Hi...I'd really like to try the toppling square presents cake by Colette. I just bought her birthday cake book. HOwever, her illustrations on how to do this cake are very sparse, and my mind starts spinning when I read the directions. I'm not real sure what she is talking about. Can anyone give any clues? I don't want the mad hatter cake...I am looking for the toppling presents. Thanks if you can help or steer me in the right direction!

Ellen

Do you get the feeling that she doesn't want us to make her cakes. *laff* Just teasing! I swear the other night on Sugar Rush they said she puts fondant on frozen cakes. Or am I hearing impaired! I thought you couldn't put fondant on a frozen cake. *sigh* We need DETAILS!

bikegal

AHHHH!!! Now I get it...I just spent big bucks on her book and I could not even get the info I needed. I think the book is going back to the store.

Thanks for commiserating on the Colette instructional problem with me! I just thought that would make a cute Christmas cake for my very first Craft show I'm entering.

Elle..

I find that with a LOT of cake decorating books! It's totally frustrating!

If you're going to take my money..give me my monies worth!

Amen!!!

Ellen,
You guys could never be so wrong about Colette and her cakes. I just spent a week and a half with her at Wilton and she is more willing than anyone I have ever met to share what she knows.
The present cake is not hard at all, what exactly do you need to know?

Just a side note, she never freezes cakes so she would never say you can put Fondant on a frozen cake!

Vreeke, note that we are talking about her books! They are not the best decorating books out there if you want clear and concise instructions. Yes, they are lovely to look at but I've heard many comments about how they would do better on a coffee table. I'm sure she's a wonderful instructor but some of her cake instructions in her BOOKS are lost in translation. While watching Sugar Rush the host mentioned that her cakes were frozen (perhaps he meant chilled) which confused me before applying the fondant. It's pretty rude to tell people they are wrong when they are expressing their opinions on a topic.

bikegal

I have the Cakes To Dream on book and it's somewhat disappointing. It's a lovely book but there are some critical omissions. Let's just say it's not a step by step book.


Princess

There is a review prominently posted on Amazon that says something like "Colette doesn't want you to be able to make her cakes." It is repeated elsewhere by someone saying "Unlike Colette, Toba really wants to teach you!" How nasty is all that?! And so we see how rumors and inuendo became facts!

I do find there are some things in Collette's books which are not as clear as I'd like, but I'd much rather think that Collette is a master at cakes and and perhaps not quite so masterful at writing. Some things may come very naturally to her and so it isn't obvious to her that these things might be diffciult for others to grasp.

I'm not saying we should buy the books if they aren't helpful--although I know a lot of people buy books like "Here Come the Cakes" which are JUST pictures and don't have ANY instructions. However, different people may find different books more or less helpful. I just boughjt Toba's book and on first perusal find it tough going......

Let's not ascribe bad motives to what may be differences in style and or talents.

I tried scanning a few cakes from her book....the cakes came out with little lines through the entire picture of the cake...almost like a secret code so you can't photocopy it!! Interesting!!! But you still could see it enough to try and do.

You could try sending Collette an email if you have any questions.. I'm sure she would help you with any questions you may have. She's a very nice lady!!

Geesh!! HOw do my posts always manage to kick up controversy!! I honestly think Colette's cakes are wonderful, and she has a great reputation as to being a wonderful teacher. However, I specifically bought her book to learn how to do the toppling presents, and she does not give a clear step by step guide in the book. So no offense, Colette and Colette fans, ok? If you'd be so gracious, I'd love it if one could expound a bit on the technique! Thanks! Ellen

Kiddiecakes,

I've scanned and sent pages from one of her books with no problems.
People, please, let's be nice. Ellen asked very nicely twice for hints on how to do a cake. If you know, that would be nice to address, if not, no need to take swipes at Colette. She wouldn't be writing the books if she didn't want to share.

BTW, I"ve never met Collette, only have one of her books and am probably more cynical and negative than any two other people on this site combined. I still think people are being nasty for no reason. Some people are better than others at explaining things in print. If you don't like her books, don't buy them. It's one thing to say she doens't explain things well (I'll even agree with that) but it's another to say there is sabotage afoot. And although I don't love every cake I've seen in her photos, I think she has been great for the field as a whole.

Ellen,
You certainly didn't say anything bad in any of your posts on this thread. I hope you get some help. Unfortunately, I only have "Cakes to Dream On" That book has small "presents" which she stacks but not very topsy turvey. She does it by putting a six inch round on a platter, putting a half round on top of that, and then stacking the packages around that starting at the bottom and attaching with royal icing using skewers into the round and ball when the top down when needed. Not having seen the cake you are aksng about, I don't know if that helps.

Hi Ellen,

do you mean the "terry´s presents" p. 135 or the "great crate cake" p. 103?

Itsacake,

I wasn't bashing Colette's books or work,I love her cakes.... I was merely sharing an experience I had while trying to scan, with a bit of humor....Even my hubby found it strange....I was wondering if anyone had the same experience. I wasn't trying to be nasty nor should anyone have taken it that way.So sorry you felt I was being out of line.

Yes, I was looking for the p. 135 with the square birthday presents that look like they are stacked and toppling over. I was trying to figure out how to sculpt the cake and stack it. She only has one photo posted, and I could not make sense out of her directions. I love the look. Any tips?
Thanks!


Good idea about emailing her...maybe I'll try that!! If she answers me, I'll let you all know!!

No,she did say she chilled them before applying the fondant not freeze chill. As far as the hosts goes I think he has a lot to be desired he was kind of boring. I don't know maybe new show nerves or something.

Ellen,
Each of the cakes are made separetly using any size squares/rectangles you want. She used a 13x10, 10x8, 6" square & 3" square. But, any sizes will work. Each cake is on it's own foam core board. The cakes are cut at an angle and its easier to complete each one at a time so the angles of each cake work out ok when stacking. Dowels are inserted into each cake (approx 6 each) cut to the top of the angled cake. As they are stacked, Colette places a long dowel going thru each set of stacked cakes. Example: One long dowel goes thru the first 2 cakes, then 1 longer dowel goes thru the first 3 cakes and as you keep stacking you use longer dowels ending with one really long dowel which goes thru all 4 cakes, or as many presents as you are using in your cake. The cakes are glued together using royal icing so there is no chance of slippage.
The bows, and ribbons are added at the end.
If I have left anything out, please feel free to ask. Also, I sent you an e-mail if you would like more detailed info.
Happy Baking!

I have Sugar Rush taped and I watched it twice, rewound it and it specifically stated CHILLED cakes.

In her books she suggest refridgerating the cakes for 1-2 hours before applying fondant so that the cake holds up better during smoothing.

Personally I own every one of her books, recently got into this and I have made 7 cakes now.... her books to me are the BEST. She's not teaching people how to bake, you should already know how to bake, the title of the book after all suggests it's a for a MASTER not a beginner. That didn't stop me though, I made my tiara on my first try just by looking at the pics and reading the brief directions.

Her books are inspirational, they are not a replacement for learning techniques. My personal opinion is TRIAL AND ERROR. Everything I have learned so far in the kitchen has been with trial and error, when I goof I start over and learn as I go.

Practise makes perfect. No book is going to teach you without practise.

Thank-you tickled...I appreciate your input. All of my cakes at this point are trial and error, but I'd rather know ahead of time a semblance of what to do before baking 4 large cakes and having them all fall because I did them incorrectly. I was not looking for baking advice when I purchased her book...I think I've got that part down pat. Just need assembly instrutcions. Very simple.

When I purchased the book, I assumed that she had instructions in her books, which she does. They were not very clear, and I was just looking for input.
Vreeke is about the only person who was able to answer the toppling presents question, so I thank her for that, but I think after studying the pictures, I can figure it out.
Thanks again!
Ellen

Ellen-- I've not seen that book so I'm not sure of the cake you're trying to do. But, there is a tutorial on here that is for a topsy-turvy stacked cake. Perhaps between Colette's directions and the tutorial you can get a better idea how to do it!

HTH!
Dia

I also love what Colette does, and I remember her saying "chilled." It's true I was a bit disappointed when I got her book the decorating steps are lacking and are not explained fully. But my biggest problem was DID YOU GUYS SEE HOW SHE QUICKLY COVERED THAT GIANT CUP CAKE!!!!!!!!what is that fondant made of???? it didn't stick to the table, it didn't rip and they had nooo problem covering those tilted vertical surfaces!!! help me someone. I work with fondant a lot and boy mine doesn't lend itself that easily.

I hope I didn't come out sounding rude, because honestly my post wasn't meant to be rude in any way.... I was talking rather in general reference her book after reading some responses on amazon.com where they are sold and here from time to time, not directed at anyone in particular.

That being said, there are different ways of making tipsy cakes. I know Colette said in one of her books she used styrofoam inserts to make it appear tipsy when the actual cake was still the basic shape.

You can also carve your cake and then take the carved peice flip it upside down and it will create a wedge.

There is another book I read and they basically said they used filling to prop the cake up to make it appear tilted but they didn't cut the actual cake any different cake.

So I guess there's a million different ways to do it.

Oh, no!! Tickled, you were not rude at all....now I am paranoid that my post took on a certain tone to give you that impression. That's the fun of communicating via the internet....we miss all of the hand gestures and vocal tone we need for complete communication. LOL

Thank you so much for the input, nonetheless....the more input, the better!! I went on a "Cakes to Dream on" hunt after work, but came up empty handed. Someone else mentioned the wedges, and I think I will give it a go!
I saw the topsy turvy cake, but that is a little different. I'd also like to do one of those, but I'd prefer to tackle the cake where it looks like the presents are disheveled and falling over. (there is a wedged space in between layers where as the topsy turvy cake on the site, there is not)
Have a great one!
Ellen

I just was reading through some of the older conversations here and happened to catch that episode of Sugar Rush--love the show, btw--and read an interview with Colette recently where she says that cakes should be "cold" in order to work with the fondant. Here is the interview if anyone is interested. http://www.pastryscoop.com/conferencesAndEvents_chat22.htmlI sure love her designs. There is a reason why she is the queen. LOL!

this isn't anything to do with chilling a cake, but Caribou that's the link I was looking for because in it there was something that made me wonder...

"<Judiaann_PastryScoop> Colette, can you explain briefly how you make the royal icing cages that float above your cakes?

<Colette_Peters> I make them on slightly greased waxed paper and, hopefully, they will slide off when dry.

<Judiaann_PastryScoop> I see. Thank you."

I thought if any grease touched any part of Royal Icing, it would ruin it and turns it to liquid. (I've done so.) Is she talking of a brand of waxed paper that is higly more waxed than others or is she meaning actually greased?


Myself I don't care for the show Sugar Rush's host so much. He's nice and polite, but he seems to have problems when he is at other places and helping! And he's just to quiet.