My 1st cupcake deco class

It was so much fun. I swear. :)

Though I did mention "so stress la" quite a few times due to the fact that I was so slow behind.

Yups, I felt as if we were on a cupcake decoration marathon and we were constantly moving faster and faster. Demo - quickly deco - demo again - quickly deco - rush rush rush.

Thank God the girl sitting beside me, Jessica is a pro at all these. She's attended up to level 3 of the cake decoration class here. So it's pretty much revision for her.

In fact about 90% of the ladies present today are regulars.

So, I guess that's why they worked so much faster than i did. I had so so much to learn; like how to pipe correctly using the proper technique and pressure, angle and direction of holding the parchment bag, etc. Stress, especially when time is a constraint. :p

Hehe..I was like chicken hand, duck feet (Chinese for flustered) the entire time. I was really grateful that Jessica was there to help me scoop those buttercream into the piping bag while I was busy trying to finish up my cupcakes. Yups, i was that slow.

Okieokie..pix coming up.

Psst..I'm gonna share with you some tips (such as which tip to use for piping, etc) that I've learned in class today. So, in you're also a cupcakes fanatic like me, I hope you'll have fun decorating your own cupcakes.

Before the class. There were 14 of us altogether.

Jo, our instructor explaining various things to us - how to prepare buttercream, ways of preparing buttercream of different consistencies, how to colour icing, what's fondant, etc.

My tools: 8 chocolate cupcakes, 4 tips, 2 couplers, a spatula and scissors (on loan), 2 parchment bags, 2 disposable bags, and instruction manual.

I snapped piccies of some beautifully decorated cakes before the class starts.

These cakes are all decorated by students. Pretty huh?

Firstly, we were shown how to fold a parchment bag.

See? I did it :). My cone looks pretty nice right?

Jo demonstrated how to ice/frost the cupcakes with a spatula. Then, we had to practice our own.

Erm, I did quite a messy job. But anyhoo, icing the cupcake is like putting a glue for the fondant to stick on the cupcake. So, no one will really get to see this ugly inside :P

Jo, demonstrating how to pipe a christmas wreath. She made it looked so darn easy. That fooled me into thinking that piping was easy peasy. Trust me, it can get pretty tiring after a while.

And I was thankful that I got to practice piping on Jessica's board before I actually piped onto my cupcakes. The first few trials on the board were fugly.

Btw, the girl in yellow is Jessica, my helpful partner.

My Christmas Wreath Cupcakes!
The one on the left is my very first cupcake. I didn't do a bow on the other one cos I had no time (Jo was about to start doing another demo - the xmas tree), and I find piping the ribbon super- duper difficult. Granted, i wasn't given enough time to practice.

Pipe wreath with Tip #103. Pipe at 3 o'clock, 45 degrees, with the fat tip pointing down. While piping, use the other hand to turn the cupcake around so that it creates a continuous flow.

Pipe lights with Tip #2 or #3

Pipe bow with Tip #103. Pipe with the thin tip pointing down, do a half turn on one side. Do another half turn on the other side. And you'll get a bow.

My Christmas Tree cupcakes!

Pipe trees on wafer cones with Tip #16 (#14 and 18 are okay as well).

Pipe lights with Tip #3 or 2

Pipe shell border with Tip #16 (this one I did for fun). Pipe in the shape of a comma, then reverse comma, comma again - in that manner. Yups, mine was done rather messily.

My Poinsettia cupcakes!

Firstly, pipe 6 large leaves with Tip #352. Pipe at 3 o'clock, 45 degrees, ensure that the V (tip) is not facing you. Do a Y-shape for 3 leaves, then pipe the other 3 leaves in between.

Later, pipe 6 smaller leaves on top of the larger leaves. Pipe in between the leaves.

Use tip #3 or 2 to pipe the stamens.

My Holly Leaves cupcakes!

We were taught at the beginning of the class to make fondant holly leaves from cookie cutters and plunger cutters. The leaves were then left to dry for use at the very end.

We did some modelling of Christmas ornaments using Fondant (also known as sugar paste).

Here, I was taught how to make berries, pine cones, and candles (sorry, i didn't have enough time to make the candles, i gave that a pass).

Look at me! I looked so stressed out right. Hehe..I was! It stressful but fun! Flustered was the word la!

See that tiny yellow board? Jessica loaned me her board so that I could practice my piping.

Yups, I did those cupcakes, albeit the mess and all. :P

Look at the cupcakes done by Jo - Poinsettia, Christmas trees, Christmas wreath, Holly leaves with berries, and Candles.

These were done 2 months ago. NOT edible anymore. :(

They are so pretty.
Pizza cupcake, BBQ skewers cupcakes, cute girls cupcakes, veggies cupcake, and even wantan mee cupcake.

Aijo, shy to show you mine after seeing Jo's work.

Yups, so that's 11 cupcakes all in. RM100 for the class. About RM10 per cupcake la (the kiasu in me talking :p).

Bringing some to the office for my colleagues later.

On another note, I'm pretty hooked to all these cake deco, pastries thingy la. In fact, the girls are going for a Xmas cookies class next week. I'm quite tempted...

And...I heard there's gonna be another cupcake deco class in Jan. I'm definitely gonna join that one if time permits.