My son recently turned 3 in February. He was the initial reason I got into cake decorating. I asked him what he wanted on his cake and he said Thomas the Train and Spiderman. I asked on three difference occasions...thinking he would change his mind...but no, he stuck with his original request. So, I went to work researching and designing a cake for him. My husband also had a great idea to include his two best friends as his cake toppers. The final design was comprised of Thomas on the bottom tier and Spiderman on the top tier. I didn't take any pics of the process, but here is the final product.
The cake flavors were your basic yellow and chocolate cake. For each tier, I did 1 layer of yellow and 1 layer of chocolate filled with a cookies and cream buttercream and covered with homemade marshmallow fondant. This was the first time I made marshmallow fondant and it was GOOD! However, the jury is still out as to whether I want to convert 100% over to homemade fondant, since I do have a little toddler running around the house. Sometimes it's just easier/quicker to use commercially produced fondant.
As for the figurines (Thomas, Spiderman, the blue dog, orange bear and the tree) they were all made out of fondant/gumpaste. Thomas took the longest...6 hours!!! As I researched how to make him, many people said that he is deceiving in that he looks simple, but once you get started, you realize how many little details there are. Boy...they weren't kidding. 6 hours later, Thomas was produced. Now yes, I am a novice, so those more experienced in crafts than I probably wouldn't have taken as long. Nonetheless, I was pretty satisfied with him.
The pine trees were really fun to make. I actually got the idea from watching Cake Boss. His staff was doing a Sesame Street cake and they showed clips of someone making Big Bird's feathers by cutting the fondant with scissors. I thought that was so clever. As I searched for more tutorials, I found another video demonstrating the same thing. So, I made my gumpaste ball and took off. It was really easy and came out great...a little lopsided but I probably didn't add enough Tylose to make my fondant sturdy. I make two in case one got damaged.
Next, I did the orange bear. I took pics of my son's stuffed animals and had them in front of me as I molded it. The body was easy, but it was the little details of his face that took the longest.
On to the blue dog (aka Patches). He has been my son's best friend since he was 4 months old. I had a lot of fun making him. I used rice cereal treats to mold/create a base for his "body", covered it with buttercream, then draped the fondant over it to make it appear like a blanket. As with the orange bear, it was the little details, such as his decoration and bow, that took the longest.
This was the first time I've attempted to make any sort of figurine and I was pretty pleased with the results. I've never considered myself artsy or crafty, but I think I may have found my hidden talent :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment