Sunflower Fondant Cake

My class this week focused on fondant. I had worked with fondant before but I had never covered a whole cake with it. Only to make small things (like cupcake toppers). However it turned out well. I was just playing around. There is no real occasion for this cake, but my friends are going to enjoy it. :)


I started out with two 8in (vanilla) round cakes, cut to be even on top, and then cooled.

I then used a simple ziplock bag (this was such a small area I didn't feel the need to dirty a pastry bag) to pipe a little barrier to help hold in my ganache/buttercream mixture.

Then filled it with a yummy combination of buttercream frosting and a ganache that I just couldn't get to set up (and I didn't have time to melt more chocolate into it either). But it tasted really yummy and it spread onto the cake very well.

After stacking the two cakes, I used a thinned down buttercream frosting to crumb coat the cake. Because we were adding fondant to this cake I did add a little more buttercream than I normally would to help it taste better for those that hate (and pick off the) fondant.

I was going to make my fondant but due to a crazy schedule this week, I just bought a tub of it. Much easier. A little more expensive. But for my schedule this worked best.

Once I got to class, I kneaded my fondant (using a little shortening to help keep the fondant from sticking) until it was nice and pliable. I used this time to add a little cheesecake flavoring, the oil based flavors used for candy making. Awesome! Now I have a yummy flavored Cheesecake Fondant! :) Then I rolled it out large enough to make sure the top (8in) and both sides (3-4in each) of my cake were properly covered. And flipped it on top of my cake.

Slowly, working from the top to the bottom, I rubbed the cake and helped it stick and smooth onto the buttercream below. Once I reached the bottom I used a pizza cutter to remove any excess fondant that remained around the bottom of my cake and smoothed it down.

After coloring my fondant blue, yellow, and orange, I started decorating.

I used some molds (pearl border and swags) to help make decorations for the cake. Using a lot of corn starch on the fondant and dusted on the mold. I had a few places where the swags stretched and ripped a little but they turned out alright as long as you don't look for a long time.

And the yellow pearl border across the bottom of the cake was simple, easy to add more or to fix if I messed it up, and stunning!

I made fondant flowers by using a silicone mold and two different colored fondants. The center of the flower was a cute little button.
I also dusted the swags with a white pearl luster dust. And I dusted the flowers with a gold luster dust all over to give them a warm feeling.

I made a sunflower cake topper to help make the cake look a little more finished. And added two simple leaves. All made using a plastic mold, cornstarch, and fondant.
To help complete the look I also dusted the sunflower with luster dust. I used Gold on the yellow, a cantaloupe colored luster dust on the orange, and a pretty green shimmer on the leaves.

And it's finished and ready to eat! :)

Lattice and Lace

This week was our biggest, hardest cake to date but the time and effort payed off because it is also my favorite cake I have ever made!

I started out making two boxed cake mixes (yea, cheating. But since my class is more about decorating I let myself cut this little corner) and that produced 2-9in cakes and a dozen mini-cupcakes. I didn't need the cupcakes, so I frosted them with a light green buttercream and topped them off with a few extra flowers I had made (

I filled my cakes with my favorite ganache (2:1, choc:cream) and stacked them.

Using some thinned down buttercream frosting I created a crumb coat and allowed it to dry.

After it had set up (just at room temperature) I put on my frosting and smoothed it out with my large offset spatula.
 

Thanks to a handy little garland marking tool, I was able to seperate my cake into 8 even areas. I applied a lattice pattern on the sides of the cake, using the marks from the garland tool as a guide for starting and stopping my lines.

I applied the Corneille Lace pattern to the scallops on the top of the cake. (I had never used this technique before but after working on it for a while, it's one of my favorite patterns for a cake. Simple but elegant, and can be made in an size to give it a very different feel)

To help give the illusions of scallops, I made a very small star border around my lattice work (cleaning up all those messy edges I didn't bother cleaning up).

Wanting the top to look a little more elegant, I used a simple, small pearl border around the Corneille Lace.

Final touches to my cake included a larger, yellow shell border around the bottom of the cake (helping to cover up my very messy frosting job) and a few simple (pre-made) wild roses and drop flowers. I chose to make them in purple, because it really popped with the yellow and white frosting.

This is by far my favorite cake I've made. It's simple, elegant, and fun. It would work wonderfully as inspiration for a larger wedding cake, or even a nice birthday party, or a summer picnic.