Disaster Avoidance: Fading Colors

Remember when I made this cake with the fun striped bows?

http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2013/05/happy-birthday-aubree.html

Well, I had some leftover fondant when I made it and decided to experiment and see if I could make a really big bow with a lot of stripes.

First I rolled out a big piece of white fondant. Then I used a pizza cutter to cut long ribbons of colored fondant, which I placed as evenly as I could on top of the white fondant.

Then I got out my rolling pin and flattened/smoothed it all together.

Then, I made a huge bow.

Your eyes are not deceiving you - the colors faded significantly on the left. Can you guess which side was facing a window during storage? Thankfully I made this bow for fun and didn't discover a horrible surprise the morning a cake was due.

Disaster Avoidance:

To preserve the color of your beautiful cakes and decorations, store in a cool, dry room out of direct sunlight.

Happy Birthday, Aubree!

Aubree's mom, Lindsay, requested a candy themed cake for Aubree's first birthday party. Lindsay had so many great ideas, and I really had fun going over cake designs with her. 

The (nearly) completed cake.

Here it is with the little smash cake...

...and here they are at the party. I waited until I set up the cakes at the venue before I added the fondant lollipops. I didn't want to risk travelling with them attached to the cake.

I LOVE how Lindsay decorated this table - that sign is seriously cool!

The party was held in an indoor bounce area. I was really worried that the weight of the lollipops - along with the expected bounce turbulence - would cause the lollipop sticks to pull through the cake. I asked for advice on how to prevent this problem on a cake forum, and (thankfully!) a talented cake decorator came to my rescue. Her name is Kara Buntin (owner of A Cake to Remember in Richmond, VA). She even made a video that was a great help to me.

Brilliant, right? Thank you, Ms. Buntin! 

You can check out her amazing work here: http://www.acaketoremember.com/.

I ended up using cardboard covered with foil, and it worked beautifully. Once the fondant ball border was in place, you couldn't see the support at all.

I used gold luster dust mixed with a little water to "paint" Aubree's name (piped with royal icing).

A closeup of the large bow:

The small bow:

The cake board:

We took extra care designing the inside of the cakes, too. The smash cake had pink layers inside, and the large cake had colorful polka dots baked into it. I don't have pictures of the cakes once they were cut, but I promise they were cute. :)

STATS:

How to Make a Striped Fondant Bow

http://bronniebakes.com/2011/09/21/how-to-make-a-striped-fondant-bow/

How to Make a Polka Dot Cake

http://once-upon-a-pedestal.blogspot.com/2012/05/polka-dot-cake-from-bake-pop-pan.html

How to Cover a Cake Board with Fondant

http://cakejournal.com/tutorials/how-to-cover-a-cake-board-with-rolled-fondant/

Pink Polka Dot Baby Shower

I made a black cherry filling for the inside. Whenever you use a filling, you'll need a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake. The dam prevents the filling from leaking out the sides of the cake.



I used fondant mixed with modeling chocolate for the bow. This helped the bow dry faster, so it would keep its shape.



Here's a closeup of the bow. I used a Wilton embossing tool to decorate the bow.



The fondant gift tag:



All done! Congratulations, Lindsay!



STATS:

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Modeling Chocolate Tutorial
http://sugarsweetcakesandtreats.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-modeling-chocolate.html

Guest Sweet: Happy Birthday, Mariah!

Recently, one of my very best friends was able to drive out and visit with me for an entire week! Becky and I had a wonderful time, and one of the things we wanted to do together was decorate a cake. Becky wanted to make a cake for her niece's birthday party, but that was more than a week away (not to mention more than 10 hours away in another state). So, we decided to make fondant decorations for Becky to use on the cake she would bake later.

We made homemade fondant and then made the loops for the bow and the tag. After packing the dried decorations in a box with a TON of padding, we kept our fingers crossed that the decorations would survive the long car trip and the heat wave. Luckily, all but one piece survived, and Becky did an awesome job decorating the cake!





I LOVE the colors Becky chose and the different sizes of dots! I also like the detail she added of using a fondant "string" to "tie" the tag to the cake. I think this cake turned out so cute, and now I need to find an excuse to make one!

STATS:

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf