The first, was a set of fondant cats and a fondant house to go on two groom's cakes, for my cousin's wedding reception. The cats were really fun, I got pictures of my cousin's cats and matched the markings to look like them. Working with fondant was very similar to working with clay. The only real noticeable differences was that I had to use an Exacto blade to cut detailed shapes, use tooth picks to help support the legs and head while they dried, and I used water to attach pieces together (instead of pinching or pressing them together). The water is just put on lightly with a paintbrush and it acts like glue.
Here are a few pics of the cats before and after they were placed on their cake. (My Mom did a fantastic job baking and frosting the spice cake itself. It turned out great!)
The other groom's cake depicted my cousin's house at Christmas with 'Marry Me' spelled out in lights on the roof. This was how my cousin proposed to his fiancee, so we recreated it for their cake. My Aunt and I teamed up on this one together. We both got the textures and main shapes cut and attached. I helped add in little details like transparency paper over the yellow windows to make them look more like glass and the wreath on the door. My Aunt wrote the 'Marry Me' with icing after attaching the house to the cake. She also baked and frosted the house cake. (Her chocolate cake is delicious!)
The next cake I got to work on was for a party following the 2013 Monument Avenue 10K Marathon. A lot of friends and family participated for the Amanda C. Brady Foundation for Youth. This Foundation was started in memory of my brother's fiancee. You can check them out at amandabradyfoundation.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/amandabradyfoundation?ref=profile. All the runners wore baby blue or pink T-shirts with the Foundation logo on it to show their support. After the Marathon, everyone met up for a party to celebrate. I made the Foundation logo out of fondant for the cake. (My Mom baked and frosted the cake itself, she is a pro!) This one was really challenging because of the thick and thin lines of the logo and the general shape. At first, I tried to get a template of the logo and cut/trace the fondant with an Exacto blade. This didn't work too well, the parts of the logo began loosing their shapes and breaking in thinner areas. So I scrapped that approach, and decided to cut strips of fondant and use them to layout the logo. This method worked like a charm! I let the logo dry and harden overnight and then I transferred it to the cake.The Foundation is participating in the Marathon again this year, please support them! They accept donations and pledges to run on their website, donations go toward scholarships and other activities related to the Foundation.
The last cake I worked on, was for a birthday. I made a Tiki Hut design on a beach with waves coming in. This one was really challenging because it was all icing work. I experimented with different tips on the decorating bags to get different shapes and textures. My favorite was the tip I used to get the wood texture on the hut. In some ways icing is a forgiving medium, if I made a mistake all I had to do was get a toothpick or knife to remove the flaw and begin on it again. I added in some cinnamon and sugar to make the sand under the Hut. It was a lot of fun to go in and add little details like the swings, crab under the Hut, glasses on the table, and flowers here and there. Really fun Summer B-Day cake!
That is it for now. If I wind up making some more cool looking cakes this year I will post some pics of them. Food art is fun!
