Ask Ellen
Ellen is happy to answer your questions about baking and decorating cakes and cookies. Please email her at Ellen@cakesbyyou.com
Q: What is the Wilton Yearbook exactly?
A: Every year since 1972, Wilton Industries has put
together a yearbook. It has made them highly collectable. The
book is sorted into three parts. The first section, about 106 pages,
are ideas for cakes, candies and cookies using only Wilton products.
Think lots of pretty pictures! The second and smallest section,
about 19 pages, are some general instruction, some detailed
instructions, recipes, baking guide and cake cutting guide. I call
this the blue section, because the pages are blue tipped and in the
center of the yearbook. I highly recommend that every decorator have
at least one yearbook just for this section alone. The third and
final section, about 114 pages, is a complete photo layout of all of
the products that Wilton sells.
Q: Can I freeze my cake?
A: You should only freeze an unfrosted cake. After the cake is baked but before you put filling in it and icing on it, you can freeze the cake for 24 hours up to 4 months. After letting the cake completely cool, level and tort, if desired, then wrap the cake tightly in wax paper, then either foil or a plastic zipped top bag. Freezing a boxed cake usually makes it better.
Q: How long can I keep my buttercream icing?|
A: It really depends on what ingredients you used to make it. If you used milk in your recipe - only 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. If you used butter in your recipe - only 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. If you made the Wilton Class Buttercream recipe using solid vegetable shortening and water - 6 to 8 weeks in the refrigerator.
Q: How do I keep chocolate cake crumbs out of my white icing?
A: Wilton has a great tool called the Cake Icer Tip (#789). Put it together with a 16" or 18" Featherweight bag and you will never have"cookies and cream" icing again. This technique is taught on night 1 of Wilton's Course 1 class. Check out a class today--see our listing of classes by clicking here.
Q: How many people will this cake feed?
A: As a general rule, for every standard recipe or cake mix box that is used, plan on feeding 12-15. You can find more information inside of every Wilton Yearbook. Look in the center section (usually blue tabbed), find the cake baking and cutting guides. The baking guide lists every pan size that Wilton makes, along with how much cake batter, number of servings, cups of icing to cover, plus time and temperature to bake at.
Q: How much chocolate do I need to make 40 of this mold?
A: Remember those dreaded word problems in math class? This is
one of those. First you need to measure how much liquid it takes to fill the mold - using a teaspoon or tablespoon, measure how much water will fit into the mold. Multiply that number by the number of candies that you want to make (don't forget to add several for breakage, mistakes, and, of course, taste testing). If you used a tablespoon, divide by 20 (for a teaspoon, divide by 60). This is how many pounds of chocolate you will need.
Q: Can you tell me how you became an expert in cake decorating?
A: Sure, I'd be happy to share my story! I took my first Wilton Cake Decorating class in February 1993. From that moment on, I was hooked. I made cakes for everyone and anyone just to have the practice! I made my first wedding cake in September 1994.
In early 1999, I took the Wilton classes again, because they had changed what was taught in them. The Instructor let all of us know that Wilton was looking for Instructors--if we would like to teach, let her know.
In June 1999, I was assigned as a Wilton Method Instructor to teach Wilton Classes at Michael's in Simi Valley, California. I taught there until March 2003 when Cakes By You opened. As of December 2005, I have taught 1153 Wilton students.
I was honored to be inducted into the Wilton Method Instructors Hall of Fame on August 8, 2006. I take pride in every student that I teach. Several have gone on to work in bakeries and too many to count have won Blue Ribbons at the Ventura County Fair, where I participate in the professional division every year. At the Ventura County Fair in 2004, I won Best of Show for my Chocolate Wedding Cake with Chocolate Fondant Roses. It took 16 hours to complete!
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