Watercolor Heart Cake Tutorial

Award winning cake artist, Claudia Oliveira, of Claud Art Sugar, created a sensational step-by-step tutorial of a romantic, watercolor-heart cake. Claudia notes, “The techniques are very versatile, I chose watercolor because it is such a huge trend right now, especially in the cake community, this would make a for a beautiful wedding cake, engagement cake, or even a cake for Valentines.” We agree, and we especially love the bold and romantic ruffles.

Equipment/Components list
List of materials:
  • Three cake dummies 10/8/6 
  • Cake boards
  • bamboo wooden dowels for the structure if you use real cake
  • Releasing agent and surface oil
  • Satin Ice rolled fondant
  • Satin Ice gumpaste
  • Large and small fondant rollers
  • Fondant smoothers
  • Metal ball tool
  • Flower Leaf Shaper Tool
  • Petal cutters
  • Sugar Flower Drying Foam
  • Foam Sponge Pad
  • Wilton Icing colors: Burgundy, Teal and Leaf green
  • Pearl white dust color
  • Paint brushes
  • Painting palette
  • Edible glue
  • Clear alcohol or extract
  • PME Sugarcraft knife
  • Waxed paper
  • stencil drawing of the heart
How to decorate the cake:
To prepare: Crumb coat and cover all three tiers with Satin Ice fondant.
1.Draw or copy the heart shape to a sheet of waxed paper, transfer the drawing to the 10 inch cake using the flower/leaf-shaper tool, and mark the outline of the drawing. This will create a small impression in the fondant underneath.
2. Remove the wax-paper and then prepare the paints. Dilute each gel color, mixing a few drops of gel color with clear alcohol, dip your paintbrush into the teal color and paint randomly on your cake.
3. Repeat the same process with other diluted colors.
4. Continue adding drops of watercolor in different shades until the heart is completely saturated.
5. Roll out your gumpaste with a smaller rolling pin to a medium thickness (1/8 inch), put in your silicone mold and gently press the rolling pin into to your mold to mark the pattern. Let them gumpaste dry and then, to the same 10 inch tier, add small pieces randomly all over your cake. (make sure to avoid the painted heart)
6. Mix a few drops of burgundy color and pearl white dust with clear alcohol and paint the pattern randomly.
7. Mix pearl white dust with clear alcohol and with a fan brush paint the cake all over, except the heart.
8. With the small cake do exactly the same process described in steps 3 and 4.
9. Roll out your gumpaste, with a smaller rolling pin, to a thin thickness and cut with petal cutters. Cut three different sizes from small to large.
10. On the foam pad, ruffle and thin the petals with a metal ball tool, as shown in the image. Repeat the same process with other petals.
11. Put the petals in your sugar flower drying foam and let them dry.
12. On the 8 inch middle-tier cake, apply first the big petals, then the medium petals, and so on. 
13. Next, dust your ruffles with pearl white, and paint the edges of the petals with a burgundy color.
14. Assemble each completed tier; If you use real cake you must assemble the cakes with the respective structure (cardboard circles in the same size as each tier and bamboo wooden dowels).
About the Author:

Cláudia Oliveira is an award winning, Portugal-based sugar artist and owner of Cláud’ Art Sugar.

She started her training at the English School Knightsbridge PME Ltd. School of Cake Decorating & Confectionery Arts, obtaining a Master’s degree.
Claudia has also trained with many notable Portuguese designers, and attended several master classes with award-winning, international artists.
She has won multiple awards, including at Cake Fest Exponor; taking 1st place in the wedding cakes category. She won again in 2016 for both wedding cake and birthday cake designs.
Web links:
www.facebook.com/ClaudArtSugar
https://twitter.com/ClaudArtSugar
https://pt.pinterest.com/ClaudArtSugar/

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