Little Tug Boat Cake that Sank

This was a tough and frustrating cake to make, and I'm not sure where I went wrong.  When I asked the recipient how he liked the cake the most he could muster was a lukewarm - It tasted good.

Maybe it was the tires on the side of the boat that turned him off?  (They do look more like Life Savers than tires.)  Or maybe it was because I called it a Tug Boat when it was actually a Offshore Transport Boat?  I thought it came out okay, but the birthday boy definitely wasn't impressed.  Oh well, at least he liked the taste.

The cake started with a Styrofoam base covered in red Fondarific fondant.  In the background you can kinda see a photo of what the cake was modeled from.

Next I cut the boat shape from a half-sheet of my white chocolate almond cake.

I filled, stacked, and crumb coated the cake and then covered the side in black Fondarific fondant.  I typically use Mona Lisa fondant to cover my cakes, but I had this pre-colored black fondant on hand so I decided to use it instead.

The decking on the boat cake came next.  I colored some Mona Lisa fondant using Wilton Buttercup Yellow food color gel and then marbled it with some Wilton Brown.

I rolled the fondant out thin, and press a "wood" impression mat into the surface of the fondant.  Narrow 1/2" strips were cut out and then placed on the top of the crumb coated cake.

I added some white stripes on the side, and white accents on the top of the decking.

Next came the crew house on top.

And the railings made from dry spaghetti covered in fondant.

View from the top...

And a view of the other side.  On the back is a plaque that reads "El Capitan".

So where did I go wrong?  My crew house came out a little lumpy, and the tires look like Life Savers more than tires, but was that enough to sink this ship?  Constructive criticism please.  I have a fire engine cake coming up in a few weeks, and I hope that one comes together better than this one.


 Happy Decorating,

Carol


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Supply List: 

Mona Lisa White Fondant
Fondarific Red Fondant
Fondarific Black Fondant
Wilton Buttercup Yellow gel food color
Wood Impression Mat
Wilton Ribbon Cutter Set

Simple Stripe and Polka Dot Cake

This week's cake was for my nephew and his bride-to-be's engagement party.  I modeled it on a  Black, White & Crimson beauty I found on The Cake Parlour's website, but sadly my cake didn't look as striking as theirs.  I guess my teal, white, and peach colors weren't as bold and eye-catching as the black and white combo.  Oh well, such is life.

For the stripes I simply used silk ribbon which I backed with pieces of Glad's Press & Seal wrap.  I didn't want the ribbon touching the fondant, because I was afraid the dye from the ribbon would bleed onto the cake.   Using the silk ribbon is SO MUCH EASIER than fondant ribbons that pull out of shape when you try to place them. 

The positioning of the fondant dots was the hardest part of this cake.   To get the placement of each dot exactly right I tried making a templet on the computer, but it was a time consuming PITA that didn't work.  In the end I just kind-of eye-balled it.  I cut out a square of paper matching the height of the tier (minus the height of the ribbon) and put a hole in the center.  Then I just hovered the paper over the cake and placed the polka dots at the four corners.  I pricked a pin-hole in the fondant at the center of the paper square, and when I removed the paper I just placed the center dot.  When I got the the back of the cake the placement of the dots wasn't "exactly" correct, but it was close enough that no one noticed.

So I think this is the last engagement cake for a while (thank goodness).  I much prefer doing birthday cakes - so much less stressful.

Happy Decorating,

Carol


<< 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.>>


Supply List: 

Mona Lisa White Fondant
Fat Boba Straws
Wilton 14" Cake Drum
Alligator Impression Mat
Glad Press & Seal Wrap