Would you like to see the finished cake? Here it is!
The fondant rose topper:
Closeup of the fondant quilting with sugar pearls:
Closeup of the tiny flowers:
Closeup of the fondant plaque:
Here are some things we did ahead of time:
I made the fondant plaque a couple weeks before we needed it. I printed off the couple's monogram in a font I liked in Microsoft Word. Then I free-handed the monogram onto the fondant plaque with royal icing. I shaped a mound of fondant into the curve of the cake pan we would be using for this tier. Then, I allowed the plaque to dry on the curved fondant, so it would fit well on the cake. Later, I used royal icing to attach sugar pearls along the edge of the oval.
Here are the fondant flowers, leaves, and monogrammed plaque. I made extra flowers and leaves just in case something broke, and to give us more options once we stacked the cake. I'm really glad we had extras because we ended up using almost all of the flowers for the cake topper. Initially, I thought we'd only use three, but we needed the topper to look fuller, so I'm glad we had the extra. (The blobs of fondant next to the roses are there to support the flowers until they can hold their own shape.)
This is just to show the difference it makes when you use luster dust. The flower on the right is plain fondant. The one on the left has been brushed with a tiny bit of shortening and some white luster dust. I love how it looks!
Assembling the cake:
Here is Holly, measuring and cutting the wooden dowels with clean pruning shears to support the cake tiers. Here's a great tutorial on how to do this:
http://www.bakedecoratecelebrate.com/techniques/dowelrodconstruction.cfm
You may be able to tell that some of the dowels stick up a from the fondant a bit more than others. This is okay, and you should not cut them down to meet the cake. The dowels need to be the same height, so that the next tier is level. Here are the dowels in the bottom tier, spaced about 2" apart.
Wedding Cake Tips:
1. Each time I make a cake, things seem to take longer than planned - allow yourself plenty of time.
2. Make everything ahead of time that you can (like the flowers and fondant plaque).
3. Use sturdy boxes to transport the tiers - you don't want your beautiful cake falling out of a flimsy box onto the ground. Holly custom made some boxes out of thick cardboard. They worked great!
4. Cut squares of non-slip rug padding (like this stuff at Walmart) to place under the cakes while you travel. This will prevent the cakes from sliding around while you drive.
5. Enjoy it. This was such a fun project!
