Chocolate cake

I've decided to do a mini blog post for each day during December showing some of the miniatures I've made. I'll have some how to makes, some musings on miniatures and the cat might make an appearance! 

Day 1: Chocolate cake. 

Who doesn't like a slice of cake. This is a very simple cake to make and I'll tell you how!

You need - fimo in pink, white, biege, brown and translucent, Translucent liquid sculpey (TLS), brown oil paint. 

1. To make the chopped nuts - condition small pieces of white, beige and brown. Make into a thin sheet by rolling through a pasta maker and cook as per packet instructions. While warm using a sharp knife or single sided blade chop into very small pieces. 

2. Roll small balls of pink and brown fimo then roll in the 'chopped nuts'.

3. Make a cake by mixing equal brown and translucent together and shaping. The one in the picture is 3/4 inch round which would be the equivalent of a 9 inch round cake. 

4. Mix TLS with a few drops of brown oil paint to make the icing. Add to the top of the cake, add the truffles then cook. 

If you want to see this and more take a look in my etsy shop.

How to make lemon cakes with a little help.

After making all the lemons it was about time to make some cakes. The cat decided that he would be helpful in several ways - first by sitting on the table, then sitting on my lap, finally deciding that maybe he would sit in the chair!

One swish of a tail and my morning's work could be gone! 

He is trying to help...

Excuse the mess in the background, sometimes it is tidy.

When he finally moved to go back to sleep I could start again. I've also made some orange slices so I'm definitely going for the citrus fruit vibe.

Orange and lemon slices

TLS (Translucent liquid sculpey) mixed with oil paint for icing and pastel dust at the back for painting on a baked effect.

Left: Cane of feather icing.          Right:Completed cakes

Cake production line! 

The next post has the results of my day baking.

How to make : Scones

I'm going to do some posts showing how to make things, sharing a few techniques and other bits and bobs along the way. It's all things I've learned which help with the realism in the models. I'm not claiming anything as original or unique - I think most miniaturists will have a toolbox filled with cocktail sticks, pins, needles and a toothbrush or two! 

Scones are easy to make and lovely to eat. The top tip I learnt when making them is to use buttermilk as this reacts with the bicarbonate of soda and makes them light, fluffy and rise in the oven. You don't have to buy buttermilk just adding vinegar or lemon to milk and leaving it for a few minutes has the same effect. But I'm on a healthy eating/lets lose some weight diet and scones aren't going to be on the menu any time soon so I'll make them in mini instead. 

1. Make a scone coloured mix made from equal amounts of translucent and white with a bit of tan and ochre to make a cooked scone colour. Add some black micro beads and mix in well. Roll through a pasta machine at the widest setting. 

2. Fold the clay over to double the thickness and cut out small circles of clay. How big you make the scones is entirely up to you. There are small one bite afternoon tea type scones to the larger more substantial ones. 

3. Squash the clay a little and texture using a toothbrush and needle. 

4. Use pastels to add the cooked top effect. I use ochre, brown and reddish brown in varying amounts. Try not to make them look the same or too perfect - real life isn't like that and I prefer a home cooked look rather than something manufactured. 

5. Cook the scones as per the lay packet instructions and place on a plate. 

If you're not on a diet and want to make scones that you can eat instead of the ones you can't there is a recipe for buttemilk scones from Mary Berry. Enjoy!