Dog Food Bowl Cake

I saw this cake popup on a YouTube channel I watch, and I decided to make one to celebrate my dog's 16th birthday.  Not that she gets to eat this cake.  It is marbled cake with chocolate frosting loaded on top with Whoppers, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints.  Although someone said the "dog food kibbles" looked like cat poop. :-(  What a way to kill my appetite. 

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For the cake I baked two 8" rounds, and torted each layer so I had 4 layers.  On the top layer I cut out a 5" circle (I should have cut out 6") to form the depression in the dog food bowl.  I then trimmed the top outer edge of the layer to form a rounded curve.  And yes, I ate the scraps.

I applied a layer of chocolate frosting, and smoothed it with acrylic sugar smoother.  After smoothing, I placed the cake in the refrigerator to chill. 

After chilling, I covered the cake in fondant.  I've been using Carma Massa Ticcino fondant, which holds up really well in hot humid environments.  It tastes pretty good too.  But recently I found out the Satin Ice has a high humidity fondant too.  I will have to give it a try. 

I added a pink collar around the base of the cake.  I cut the long strip using a 5-wheel pastry cutter, and I made the buckle with two nested square cutters.  

I later painted the buckle and the tag with edible silver paint.  For the tag I used an octagon cutter.  I used a plaque cutter for the pink name plate, and FMM Tappit Art Deco cutters to the letters.

And the final step was piling the depression with mounds of candy that resembled dog food.  I used Whoppers, Milk Duds, and Junior Mints.  All favorites of mine.

Happy 16th Birthday, Peanut.

Happy Decorating,

Carol

Simple Game Controller Cake

This is a cake I made featuring a game controller on top.  It is a simple design, with the only involved part being the controller - but I cheated and used a mold.

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I started with the controller.  I found a mold for a controller and used that as my starting point.  I dusted the mold with cornstarch and then pushed Rice Crispy Treats into the mold, making sure to fill all the tiny crevices. (The cornstarch keeps the gooey treats from sticking.)  Then I rolled out black fondant and draped it over the controller formed with the treats. It looked okay, but I didn't think there was enough height and definition in the button areas.  The mold is actually really shallow.

So I used my handy-dandy Creality 3D printer to help with the problem.  I printed some circles and plus symbols to match the size of the original mold, and placed my cutouts into position.  You can see my cutters in this picture - they are blue.  I also used some tiny circle cutters to cut the yellow, blue, green, and red buttons.  If you are intrigued by the use of a 3D printer in cake decorating, check out my post HERE.

I also used the 3D printer to cut the letters and numbers used on the cake.  I know I could just print a paper template and cut the objects from that, but I like the crisp lines that using a fondant cutter gives me.  And I also just love using my printer.  So like I said - a pretty easy cake to make.

Happy Decorating,

Carol

Baby Brontosaurus Shower Cake

This is a dinosaur cake that I made for my 1st cousin's (once removed) baby shower.  I used her invitation as the inspiration for the cake.

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The topper was made using my Cricut Air Explorer.  The font I used is called Amarillo which I downloaded from the site DAFont.com.  The letter "O" is a different font, but for the life of me I can't remember the name of the font. I used glitter card stock for the front and dark brown card stock for the back.  I stuck the two together using an adhesive dot runner (don't get the glue runner, get the dot runner), and to finish it off I hot glued an 8" long 3mm thick acrylic rod to the back.  Easy Peasy, and it only cost about $1.50 to make.

The cookies were made to match the cute little baby brontosaurus on the invitation my cousin sent me.  I made a cookie cutter using my Ender 3 Pro 3D printer.   I can't tell you how much I love this 3D printer.  I seem to use it with every cake I make.  I'm serious, really, every cake.  I have a blog post HERE if you want to read more about 3D printers.

For my cookies I use glaze instead of royal icing (I think it just tastes better). I used Wilton Leaf Green food gel with a little Ivory for the body, and ivory for the tummy and spots on the back.

I also used edible marker to make the eyes, mouth, and outline the spots and the body.

For the flowers I used a Peony petal and leaf cutter, and for the tiny roses and leaves I used a silicone mold that came with a unicorn set.   The drip was made using Merckens Super White coating wafers mixed with a 3:1 ratio of heavy whipping cream.  I used to use the Wilton brand, but no one seems to have them anymore.  I tinted the drip using the Wilton Leaf Green and Ivory to match the glaze on the dinosaurs.

So here is the finished cake.  It was actually pretty easy to make.

Happy Decorating,

Carol