Project Surprise Phase II

Spring is in the air in Hampton Roads! One week it's sleeting and the next it's 70 and sunny. We have now had three straight days of sunshine and warmth and if you ask me, the saying "April showers bring May flowers" can hold off as long as it wants to. The blank canvas of a cake from yesterday and the beautiful weather inspired me to make a cake that was as equally cheerful as the day outside. What says spring more than sun and flowers? Not a whole lot so that's what I decided to stick to decorate this cake. 

After making the icing the perfect shade of sunny yellow, I filled my piping bag and with a 1M piping tip started on the top of the cake making the flowers.  This was definitely the first time I have attempted making flowers from icing so I did take a few practice attempts off the cake first. Starting in the middle of the cake and working outwards, I made each flower by placing the tip of the piping bag on a spot to create the bud of the flower, and moved outwards in a circle to create the petal effect. Since this was my first attempt at doing this, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Once the top of the cake was decorated, I moved on the sides. My initial goal was to make as smooth of a surface as possible to contrast with the top, but after a few minutes of icing the sides I realized I really liked the rustic look of imperfection alongside the flowers and decided to stick with it. It took about fifteen minutes of rotating the cake on the stand to even out the icing layer but once I was done I was very happy with the end result. 

Stepping back from the cake, I realized something was still missing. I didn't want to overdo the cake and just wanted something that would enhance its look.  I still had some leftover white fondant from one of my last baking projects and decided to make a bow for the side. 

Making a bow like this requires only two strips of fondant: one approximately 5"x 8" (or larger if you want a bigger bow) and one about 2" x 5". Taking the larger strip, I place it flat on my working surface and fold the two ends to meet in the middle, rubbing a little bit of water on the fondant to activate the sugars and make the ends stick. This creates the back of the bow. Then I flip the bow over, like the first picture above, and use two rolled up paper towels to help form the loops of the bow. These paper towels stay in the bow until it has hardened enough to keep its shape by itself.  Next, I pinch the middle of the bow in towards the center and use the other strip of fondant to wrap around the middle and secure the whole thing in place.  One of my next baking blogs will be a better tutorial on making these kinds of bows, but hopefully you can get the gist. After letting the bow sit for about an hour to harden, it was time to finish the cake. 

Taking two days to properly let the cake cool and the crumb coat freeze overnight made the decorating process so much easier. I will no longer be giving myself only one evening to finish a cake.  It just takes too long and by the time I get to the decorating part, my favorite part, I'm pretty tired and not putting enough effort into it. 

Check back in later for a peak of the inside of the cake. I so badly wanted to cut it open to take pictures but am holding off until my husband can eat it all for me this weekend. I hope the weather is treating you as well as it is me this week and getting you inspired. Until next time... Happy Baking!!!