Happy Birthday Gabby!
A great friend of mine and long time work associate’s daughter turned 3 today! I had done her second birthday cake last year (the tea pot cake) and Darin asked me if I’d do her third birthday cake this year. After he told me what the theme was and what they wanted me to make I was so excited…I love Dr. Seuss and thought a Dr. Seuss hat would be so fun to make! Then I got prego and wasn’t sure I could do it…but being in my second trimester I have much more energy and feel less inclined to barf! So, I stuck with it and am thankful…Dr. Seuss was a good reason to come back to the cake world after a 3+ month break!This cake had 6 – 6″ layers of vanilla butter cake with Butterfinger buttercream and chocolate ganache…my favorite combo these days! I had in mind to air brush the red on so that there wouldn’t be any attached stripes to create a relief…I wanted everything to be flat and cartoonish. Well, the airbrush “system” (my preval sprayer) I used last night was horrible and left splatters everywhere…so I ended up having to hand paint it. And therefore the clean, graphic, cartoonish look went out the window. It ended up looking more like a ceramic Dr. Seuss hat than a cake! Especially if you looked closely…it really showed all the imperfections in the fondant. But, there was nothing I could do. I didn’t have red fondant to cover it and do the white stripes…so, I just went with it! My husband really liked how it turned out so that helped…he said it just looked “so fun!” So, I guess that’s good! And, it was for a good friend who I hope didn’t mind either!
Lots of lessons learned on this one…but what do you expect…I was a little rusty after being out of the cake world for a while!!
All in all though, it was a fun cake and I was happy to do it! Thanks Darin!! And Happy Birthday sweet girl!
Lots of lessons learned on this one…but what do you expect…I was a little rusty after being out of the cake world for a while!!
All in all though, it was a fun cake and I was happy to do it! Thanks Darin!! And Happy Birthday sweet girl!
Stay tuned for another post in the next day or two…I have a picture from the next publication of Cake Central. My “Then and Now” contribution to last months magazine!
SOOOOO great Jess! LOVE this one!!!
Would you be willing to share you cake and butterfinger buttercream recipes?
I think this cake is fantastic! You did a wonderful job, I’m very jealous of your talent!
I was just wondering… does the cake have a gloss because you painted it? I’m wanting to make a teapot cake for my mum’s birthday and I thinking that it might look better glossy? Can I get that effect my covering it in fondant and then painting it?
Jodiesambrosia: Yes…I used 1/2 corn syrup and 1/2 vodka. It stays tacky though…so, you can’t really touch it. You can also use piping gel or steam the fondant and it’ll get glossy too!
Thank you so much for your great tips, I really appreciate it! Cake decorating is my very new hobby, so much to learn but I just love it.
I adore reading your blog! You’re so inspiring, keep it all coming
This cake is the cutest! What color red did you use to paint it? Also did you have to do a lot of carving? Thanks. Kathy
It was the Americolor Super Red. There was a little carving involved. I added a small round piece of fondant to the top of the cake before I crumb coated it…it helped to bring that corner out a bit more.