Let There Be Cake…With Fondant!

Cake not only entails a sweet and yummy substance, but also a meaning beyond that. It is provided for celebrations of all types, eaten by all ages, and adds comfort on those days where you just need something to lift your spirits. Weddings, graduations, baby showers, birthdays and pretty much all parties come with the necessity of eating cake! Homemade, store-bought, chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, whipped cream, box mixes, carrot cake, ganache, pound cake, fruit baskets, buttercream, angel food cake–really, anything you can think of can be the perfect fix for a sweet tooth or a great addition to a group gathering. It’s a wonderful bonding experience to have everyone eat a piece and all experience the same flavors. I think cakes are amazing, especially when there is something wonderful to celebrate!

I have baked many cakes and attempted many decorations but I have always stayed away from fondant–a sugar or marshmallow “dough” used to decorate cakes or sweets. (It’s what you use to get that smooth look on a wedding cake or to make those cute edible objects that go on top of cakes.) But since it was my best friend’s birthday last weekend, I decided to attempt a cake covered in fondant–after all, I wanted to make something very special for her special day! I spent the beginning of the week researching and watching a couple videos on how to use fondant and then went to the store to pick up some supplies. I bought a tub of Duff fondant (it’s the Ace of Cakes brand) and then a smaller Wilton’s brand variety pack to for the black fondant. When I got home and taste-tested both, the sweet buttercream vanilla flavored Duff fondant passed with flying colors. Wilton’s, however, was not good at all! It tasted very artificial and too sweet–so if you buy this brand (which is cheaper) make sure you tell your guests not to eat it. And if you do decide to use Duff fondant, note that their white fondant is not true white–it’s more of an ivory color which can really throw off a cake if you’re expecting to make a white cake! This didn’t matter with my cake because i ended up coloring it anyway, but I was very surprised.

So I baked the cakes two nights before and realized that two layers wasn’t enough. The next day, I baked another layer, let it all cool, then leveled each layer so they would all fit nicely on top of each other and placed the entire cake on a homemade cake board (thanks to my wonderful roommate and her crafty, cake board makin’ skills). I then made my own vanilla buttercream frosting (first time making frosting, too!), frosted between the layers and applied a crumb coat which is a thin layer of frosting all around the cake to seal in the crumbs. After that I popped the cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then added another layer of frosting which resulted in this:

Cake with the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Then I colored my white fondant pink by kneading it and adding color for a long, long time and rolled it out. The hardest part was draping the huge and thin piece of fondant over the cake. After ripping it and having to re-roll, I recruited my very willing roommates, they quickly washed their hands and came to my rescue. The three of us were able to lift the thin layer and place it over the cake. Then I took a pizza cutter to trim the excess fondant off. Voila!

The hardest part was over! After that,  I got to have some fun decorating. I decided to make it a city theme, and the final details of the cake were applied. I made building clusters out of black fondant that wrapped around the side of the cake, stars, a martini glass, and then I decorated little plastic (non-edible) heels to place on top! The other challenge of the cake was to write out “Happy Birthday”–I don’t have a very steady hand, so the letters were quite wavy, but it gives it a homemade touch (right?!). Here is how it came out:

My First Fondant Cake Day 3: The Final Product

Dark Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Although this was the longest time I have ever worked on a cake, it was entirely worth it. My friend enjoyed it, and that’s all the really matters. Sometimes, small gestures can send big messages and something made with love (even if it’s not perfect) can be more meaningful than anything store-bought. We sometimes let that notion slip in life–wanting to buy people mounds of useless gifts as a grand gesture to show how much we care–but in reality, time spent with the ones you love, hand written cards, and poorly homemade crafts can be the perfect thing to make someone happy.

Try and give someone you love a personal gift today, whether it’s writing a letter to an old friend, offering to wash the dishes, giving someone freshly picked flowers from your garden/side of the road or just telling that person how happy you are to have them in your life. Trust me, it will put a huge smile on their face!

Cheers!