I asked if I could make the cake. Being a perfectionist, I instantly became nervous that I would not make it to my own or anyone else's standards. But I was excited to take on my first fully decorated 3 tier cake. Carter's theme was "Monkey Boy," and instead of overdoing the monkeys on the cake I went with a simple idea: incorporate banana flavoring.
I started by baking the cakes and home-making the frosting on Wednesday. The bottom tier was a vanilla cake with a banana frosting in the middle. The banana frosting was delicious, but almost more of an icing consistency so I decided to add a thicker chocolate frosting into the banana for the sides and top, to make a sturdier "wall" for the fondant. This was a good idea, and the chocolate banana was so yummy! The top tier and personal cake for Carter (the mini) were both chocolate cake with a rich chocolate frosting.
On Thursday, once the cakes and frosting had chilled overnight in the fridge, I covered them with fondant. I used the Wilton pre-rolled 5lb box of pure white fondant which was enough for all 3 tiers and plenty left over for decoration. I also used the Wilton fondant gel coloring, which saves a lot of money compared to buying already colored fondant.
Friday morning we did detail work. My hubby and I cut out circles using metal icing tips. We used shaped scissors for the border work (not my favorite tool- I wouldn't suggest it because it leaves marks where ever you stop cutting, and made it hard to keep a consistent width throughout the entire border. Go with a tool specifically for fondant!) I used alphabet shaped cookie cutters to cut out CARTER for the front of the cake. Luckily, the detail work was pretty simple so I didn't feel overwhelmed. My only wish was that I had used wooden dowels to hold up the top tier. It started to cave a tad bit (not overly noticeable, but again, I'm a perfectionist) and pulled the fondant.
And, finally, the finished cake. We packed this sucker in ice and it made it from Sacramento to Clearlake, then Clearlake to Santa Rosa. So apparently, it was sturdy. Everyone enjoyed the cake and I received a lot of compliments... now I feel ready to take on another!
No comments:
Post a Comment