R. Thomas’ Deluxe Grill in ATL – open 24/7

After Danny and I met up with some friends at the Atlanta airport, we headed to R. Thomas’ Deluxe Grill for a late night dinner.

I didn’t think we’d be able to find a decent place to eat around 11:30pm on a Sunday night but Danny found this place on Yelp.  R. Thomas’ is open 24 hours a day and serves various vegan dishes and sides.  Most of the dishes on the menu can be made vegan (but many are vegan as listed).  Homemade vegan burgers, basil tofu lettuce wraps, nori veggie kraut rolls, a Thai express quinoa bowl, and fresh veggie juices and fruit smoothies are a few of the vegan options on the menu.   With 26 veggie sides to choose from, R. Thomas’ has something tasty to satisfy the palates of vegans and non-vegans alike.

R. Thomas’ also serves breakfast all day and only uses organic free-range eggs.  You can substitute scrambled tofu for eggs if you’re hankering for some vegan breakfast

I ordered R.’s house-made veggie burger and the smashed potatoes with shitake mushroom gravy.  Both were vegan and delicious!  This is the best veggie burger I’ve had at a restaurant.  It was about an inch thick and super flavorful.  I’m guessing the burger was a mix of ground beans, rice, other veggies and spices.  It wasn’t spicy though, just seasoned very well.  The burger was served on a sourdough bun spread with a vegan dijonaise sauce.  My only complaint is that the burger didn’t come with tomato slices.  I like tomato, avocado, or cucumbers (something wet or something with crunch) on top of my burgers.  I’ll request them next time!

Sorry about the blurry picture!  The lighting didn’t help my food photography :/

The smashed potatoes were golden too.  I usually don’t like Shitake mushrooms but they added an unexpected depth to the gravy.  I should have gotten some of that gravy on the side and poured it all over my burger patty.  Mmm gravy burger!

R. Thomas’ Deluxe Grill is located just past SCAD Atlanta on Peachtree street:

1812 Peachtree Street, Atlanta GA 30309

Raspberry bars – vegan and gluten-free!

This recipe is a variation of the vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars.  I substituted raspberries and added a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla.  These turned out great!  I might try a mixed berry one next time.

You might want to adjust the amount of lemon juice and vanilla in this recipe.  I wasn’t sure how much to use since raspberries are more tart than blueberries.  I was hoping the vanilla would reduce the tartness.  Next time I’m going to use less lemon juice and vanilla and let the raspberries stand out.

You will need to make two batches of this (hence the ONE and TWO).  Keep the batches in separate bowls.

[ONE and TWO dry mix]

2 cups gluten-free oats

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

¾ cup dark brown sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

½ lb. Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks melted

1. Spray a sheet pan (don’t forget the sides!) with cooking spray.  Place a sheet of parchment onto the sheet pan and spray a little more oil on top.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a stand mixer (ONE) and mix.  Add melted butter and mix until dough sticks together (like cookie dough).
3. Press this batch of topping into an even layer on the prepared sheet pan.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and set aside.

While the first layer of topping is baking, prepare the second batch (TWO) and the raspberry sauce.

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Raspberry Sauce

4 cups frozen raspberries thawed (or fresh)

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. vanilla extract – try using 1-2 t. first and taste test the sauce

2 T. sugar

½ t. cinnamon

1. Blend everything in a VitaMix or food processor.  Pour raspberry sauce over baked crust in an even layer.  Use a spatula to even it out.
2. Crumble the remaining half of the oat topping on top of the raspberry sauce in an even layer.  Gently press the oat topping down.
3. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Don’t forget to let the raspberry bar cool for a while before you cut it.  Enjoy!

Bakery adventures in ATL

This weekend Danny and I went to ATL for some bakery and art fun.

Our first stop was Sally’s Gluten-Free Bakery.  This is the first gluten-free bakery I’ve visited in ATL.  I am so pleased with the breads I purchased!

I purchased the pumpkin bread and a loaf of the honey nutty bread (sliced).  Both of these breads are vegan and completely gluten-free.  The honey nutty bread is perfect with some Earth Balance vegan butter just out of the toaster oven.

Sally’s Bakery offers hamburger buns, English muffins (vegan), and sandwich bread in addition to sweeter treats like banana bread (vegan), soft and cakey brownies (vegan), and chocolate chip cookies.

Sally’s Bakery has plenty of samples available if you aren’t sure which type of bread you’d prefer:

They also sell take and bake pizzas.  The next time I am in ATL I am going to try the dairy free vegetarian pizza: pine nut pesto, black olives, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and bell peppers.  YUM!

Sally’s Bakery is just off of 285 in a shopping center.  It’s located below a stairwell on the other side of the shopping center across from Chipotle.

Sally’s Gluten-free Bakery is located at:

5920 Roswell Road Suite 108A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

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We also wanted to scope out some art in ATL.  Check out this cool print I purchased from Donna Van Gogh’s Artists’ Market in Candler Park:

Dogs, cupcakes, and a bakery.  I couldn’t pass it up!  Love Marc Tetro.

Donna Van Gogh’s is an artists’ coop located near little five points in ATL.  Be sure to check it out if you are looking for some fresh and funky local art including prints, ceramics, jewelry, and more.

Donna Van Gogh’s Artists’ Market is located at:

1651 McLendon Ave NE

Atlanta, GA 30307

I hope you check them out!

My weekend starts tonight so I made more snickerdoodles

After a long 2 weeks of work, I finally have some time off.  Woo!

I came home from work today today and found out the Culinary Institute of America accepted me into their baking and patisserie program!  I start this coming March 2013!  I’m so excited and I can’t wait to start learning new baking techniques.  And I’ll be living in New York.  Can’t wait!

Tonight I baked a batch of vegan and gluten-free snickerdoodles for friends.  I’m baking one more batch tomorrow before shipping them out.  I’m glad my friends will be able to experience them even though they live far away.

Over my weekend I’m going to work on calculating the costs of all the ingredients I regularly use.  Eventually I’d like to be able to cater small events (or prepare special order desserts) so I need to know how much a dozen cupcakes would cost, or how much a batch of cookies cost, etc.  Catering would be a lot of work but so much fun.  If you would like me to bake you a cake or another tasty treat, let me know!  I’ll figure out the cost of the ingredients and we can work out the price or set up a trade

I didn’t have much time tonight for a blog adventure in baking but I think I’m going to make a raspberry bar tomorrow (like the blueberry bar I made the other day).  I’ll post that recipe as soon as I do!

I love Daiya vegan cheese and now they have cheese wedges!

Daiya cheese is my preferred vegan cheese for pizza, chili cheese fries, cheeseburgers…ALL the cheesy vegan foods.  Daiya is the best vegan cheese because it tastes and melts like the real thing.

My friend Elizabeth tipped me off about Daiya’s new cheese wedges and I just had to try them.  After finishing up my shift at Earthfare I purchased some gluten-free crackers and a Daiya cheese wedge.  Earthfare has an aisle FULL of crackers (many are vegan, some are gluten-free).  I had no idea Edward & Sons made crackers but since I LOVE their vegan bouillon cubes (especially the ‘chicken’ flavor!) I had to try these crackers.  I wanted a plain cracker since I wanted the cheese to be the main flavor experience.

I chose the jack style wedge because I used to nosh on pepper jack cheese back in my non-vegan days.  I learned that I need to garnish each cracker with a currant, raisin, or a few pieces of roasted red pepper for a finished presentation.   I learned that from watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy today!  Thanks Ted Allen!  I love that show so much. 

This cheese is sooo good.  It tastes rich and creamy just like real cheese with no strange aftertaste.  I’m totally going to make a vegan and gluten-free grilled cheese with this tomorrow.  CAN’T WAIT.

Daiya wedges are also available in cheddar and jalapeno garlic havarti.  I expect I will be in a cheese coma as soon as I get my hands on the jalapeno garlic cheese. 

 

 

More vegan grill action

This morning I whipped up a hashbrown scramble using a spicy bean burger from Earthfare.  The burger is mildly spicy and works well as a vegan alternative to crumbled sausage.  These burgers are tasty, inexpensive, and made with whole ingredients.  It is also one of the few vegan and gluten-free burgers out there.

I fried 1 ½ cups of frozen diced potatoes and 1 cup of frozen onions and peppers with one burger patty.  I fry the patty whole and crumble it up with the spatula as it cooks.  I seasoned it with a ¼ cup of nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme.  I can’t get enough of nutritional yeast and thyme lately!  So good!

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The spicy bean burgers are also delicious on the grill.  I always brush my burgers with a sauce (try your favorite bbq sauce) and spritz them with oil before putting them on the grill.

I must have been hungry at work because I was daydreaming about the grill all day long.  As soon as I got home I started preparing this vegan feast:

A spicy black bean burger with Daiya mozzerella cheese, Portabella mushroom stuffed with tofu, onion, and fresh parsley, baby potato fries, and a balsamic zucchini and pepper grilled salad.

I hope you enjoy the recipes!  You will have plenty of leftovers

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Spicy Black Bean burger

2 pieces of Udi’s gluten-free bread

EarthBalance vegan butter

1 spicy bean burger patty – Earthfare brand (these are on sale at Earthfare for $2.99 for 4 patties!)

Daiya mozzarella shredded cheese (available at Earthfare near the produce and at Kroger in the natural food section)

Some type of sauce – I used a spicy apricot agave bbq sauce

This is what I used:

Danny found it at Kroger.  Patti LaBelle knows what’s up.  It’s tasty!

I like covering my bread with butter and toasting it on the grill.  I butter one side of the bread before placing it on the grill.

I slathered the patty with the bbq sauce and sprayed with oil before grilling it.  Grill for a few minutes on each side.  Right before you remove the patty, place a little pile of Daiya cheese on top.  Let it melt on the grill.  YUM.

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I wanted to make stuffed portabella mushrooms but I made WAY too much stuffing.  I decided to grill the mushrooms sans-stuffing and then stuff them once they are cooked.  That way I could pile on the stuffing without fear of it falling off into the grill.

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Tofu Crumble – makes enough for 5 portabella mushrooms

1 block firm tofu crumbled

1 vegan chicken bouillon cube (Edward and Sons brand – available at Earthfare and Kroger) + 1 cup hot water

½ onion – diced

½ cup nutritional yeast

¼ t. thyme

½ t. garlic

pinch salt

pinch pepper

¼ t. cayenne

fresh parsley

Portabella mushrooms

Place a strainer over a large bowl.  Crumble tofu over the strainer.  Squeeze tofu to get rid of most of the water.

Using a large frying pan, sauté the tofu and onion for a few minutes over medium-high heat with a few tablespoons of canola oil.

Add the bouillon cube and cup of hot water to the pan.  Stir tofu and cook for 10-15 minutes (or until most of the liquid has cooked off).

Add nutritional yeast, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne to the pan.  Stir and cook for a minute or so.

Remove from heat and let cool in the pan.  Once tofu crumble has cooled off a bit, add the fresh parsley and stir.  Set aside.

Time to grill the mushrooms!  Cover the mushrooms with olive oil and grill for 10 minutes.  Once they are done, scoop a bunch of the tofu crumble on top.

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Herb potato fries – serves 5

1.5 pounds small potatoes – I used the ruby gold variety from Kroger

¼ cup olive oil

½ t. salt (you might want to add more or less)

½ t. pepper

1 t. holiday herb mix (a blend of dried sage, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and pepper)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Rinse off potatoes and dry.  Cut potatoes into strips or slices (but not too thin).  Place in a large bowl and toss with remaining ingredients.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Shuffle them around at 20 minutes.

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Balsamic veggies  - makes enough to serve 5

3 zucchini

1 yellow banana pepper

1 red pepper

½ a red onion

½ t. salt

½ t. pepper

½ t. garlic

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

Dice all veggies and toss in a large bowl with remaining ingredients.

Prepare two foil packets for the grill.  This recipe yields a lot of veggies so it’s easier to grill them in two packets instead of one.  For each packet, tear off a 4 feet long piece of foil.  Fold it in half (to make it more sturdy).  Carefully dump the veggies onto one half of the foil rectangle.  If you have extra sauce in the bowl, save it for later because you can always add more sauce once they come off the grill.  Fold the other half over the veggies and crimp the edges together.  Poke a few holes in the top of the packet using a small knife.  Place packet on the grill and grill for 10-15 minutes.  Be careful when you remove and open the packet!  I used a scissors to cut off one side and emptied the packet using an oven mitt.

Enjoy!

Dark chocolate mint coconut milk muffins – vegan and gluten-free

Good news!  I am a guest blogger on the Earthfare Athens blog!  My vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars are currently featured.  I’m so happy to share recipes with more Athens foodies.  Check it out here

I had a bit of coconut milk leftover from the coconut milk Pink Ladies cake so I whipped up some dark chocolate coconut milk muffins.

I used the dark chocolate mint Endangered Species brand chocolate bar in this recipe.  I thought dark chocolate mint and the fattiness of the coconut would work well together.

Endangered species chocolate is my favorite vegan chocolate thus far.  You can find it at Earthfare in the coffee and candy section.

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This recipe makes 10 small muffins if you use a 2 oz. scoop.

1/2 cup + 1 T. white rice flour

1/2 cup + 1 T. gluten-free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mill brand – available at Earthfare at Kroger)

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. xanthan gum

1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter – cut into small cubes

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 t. salt

1/4 cup + 1 T. coconut milk

2 “eggs” (use EnerG egg replacer – available at Earthfare and Kroger)

2 T. oil

3/4 t. vanilla extract

1 – 3 oz. chocolate bar – dark chocolate mint flavor – chopped into small pieces with a serrated knife.

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with liners.
2. Sift flours, baking powder, and xanthan gum.  Set aside.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and salt with a stand mixer on medium for 4 minutes.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, mix for 1 more minute.  Scrape bowl.
4. Slowly stir in milk with mixer on low.  Scrape bowl.
5. Slowly add “eggs” and oil.
6. Add sifted flour mixture (in 2-3 increments) to the mixer.  Mix on low until fully incorporated.
7. Scoop into the prepared muffin pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Don’t forget to use a toothpick to test your muffins.  The muffins are done if you insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin, remove it, and it comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing them (I use a spoon to help me pop them out of the pan).  If you have a cooling rack, let them cool on the rack.

The texture of these muffins are much better than the last batch I made (a few months ago).  I think I’m going to use coconut milk from now on.  The subtle mint flavor from the dark chocolate makes this muffin extra special

Vegan and gluten-free coconut milk layer cake with strawberry icing

Yesterday I had some friends over for the musical Grease, blueberry bars, and cake.  I recently purchased an Ateco metal cake turntable (around $50.00 on Amazon) so I wanted to give it a whirl!

Rizzo is my favorite, of course!

I wanted to use my gluten-free interpretation of the Dulce Sin Leche cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World to make a 4-layer cake that would make the Pink Ladies proud.  I iced this coconut milk cake with icing tinted pink with pureed strawberries.

I tripled the recipe so that I would have ample cake batter to fill cake pans almost halfway.  I used two 8-inch cake pans and cut each layer in half.

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Coconut milk cake – makes two thick 8-inch cakes.

[DRY 1]

1 1/2 cup arrowroot flour

2 1/4 cup white rice flour

1 1/2 t. xanthan gum (completely necessary even though it’s $12.00 a bag!)

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

3/4 t. baking soda

[DRY 2]

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

[WET]

1 cup oil

1 1/2 cup soy milk

1 1/2 cup coconut milk

2 T. vanilla extract

1 T. lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper.  To make perfect cake pan sized parchment circles, place cake pans onto a sheet of parchment paper and trace around them.  Cut out the circles and place onto the bottom of each pan.
2. Sift together dry ingredients.
3. Add sugar and brown sugar.  Mix.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
6. Pour cake batter into two prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.
7. Let the cake cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then flip them over on a flat surface (I prefer a cooling rack) and let them cool completely.  In the mean time, mix a 1/4 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup warm water and stir.  This simple syrup will be brushed onto each cake layer before applying icing.  This will help keep crumbs at bay.

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Strawberry pink icing

8 oz. of strawberries

lemon juice from a lemon half

1 cup shortening

1 cup Earth Balance vegan butter sticks – must be at room temperature!

7 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla extract

1 t. almond extract

pinch of salt

1. Blend 8 oz. of strawberries and lemon juice.  Measure out 1/4 cup and set aside.
2. Beat shortening and butter on medium speed for 4 minutes until fluffy.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and mix for 1 more minute.
3. Add sugar (one cup at a time) and mix on lowest speed until incorporated.  Once all of the sugar is in the mixing bowl, beat for 3 minutes on medium/high.
4. Add extracts, salt, and 1/4 cup of strawberry purée.  Mix on the lowest speed until incorporated.  Beat for 5-7 more minutes on medium/high until fluffy.

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Once your icing is ready and the cake is cooled, cut each cake layer in half.  I used a large roast knife to cut these.

Paint the tops of each layer with the simple syrup (1/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup water) and apply icing.  Never let your icing spatula touch the cake!  If you do happen to pick up a crumb or two, wipe off the spatula before applying more icing.  Lay the icing on thick and gently smooth it out by forcing it out from the center and slightly over the edges of each cake layer.

I had some strawberry purée remaining from the icing recipe so I poured it into a squeeze bottle and thought it would be fun to add some on top of the icing.

This was not a good idea.  When I placed the second cake layer on top of the first, the strawberry sauce made the cake layer slide around on top of the icing.  It kept wiggling around and made icing that layer more difficult.  Never again!

I decided to put the strawberry sauce on top of the cake layer BEFORE I apply icing.  That way the sauce can soak into the cake and layers stay put.

Keep layering cake, a wash of simple syrup, strawberry sauce, and icing.  Don’t put too much icing in between each cake layer because you want to make sure you have enough to cover the top and all around the cake.

This cake was so good!  I’m going to keep using coconut milk in my cake recipes because it makes the cake so moist and cake-like (unlike some gluten-free cakes I’ve tried…super dry and dense!).  Next time I will put more strawberries into the icing because the strawberry flavor didn’t come through.

Pink Ladies 4 Lyfe.  Thanks to the Backus sisters for inspiring this Grease and cakefest!

Vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars

I’ve never had the full blueberry bar experience from Ike and Jane because they contain gluten.  I decided to make some at home because I am seriously that obsessed with baking.  I love reworking recipes so that people with allergies can enjoy these delectable treats!

I made some modifications to the recipe so that these are vegan and gluten-free.

Behold!  A tower of vegan and gluten-free blueberry bars!

These blueberry bars are magical.  The ingredients are simple so the tastiness comes from how all the flavors marry with one another.  The Earth Balance vegan butter and brown sugar crust are a perfect accompaniment to the blueberry (with a squeeze of lemon juice) purée center.

This recipe is for a 12 by 16 inch pan.  I cut the bars into a 4 by 5 grid and got 20 large bars.  You can also cut the bars even smaller (quarter each one) so that you can share the blueberry-goodness with more of your friends

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Oat Crust and Topping:

4 cups gluten-free oats (Bob’s Red Mill brand – located near the cereal at Earthfare)

2 cups white rice flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 lb. Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks melted (available at Earthfare near the other buttery spreads – I stock up on these whenever they go on sale!)

Spray a sheet pan (don’t forget the sides!) with cooking spray.  Place a sheet of parchment onto the sheet pan and spray a little more oil on top.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all dry ingredients in a stand mixer (if you have a very large one) and mix.  Add melted butter and mix until dough sticks together (like cookie dough).

A note:  All the ingredients wouldn’t fit in my stand mixer so I mixed them by hand.  You could also prepare this in two batches in your stand mixer (with 2 cups oats, 1 cup white rice flour, 1 cup gf all-purpose flour…etc).  If you do it in two batches, keep them in separate bowls.

If you did it in one batch, divide the oat topping in half.  Press one half of the topping into an even layer on the prepared sheet pan.  Set the other half of the topping aside.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and set aside.

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Now you need to prepare the blueberry sauce:

4 cups frozen blueberries thawed (or fresh)

lemon juice from a 1/4 lemon

2 T. sugar

Blend everything in a VitaMix or food processor.  Pour blueberry sauce over baked crust in an even layer.  Use a spatula to even it out.

Crumble the remaining half of the oat topping on top of the blueberry sauce in an even layer.  Gently press the oat topping down (it’s okay if a little bit of blueberry sauce seeps through).

Return to the oven for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove and let cool completely before cutting it.  You can pop it into the freezer for a little while too.  If you don’t let it cool, cutting it into bars is a big goopy mess!

I’m definitely going to try using blackberries or raspberries next time I make these.  I’ll have to make twice as many too because this batch did not last long!  I made these yesterday and my friends and co-workers ate them up. 

Wilton cake decorating classes at Michaels

If you want to learn how to become an icing-bag master you should sign up for Wilton cake decorating classes at Michaels.  I’ve taken the first three classes at the Michaels in Athens and I have learned so much!  I still need to take the 4th class (the most advanced class so far).

Each class lasts 4 weeks.  You meet once a week for 2 hours at Michaels in their craft room.  My teacher Diane is the best!  She’s a great teacher, super nice, and she explains directions clearly.  You also get a workbook (with recipes and step-by-step instructions with pictures) for each class you take.

Each class costs around $22.50.  You do need to purchase a supply kit for each class and I believe these are around $30 (but I purchased my kits with 40% off coupons since I get the coupons so frequently–I would get a 40% off coupon printed with my receipt when I made a purchase at Michaels).

In the first class you get acquainted with icing bags and learn basic icing techniques.  You also learn how to make buttercream icing and how to ice a cake.

This was a gluten-free and vegan yellow cake iced with a vegan buttercream.  Wilton’s recipe isn’t vegan because it contains meringue (egg white) powder so I omitted the powder.  My vegan buttercream worked just fine in class!

Even in the first class you learn more advanced icing tricks by using various icing tips.  Different tips give the icing a different texture or shape when you squeeze it out of the icing bag.  You also learn how to make roses out of icing!  Here are some cupcakes I decorated using the icing techniques from class:

Buttercream roses take time and patience!  I practiced on this cake:

This cake was also a gluten-free vegan yellow cake with buttercream icing.  I did not eat a piece that big, I SWEAR!

And here is my final cake for the first class:

It’s true!  I’m in love with cake.

In the second class, you learn how to make flowers out of royal icing.  You dabble in fondant and gum paste but you won’t learn much fondant technique because that is covered in the third class.  Royal icing dries quickly so the flowers you make in class will harden (you can make flowers in advance and store them in an air-tight container once they dry completely).  I thought these were easier than the buttercream roses because of that.

You also learn how to create a basket-weave out of buttercream.  This is not as hard as it looks!  This is my final cake for the second class.

I just finished up the third class a few weeks ago.  In the third class you learn how to create flowers and borders out of fondant and gumpaste.

We also learned how to cover a cake with fondant.  Fondant is vegan (mainly sugar) but it doesn’t have a taste.  The chocolate fondant tastes like a tootsie roll though!  It makes my cake so pretty and smooth.

In the fourth and final Wilton class I will learn how to make realistic-looking flowers out of fondant and gumpaste.  I think I’ll take it this fall.  I can’t wait!

Don’t be intimidated by these classes!  You should sign-up if you want to improve your decorating skills.  If you don’t have any to begin with, that’s cool too.  That’s what the first class is for!  Let me know if you have any questions