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| INSPIRATION: Adorable Perfection! |
Of course I immediately called my girl, Winter Walker (@WinterCakes) who makes the most delicious and BEAUTIFUL cakes, and asked if she could do a version of this Boo Cake, but she is unavailable this year (waaaa!)
Well...mom-in-law is in town visiting -- she can bake a mean cake...and I'm pretty artistic...maybe I could decorate it?
I ran to Michaels and bought pretty much everything I would need to decorate the cake (which would be fine if I were going to do this again...which I don't think I will...again...EVER!):
- White Fondant for "Boo" and the Name Plate
- Colored Fondant: Sweetshop has some pretty good colors for the cake decor: Pink, Lavender, and Blue; and Wilton has a "Natural Color Multipack" which includes Light Brown, Dark Brown, Dusty Pink and Black (all used for "Boo")
- Name Plate and Letter Cutters (I wasn't going to attempt to write the name!)
- Roller Pin
- Cake Leveler
- Fondant Tool Kit
- Ribbon Cutter Kit
- Edible Adhesive
- Parchment Paper
- Buttercream Icing (picked up at a chef/baking shop)
I watched a billion YouTube videos how to work with fondant in the days leading up to the big day...
I think I can do this.
No, I can't....
I am in way over my head!
I start frantically calling bakeries for a "base cake" that I could work with....but it was too late....I was on my own (for the decorating at least).
Mom-in-law started baking the yummiest chocolate cake ever, while I started to sculpt Boo. Here are photos of the process:
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| Form the body, stick a tooth pick, let sit for 2 hours |
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| Shape the head, snout, ears...I couldn't figure out how to keep his head round...when I set him down, he would flatten a bit |
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| OMG! So cute! I added the eyes (dark brown, black and white fondant), nose and tongue. He looks adorable! Feeling good at this point! |
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| Added a big bow...a little complicated to make, but turned out cute! Proud mama. |
Now....I wanted Boo to harden....so while I worked on the cake "shell", I put Boo in the refrigerator to harden: BAD MOVE! Although he hardened initially, once removed from the refrigerator, he began to sweat and soften...and started to wilt :(
I shoved a collection of toothpicks and bbq skewers inside him, determined to prop him up, but nothing worked. With the A/C blasting, he eventually dried out in his new found squashed look. I created a lavender pillow for him to place under his butt to help prop him up...it helped a teeny bit.
When the cake was done and cooled off (I don't think it cooled off enough), I covered it in a layer of Buttercream (what I learned is called the "crumb layer"). Let it cool again, then another layer of Buttercream to create a smooth base.
I prepped a lot for the individual strips of pink and lavender to create the chevron pattern. What a pain in the #@$! I measured the height and outside diameter of the cake...divided into 6 equal panels, and laid out the entire chevron pattern on the parchment paper. I used the ribbon cutter to make equal strips. I got it to lay out perfectly. I was so happy. Then, I went to apply the strips to the cake. I had seen tutorials where the cake designer lifts the panels with the strips all at once to adhere to the cake. That didn't work. I had to lay the strips out one-by-one, applying the adhesive to each piece and getting it to stay. The problem is, the strips stretched each time I applied them to the cake, so by the time I got to the end, my last panel was too small. By this time, it was 2:00 AM (the day of the party), and I needed to finish the dang cake. So I created 3 vertical strips in the left over space. It looked fine.
I found a flower shaped cookie cutter in my kitchen drawer, so I used that to quickly make flowers. I rolled pink balls, and used a toothpick to create creases and dimension.
BUT...the chevron strips kept buckling. I have NO idea why or how to prevent it from happening...but at this point, I had to move on.
I created the pillow for Boo, then assembled everything. Squishy, but still kind of cute. Not perfect...and for someone who strives to be a perfectionist....I was disappointed in the buckling and wilting. Especially since it took me around 15 hours to do! Ugh.
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| My final cake...a little squishy and buckling, not as beautiful as the inspiration...but still kind of cute. |
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| Troubleshooting: I added vertical strips when chevron paneling failed. I ran out of white fondant, so I made a lavender pillow for Boo to lay on to prop him up a bit. (Indentations are where I shoved additional toothpicks for support) |
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| The sides buckled, and Boo wilted....but everyone loved the cake anyway! I am still not sure how to avoid the problems I encountered during the process...BUT... I am proud of my Pseudo Pinterest Fail for my first ever fondant cake decorating. |
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