Ok, time to take a step back while I have a million and 1 things going through my mind, and go back to the process I took in making my first ever fondant decorated cake.
I decided, for some silly reason lol (possibly too many episodes of Ace of Cakes, I love Duff!!!) that I would give cake decorating a go, and make a very important cake for my youngest child's naming day.
I started out by having a little test run, after consulting some other mums in a wonderful group called Mamabake (see link on the right) I decided to make my cake from scratch, something I havent done since I was in about year 7 home economics. I gained the knowledge (and recipe) of a wonderful friend (who shall remain forever known as HRHM - Her Royal Highness Mamabaker) and gave it a shot. My practise attempt was a quick little single tier cake simply decorated that I decided to share with the mums at playgroup. I used the basic vanilla sponge recipe HRHM gave me, and added food colouring to make one layer Purple, and the other layer Blue. I then coloured my white fondant in green and blue to cover and decorate it.
Here are some pics of the process:
The cakes put together with choc chip buttercream
Covered in fondant
Decorated
Now, the one big mistake i did make, well 2 i think, was firstly not putting aside some of the buttercream before i put choc chips in it, which made the crumb coating (buttercream layer on the outside) lumpy and chunky. Secondly I think i rolled the fondant a little bit thin. Together these left big holes in the fondant, and big lumps in the finish, instead of it being smooth. All in all though not a bad first attempt!
Now on to the big occasion!
I started baking on the thursday, for a cake which needed to be ready for Saturday. I researched this as I was short on time due to having to arrange everything else for the day, and found that if i were to cover the cakes once they had completely cooled with plastic wrap they would be fine and wouldnt go stale before i got to serve it all up on the day.
So on the thursday afternoon I began baking, 2 layers of Oreo cake (Vanilla sponge recipe with crushed oreos added to the mix) 2 layers Choc sponge (Vanilla recipe again with cocoa added) and a layer of chocolate brownie. I did all of the cakes ready to be put together on the friday, covered them in plastic wrap (double wrapped them) then put them in a cool place, which was my pantry. On Friday afternoon I started crumb coating them.
Oreo cake
Brownie
Choc cake
First i put the top 2 tiers together, i cut the tops off the cakes to level them, placed one on the thin cake board i purchased which was the right size for the cake (purchased from cake decorating shop) then i put a layer of buttercream in the middle, placed the other cake top-down over the other one to have a flat finish on the top. I then used more buttercream to put a thin layer (enough so you cant see the cake underneath) around the whole cake, top and sides. I placed this in the fridge to be used on saturday.
I then repeated this process with the bottom tier, placing it on the oversized wooden cake board (purchased from cake decorating shop already covered in silver) then layering with chocolate ganache, the layer of brownie, more ganache, then the top layer of the cake, top side down as I did with the first tier. I then covered this whole cake in buttercream (as I learned from a friend who used to do all my cake decorating that fondant doesnt like to stick to ganache) then also placed this in the fridge for saturday.
I decided to cut animals from different colours of fondant that i had rolled in the days previously (you are able to play with and colour fondant in advance of its use, as long as you keep it air tight between uses, which I did by wrapping the coloured fondant in plastic wrap) I did this using the red and orange colours I had aside and used some clean play-doh cutters loaned to me by a friend. I then used a cup with just tap water in it, and my pastry brush, brushed some water on the back of each animal as I placed them around the bottom tier of the cake. I then rolled some balls of yellow fondant and placed around the bottom of the cake, which hides the seams for the fondant. I then did the same with white fondant for between the top and bottom tiers. I followed this by cutting out clouds from the white fondant, using a flower shaped cutter, but using just one edge of it, and hand cut the letters for my son's name in white.
I then stepped back to admire my work, however I wasnt completely satisfied with it. I had attempted on the Thurs to make a little Logan figure for the top of the cake, however Logan liked his little person so much, he decided to eat himself while I wasnt looking! So I decided to try again. I followed the tips of a tutorial i found on youtube a few days earlier, and did it once more, this time it was more of a success, and looked so cute! It really was quite easy to do. But it still wasnt 100% finished! So I asked my sister in law to have a look for me and tell me what was missing. As I did this Logan came wandering past us, dragging his big blue blankie behind him! My SIL thought this was perfect, and I should put one across him on the cake. So I rolled a nice thin piece of a slightly darker blue fondant than i used to cover the top tier, then placed it over the arms and legs of "Logan" and arranged it so it looked like a blankie. I then gently lifted it from each spot it was to contact and brushed some water, which after drying had it stuck firmly in place!
FINISHED! I stepped back again and felt so much pride I was nearly in tears, I did it! I successfully decorated my first cake! The kids then came in to check it outand were all rapt with it, including the special little man himself!
Once our guests arrived they all came to check it out, knowing I had been planning it and working hard for weeks on how to do it, and pleased to see how it turned out. It gave me a lot of pride in myself cos "look what I did!".
Anyway, here are some more pics of it. My pride and joy that I worked so hard on, and was slightly disappointed to "ruin" it by cutting it open, but was even more proud when everyone devoured the first tier and asked to take some home!
See you tomorrow!
Linda
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