Begin by spraying the pan with Bake Easy™ and preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I mixed up my favorite pancake recipe and ladled it into the pan filling the cavities about half full. I baked the stars until they were golden brown on the bottom. It was so easy!

I removed the pancakes to a cooling grid and moved onto making scrambled eggs. I whipped a couple eggs with some water, sprayed the pan with Bake Easy again and baked the eggs until they were cooked. I removed the eggs from the pan and put them on my cooling grid.

Do you remember the baked Muffin Tops craze a few years back? Well, I thought I would use the Star Whoopie Pan the same way.

I grabbed a chocolate chip muffin mix and after mixing it according to the instructions, I sprayed the pan with Bake Easy and filled the muffin batter into the cavities and baked it at 375 degrees. The “muffin tops” popped right out of the pan.

I love the non-stick pans because with a little baking spray, the baked goods release easily and clean up is a breeze. I can’t wait to make some of my favorite recipes in the pan! Be sure to check out the Wilton website for other tasty recipes, such as Banana Nut Mini Muffins, Cranberry Orange Muffins, or Cinnamon Streusel Muffins.

The Star Cut-Outs™ work great for slicing fruit and making little star shapes. I was even able to use the extra pieces that were cut from the area outside the cutters and make a fruit salad to present with the baked goods. I just sliced cantaloupe, bananas, and strawberries and used the cutters to cut out the fruit and mixed it with green and purple grapes.

I put the pancakes and eggs together to make some breakfast sandwiches. You could also easily make biscuits in the pan or add some cheese to the sandwiches. Sausage or bacon could also be cooked and added to the sandwiches.

Wrap the sandwiches in Parchment Paper for easy reheating in the microwave. Add a glass of milk or juice and breakfast is served!

I used Yellow Ruffle Cups to assemble my fruit salad adding Garnish Summer Picks and Beverage Parasols to the fruit. The Smiley Face Standard Cups worked great for holding the sandwiches, muffin tops, or even the syrup. These cups will put a smile on anyone’s face! I also use these cups to send with their lunches by packing cookies, fruit, etc. in them. The kids get a kick out of it when they open their lunch and discover how I’ve packed it.

In our home, we also love to have “breakfast for dinner.” The Star Whoopie Pie Pan will definitely make serving breakfast anytime of the day fun!

This year the convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 4 – 7 at the Charlotte Convention Center. It will be an exciting four days of demonstrations, hands-on classes, and shopping for new tools of the trade from vendors who come from all over the world.

There will be over 80 vendors displaying their tools. I’m sure there will be something there that you just HAVE to HAVE! Wilton will have one of the largest areas, displaying the new products and many actual cakes from the 2012 Yearbook for you to view up close.

I almost forgot to mention the outstanding cake and sugar art displays for all to admire in the Cake Gallery. I’ve posted a few images from previous shows.

You’ll be amazed at the sugar creations on display, from young to mature, amateur to professional decorators, all levels of decorators will show off their own creations. (I am always in awe of the decorators who travel thousands and thousands of miles and bring their beautiful, fragile show pieces to share.)

There should be over 400+ displays for you to admire, take note of techniques and photography. This is not a judged show, but a sharing show.

The Convention registration is open to ICES members as well as non-members. Over 1,000 individuals from throughout the United States and many other countries are expected to attend.

If you register for the convention, you are also eligible to attend the demonstrations and hands-on classes for an additional fee. You can see some of the over 70 demonstrations that will interest beginners to masters, from buttercream to pulled sugar and chocolate. There is always a wide variety of topics for every skill level and interest in the sugar arts.

If you can’t afford the time to attend the entire convention, you may purchase a One-Day Shopper’s Pass, valid on Saturday or Sunday, for a cost of $50. This pass includes entry into the Vendor’s Hall for your shopping adventure and the Cake Gallery, so don’t forget your cameras.

If you’re in the area and want to stop by and admire the cakes on Saturday and Sunday, the Cake Gallery is open to the public for a fee of $10 a person. A portion of this fee is donated to a local charity, so it’s really for a good cause too!

Hours for the general public to view the cake gallery are Saturday, Aug. 6th from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Sunday, August 7th from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

If you need additional information about this year’s convention, check out www.ices11.org or the ICES website at www.ices.org for more information about the organization. If you can’t attend in person, follow us through the show on our twitter page @WiltonCakes.

And keep in mind … “Nothing Could be Finer than to be in Carolina” for the convention.

I’ll be there to enjoy this unique experience…will you?

During their short stay, we managed to cram in a crash course in both buttercream and fondant cake decorating, a demonstration of Punch Cut Decorate tools, a friendly cake decorating competition, tours of the in-house photo studio, decorating room, test kitchen, and Wilton School, and a quick but lucrative trip to the infamous tent sale. What a whirlwind day, but we enjoyed it, and hope that our bloggers did, too!

I love working on recipe development here at Wilton, and since that is such an important part of a food blog, I wanted to have a little treat ready for the ladies when they came through the Test Kitchen. Here’s one of the items that I prepared, a little 2-biter that’s perfect for berry season. Make these in mini muffin pans, and feel free to swap out the blueberries and preserves for whatever fruit looks good – just chop it up a little so that it will fit nicely into the little cups.

What are your favorite summer fruit recipes?

Blueberry Frangipane Tartlets

Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-2 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
1/2 cup blueberry preserves
3/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup sliced almonds, optional

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, butter and sugar together until mixture is sandy. Add egg and 1 tablespoon water. Pulse until dough holds together when squeezed in hand, adding an additional tablespoon of water if necessary. Form dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8” thickness. Cut 3 in. circles from the dough. Put one circle into each pan cavity, pressing into the bottom and up the sides. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

In small bowl, stir together blueberry preserves, frozen blueberries and lemon zest; set aside.

For frangipane, beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour and ground almonds; mix until well combined.

Drop a small amount (1-2 teaspoons) blueberry mixture into each pastry shell. Cover with an equal amount of frangipane, making sure that the blueberry is completely covered. If desired, sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the frangipane comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove to cooling grid to cool completely.

Makes 32 mini tarts.

He is easy to make: Simply whisk the gummy mix with hot water, fill the mold, and combine (attach) the 2 halves together to create a 3-D Giant Gummy. For easy sharing, the recipe can be halved to make 2 front-faced bears. The Giant Gummy makes a great addition to a candy buffet, dessert table and more!

Our Giant Gummy is also the star of our latest contest: Decorate your Giant Gummy in a scene and upload the pictures! And, of course, we’re giving away great prizes. Please visit our Giant Gummy Contest Entry Page for details. For inspiration, take a look at our Giant Gummy Gallery to see the amazing creations by our decorators.

After you make your Giant Gummy, save the mold for future use. You can return to our website to purchase our refill kit, or mold a bear using Wilton Candy Melts®, crisped rice cereal treats, etc.

We hope you enjoy the Giant Gummy Kit as much as we have here at Wilton. We can’t wait to see your creations!!!

Look for new shaped pans and other great Wilton products in the Annual Wilton Yearbook of Cake Decorating or on our website.

In the Decorating Room we create all the projects/cakes you see in all of our publications, like our 2011 Wilton Yearbook. In addition, we do everything you see on the packaging of our products, signage for retail store, and project sheets you see at many of your local crafting stores that carry Wilton products. We also create projects for many of the shows we attend, like the annual ICES (International Cake Exploration Societé) convention each year, sometimes shipping to as far away as Japan and Australia.

We work in many mediums from icing to fondant to gum paste, as well as candy and cookies. Each day is filled with new projects and constant exciting creative challenges.

Currently, we work with 7 full time and 3 freelance decorators. We are always busy creating and bringing projects to life for photography. Earlier this year, we hired a new decorator as a permanent member of our decorating team, Amber Spiegel. To Amber, this is her dream job.

Amber has always loved cake decorating. While in college studying for her business/marketing degree, she worked as a Baker’s Apprentice.

She decided she wanted to be a baker/pastry chef and after college decided to enroll in culinary school. While in culinary school, she worked in different capacities as a pastry chef/baker with award-winning chefs learning everything from preparing to finishing to presenting desserts, as well as tempering chocolate for truffles and décor of pastries.

Through this time, Amber realized while working in the bakeries that her real love was in the decorating and that is what she wanted to do. She started doing more research into a decorating career and Wilton classes. While on the Wilton website, Amber came across information about the Romantic Castle Cake Contest. With her family’s support and encouragement, she decided to enter.

Amber worked for three days on the project and then entered the contest. She waited for months and did not hear anything so had assumed she had not won. However, in September of 2008, Amber received an email that she had won the contest!!!! Amber said, “I was so excited and the grand prize was enrollment in the Master Class at the Wilton School in Darien, Illinois.”

Amber was living in New York when she won the contest. In February 2009 she traveled to Chicago and took the two-week course with Sandy Folsom where she learned so many new ideas and techniques. On the last day of the Master Class the students toured the decorating room. Amber said, “I knew immediately that is where I wanted to be!!”

While touring the decorating room, Amber asked me what the process was for working at Wilton. She explained to me that she was living in New York but would be moving to the Chicago area soon and would really love to have an opportunity to work here. I explained to her that we usually hire freelance decorators (decorators who are on call and used on an as needed basis). If a position opens up, we hire from our freelancers. I gave Amber my email address and suggested that when she was situated in the Chicago area to send me her resume and pictures of her work.

Amber said, “In April of 2009 I sent Cheryl my resume and pictures of some of my work including my winning castle and then once I was settled in Chicago in May again sent an email letting her know that I was now available. Cheryl did respond telling me at the time they were not looking for anyone but would keep my resume on file and call me once they were looking for people again.”

“In October of 2009 I received a call from Cheryl and interviewed with her and Mary Gavenda, one of the Senior Cake Decorators. I started as a freelance decorator immediately and worked continually since I started.”

“A full time position became available recently and I was hired as a full time decorator in the room which was one of my goals……now I go to work each day excited about what my next project will be. The most exciting part has been working on projects for the 2011 Wilton Yearbook…what a dream come true!!!”

Not only did Amber get to work on and have her projects and name published in the Wilton yearbook, you’ll also find her picture on the first page gatefold.

Amber has been a tremendous asset to our decorating team as a freelancer and now as a full time employee. We look forward to having her grow with all of our extremely talented decorators as we continue to bring to all our customers new and exciting decorating ideas, as well as making your decorating dreams come true!!!

On April 14 I will be demonstrating how to use several Wilton products on HSN (Home Shopping Network). We have four different segments planned. All of them focus on how satisfying it is to make your own cakes and treats, and how easy it is to pull them off when you use the right tools. This isn’t a stretch – it’s what Wilton is all about.

Each segment will be less than 10 minutes long, but preparing and practicing for each segment takes hours and hours. I’ve selected cake designs to showcase, run through my demonstrations multiple times, role-played with a “show host,” mapped out what will be on the tables in front of me. I’ve gone through HSN’s guest training program. I’ve gotten a haircut. OK, I probably would have gotten the haircut even without the TV appearance, but still…

Basically, I’m eating, breathing, and living HSN segments. So much time and planning goes into it, more than I ever could have imagined. The segments are taped and aired live, so I need to be as prepared as possible because there are no redo’s. Now more than ever, I am thankful that Wilton products really are easy to use. It gives me confidence that I can ace my first shot at TV.

Tune in to HSN on April 14. Wilton segments will air during the following hours: 12:00 am, 1:00 am, 7:00 am, and 10:00 pm (EST). You might just pick up a few new ways to use Wilton tools!

Whether I was in the kitchen with my children or now my grandchildren, I know I am creating fond memories of what becomes a permanent lesson in learning a life skill. Learning to bake is a happy experience.

Some of the skills I think of when I think, “Baking Time Together” is organization and planning. First, check your supplies to see if the necessary ingredients are available. Have your child make a list of what is needed if they are old enough to write, or have them draw pictures. It truly is your time together.

For a small rambunctious 5 year old, like my grandson, learning to listen will be a great accomplishment. Whether your child is 5 or 10, it is invaluable for them to know how important accuracy is when making the recipe. I tell them it is important to spoon the flour in the cup, then level with a spatula for an accurate measure. I take their hand and show them, so they have the opportunity to actually do it; NOT “Show & Tell.” I compare measuring brown sugar like packing sand to make a great sandcastle. Compliment frequently when a job is well done. Remind them how delicious those chocolate chip cookies will be.

A child learning fractions and multiplications may now understand why they need to know those applications when you let them apply it to baking. If the recipe says optional, ask for other suggestions for substitutes. It makes your child feel important, but give an honest answer, why it will or won’t work.

Set a timer, don’t open the oven door. Teaching a child patience is worth everything.

And finally the part no one necessarily enjoys, “the clean up.” Make it an adventure, make it fun, be creative in allowing them to clean up. It’s part of the process of baking. It makes a child understand the importance of finishing the entire job.

Plan a small party, something simple. It’s worth celebrating their accomplishments. Small girls love tea parties; older ones love impressing their friends. My grandson loved going to the park. We pretended we were going on a safari and needed to take our freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for survival. Don’t underestimate boys; they like to impress their friends too.

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. Why not create a special holiday treat with your children? A few easy-to-decorate ideas are Heart Highlights Brownies, Jumbo Heart-y Cupcakes, Hearts Desire Cupcakes, Going Buggy Over You Cupcakes, or Sparkling Romance Cupcakes.

We also have some delicious “any day” cookie recipes that can be ready in just minutes. A few projects to get the children involved include Kiddie Cookie Pops, Gooey Peanut Butter Bars or Graham Cracker Bars. If your child is over the age of 10, they might be interested in our Creative Cake Decorating for Kids class.

What fond memories do you have as a child in the kitchen?