermint bark is 1 pound of white chocolate to 1/4 to 1/3 pound of peppermint crunch. This ratio is not absolute. Please feel free to experiment but this is the ratio we use. 

The easiest way I have found to melt my Mercken's or Peters chocolate coating is in the microwave. Be sure to use a microwave safe bowl to melt your chocolate coating. Do not use a glass bowl to melt your chocolate coating or it will get too hot and burn your chocolate.

Now onto how to melt your chocolate coating.

First turn your microwave to half power and start off with about 1 minute and remove your chocolate coating from the microwave and stir, then check the chocolate every 45 seconds or so after that until melted. It will probably take about 3 minutes to melt the chocolate, but microwaves will vary. Next take about a 1/2 pound of the tasty red and green peppermint crunch and stir it in to the melted chocolate. Pour your peppermint crunch bark out onto a piece of parchment paper and spread it out. Let the bark set up and break into pieces. That is really all there is to making peppermint crunch..

If you want to make a larger batch of peppermint crunch then melt 5 pounds of white chocolate and stir in 1-1/2 pounds of peppermint crunch. Caution this is a sure way to gain extra friends all of the sudden if you make this large amount of peppermint crunch. :)

Now lets talk about the presentation of your Peppermint Crunch Bark.

One of the ways to wrap and package your peppermint bark is to use clear cellophane bags with a colored ribbon tied to the top. This is the most simplest and trouble free way to do it. This method is the the no fuss way to do it. And it looks absolutely fabulous! 

The other ways are to place some nicely colored paper into candy boxes and give as gifts. But as with anything their are so many different ways to do things. Just choose the style that fits you the best.

Click on the links below to find the peppermint crunch that you need and the white chocolate to make this Christmas candy.

Regards

Anne 

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/67.html

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/159.html

Thank you for taking the time to read this and let me know what you think,

Anne

ShopBakersNook.com

There are lots of times when I am making chocolate candies using candy molds that I want to add some color to my candy molds and using a paint brush to paint my candy molds seems like a lot of work. I have found that using the chocolate candy writers by CK Products saves me time and effort.

This is how you use chocolate candy writers to paint your chocolate candy molds:

You just place the candy writers into hot water to melt. Once the tube feels soft cut a tip off the end and squeeze the melted candy writer chocolate into your candy molds. Then let the candy writer chocolate set up for a minute or so in your candy mold and then take your melted chocolate and pour it into your mold over the candy writer chocolate.Tap the mold to remove the air bubbles and place in the freezer to set up. When you unmold your chocolate they are sure to impress your friends and family.

This is great to do with kids since the writers are not hot to hold and are less messy than the traditional paint brush method. They come in 10 great colors. You can also write on cookies using these candy writers. If you would like to try this for yourself click on the link below. 

You can also use these products to color your chocoaltes. Just click on the links below to see them.

Candy Colors

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/290.html

Powder colorings

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/363.html

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/ChocolateCandyWriters.html

Thanks for taking the time to read this and let me know what you think,

Anne

ShopBakersNook.com

I am asked this question all of the time and the only secret to baking a character cake pan with out it sticking to the pan is just use a really good pan grease. We bake all of our wedding cakes using pan grease in our store Baker's Nook and we use it like it is going out of style. We do not have the time to re bake a cake that is stuck in a pan so we use this pan grease by ck products to bake our cakes with so we do not have the hassle of re baking our cakes.

All you need is a good pastry brush to apply it. Be sure to shake it up prior to using it. When you apply your pan grease to a character cake pan be sure to paint your details in your character cake pan paying attention to little indentations and such and it will not stick to your pan after baking.

Click on the link below if your are interested in trying this fine product.

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/m5_view_item.html?m5:item=1372

Thank you Anne

ShopBakersNook.com

     You can use your powdered food coloring to color your chocolate directly, but I have a different way to add some color to your chocolate candies using powdered food coloring.

     I melt my cocoa butter and mix in the powdered food coloring to the desired shade I want. Then I take the colored mixture and using a brush paint the chocolate candy mold with the colored cocoa butter. I then place this into the freezer for about 5 min to let set up. After my painted molds are set up I then pour my melted chocolate into my mold and place the mold back into the freezer. When I unmold my painted chocolates, they have an opaque colored look to them. This technique looks absolutely wonderful with chocolate Easter eggs.

You can find the things I used to do this on the following links. 

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/205.html

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/m5_view_item.html?m5:item=83

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Anne

ShopBakersNook.com

There is nothing worse than icing your cake, especially in chocolate icing, and seeing those annoying crumbs scattered through your icing. Even though you put on a crumb coat of icing prior to applying your final coat of icing, the crumbs always find a way to break through the icing.

I can help you fix that problem and ice your cakes in less time.

Just use a cake icer tip and a pastry bag and you will save lots of time and trouble decorating your cakes. No more going back and forth with your spatula to get more icing for your cake. 

Once you master this technique, you will never want to ice your cakes any other way. 

This is how you ice a cake without getting crumbs in the icing:

Simply place your cake icer tip in a 16" or 18" pastry bag and fill the bag with icing. Then squeeze the icing to cover your entire cake. Finally you take your spatula and smooth it out. It is that simple. Let me tell you I NEVER ice a cake with out my cake icer tip and pastry bag. If you are interested in trying this technique check out the links below for the pastry bags and cake icer tip.

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/80.html

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/m5_view_item.html?m5:item=1289

Thank you for taking the time to read this and let me know what you think,

Anne

ShopBakersNook.com

Your decorating bags and decorating tips are not just for cake decorating they have many other uses. I use mine all time to make my appetizers look fabulous! I never do my deviled eggs with out my decorating bag and and a open star 21 decorating tip in my hand. Doing my deviled eggs is so much easier to do this way and they look absolutely wonderful! I pipe my cream cheese or peanut butter on celery sticks using this little trick for a nice presentation during the holidays or special occasions when I want my food to look perfect on the table.  Let me know what you think about this idea and other ideas that you may have. To find our pastry bags and the open star 21 tip I use to do this little trick just click on the links below.

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/80.html

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/m5_view_item.html?m5:item=930

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Anne

ShopBakersNook.com

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