A First Foray Into Fondont

Everywhere I look lately I see fondont. Blog posts, bakeries, and all over television. For the last little while I've been saying to myself "man I gotta try that!". And after much talking and thinking, I've finally ventured into the wonderful world of fondont. Another thing to check off my to do list.

Kristine (also known as "my brothers girlfriend" but we try to call her by her actual name every now and then) messaged me a little while ago to inform me of a recent purchase of hers. She had scored a really neat cake decorating book that takes you through all the different ways you can work with fondont and gum paste. Naturally it was up to the two of us to test out this book.

We gathered on a Saturday. We stirred, baked, rolled and decorated to our hearts content. And even though my cakes may not have been decorating perfection...I loved them anyway. It probably helped that they were delicious.

A few points that we learned about cake decorating:
1) There is a lot of waiting involved if you do not make your cakes ahead of time. So bake your cake the day before and store in the freezer so you can get right to the decorating part.
2) Kristine likes watching Cake Boss and thus will refer to the crumb coat as "dirty icing".

3) Leftover royal icing does not settle well in your stomach when eaten straight out of the bowl
4) Flour your counter in moderation lest your workstation becomes a winter wonderland
5) When eating your cake keep your fork ready and your eyes on your significant other...they will steal your last bite of cake right out from under your nose the minute you are distracted

6) Cake. Is. Wonderful.

Bread & Butter Pickles...A First Attempt

I made pickles! And to answer your question...no, that isn't the only thing I've made over the past month. In fact I have plans to barrage you with all the things I have not posted. But I'm starting with these pickles.

I've kinda always wanted to pickle and/or can things, but I was a little intimidated by the process. Then I watched someone make pickles on the Food Network. And it didn't seem so daunting. So I girded my loins (I hear that's what all the brave people do) and set to work.

First up I tangled with the deadly mandolin. Trepidation would be the word that comes to mind when I think of this sharp toothed kitchen gadget. Our relationship has been a rocky one and continues to be so. Yes, even the greatest caution still ends in mangled fingers. But it also produces super adorable (at least in my opinion) wavy discs of soon to be pickles.

Next I made the brine. It was much simpler (and safer) then the slicing part. This being my first go round I decided to buy pickling spice. Turns out the brand I bought had way too much coriander in it. I would find this out later. But for now, lets just say, next time I will be making my own pickling spice.

I really love pickles. They are one of my favourite things to snack on. I stand in front of the fridge and use my fingers to pull out little juicy morsels of deliciousness. This was my initial intention with my homemade batch. When they were ready I excitedly opened the jar, grabbed a couple perfect looking pickles, and popped them in my mouth. As I bit down my taste buds were assaulted with a not so bread and buttery flavour.

So it's sad to say that the pickles did not turn out as wonderful as I had hoped them to. They weren't bad, but neither were they fantastic. The only way I could eat them was stacked on top of some sloppy joes that I had made that day as well. I ended up offloading at least half of my pickles on my Mum who seemed to enjoy them more then I did. I just couldn't bare to see them wasted knowing that I wouldn't get through them all.

Although slightly disappointed with this batch, I am now determined to make a perfect snacking pickle. I may try the bread and butter ones again with my own spice combination. But I think my next batch will be of the dill pickle variety.

Stay tuned to find out how my next attempt turns out.