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This cake had a few "firsts" for me. The first first was the striping technique. I had seen it done on lots of videos, but this was the first excuse I had to give it a try. But before the "real" cake I did a few testers using two different striping tools. First I tried the PME Tall Edge Scraper, but I didn't like it because the bottom of the scraper (which was a tooth) kept getting caught on the cardboard cake round and acrylic disk I had under the cake. (I use the acrylic disk to the sides of my cake straight and the edges super sharp. Here is a link to my tutorial.) To keep the bottom "tooth" of the scraper from interfering with the disk, I had to put a 3/4" thick layer of icing around the cake. That is A LOT of icing.
Next I tried the Wilton Icing Smoother Comb. This one worked better because the edge closest to the base of the cake was a "gap" and not a "tooth" therefore I didn't have to worry about the tooth of the comb hitting the my cake board or the acrylic disk. But I didn't like the Wilton Scraper/Comb because the distance between the teeth of the comb was so narrow. The tight pattern of stripes on the Wilton tool took a lot more time to fill with the contrasting colored buttercream than the much wider pattern on the PME tool. I was also concerned that the tight pattern wouldn't look good on a tall cake.
So in the end I went with the PME tool for my "real" cake. To get around the problem with the base "tooth", I trimmed the cardboard cake round a little smaller and I didn't use the bottom acrylic disk. I also learned that you dodn't need as much icing on the cake if you hold the tool at a 45 degree angle to the cake instead of perpendicular (90 degree angle) while you are scraping. Below is the cake after passing the comb scraper over it a few times. On the top of the cake is a 8-1/2" acrylic disk that I use to get my cakes perfectly straight with super sharp edges. It was a stroke of luck that the "tooth" of the comb fit under it perfectly. At the base of the cake I used a 12-1/2" acrylic disk. Normally you would use the same size disk on the top and bottom, but because of that pesky bottom "tooth" on the PME tool I had to do something different. I used the 12-1/2" disk just so I could transfer the cake to the freezer without disturbing the soft buttercream.
After the cake was chilled and the buttercream rock hard, I pipped the pink buttercream into the gaps. I also smeared the pink over the white just to make sure I filled in all the crevices. And you need to work fast when you fill with the contrasting color because you don't want the white buttercream to soften and start moving around while you are adding the pink.
Then using a bench scraper you just start scraping off the surface layer of buttercream to reveal the perfect pattern underneath. But just take off little bits of buttercream at a time. The acrylic disk at the top of the cake also kept me from taking off too much buttercream and exposing the cake and/or the crumb coat.
And here is the cake after the final scrape. With the combs/scrapers it is easy to get the perfect striped look. At this point it goes back into the refrigerator to chill.
And once chilled I remove the acrylic disk at the top to reveal the flat top and sharp edges.
I would have been happy with the cake like this, but they wanted a gold drip, so drip I did. I also made some Mouse shaped cookies and painted them with gold too.
I tried a few different styles of mouse ear cookies, but ended up using the black lettering on the gold background. It seemed to pop more.
And then I just started stacking candy on top of the cake. I had 4 kinds of suckers, dipped Oreos, and Rice Krispies Treats. I had white chocolate bars, gum balls, and white chocolate Twix bars. I had rainbow colored Sixlets, white chocolate covered pretzels, and even a cupcake. If you are a candy lover, this style of cake is for you.
So not one of my favorite cakes (too busy looking), but it was a great learning experience.
Happy Decorating,
Carol
Supply List:
PME Tall Edge Scraper
Wilton Icing Smoother Comb
8-1/2" acrylic disks
12" White Cake Drum
Rainbow Colored Sixlets
White Chocolate Twix Bars
Rice Krispies Treats
Gum Balls
Mouse Ear Cookie Cutters
Silicone Bow Mold
