Where The Wild Things Are - Cake

Are you a fan of the children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are"?  Honestly I can't say that I am.  I always thought it was a little dark and gloomy, but when my niece asked for a Wild Things Baby Shower Cake for her best friend, I couldn't say no.

But in the end it wasn't too bad because I found images of the creatures that were brighter and happier looking than the ones in the book.

<< Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to ear fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.>>

To make Max and the Wild Things, I printed the images on regular paper, cut them out, glued them onto thinly rolled gumpaste, and then trimmed the gumpaste to allow a 1/8" border around the printout.  The gumpaste backing kept the non-food safe printout away from the cake, and the gumpaste also protected the image and kept it from absorbing moisture.

Originally I printed the image on wafer paper so everything would be "edible", but the image didn't transfer well onto the wafer paper.  There was too much bleeding and the image just looked a little blurry.

To glue the printout to the gumpaste I used an Adhesive Dot Roller that is marketed for paper crafts.  The dots worked great because they go on without a mess and the sticky dots held the paper to the gumpaste without getting either one wet.

Then I just trimmed the gumpaste to fit the cutout image, leaving a 1/8" gap of gumpaste extending beyond the image.

Next I made the sailboat.  I cut out the sail from white gumpaste, and then cut out the body of the ship using gumpaste tinted red.

I used a bamboo skewer as the mast of the boat, but the skewer wouldn't stick to the gumpaste so I had to glue it with superglue.  I also let the boat dry on top of a cake dummy so it would have a curved shape.

As the final step I brushed the sail with yellow and brown petal dust, and brushed the boat with brown and black dust.

Next I made the crown.  I cut it from yellow tinted gumpaste, and wrapped it around a tapered drinking glass to dry,   Once it was dry I brushed it with gold petal dust to make it shimmer, and I added faux fir trim to the base.

Next came the stacking of the cakes.  The bottom 10" tier is covered in white ganache.  I wasn't worried about getting a smooth finished because I wanted a wild, rustic look.  The middle tier is covered in navy buttercream that I textured by dragging the back of a spoon diagonally across the still soft buttercream.  I also stuck tiny white sugar pearls in the buttercream to represent the stars in the night sky.  The top tier is a Styrofoam dummy that I covered in fondant cutouts.  It it supposed to look like the chest feathers of the Bird Wild Thing, but I think something was lost in translation.

After stacking, I started to place my gumpaste figures.  First I positioned the sail boat and dragon on the middle tier.

Next I made some trees out of brown fondant and some waves out of strips of blue fondant.  I smeared a little white buttercream on the waves to make the white caps.

Then the leaves went on the trees.  I used a daisy shaped fondant cutter, and then cut out each petal to form a leaf.  It was not as bad/time consuming as it seams... I only cut out about 50 leaves because I didn't want things to look too cluttered.

After the leaves went on I placed Max and the Wild Things on the bottom tier.  To make the "grass" border around the bottom tier I used the smallest daisy cutter and then folded the daisy in half before placing it at the base.  Then just a few tiny yellow flower to break up all that green.  I also added some light blue waves to the middle tier because the waves I had on there looked too dark.  I didn't do it on purpose but the color of the fondant waves matched the color of the buttercream exactly.  The colors were so close that instead of looking like choppy waves, it looked like the buttercream was falling off the side of the cake!!!   Adding the light blue waves fixed the problem.

So here is the final cake.  From start to finish it took about 10 hours to assemble and decorate the cake.  (I baked the cakes ahead of time, and I made the gumpaste figures the day before.)  I think I'm getting a little faster, but for me cake decorating is still a long and arduous process.

Happy Decorating,

Carol



Supply List: 

Mona Lisa Fondant
Gumpaste
14" Cake Drum
Royal Blue and Black Wilton Food Color Gel  (royal blue with a touch of black makes  navy)
Adhesive Dot Roller
Yellow and Brown petal dust
Gold petal dust
Daisy shaped fondant cutter

Baseball Themed Cake

Here is the second cake from my marathon weekend of cake decorating.  I had three, count them three, fancy cakes to do in two days.  This cake was for a cousin's first birthday.  Happy Birthday, Leland!

At the time that I made it, I was pretty happy with the finished cake, but looking at these pictures there are a few things I should have done differently.  For one, the white candy balls are a little out of alignment on the top tier.  Some are higher than others.  I should have cut away the blue stripes where they went under the candy balls.  This would have made all the candy balls sit at the same level.  I also should have made the red "string" on the balls a little differently.  Up close the string look good, but from a distance you can't see the "V" cuts I made in the string.  I also could have made the "L" a little bigger on the name plaque, and from the picture it doesn't look like the name is completely straight.  It is amazing how many oops you can see in a photo that you don't see in real life.

Oh well, Que Sera, Sera...

<< Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to ear fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.>>

Anyway construction-wise, the cake was one the basic side.  I stacked a white fondant covered 8" cake on top of a 10" navy cake, and topped it all with a 6" Styrofoam half ball.   The base of the white tier looks a little wonky because the crumb coated tier wasn't tall enough so I had to sit it on top of a 1" thick round of Styrofoam.  My Styrofoam cutting skills aren't that great so the round came out a little gagged and uneven.  And despite what many people think, fondant isn't going to cover flaws in the underlying cake.

The next step was to attach the stripes to the white tier.  I used my ACE Food Safe Extruder to make the thin, flat strips.  That extruder is a life saver.  It was expensive and difficult to get, but a reliable extruder is a must have for a serious cake decorator.

Here is the fondant covered Styrofoam half ball going into place.

Next I applied some red fondant ropes to represent the stitching on the ball.  I took the lazy way out and just cut little "Vs" in the rope to represent the "stitching".  Up close it looks okay, but from a distance you can't see the V cuts.  I should have taken the time and placed thinner ropes in a V pattern across the main rope.  Oh well, live and learn.  Note:  I don't like to tint my own red or black fondant, so I keep a container of Fondarific Red and Black on hand.  It lasts a long time and stays really, really soft so it is great to use for embellishments.  The Dream line of fondants also work well for embellishment.  I typically use Mona Lisa Fondant to cover my cakes because it can withstand very high humidity.  I store my finished cakes in the refrigerator and the air in South Louisiana is crazy humid so I need a fondant that can take the humidity without getting soft and gummy.  Mona Lisa works great for me.

Next I placed some Sixlet chocolate candies around the border of each tier.  The candies were somewhat large, so they hid most of the "problems" with the base of the white tier.  Gotta love those hacks to hiding cake decorating boo-boos.  In the past I use sugar Pearls around the base of cakes, but people complained that they were too hard and you could accidentally break a tooth if you bit into one.  So now I use the chocolate Sixlets.  They work just as well as decorations, and the are soft and easy to chew.

Next I made the baseballs to go around the bottom tier.  Again I used the lazy "V" cut method which I regret now.

The final component of this cake was the name plaque. I just used a plaque cookie cutter and then wrote the name, freehand, using thin rope extruded from my ACE.  I should have made the "L" larger and can you see the slight slant to the name.  Sigh, I even do that slanting thing when I'm writing with pen and paper.

So in retrospect not too bad of a cake, but as always it could have been better.  I learn a little more every time I make a cake.

I also want to thank the kind relative who gave me their spare refrigerator.  On those overwhelming cake making weekends it sure comes in handy.  Two 3-tier cakes, two smash cakes, and half a watermelon easily fit in my new pride and joy.  The third cake I made had already been picked up by the time I took this picture.

Happy Decorating,

Carol



Supply List: 

Mona Lisa Fondant
ACE Food Safe Extruder
Tylose powder
14" Cake Drum
Alligator Impression Mat (used on the fondant covering the cake drums)
Royal Blue and Black Wilton Food Color Gel  (royal blue with a touch of black makes  navy)
6" Styrofoam half ball
Styrofoam Cutter
Sixlet Chocolate Candies
Plaque Cookie Cutters
Fondarific Red Fondant
Fondarific Black fondant
Dream Fondant

Rose Ruffle Cake with Peony Flower

I recently had a stress-filled weekend of cake decorating.  Somehow I ended up with three cakes due on the same day!!  How stupid is that?

This was the last cake I finished and it was by far the easiest.  It was a navy and white three tiered cake with pink peonies.  I was making this cake for a friend's daughter so I got to choose the design.  I had been wanting to try the Rose Ruffle style cake so this was my chance.

<< Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to ear fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.>>

I started out stacking the cakes, and covering the gaps between the tiers with fondant strings and strips that I made from my nifty new ACE Food Safe Extruder.  Next to the 20" Expander for my cake turntable, this is my favorite tool.  The ACE looks and functions a lot like a chalk gun.  You just load the fondant into the barrel, choose a disc design, squeeze the handle, and out comes the fondant in the shape of your choosing. It is so easy.

Next I placed the flowers.  I made peonies yet again.   They are my favorite flower and so quick and easy to make.  I also think they look more exotic and dramatic than the common rose.  To make the peonies I used the FMM cutter and a 2" Styrofoam ball.  I made the flowers and leaves a few days ahead of time to give them a chance to dry nice a hard.

After placing the flowers I started on the rose ruffles.  There is nothing hard about making them, but they are very time consuming.  I calculated that it takes about 1 minute to make each ruffle.  That doesn't sound like a lot of time, but when I realized I need HUNDREDS of them I started to panic.

To make the ruffles you simply cut out a circle shape, and ruffle the edges with a ball tool.  I used my normal Mona Lisa fondant mixed with a little Tylose powder.  You want the fondant a little stiffer than normal so that ruffles will hold their shape when you start stacking them on the side of the cake.

Once the edges are ruffled you just fold up the circle any way you want to.  Some I folded like this...

And others like this...

But whatever the shape, the bottom gets pinched.

I worked with enough fondant to cut out and shape 15 ruffles at a time.  As I made the ruffles I would prop them up on some tissue paper so them could dry out slightly.  By the time I finished the 15th ruffle, the first was hardened enough to place on the cake.  But don't let the ruffles dry out too much.  You want them stiff enough to hold their shape but still soft enough that you can fluff the ruffled edges without breaking them.  In hindsight I guess the most time efficient process would be to make about half of the ruffles ahead of time and during construction you could stagger the hard ruffles with the still soft ruffles.  The hardened ruffles would hold their shape, and the still soft ruffles could be fluffed to hide holes and gaps.  Sounds like a great plan - too bad I didn't think about it till AFTER the cake was made.  Oh well, such is life for a hobby baker.  Live and Learn - Bake and Learn.

Here are the first few ruffles in place.

And here are the ruffles when I finally gave up and called it a night.

Originally I wanted the ruffles to completely cover the bottom tier, but I spent about 2 hours making just these ruffles and I didn't want to stay up for another 5 hours.  So my tier of ruffles became three rows of ruffles.  I know, I'm a quitter.

But the bride-to-be was very happy with her cake, and she didn't even realize that she got gypped on ruffles.

Happy Decorating Folks,

Carol



Supply List: 

Mona Lisa Fondant
ACE Food Safe Extruder
Tylose powder
14" Cake Drum
Alligator Impression Mat (used on the fondant covering the cake drums)
FMM Peony Cutter
Royal Blue and Black Wilton Food Color Gel  (royal blue with a touch of black makes  navy)
AmeriColor Dusty Rose Soft Gel Paste Food Color (for the peonies)

Square Earth Cake

My nephew requested a map/globe cake as his Groom's Cake, and I was happy to oblige.  Globes are kind of cool all by themselves, but I wanted to do something different.  I wanted to make his globe cake SQUARE.  I also thought a square cake would be easier to make than a sphere.  Ha ha ha, silly me.

<< Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to ear fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.>>

I started out making the landmarks for each continent.  I cut them out of gum paste and sprayed them with silver color mist.  I wasn't completely happy with the results so I lightly over sprayed them with black color mist.

With the landmarks drying, I started to cover the cake with fondant.  I thought a square cake would be easy to cover, but I was oh-so wrong.  The end result was lumpy and splotchy and just plain BAD.  But I decided that the oceans, seas, and gulfs of the real Earth weren't perfect, so my oceans didn't need to be perfect either.  I also added a touch of white to some of the worst parts and called them "waves".

Next I mixed some tan fondant, and started cutting out the continents.  Africa first...

After cutting the shape, I added some green and brown petal dust to make it look more realistic.  I kept the dry/desert areas tan and colored the wetter places green.

Then Africa went onto the square globe along with Europe and the Middle East.

Next came the Americas: North, Central, and South...

And finally Australia and New Zealand.  You can see a really bad spot in the fondant east of New Zealand.  I tried to fix it with gunge which is fondant mixed into a slurry using vodka and milk.  Gunge can usually fix anything, but for some reason it didn't work on this cake.  The gunge helped a little, but the bad spot was still noticeable.  After a while I just gave up trying to fix it; I figured I would just turn that part of the cake to the wall.

Next I attached the landmarks to the cake using melted chocolate.  Pyramids for Egypt, an elephant for Africa, and  the typical monuments for Europe: Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and a windmill for Holland.

The Taj Mahal for India, the Great Wall for China, the onion dome cathedrals for Russia, a kangaroo for Australia , and a polar bear for the North Pole.

Also the Opera House for Australia, a Kiwi for New Zealand, and a hula girl for Hawaii.

And finally for the Americas: a maple leaf for Canada, the Statue of Liberty for the USA, a Mayan Temple for Mexico, the Christ the Redeemer statue for Brazil, and the Moai stone statues for Easter Island, Chile.

So that's it for my square globe cake.  I was a little disappointed in my fondant application, but the rest of it wasn't too bad.  Thankfully the bride and groom seemed happy with the cake, and in the end that is all that really matters.  Congrats, Brad & Kristen.


Happy Decorating Folks,

Carol



Supply List: 

Mona Lisa Fondant
Gum paste
Silver color mist
Black color mist
Green and Brown Petal Dust
Crocodile Texture Mat