This is a cake we made for Lea and her fiance, Patrick, for their Engagement Party! It was out first tiered cake and it proved a challenge. We were pretty nervous, not only because it was our first endeavor at a vertical cake, but because Lea is probably our toughest critic and this was a tryout for her wedding cake! They wanted it plain and simple, chocolate and chocolate. That was easy enough. The outside was a different story.
Fondant was another first for us. Wilton is the normal "go-to" for any amateur baker as it has a lot of elasticity. Personally, the taste is a bit off-putting. We ended up serving the cake without it, which is what some people do (so we've heard....). Simple instructions for fondant? Knead, roll, cover, trim. Not so simple. The fondant quickly became tough as we did microwave it to soften. DO NOT MICROWAVE. Your hands will warm and soften it as you knead it to a play-do like consistency. DO MEASURE YOUR CAKE before rolling fondant. Have a ruler or a pastry mat (inexpensive on Amazon) handy to save the headache. Measure the circumference and roll out appropriately. We did run short quite a few times and had to re-roll it out making the fondant tougher. The more you rework fondant the less it becomes useable. Also, the fondant should be about 1/4 inch thick. Too thin and the cake's bumps will show through or the fondant might rip. We also recommend watching the many youtube videos on covering a cake with fondant. "Skirting" and "pulling" become common words in your vocabulary.
We decided to do a dark red color for the cake, since that was the intended scheme for the wedding. Instead of adding dye to the fondant, we decided to "paint" it. The main reason was that a whole lot of dye is needed to achieve a deep red and the taste of the dye can come through. There is "no taste" red dye available, but it takes an amalgamation of browns and blacks to get a darker shade. The "paint" we used is made of lemon juice and red and brown gel-dye. We brushed it on with an ordinary art brush found in any craft store. The glassy sheen was a plus. Mistakes can be positive! For the leaves, we also mixed lemon juice with gold luster dust. The paint, fondant leaves, and ribbon were all part of the plan, but they were also cake-savers by covering our fondant mess!
Besides teaching us valuable skills in fondant, it also taught us time-management in the cake world! We spent 3 hours decorating (not including baking time) and made it to the party with minutes to spare! But......other than the happy couple, this cake was the center of attention.
PS We passed the try-out and are commissioned to do the wedding cake. Eeeeeeek!
3 Tiers
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate buttercream frosting between layers
Rolled Fondant dyed orange
Fondant leaves handpainted with gold dust
Burgundy handpainted effects
Orange satin ribbon
Fresh Flowers on top
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