Wednesday, September 30, 2009

First Decorated Cake

Last week I made plans, cake decorating plans. With Zoe's birthday party coming up very shortly I needed to practice my cake decorating skills to make sure that I can manage the vision I have in my mind. So last week I planned out a special cake to practice all the techniques I will need for Zoe's cake. On Sunday when I baked the Violet Crumble cupcakes I also baked a 6" chocolate cake, wrapped it up and popped into the freezer so that it would be ready to go.

Then on Monday night once little miss Z went to bed I cracked open the fondant and got busy!


May I present to you Clive - The Red Deer. I used modeling fondant to make a model of Clive and at first it freaked me out because the fondant dries so quickly, but by the end of it I was definitely having fun.

On Tuesday I got the cake out of the freezer so it could defrost. I then made up a batch of vanilla Swiss meringue butter cream and filled and coated the cake. Then I popped the cake into the fridge to set. Later that night once little miss Z went to bed I covered the cake in fondant and did a little decoration, to end up with this...


My very first fondant covered cake and fondant sculpture. Now I know that it is by no means perfect, but isn't it just so cute?!


I especially enjoyed putting the polka dots around the side of cake and rolling up those little balls of fondant - that was fun!


And in case you are wondering I needed long pieces of wire to hold up Clive's antlers they go from the tip of the antlers right down through his head - poor Clive!


Since this cake is just a practice run I thought it would best if I got a sliced photo, you know - for you, the readers.


And now that it is sliced I better try some... yummy!

Now that I kind of know what I am doing with this - next time I will take in progress shots for y'all!

40 comments:

Mat McC said...

That looks SO awesome!

You are extremely talented honey - I'm very proud of you (and am looking forward to taasting it)!

I'm sure Z's bday cake will be even better.

Mat.

Rhianne said...

it looks amazing and delicious! well done, I love Clive and the polka dots :)

Kat said...

Wow! That looks awesome! I have always wanted to try a fondant cake. I bought the Planet Cake book when I was in Sydney last year. It teaches you step by step how to do fondant cakes. I think I will start with covering cupcakes first before I progress onto a whole cake. Your deer is adorable by the way.

Jessica said...

That looks seriously awesome! And making me very hungry! Great work :)

Sugar Daze said...

Gorgeous! So well done! Funny, I was doing cakes last week too. Was just going to post them. They pale in comparison to yours. I think it probably takes a lot of trials to get it looking just right but yours is outstanding even for a trial!

Anonymous said...

It looks very yummy and cute!!!!!

Chantelle {fat mum slim} said...

Oh my goodness. You are so talented. Watch out Bakerella... here you come. x

Rose said...

WOW! is that really your first fondant cake? Its amazing, i love that it matches your blog header.

Rose

Anonymous said...

You are a STAR!! That cake looks amazing. I wish you were in Sydney.

BTW, where did the idea for The Red Deer come from?

Clive looks very cool. You are one clever chick!

Kylie G said...

that is your PRACTICE cake? Oh my, you are a very clever lady!

Chantel said...

Wow, OMG!!

That is so cool! You are one cleaver lady!! You did such an amazing job - even on the inside! Your layering is perfect!

And the deer just looks so cool! You always amaze me with the awesome stuff you do!!

*hugs* x

Red Boots said...

So sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you and your husband are doing ok. I know that I find these things difficult to come to terms with. At least you have Zoe's birthday to look forward to. I'm sure she's going to adore the finished cake: the test cake is gorgeous!

Sending big cuddles and positive thoughts your way.

xx

cookies and cups said...

that is excellent! beautiful cake and for your first try...amazing!

Paris Pastry said...

How precious! I can't believe this is your first try! Well done! I can't wait to see how Zoe's cake will be.

Kylez..aka...Mrs.P! said...

That cake is AWESOME!!! And for your first one...WOW!
You should check out the book Party Animal Cakes...it has the most amazingly cool cakes, just like yours. Wish i could do that!

Becky Farley said...

This is so awesome!!!! I click to your page and freaked out alil lol I love it!!! I've always love your lil deer illustration and now you've made with what you do best! The cake is perfect!

When lil Zoe starts school (i realize that's a bit in the future) you should do a cupcake and cake business! Everything you make is better than the stuff I see in bakeries! You should think about it ;)

Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog said...

Um... and this is your first decorated cake?! I'm amazed-- it is beyond cute!

Shelby said...

WOW WOW WOW! Z is a lucky girl. This is soooo great!

Gabbi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gabbi said...

Adorable and yummy!!! Fantastic job!! :) You're such an awesome mom. I love that the inside of the cake looks like a hostess cupcake... so hungry now.

White Toast with Butter said...

I hate you. :-) That is your first cake??? So unfair. (Joking) - that is amazing - so perfect.

Miss Dot said...

I'm so impressed! You did such a great job! I give you a 10!!

I'm wondering, though, how does it work putting your cake in the freezer/fridge? People tell me that dries the cake out so I avoid doing it but it sure would be a lot easier if I could freeze the cake until I was ready to work with it like you did. How do you do it? Can you do that with cupcakes, too?

Amanda said...

This cake is fabulous!!! You clearly have natural fondant skill.

Amy said...

So impressed!! Its great!! xoxo

Helen said...

Pretty cool cake. You should definitely start up your own business.

alissa said...

WOW - thats your first try? you need to be on Ace of Cakes!

miranda said...

wow. just wow. that is so amazing - and utterly adorable. oh, it looks delicious inside!!! i'm drooling...

Cathie said...

the layers, the fondant, the colours..wow. I love visiting your blog and am happy to have discovered your wonderful pics & of course recipes!! thanks ♥

Kayla Brooklyn said...

That cake is incredible looking. And it's making me hungry....

Anonymous said...

You're amazing!!! It must be so hard to cover the cake without the fondant cracking or getting thin patches, let alone make a deer!!!

By the way, what is the significance of "The Red Deer"? I have always wondered.

Fiesta Saurus Rex said...

amazing!

You are not only a goddess of cupcakes, but a goddess of fondant now too. And after your first try!

Cat said...

Fabulously awesome cake! You are super dooper talented! I shall have to get tips from you hereafter. xo

Nisha said...

Perfection!!

Ash said...

OMG this is AWESOME! like really! You did an amazing job!!

tina tarnoff said...

are you a professional cake baker! ? this is an absolutely amazing cake! I watch sometimes on food network this cake show where cake masters compete, and, darn, this is as good as what they do!

Unknown said...

That is just phenomenal, and the photography is stunning!!!

Elissa said...

That looks amazing! It looks like a professional cake, you are clearly so very talented. Congrats on the first attempt it looks flawless!

apparentlyjessy said...

How did I miss this!!? Fantastic cake decorating! Its hard to believe this is your first go! I love the pale yellow you used, with the white polka dots, but Clive is just a complete work of art! Well done!

Rachael, Pistachio Press said...

What a super awesome cake! My husband didn't believe me at first that Clive was edible :)

the shoppe owner said...

this was such an amazing cake, by the way...