Cakes of the Hamptons: Red Sox Cake

RED SOX CAKE

Okay, okay, so we're New Yorkers and my husband was not happy that I was doing a Red Sox cake! But I love my customers so here we go...!

THE HAT

First things first. I knew that a gum paste hat would take about four or five days to dry so I started this first. I used a mixture of royal blue and black Wilton gel and colored the gum paste. I covered a Yankees hat (yay!) with plastic wrap and underneath that I put a half circle cake pan (Wilton) for a sturdy base. I covered the plastic-covered Yankees hat with the navy blue gum paste and cut carefully into the shape of a hat, using the Yankees hat as a guide.

Below: While it was still soft, I used a stitching tool to make it look as if it were sewn.

I made a small ball of the gum paste for the "button" on top and had to use a piece of plastic to press this flat so that it didn't have fingerprints on it. For the air holes on the side, I made a small rope then cut it in even sections, pressing them on (used a touch of water for adhesive), then used a #4 tip and pressed in the center, while still soft.

As you can see on the top of the hat, the cornstarch is not absorbing into the dark color of the gum paste, and is discoloring the hat. So after three days, once the hat was fairly hard, I used a small sponge brush from the hardware store and some vodka; using very little vodka, just barely enough to get the brush wet, I brushed the entire hat and let it dry for two more days in order to get rid of the cornstarch stain. Once it dried, it looked shiny but it eventually lost the high gloss look, as you can see from the cake. The day before I needed the hat, I removed the Yankees hat and everything from underneath and just let the new gum paste hat air dry.

THE BASEBALL AND CASE

The birthday guy's favorite player was Jon Papelbon so I ordered a signed World Series ball from eBay, and also got a baseball case. The signed certificate of authenticity was given to the customer on the side, but I rolled it up like a diploma and tied it with a ribbon in case the customer wanted to add it to the cake board on-site.

THE LOGOS

Next, I found these three Red Sox logos online and sent them to a printing company in town. I had them print them out onto one sheet of photo paper, giving them specific dimensions of each logo. Since my cake was going to be a 12" round, I used a 12" foam cake dummy as a sort of template. You can print logos, etc., out yourself, but I find that the printing company can adjust sizes, their colors are more vibrant, and the photo paper is thicker and works great in an edible printing machine. I use my local Waldbaum's for edible images. They charge $8 per sheet and I put everything I can onto one sheet.

Above: the customer asked for red socks...I used this on top of the cake base

Above: for front of cake

While the logo, above, was drying, I put it onto the side of a 12" round foam cake dummy so that when it dried, it would have that slight curve. I did this so that when I affixed it to the actual cake, it would fit right on. (See below for details on cutting logos, etc.)

Above: for front of hat

When I was ready to use these logos, the first thing I did was to take the original photocopy and cut out the images. Again, printing the images out on photo paper as opposed to regular, thin copy paper gave it a good firmness to use when using as a template. I placed these hard images on top of very, very thin white fondant and carefully cut away using an X-acto knife. You have to roll the fondant thin; if you don't, then once you start to cut with your X-acto knife, the fondant will stretch. I also let my fondant "set" for a minute before I start cutting so it firms up a little; the firmness makes it easier to work with than freshly rolled (softer) fondant. Note: I try to always put edible images onto white fondant instead of colored fondant. Sometimes the colors of the colored fondant bleeds through. Sometimes you have to use a color but I try to use white whenever possible.

Be sure to use cornstarch or powdered sugar underneath the fondant so the fondant doesn't stick to the cutting surface afterwards.

After cutting, I removed the hard paper from the cut fondant, which left the white fondant in the shape I wanted. Using a tiny paintbrush, I dabbed on the very least bit amount of water I could get away with onto the back of the matching edible image, then added the edible image logos to the coordinating fondant.

THE CAKE BOARD

I used an oversized square board because I knew I'd need room on it afterwards for my design, which included more than just a cake. I attached the fondant to the board using water, used a Happy Birthday impression mat, then added a baseball ribbon for the sides with hot glue (you can also use double-sided tape). That ribbon is pretty nifty, huh?

NOW, ON TO THE BAKING

I have a great red velvet recipe (thank you, Monica Hanes, from TV's Bake This!). Just LOOK at that red batter. ("Red" again...sigh)

But here they are. Aren't they gorgeous?!

My buttercream recipe is from Edna de la Cruz, from DesignMeACake.com. Delicious!

I don't use cream cheese for my red velvet cake filling, which is traditional, because the one time I did was for a hot summer event and as soon as the cream cheese got to room temperature, the cake started sliding apart! I came right home and removed it from my cake flavor options!

ADDING A PERSONAL TOUCH

The birthday boy's last name is Price and he was turning the big 7-0, so I added these to the side of the baseball cap, just like they do in the big leagues.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

As all custom cake makers know, the prep work is what takes the most time. Once all that is done and the cakes are made, the fun really begins!

Ready to roll out the red fondant!

Cover cake and smooth with fondant smoothers. Usually I use a border around the base of my cakes but in this case I did not want one.

I added a dab of buttercream to the middle of my now-dried cake board to use as a "glue" when I added my cake. Do not make the cake board more than a day or two ahead of time or it will start to crack. Don't make it right before you need it, either, or your fondant will be too soft and will move and push in when you add the cake! I try to make mine the day before I need it.

Add the cake to the cake board

Add the logo to the front, using just a TINY BIT of water to cover the underneath side of the logo. If too much water is on, it will drip out from underneath and run down the cake, which causes stains. Then it's an issue (especially since it's front and center!).