The book of love cake

You’ll need:

Ready made rectangular cakes

Chocolate fondant icing, enough to cover and overlap the top and the spine.

Small amount of white or cream fondant icing, enough to cover 3 sides of the cake plus 2 inches over.

Edible gold dust
Edible gold paint

Take a sheet cake, or any rectangular cake and cut in to smaller rectangles.

If you wish the cakes to have a filling you could cut these horizontally and fill or just add one on

top of the other, sandwiched together by whichever filling you have chosen.

I had a small amount of ready-made chocolate fondant  leftover but not enough to cover the cakes so I went in search of a recipe and this is the recipe that appealed the most.

Fondant Icing recipe (discovered at http://www.grouprecipes.com/12012/easy-fondant-icing.html)

* 2 pounds confectioner’s sugar, sifted (I replaced 1/8th of a pound with cocoa powder)
* 1/4 cup cold water
* 1 tablespoon unflavoured gelatine
* 1/2 cup glucose (found in cake decorating stores) or white corn syrup
* 1 1/2 tablespoons glycerine (found in cake decorating stores)
* 1 teaspoon desired flavouring (vanilla will give the fondant an off-white color)
* Cornstarch

US cup = 8 fl oz

Directions

In a large bowl (do not use metal), sift the sugar and make a well in the centre. In a small

saucepan, add the water and sprinkle the gelatine on top to soften for about 5 minutes. Begin to

heat the gelatine and stir until the gelatine is dissolved and clear. Do not boil. Turn off the heat and

add the glucose and glycerine, stirring until well blended. Add the flavoring. Pour into the well of

sugar, and mix until all of the sugar is blended. Use hands to knead icing until it becomes stiff.

Add small amounts of confectioner’s sugar if the mixture is sticky.
Form the mixture into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in an airtight container.

This icing works best if allowed to rest at room temperature for about eight hours before using,

particularly if the weather is humid. Do not refrigerate.

Do not refrigerate a cake with fondant icing.

I used chocolate fondant because I like that “old leather-bound book”  look. You can of course make any colour book but i would suggest making it a strong  color as opposed to pastel shades. This is usually made easier by using coloring gels instead of the liquid. You can also make some different coloured icing to use as bands on the book spine.

When I made these cakes it was a very hot day here in Oz so I made them as quickly and plainly as possiblewith minimum adornment.

When ready roll out the light colored fondant so it is long enough to cover the top-side,front-sideand lower-side of the cake. This will probably need to be done in 2 sections so make sure you will be joining them at the least noticeable point.

Form these edges around the cake making sure it can be folded over the top of the cake a small way and folds down the spine side at least an inch top and bottom.

I then used the hard plastic container the sponge came in to mark pages into each side.

You need to press firmly but beware of cutting all the way through.

Then roll out the chocolate icing in a rectangle larger than the cake. I rolled it out on some greaseproof paper that I had crinkled up. This gives the slightly cracked texture of old leather. It also cuts down the amount of cornstarch needed when rolling if you use a cover of greaseproof paper. if you do have some trouble with sticking use your fingers to gently dust the surface with the cornstarch.

Then place the icing over the cake making sure you have just enough to double back the edge to form the book lips. This also makes it nice and thick and helps it to hold shape. If you start at the spine side it makes it easier to allow an extra amount of fondant to shape more into a rounded spine

Run your finger or thumb from the top of the book to the bottom making a small indent helping to define the spine.

Roll some chocolate fondant into 3 little skinny sausage shapes which you will run along the base of each side to creat the “hidden” side of the book cover.

Then it’s time to decorate at will.

I dusted the pages with gold dust to get that old-fashioned effect.

I then took some scrap-booking  letter stamps and imprinted the title of the book on thje front. Iwould of also done the spine this way if it was not so hot (or if I had some freehand talent )

I then used the imprints as a guide for the gold paint. I did find I had to use a smaller brush than the one that came with the paint but could probably of used an even smaller brush, say eye-liner brush thickness.

I had to  gently manipulate the icing a little more due to the heat, then I added the second cake to the top

Voila! The cake is done.

Some additional suggestions would be to make a big stack of books for more guests. Usingdifferent coloured books or perhaps make them smaller and have them standing upright a labookshelf.

You could even add a bookend at each side.

2 book cakes stacked together make a bigger cake for more servings

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Bathtub and Rubber Ducky Cake

I made this Bathtub and Rubber Duck cake for my daughter’s second birthday since she was a huge fan of baths at the time. She’s not quite as wild about bath time as she once was, but she still thinks this is one of the coolest cakes ever. The great part is that since it’s a simple shape, it’s not very difficult to make.  It’s wonderful for baby showers as well as baby birthdays.

1. Start by stacking four quarter sheet cakes. Yep, that’s a whole lot of cake, but since you scoop out the top two layers, it’s not as much as you’d think.
2. Once you’ve scooped out your tub sides, frost the entire thing with white buttercream.  For a bright porcelain finish, you could then use fondant if so desired.  Frost the inside of your bathtub with blue buttercream.
3. The remaining decorations are fondant or, in the case of the rubber ducky, chocolate.  I colored fondant ivory for the soap, yellow for the towel, and I used edible silver pearl dust to create the faucet.  The bubbles are simply fondant rolled into balls of varying sizes.

Rubber Duck made from Chocolate Candy Melts

This cute little rubber ducky is made from chocolate candy melts. For simplicity’s sake you could, of course, use an actual rubber duck, but if you’ve got the time and want an entirely edible cake, then try making your own chocolate rubber duck. I used a rubber duck candy mold, melted yellow, white, orange, and blue candy melts, and then used a small paintbrush to paint the mold. I used more melted candy to stick the two halves together (after at least an hour in the refrigerator) and then used a hot knife to smooth the seam lines between the two halves.

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Crookedy House Cake with house number.

This lopsided house shaped cake is made by baking two equal size square layers, cutting them up (just a bit), and spending some time with an array of buttercream frosting colored with Wilton gel colorings.

The reason it’s a fun cake? Because you don’t have to worry about being perfect.

Crookedy House Cake Supplies

• Cake Batter — I used one modified Betty Crocker mix, but I used butterscotch pudding instead of white chocolate.
• Buttercream frosting — I used this buttercream recipe.
• Assortment of Wilton’s gel food coloring (I used: Black, Golden Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Kelly Green, Orange, Rose, Teal, and Violet)
• Pastry bag and small round piping tip

Crookedy House Cake Instructions

1. Bake two square layers of equal size (the house in the picture was made with 8″ pans) and set aside.
2. Download the PDF that illustrates the Crookedy House Cake Pattern (see pic below).
3. Whip up a batch of your favorite plain buttercream frosting. I chose plain buttercream because I wanted a variety of bright colors that are best served by starting with white (or near white).
4. When the buttercream is made, separate the plain frosting into a variety of containers. You’ll need as many containers as colors you chose to use. In the the provided pattern, I used approximately one cup of green, one cup of pink, and one-half cup or less of the other colors.
   

   Shish kabob used as a straight edge for cutting.

5. Color individual containers of frosting with Wilton’s gel coloring. For the green, I used one part Kelly Green and two parts Lemon Yellow. The pink is Rose, the purple is Violet, the yellow in the windows is Golden Yellow, the main roof is a small amount of Orange, the secondary roof uses twice as much Orange, and the door is a mixture of that Orange frosting with some of the Rose frosting. For the outlines, I colored a small amount of frosting with Wilton’s Black.

   I also kept a small amount of plain frosting to pipe over the lines where colors meet — a great coverup for any blips or smudges that often occur when green buttercream meets pink buttercream.

6. When a particular color is not in use, keep the frosting covered.
7. Cut out the cake per the provided pattern. For the bush and the side room (where the house number goes), I cut the pieces freehand. In fact, I added the chimney on a whim when I realized I had a piece of cake left over.
   

   House shaped cake, cut up and ready for frosting.

8. I marked the frosting area on the cake by scoring it with the tip of my shish kabob skewer. First, I lay the skewer across the cake and make an indentation line. However, this line will disappear as the cake springs back into shape, so I lightly drag the sharp tip of the skewer across the indentation.

9. For the windows, you can either opt to frost “around” the window areas and then fill in with the yellow, or you can frost the cake and place the window frosting on top of the base color (which is what I did).
10. Once the frosting has time to crust, use the ‘paper towel’ method to smooth the buttercream. If you’ve never “smoothed” buttercream, check out this video tutorial. If you’re frosting with a pastry bag, you probably won’t need a crumb coat, but if you’re frosting with a knife (or using canned frosting), your life will be much easier if you crumb coat the cake.
11. Once you have finished the “spread” frosting (including the yellow windows), pipe black outlines and white borders with pastry bag fitted with small piping tip. If you’re personalizing the cake for a house-warming party, add the house number.
    
    

    Bricks, wood siding, and other textures can be added to frosting.

12. I used the edge of a palette knife (a standard table knife would also work) to score bricks into the chimney, wood siding on the “attic”, and bricks in the green portion of the house. I also used a pastry/basting brush (bristle end) to “stipple” texture on the bush and more lightly on the roof.

Crookedy House Cake pattern in a .PDF file.

A Bad Buttercream Day

I like to think that every day is a great day for buttercream… but it’s simply not true. Today was one of those days — hot, humid (hey, it’s Florida), and I didn’t think to turn the AC on until the house was so warm my buttercream frosting was melting. It was a mess.

And I got really cranky. And sloppy… very very sloppy. Out of frustration, I nearly abandoned this cake, but then I thought, I’ll salvage the cake and then post pictures to demonstrate that even a cake disaster can turn into a decent cake.

Some days are bad days to frost cakes, but that doesn't mean losing the cake.

In the three images above, the first image demonstrates what happened — it was terrifyingly horrible, a complete disaster with frosting everywhere…

Okay, so slapping frosting around in a manner that it ends up surrounding the cake without touching it is not the end of the world. If you get frosting (even a lot of frosting) on the plate or board where your cake is mounted, you can clean it up.

Allow the frosting to “crust” (if it’s a super bad buttercream day, “crusting” might take a couple of hours). Once the buttercream has crusted, use the edge of a palette knife to scrape up and remove the excess icing.

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This commode shaped novelty cake can be used for so many different reasons- from “over the hill” parties, to celebrating pregnancy (think morning sickness), and more.  Fun and icky variations such as chocolate melts and yellow frosting could be added as well.  The sky’s the limit!  Along with your delicate sensibilities, of course…

For this cake, I chose to use a Betty Crocker pound cake mix. I wanted to be sure it would hold its shape, and the pound cake was surprisingly delicious!

I used:

1. Three Pound Cake Mixes
2. Buttercream Frosting (For Fondant Base and Blue Water)
3. Marshmallow Fondant (Recipe)
4. Edible Silver Pearl Dust and Dowel Rod for Handle
5. 8″ Square Pan
6. 8″ Circle Pan
7. Ball Shaped Pan (Betty Crocker 4-pc. Bake’N Fill Set)

Square Cake, Circle Cake, and Dome Cake

Stacked Cake Pieces for Toilet Tank

Circle Cake Being Shaped like Toilet Seat

The Betty Crocker 4-pc. Bake’N Fill Set is perfect for this cake. I used two parts of it- the circle base pan for the toilet seat, and the round, ball shaped pan for the toilet bowl. I baked each mix according to the Bake’N Fill pan instructions, and then I baked a separate square cake with an 8″ square pan to create the toilet tank. I cut the square cake into strips and stacked them into layers with buttercream gluing each layer to the next. Then I cut the circular cake into a horseshoe shaped toilet seat lid.

I covered each section in buttercream (this is a necessary step in order for the fondant to stick to your cake). I didn’t worry too much about neatness at this point since I would be covering each piece with marshmallow fondant.

Dome and Lid Covered in Buttercream

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant

I then rolled the marshmallow fondant out into the appropriate cake shapes (circle for the dome and lid, and rectangular for the toilet tank), carefully covered each part of the cake, and then trimmed the excess fondant from around the edges.

Dome (Toilet Bowl) Turned Over and Covered in Fondant

Dome Turned Upright and Ready to fill with "Water"

Preparing the Toilet Lid for Fondant Covering

I used blue buttercream to fill the toilet with “water”, carefully placed the toilet lid on top of the bowl, and then placed the “tank” behind the bowl and lid.

Bowl filled with Water and Toilet Seat in Place

The next step was to shape a toilet handle from fondant. I pushed a dowel rod through it so that I could insert it into the cake when the time came. The handle was painted with a mixture of lemon juice and edible silver pearl dust.

Shaped and Silver Dusted Fondant Handle

The final product is a fun cake that looks like a true porcelain dream!

Finished Cake

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