Unbelievable! How times flies. It’s been busy here at Case De Remodel That’s Never Finished. We had a great birthday for my son at Proctor Plaza, complete with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom coconut tree cake and cupcakes. I cheated on the cupcakes, since I can only bake with gluten free flours these days (no wheat, which is bizarre) and got them from Kroger’s. I made the base of the coconut tree cake with gluten-free chocolate cake, which I figured was enough for myself and our little friend Lindsey, who is also allergic to wheat. The tree, leaves, and coconuts were molded from rice krispies treats covered with fondant. It was kind of a last-minute decorating effort, so structurally it was a little weak. Ideally, I would have had a week to start on it, and would have made the leaves from half gumpaste and fondant molded over a balloon. More life-like and less heavy! The big surprise was how many kids and parents wanted to try the gluten free cake and liked it! Those of you who’ve tasted some at one of my cake classes knows - it’s not half bad. Still not as good as regular cake, but pretty good. Okay, maybe just as good - only different.

I haven’t been making many cakes lately - gluten free baking is so unpredictable and expensive. I miss the days of baking up some regular cake to experiment on. Not being able to even bake with wheat is putting a cramp in my cake-decorating style. I did whip up a little cake, inspired by some fondant work I did with my lovely student Michelle and this fantastic rainbow cake “secret” recipe shared by a retired bakery owner in Iowa. It was a very quick decorating job, and I couldn’t find my Wilton tip number 73, which would have made the grass grassier, but I love the bugs and the colored cake! I’ll post a picture as soon as I can.

In other news, Larry’s jackhammered up the driveway to fix the drainage problem, here. So, it the backyard looks even more wacky than it did before. And we’re looking for a decent and affordable painter, so if you know anyone, throw them our way. Our schedule is tighter than I thought, so apologies on having to cancel two classes. But, I am really looking forward to the the private in-home classes I have scheduled, and the fondant cutouts classes I am doing in May.

To the left is the lovely Robin, enjoying the Fondant 101 class. That class opted to stay late and we had time to decorate our little cakes.

Okey dokey, so here are the classes for March/April/May. I have a couple of alternatives if these dates absolutely don’t work for you. Get two or three friends to take the class with you and I will schedule a special class for you at my little house in the Heights. Or, gather some friends at your house and I will bring the class to you. There is a $35 travel fee for classes in your home, but no limit on students. If your house is big enough, invite ten of your girlfriends over for a custom class. The class fee still applies for each student. Thank you, Leah, for such a great idea.

There’s more Fondant 101 - one scheduled on an evening during Spring Break so maybe your significant other will give you a break from non-stop childcare if you don’t already have some fabulous vacation planned. Fondant 101 is just learning to make fondant - marshmallow fondant and rolled buttercream, and tasting two types of store-bought fondant. Supplies are included.

Fondant Decorations and CutOuts is a class for making fondant bows, swags, flowers, and we’ll talk about making larger decorations molded around shaped rice krispies treats. Supplies are included, but you’ll have more fun if you go ahead and buy the Wilton gumpaste flower kit at the craft store ($20).

Several folks said that they’d like to know how to put a cake together. Tapping it out of the pan, cooling it, torting the cake, getting the icing nice and smooth. There are several really great tutorials for this on the internet. Email me and I’ll send you the links. Basic Cake Assembly is a demonstration class where I put together a tall three layer cake with fillings and frosting, (and then we drink wine and eat the cake and sit around and gab).

Covering a Cake With Fondant is just what it says. I supply the buttercream, fondant, cake boards, cake box, pvc mat and rolling pin. You bring the two 8 inch round cakes and some patience. Bring your favorite CD. We’ll put on some music like real bakers, put your cake together and cover it with fondant. Due to limited space in my tiny house, there is a max of two students for this class.

Wednesday, March 19th - 7:30 to 9pm Fondant 101 $15

Monday, April 7th - 7:30 to 9pm Basic Cake Assembly $15

Saturday, April 19th – 2 to 4:30pm Covering A Cake With Fondant $30 cancelled

Thursday, May 15th – 7:30pm to 9pm Fondant Decorations & Cutouts $15

Saturday, May 24th - 2 to 3:30pm Fondant Decorations & Cutouts $15

Classes are a maximum of four students. Please call or email me for availability.

Justine Lines 713.818.2925 or notoneless@gmail.com

Well, I taught my first three classes and all I gotta say is “Thank Maude everyone is so darn sweet to me.” My first eleven students were all amazingly kind and funny women who were very patient with me. I learned as much about how to teach (and how not to teach!) as they learned about making Fondant. And….I’m still learning.

We made two types of homemade fondant - marshmallow fondant and rolled buttercream. The marshmallow fondant is easy peasy and has a great texture. The rolled buttercream is a bit fussier, but works well as a fondant extender (oh no! I won’t have enough fondant to finish my project!) or for making up a small batch for flowers or decorations.

We tasted two pre-made fondants. The one you see on that cable cake show and the other one that you can get at all the craft stores. The verdict? The fancy cake store premade fondant is slightly more than edible, but not as good as the homemade marshmallow fondant. At least three students remarked that the easily available pre-made fondant reminded them of yucky cake they’d had at weddings.

The first class is short and doesn’t provide much time to get into the nuts and bolts of actual decorating. So, the next classes - Basic Cake Assembly, Fondant Decorations and Cutouts, and Covering A Cake With Fondant will hopefully fill in those gaps and answer the one question I heard a lot in the first classes “How did you do that?”. I’ll have an idea of when those classes will be soon and post them here.

I also heard “You’re not charging enough!” from several students. There’s a good reason. This first year of classes is my learning period. I seriously have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m going ahead with it anyway and every sweet Heights Mama who takes my class this first year is teaching me how to teach. I am grateful for your patience and support (and feedback), so the classes stay inexpensive as I add more tools and supplies to my stash and as I figure out how to get the most satisfying outcome from each class.

Next year….well, you’ll have to take out a loan to take a class from me. Just kidding. The classes will go up in price, though, so if you want a deal and you want to watch me ummm and ahhh a lot for an hour and a half (and maybe learn a little something, too), then take a class or two this year.

A huge thank you to my first eleven students - Tina, Sheryl, Julie, Anne, Dina, Suzanne, Stacie, Roxanne, Rose, Miss Anne and Robin.