Push It!

I signed up for threadcakes last year and was too scared to even consider making something to submit. This year I have started making cakes for friends and family and I thought I might have a go. I picked several designs and decided on a couple of potentials. I showed these to my husband and he picked a different one entirely, 'Push It!', as his favourite. He said it was very me as it involved things 'pooing' as I have a fondness for toilet humour.

I then saw the quality of some of the other entries and decided not to bother with it this year, but for some reason the file of pictures wouldn't go from my recycle bin on my computer and this inspired me to give it a go!

I went to my local cake supply shop and bought loads of fondant and food colourings. Then I went to the supermarket for butter and eggs and things. I've made quite a few cakes in the last couple of months so I had some things in the cupboards at home already.

I planned to make the cake on a Sunday, and woke with an amazing hangover after cooking supper for friends on the previous evening. I didn't get started on baking until 4pm in the afternoon, which was a little later than planned. I started by baking a 10 inch Madeira cake - I had to triple the quantities to ensure the cake would be deep enough. Butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, and vanilla extract went in the pot. Cake ingredients were mixed and put in the oven, gas mark 4 for about an hour.

While the cake was baking I decided to make the little paint tube men for the top. Although the pink one looked more like a girl to me, maybe it's just cos she was pink - the others seemed to look like boys. She seems to be terrified at the situation whereas the others look to be either enjoying it or giving it a right good go!

I used normal sugar paste for all of them except for the really squeezed out guy on the edge of the board, he is made from flower paste. I wanted him to set really hard and have a different look than the others, what with him being empty! The faces were drawn on with a black food colour felt pen.

When the cake was baked and cooled I cut through the middle and added a whole jar of strawberry jam. When I added the top I carved the top off to make sure it was flat and carved the shape with a dinner plate as my template. I carved the shape of an artist's palette and then mixed my butter cream.

I mixed a block of lovely butter with a box of icing sugar and a dash of vanilla extract to a nice spreadable consistency. I covered the carved cake and used little bits of greaseproof to make sure the board was protected. Once covered I rolled out my sugar paste to cover the cake. I kneaded blue and white sugar paste together with some extra blue food colour and rolled it out to carefully cover the cake. I smoothed the top and sides and added little balls of blue sugar paste round the edge to give it some definition.

Then I mixed some royal icing sugar with food colouring and water to make the paint splatters for the top of the cake. I made a thumb dent in the top of the cake with my edible glue tub and covered the palette as per the original picture. I added the tubes after this with some edible glue and gave it a spray with edible pearl lustre to make it glitter. Cake is only truly awesome if it sparkles, well it is in my world.

I took about a million pictures then realised it was well passed my bedtime. I took the cake to work on the Monday morning and had help from loads of people who said they would happily help me dispose of the evidence! The video includes me even partaking of a slice!