Review: Tala Cake Marker

Macaron Tower Cake Made Using Tala Cake Marker

Review: Tala Cake Marker

In this review we share how we used the Cake Marker by Tala as a guide in creating a macaron tower. The Cake Marker is designed to help you find the centre of a cake, create custom patterns and add decoration accurately. To test this versatile tool we put pen to paper and designed an elegant cake with a simple repetitive pattern. The swirls and swags mimic those seen on the marker itself and helped add those all important finishing touches to our multi-flavoured macaron tower.

The tower itself, from base to top, is a vanilla cake filled with blackberry jam, covered in lemon buttercream and fondant icing and adorned with lemon sherbet, pistachio and turkish delight macarons (some of which are painted with 24 carat edible gold leaf).

Macaron Tower Cake Made Using Tala Cake Marker

Placing the tower in a central position is essential for creating an aesthetically pleasing cake. The spacing from the edge of the cake to the base tier of the lemon macarons is relatively small but if it is even slightly off centre the entire cake could look uneven. We used Tala’s Cake Marker to ensure our tower was central by opening the marker fully and laying it flat upon the cake. The pivet is fitted with a hole so it can be held in place by a pin or used to pin point the centre. Once the centre is found a circle can be drawn using an edible ink pen with a fine tip, or a pin, by placing it through the appropriate hole for the required size. Using the circle as a guideline full control over the tower’s placement is achievable.

Macaron Tower Cake Made Using Tala Cake Marker

The cake marker’s usability really becomes evident when it is time to take the design drawn on paper and place it on an actual cake. The spacing between the swags, like the placement of the cone, is integral to the over all design. We found that Tala’s cake marker gave us the freedom to mark dots where each individual swag would begin and end. Simply place the marker horizontally onto the side of a cake and mark each dot with an edible ink pen accounting for the distance you need between both. Had we not used this method we may have encountered trouble matching up the last few swags.

A great point to make about Tala’s cake marker is that it will lend itself to creating extravagant and simple designs alike. We chose a design inspired by the cake marker itself by taking the ‘C’ shaped swirl and repeating it around the base of our cake. Not only was this a great way to add simple detail it was also incredibly easy to achieve. Using the ‘C’ we marked the shape with a pin and simply followed the pattern using a 2.5 writer tip; we even painted the same design on selected macarons with 24 carat edible gold leaf.

Macaron Tower Cake Made Using Tala Cake Marker

Tala’s cake marker maneuvers well when in use enabling the design to flow seamlessly. Also, it is light and flexible enough to be laid upon icing without causing any damage at all. The cake marker itself is made from plastic making it easy to clean and upkeep. At the same time it is durable enough not to break, chip or crack with pressure leaving your cakes free of dents and scratches.

With the above in mind we have scored the above Tala tools on design, quality and function…




Tala Cake Marker
 

 

Review: New Cake Ruler by Tala

Raspberry Chambord Macaron Cake made using Tala Cake Marker

Review: Tala Cake Ruler

In this post we review the new Cake Ruler by Tala! It is a handy 35cm/14 inch plastic ruler that is straight on one side and features a zig zag pattern on another side. Some main uses for this tool are to measure distances between design details on cakes (especially when planning out delicate ruffle buttercream features) or for creating simple yet eye-catching striped patterns into your buttercream!

Cake Ruler by Tala

In order to test Tala’s Cake Ruler we did what we love best… we baked a cake! We decided to keep to a simple yet elegant design that would help mimic the linear pattern of the zig zag side of the ruler and created a three layered buttercream iced cake. It is sandwiched with dollops of fresh raspberry preserve, smothered in a raspberry Chambord liqueur buttercream and topped with handmade macarons and edible rose petals!

Raspberry Chambord Macaron Cake made using Tala Cake Marker
The first great thing you’ll notice about the Cake Ruler by Tala is it’s multiple uses; you can use it easily to measure where designs should feature on your cake or to measure out parchment paper or even sugarpaste/fondant work. For this cake we used the measurements to mark how far into ‘indent’ the pattern so that it coincided well with the size of the macarons. The ruler’s second use is that is is excellent for scraping buttercream to achieve a flawless finish. We used the straight side to initially smooth the buttercream surface before creating the stripe pattern. It’s third use was to create fun and simple patterns into your frosting. We kept our cake simple with a lovely straight-forward stripe pattern working around the sides and 5cm/2 inches around the edge of the top.

Raspberry Chambord Macaron Cake made using Tala Cake Marker
Another good point to note about the ruler is that it is a good length; 35cm/14 inches in fact. It is perfect to use for tall gateaux as well as for mini cakes and fondant fancies. It helps scrape a good stripe or waved pattern into the sides of cakes created with more layers than normal due to it’s height which is pretty handy due to the trend of super tall cakes that has been on the cake ‘scene’ for the past couple of years now.

This Cake Ruler by Tala is plastic and is both flexible and durable so it is easy to use and handle when cake decorating. It is of the usual excellent quality by Tala (we have never been disappointed in this brand’s products). It is also very easy to store and clean. It fits easily into our cake decorating tool box in case of a cake emergency!

Finally, we’ve found that it is often the most simplest tools that help a baker and decorator most in the kitchen. This Cake Ruler by Tala has indeed permanently found it’s way into Most Essential Tool list. We use it to measure sugarpaste/fondant, cake boxes and boards, measure and cut parchment paper for making macarons, indenting both buttercream and roll out icing, smoothing chocolate and buttercream, pressing guide lines into frosted cakes for different piping techniques and even checking how high a cupcake is! Another use that we are excited to eventually try is to create a colour ‘plate’ with mixed gel paste colours, scrape the zig zag side through it and indent a ombré or rainbow stripe into the side of a buttercream covered cake!

With the above in mind we have scored the above Tala tools on design, quality and function…




 

NEW! Tala baking and cake decorating items in stock!

NEW! Tala baking and cake decorating items in stock!

New! Tala baking supplies in stock!

If you’ve visited our Facebook page or blog over the past months you may have heard us mention Tala a few times already. We’ve been using Tala for years now and we can recall our parents and grandparents using Tala’s products when we were growing up. Packed with nostalgia their high quality, well considered kitchenware and baking supplies remain essential in our working lives and we’re excited to announce that we’re now stocking some of those products at www.junipercakery.co.uk.

We’re proud to introduce four new Tala products to our site for you to purchase which are as seen below!

NEW! Tala baking and cake decorating items in stock!
From Tala’s mini bakery we have a set of bunny and lamb plunger cutters. This is an adorable and versatile set of cutters which will not be out of place in any baking project. Their larger size of: 6cm x 7cm for the bunny and 8cm by 6 cm for the lamb make them the perfect for cookies or adorning cupcakes and giant cupcakes with. Their use with sugarpaste needn’t stop there, why not plunge out multiple bunnies or lambs, add detail and place around a Christening, Birthday, Easter or themed cake!

NEW! Tala baking and cake decorating items in stock!
Above is a set of seven double ended icing modelling tools by Tala. These tools are essential for any cake decorator at any level and we rely on them when sculpting all of our sugarpaste models.

NEW! Tala baking and cake decorating items in stock!
Tala’s three-tiered card cupcake stand is one of the sturdiest we’ve found and has no trouble holding up to 30 cupcakes at a time. This cupcake stand is disposable but we were impressed as it can be wiped clean for multiple uses.

NEW! Tala baking and cake decorating items in stock!
The cake tester by Tala comes with a novelty cupcake at one end and is compatible with cupcakes, cakes and gateaux. It is 14cm long and can be used when baking larger, deeper baked goods. This cake tester is an essential and makes a great gift for any baking enthusiast!

 

Our cake featured in Tala trade catalogue!

Our cake featured in Tala trade catalogue!

One of our cakes has been printed in Tala’s new trade catalogue!

Remember this cake we made months back? We created it by drawing inspiration from their wonderful range of retro products. We’re happy to share with you that Tala decided to include images of our cake in their 2013 trade catalogue! As you can see from the images above our cake features beside Tala’s range of quality sugarpaste/fondant tools and plunger cutters which we will be proudly stocking in the near future. Stay posted for further Tala themed cakes we may produce throughout the year ahead.

Our cake featured in Tala trade catalogue!

To view Tala’s wonderful products why not visit their website or Facebook page for lots of helpful recipes, tips, photographs and more!

Our cake featured in Tala trade catalogue!

 

The bicycle cake!

Here’s a really playful bicycle themed cake we created! It’s a classic Victoria Sponge cake with the large boulder as a second tier. The cake is covered with custom coloured icing and decorated with various edible sugarpaste modellings. We had lots of fun making this cake!

 

Review: Tala sugarpaste modelling tools

Here at Juniper Cakery we have amassed a large collection of sugarpaste tools. Some things we were lacking were the above Tala products. We have to admit we did not know that Tala made plunger cutters and modelling tools. We'd always used their pastry cutters to create smooth 'doilies', plaques, and sugar paste detailings. We've also used their 1950s icing set to add detail to cakes. Tala appeals to us because of their traditional yet simplistic 1950s/60s design, however, the the quality of their products is never compromised.

We have scored the above Tala tools on design, quality and function…




In order to test these modelling tools we decided to create a Tala inspired cake. We looked at their packaging, cake tins and at 1960s cake designs (due to the 1950s/60s style of Tala's products). From their range we picked out a very simple colour palate of a sky blue, pale yellow and white. From the sixties influence we chose to create sugarpaste pearls, an edible broderie anglaise border and a bouquet of daisies and blossoms.

The designs of the modelling tools are simple, classic and un-fussy. Their tools are plastic and are in a slight off-white colour which makes them fairly easy to find in our tool box crammed full of various tools (most of which are either a bright white or a very pale grey colour). The floral plungers, especially the daisy shapes, have just enough detail on them for you to also add you own accents (we cut yellow circles from icing tips and textured them with one of the Tala modelling tools to make the centre of the daisy).

In terms of quality we couldn't fault the tools. Our previous plunger cutters usually needed a bit of a prod or a wiggle in order to shake the flower or leaf out. These simply needed one small push on the plunger and it was ready to adorn with a bead or disc centre. All of the modelling tools are of a good thick and tough plastic so they feel extremely durable.

Some modelling tools came in old fashioned doctor's 'lollipop' style shapes, or more professionally called 'tongue depressors' which came in really handy for tidying up rouh sugarpaste corners. Also, the ball tools are larger than one's we've previously used which we feel will be better when it comes to shaping rose petals and ruffle edgings.

Overall we awarded Tala a well deserved…

 

 

×