GIFT / GARDEN CAKE

My customer wanted a birthday cake for her mother's 65th birthday. Her mom likes a lot of things, especially gifts, gardening, Bruce Springsteen, and the colors red, orange, and purple. 
(Note to self! She is not a pink girl.)

So the first thought was to make a gift cake, square, with a simple ribbon, bow, and tails. But I wanted to add something garden-related. I decided to add a garden trowel and garden gloves, and make the trowel a gift, with a small bow and name tag. I thought that if I added a rose or two to the cake "gift," as well as some roses on the cake board, I could make the ideas work.

It was easy enough to put in some of the mother's favorite colors. (Too bad I couldn't work in a Bruce Springsteen reference! And believe me, I tried to think of something!)

So I needed:

1. Cake that looks like a gift

2. Garden trowel

3. Garden gloves

4. Name tag 

5. Large bow for cake, small bow for trowel

6. A cool cake drum 

7. Roses...

Here are the steps that I took to put this project together. 

COVER CAKE DRUM

I covered the cake drum with this gray fondant, used a long dowel to make the grooves while the fondant was still soft; after it dried, I dusted the "lines" with dark purple dust.

GLUE RIBBON ONTO DRIED CAKE BOARD

ADD CAKE 

 ADD RIBBONS (FONDANT)

ADD TAILS (FONDANT)

ADD BOW (GUM PASTE / MADE NIGHT BEFORE)

ADD ORANGE ROSEBUD TO CAKE 

ADD TROWEL AND GIFT CARD (BOTH GUM PASTE)

ADD GARDENING GLOVES (GUM PASTE)

Using my hand as a pattern, I cut out a pattern then used the pattern to cut the gum paste. After the gum paste was dry, I painted small red roses with dark centers, added gold trim, and a little stem. I glued black fondant strips around the wrists with edible gum glue.

ADD PIPING 
(but I should have done this step in the step right after I added the ribbon)

ADD ROSES AND "DIRT" (crumbled brownies)

Let me know if you have any questions. Email me at CakesoftheHamptons@aol.com. I'll be happy to help you!

Fleur-de-lis / Sweet 16 / Steps to Make a Cake

Fleur-de-lis Cake

The customer asked for a Sweet 16 cake with a Fleur-de-lis on the front. She envisioned a two-tier round in pink and black. I will show you the steps to prepping for a cake like this.

First I went on eBay, my favorite spot, to search for what I needed. First, I found a number "16" for the top of the cake. I wanted something with bling but did not want anything distasteful. 

I found a beautiful "16" in rhinestones. The picture doesn't do it justice!

There were several Fleur-de-lis silicone molds listed on eBay. I chose this mold because of its detail. Once I paint it, it will be so nice!

I ordered my pink and black fondant. I made sure I had enough cardboard cake rounds, cake drum, and a box to transport it.

I made a sketch of the cake, below, then pulled out my pans and cake drum.

I also pulled out whatever I would need: dowel, pearl mold, black pearls for bottom quilted cake, white pearls for middle of black bow (two sizes here since I'm not sure which size will look better), and pink and black ribbon for the cake drum...not sure yet which one will look best so I brought both. If the pink doesn't match the fondant exactly, then I will go with black.

TIME TO START BAKING!

Pull out the recipes!

RED VELVET

First one out of the oven and it's a beauty!

Cover bottom cake tier with fondant. Use diamond cutters. Go around base, then do top diamonds. Stay even as you go around. I added pearls without using water or glue. A few popped out on the drive to the venue but a little vodka and a tiny paintbrush helped to affix the loose pearls. (Vodka dries quickly, in case of drips. You could also use a tiny dot of royal icing, but if you do make sure it matches the fondant as exactly as you can get it and clean any excess with tiny paintbrush barely damp with vodka or any other clear alcohol.)

Put bottom cake on cake drum. Add second tier. Secure with dowel run down through the top of the cake and into the cake board.

To hide the hole caused by the dowel, as well as add extra support to the metal "1 and 6," I made fondant diamonds to add to the top of the cake.

I added pearls to the diamonds on top.

I added the Fleur-de-lis and after it was dry, I hand painted it with edible silver paint.

Here is the final cake!