So I made this cake for one of my daughter's little friends, and though i had a very tough time getting the fondant around the cake rounds, I definitely learned alot. I'm so lucky to have such great friends that let me practice on them! Everyone absolutely loved this cake, flaws and all, and I was thrilled that the birthday girl was so happy. The cake is actually a "checkerboard" cake, made with chocolate and vanilla cake, layered and baked in a way that once stacked, the three layers form a checkerboard pattern on the inside. It's easier than you might think in that there are cake pan inserts that allow you to parse out the two batters, and the recipe is provided on the back of the insert box. I did use that recipe, however next time I'd use the 1-2-3 butter cake recipe from Kate Sullivan's book, Fun & Fancy Cake Decorating: Tips and Techniques for Decorating Unique Cakes For Any Occasion. I'd definitely recommend this book if you have at least a basic background in baking. It's challenging but doable!
For this cake, I made the fondant and gumpaste flowers in advance, so they could dry. I then painted them with pink paste food coloring and luster dust to give them a lovely sheen. I also made the red butterfly in advance, and just used fondant, although there is another technique I'd like to use, where you cut out the wings, then attach them to a royal icing body, and hold the wings in place with wadded up pieces of paper towel. Once dry, you can paint them. Although all i had at the time was red food coloring paste, I'd recommend using the powder instead, as it tends to give it a more robust color with less streaks. I made the fairy out of marzipan, then painted and gave her a final dusting with pink luster dust. So sweet!!
No comments:
Post a Comment