XBox Controller Cake - Step by Step Instructions

This was my first Xbox Controller Cake.  Happy Birthday Ashton (my former next door neighbor).

This cake was being picked up on a Thursday, and I hate those requests because I work full time and I have to rush through the decorating after I get home from work.  But thankfully this cake wasn't that difficult to put together.

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I made all the knobs and buttons ahead of time.  I used black Fondarific fondant mixed with some Tylose power (the tylose stiffens the fondant), and just cut out circles and squares.  To get the domed shape on the buttons, I covered the fondant with cling wrap before I cut them out with the circular cookie cutters. The fondant was rolled to about 1/4" thick.

The I used my uppercase Block alphabet cutouts to make the letters on top of the buttons.  The fancy edges of the letters didn't match the real XBox controller so I just trimmed off the extra parts.

I made the black button for the XBox logo, and then using a paper templete, I cut out the "X" from white gum paste. I cut the tips a little longer than the templete so they would hang down the side on my fondant button.

For the Direction Pad I cut out a square from black tylose/fondant using a cookie cutter and then used the same square to cut out the side parts.  I then let the piece dry in a flower shaping mold which gave the Direction Pad its cupped shaped

For the Left and Right Stick, I cut out three different size circles from black tylose/fondant, and stacked them together.  The center piece is about 1/2" in height which makes the Stick, stick up higher than the rest of the cake.  For the top circle I pushed the handles of two different tools into the circle with gave it a cone-like shape.  Then I used a narrow, pointy tool to push all three circles together.

I made Xbox game boxes by printing out the image of the games, then using a glue dot runner I stuck the paper image onto a flat pieces of gum paste.  I trimmed the edges of the gum paste and then allowed it to dry.  You need the gum paste behind the paper image to keep it from absorbing moisture and falling apart.

Now onto the cake itself.  I baked a chocolate cake in a Wilton 12 x18" pan, cut the cake in half to give me two 12 x 9" cakes.  I cut the cake to the XBox shape using a paper templete.

I stacked the cake and then did a little bit of carving.  I rounded the top edge of the cake and cut a little shelf at the back of the cake.  I then crumb coated the cake in the chocolate icing.

A layer of  white chocolate ganache came next.  I used white ganache because I didn't want the chocolate buttercream to show through the white fondant.  The ganache also give a much firmer base to apply the fondant.

After applying the ganache, I let it harden in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so.   Next I smoothed the surface of the ganache using a hot spatula.  I dipped the spatula in hot water, wiped it dry, and then smoothed it over and rough spots on the cake.  Back in the frig at this point to harden the ganache.

I again used a paper templete (a new, clean one), and sketched out where all the buttons would go.

Then I cut circles through the ganache to the frosted cake below.  These are the hollows where the buttons would be placed.  For the Left and Right sticks, I added a circular strip of fondant to make it match the real controller.  I should have tapered the outside edge a bit so it wasn't so sharp looking - but I didn't think of it at the time.  I also placed this cake on a 16" silver cake drum.  I had a 12" square black cake drum that I wanted to use on this cake, but it ended up a little too small.  I don't like using silver cake drums (too shiny), and I was going to cover it in black fondant, but I didn't have enough black fondant to cover the whole thing. Oh well.

Next the cake was covered in fondant.  I used Renshaw white fondant for this cake.

I added a piece of black fondant to the back.  After the cake was finished I didn't think the black piece was sticking up enough, so I added an additional strip of fondant around the outside edge.

Then all my pre-made button were placed into the waiting hollows.

And I cut out the letters for Happy 14th Birthday Ashton using my trusty Tappit cutters.  I used the FMM Art Decp Alphabet and the Uppercase Funky Alphabet.

So here again is the finished product.  I was surprised at how easily this cake came together. PS: for the little View and Menu button I drew the lines and shapes using an edible food decorating pen.

Happy Decorating,

Carol


Supply List: 

Black Fondarific Fondant
Tylose Power
Cake Boss Circular Cookie Cutters
Flower Cupped Shaping Mold
Wilton Gum Paste
Wilton 12 x18" pan
Americolor Food Decorating Pens
Renshaw white fondant
16" - 1/4" thick Silver Cake Drum
FMM Block Alphabet Tappits
FMM Uppercase Funky Alphabet Tappits

Combo of Cake Decorating Styles: Drip, Fault Line, Stripes

I made a cake that combined the 3 most popular cake decorating trends of 2019: the Drip, the Fault Line, and the Stripe.  I was happy with the results, but I didn't get much of a reaction from my social media peeps.  Crickets.  Crickets are never a good sign, but my great aunt Goldie loved it and in the end that is all that really matters.

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I made the stripes using my PME Cake Comb, but in hindsight I should have used my Wilton Cake Comb because the teeth are a little closer together on the Wilton.  The closer teeth would have given me more stripes which I think would have looked more interesting.

Here is the cake with the stripes cut out...

And here is the cake  where I've filled the voids with pink buttercream and started to scraping off the excess.  I didn't bother filling the top most void because I knew it would be covered with the "Fault Line" portion of the design.

After the stripes were on, I added the buttercream for the fault line section and scraped it off to make it smooth.

For the drip I used a recipe that combines Pink Wilton Candy melts (250g), white chocolate callets (60 g), and heavy whipping cream (1/3 cup).  I like this recipe better than others I have tried because it gives a better texture and it is easier to control the drips.

To highlight the edge of the "Fault Line", I painted it with a mixture of edible gold luster dust mixed with vodka.

For the topper I used my Cricut Explorer Air 2 and glitter cardstock paper to cut out the text.  To attach the topper to the cake I hot glued clear plastic rods to the back.  The rods are really thin, but they are strong enough to hold up the paper topper, and they are not as obvious as wooden skewers.  I also cut out the "Happy Birthday" using the Cricut.

So, again, nothing noteworthy about the cake, but my great aunt like it.

Happy Decorating,

Carol


Supply List: 

PME Cake Comb
Wilton Cake Comb
14" Cake Drum
Pink Wilton Candy Melts
white chocolate callets
Roxy & Rich edible gold luster dust 
Cricut Explorer Air 2
Clear plastic rods

Fortnite Cake

A friend asked me to make a Fortnite cake for her daughter, and I thought,"Fort WHAT??"

I had probably heard the name Fortnite before, but because I didn't know anything about it, I had to do some research.  I found a few cakes online and decided just to make a few "Fortnite" game pieces and place them on a simple round cake.

Here is the finished cake.  In hindsight I should have made the name "Kynslee" in a darker colored fondant, but other than that I was pleased with the cake.

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Here is a side view of the cake showing the Loot Llama.  the llama was my favorite piece.  I thought it was so cute I actually bought myself a little plastic Funko Pop Loot Llama.

I made the llama from gum paste and modeled it after the plastic figure.  The pink I used came out a little duller than the plastic figure, but it was good enough for cake!

Next I made the tree.  I use aluminium foil as the center of the tree and stuck on globs of green to form the leaves.  Easy, peasy.

Making the drop box was a little more involved.  I tinted my gumpaste Sky Blue, used a wood grain impression mat to make the texture, and then cut out six squares and some thin strips.  I glued the strips to the main square and allowed it to dry.

Once the panels were dry, I glued them together using more gum paste and a thick slurry made from a mixture of gum paste and water.

For the dog tags I cut out the rectangular shape, and then used a paper template with the outline of the pick ax and gun cut out.  I then used a pointy tool the impress the shape into the soft gum paste.  It looked like a bunch of dots pressed into the fondant.  Once the dog tags were dry, I painted them with edible silver luster dust mixed with vodka.

To make the "Victory Royale" banner.  I cut out a paper printout and stuck it to a thinly rolled piece of gum paste using a glue dot runner.  I then trimmed the gum paste to match the outline of the paper banner and allowed it to dry before I hot glued two clear plastic rods to the back.

Once all the do-dads were finished I positioned them on a foam dummy cake just so I could decide how everything should be arranged.

For the cake drum I made a camouflage looking mixture of green and black fondant.  I draped it on the cake drum to make it look like fabric.

I then placed my chilled cake on top of the decorated cake drum.

And removed the acrylic disk and cling wrap.  (I use acrylic disks to get the sides of my cake straight and the edges sharp.)

For the Fortnite banner on the side of the cake I cut out the letters from yellow fondant.  I should have just used a paper banner like I did for the "Victory Royale" because it was so time consuming cutting out all the letters.

But here is the finished banner on the cake.    I used two toothpicks to hold the banner in place.  With all the layers of fondant it was a little heavy, and I was afraid it would slip and get uneven.

And here I am placing all the "supplies" on the cake.  The finished drop box was a little heavy so I used some straws to support the weight and keep it from sinking into the cake.

Here I am inserting the board with Kynslee's name on it.  I should have done something to make the name stand out more - it blends in a little too much with the background - but I didn't feel like fiddling with it any more. :-(

So here is the finished cake.  I hope she likes it!

Happy Decorating,

Carol


Supply List: 

Funko Pop Loot Llama
Wilton Gum Paste
Roxy & Rich Edible Silver Luster Dust
Wood Grain Impression Mat
Glue Dot Runner
Clear Plastic Rods
Foam Dummy Cake
14" Cake Drum
CakeSafe Acrylic Disks
Black Fondarific fondant
Renshaw white fondant
FMM Block Alphabet Tappits
FMM Magical Alphabet Tappits