Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Doll Size Pumpkin Pie Slices





This week we are going to make some slices of pumpkin pie. The process is similar to making the whole pie except we need to have the “good clay” throughout and we don't pre-bake any parts.

I was out of the Sweet Potato color clay that I used for the whole pie so I went to my local Joann's to get more. They were out so I checked the racks for what else would work. They did have Fimo brand in Cognac, and that would probably work with the addition of a bit of lighter color clay since it is a bit dark in color.

Then further down the rack I found the display of Premo Souffle clays, and they had a color called Pumpkin! It really is a perfect color so if you can get this one grab it for your pies.

For my crust I used just under half a package of Ecru clay (Premo brand). This is the same color I used for the crust last time. This time we need to line the entire pan with the crust color.

It is super important to let this crust sit so it has a chance to settle before you add the filling. This makes it much easier to pack in the filling color without distorting your crust.

For the filling I used most of a pack and a half of the Pumpkin color. If we had pans that were more to scale in depth it would have taken much less. Look for a future blog post about exactly what I would like to find for the pie pans.

In the video I went ahead and finished off the top crust edge before I froze the pie. This ended up be totally unnecessary since I ended up cutting the edge off and putting it back on the individual slices. When you do yours just run the crust of the pie to the edge of the pan and then finish the top later. I think running the crust up to the top does give you something to grip when you remove the pie and it will be easier to cut it straight out of the pan.

After the pie is filled it needs to freeze until it is fairly solid. This is a soft clay and it will distort less if it is slightly frozen for removal from the pan. I did totally ruin the pan removing the clay but at least the pans are supposed to be disposable. I was hoping the frozen pie would pop out easier like it does in the smaller scales. I am not sure if additional freezing time would have made a difference or not.

Let the pie warm up slightly but don't let it thaw totally before you cut the slices. You want the clay just soft enough to get your clay knife through but not soft enough that it smashes when you put the pressure on it to cut it.

I admit I am horrid at cutting nice neat wedges of pie (or cakes) I can't do it in real life and I am not better with the doll food. At least we can keep trimming the doll's slices until we are happy with the shape.

Next you just need to texture the pie and its crust then bake the pie slices.

Since these pieces are so big I decided to lower my oven temperature by 25 degrees and bake for 40 minutes.

If you want to add whipped cream, my favorite way is to use caulking from the home improvement store. I use one of the tips that you can buy to use with real frosting and it looks great. Just be sure to let it sit until it is completely dry before you touch it.


So now we have slices of pumpkin pie for the dolls to enjoy.


Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!


Monday, November 14, 2016

Doll Size Pumpkin Pie


This week we are going to make a pumpkin pie. The one I am showing this week is made to be a whole pie as opposed to one that is sliced. If I can get the clay colors I need to make one I will be making a sliced pie next week.



I have been looking for several months for a good doll size pie tin. I had found these tart shell tins a while back but was hoping to find something that was not so deep. Since I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for I decided to use these this year. The main problem I have with this tin is that it is too deep to be in scale. That also means we have to use a lot more clay to make our pies. Not as much of an issue with this version since we can use some filler clay to bulk up the pie. If we do make the sliced pie next week that will require a lot of the colored clay.

For the crust I used the Pemo color Ecru, it makes a really good crust color all by itself.

For the pumpkin filling I usually use the Scullpey in Sweet Potato when I make the pies in the smaller dollhouse scale. I found for this scale that was just a bit too bright (okay, it was a LOT to bright LOL) so I used a small amoung of the Ecru to tone down the color. I am really happy with the color I got this way.


Something I didn't mention in the video, if you want to make an unbaked pie skip the chalk. Then bake off the pie and the dolls will have a pie ready to go in the oven.

I used mostly the same chalks I use everytime I make baked goods. The changes were I added a lighter warm yellow and made sure to not use any of the rust or reddish brown colors. I found that the rust colors made my first pie way too orange.




So I hope you enjoy this project, remember if you make on send my a picture. I love to see what you are making.