3D Finalist
Work of the Genius
by Melissa Thomas @Melissa Thomas · submitted Jul 28, 2011 · 2011 contest
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Description
First off, let me preface this:
I am a geek. Seriously…a big one…
So when I saw a Leonardo da Vinci style steampunk-ish Bob-omb, I had to do it.
I wanted to try to do this cake without a whole lot of supports, so I made sure that I did not use rice crispies and only 4 dowels in the middle of the cake so that the weight did not crush the bottom layer. For the cake itself, I baked off two 8” and two 6” apple cinnamon rounds. For the feet, I used the cut-off domes from the 8” cakes. I also made a batch of cinnamon buttercream to use for the cake and about two pounds of fondant.
The whole process for the cake took me about four days. I made the gears and the key in the back ahead of time so that they could dry. Then I carved the cake to the right shape and let it firm up in the refrigerator before I covered it in fondant. The bottom piece of the bob-omb I painted with watered-down black food coloring so that it would stay shiny.
The detail of the wires in the front was a painstaking process and took me the longest. I did each wire by hand and layered to give it more depth. Finally, I melted down some sugar and poured it into a lined cookie cutter for the lenses on the bob-omb. When they dried, I wrapped the outside of the lenses in fondant and let them dry as well. Finally, I assembled the whole thing and used food coloring to paint the shadows and highlights on the cake to bring it to life. On a piece of Strathmore art board, I drew the sketch that appeared in the background of the shirt.
The cake was a lot of fun to do and everyone in my house made a lot of jokes pretty much the whole time. My favorite joke was had after my husband had just woken up -- I looked at him and said “Don’t be alarmed, but there is a bomb in the fridge.” I also kept out a little bob-omb statue near the cake while I was doing it and even wore my bob-omb shirt one of the days I worked on it. Like I said, I’m a geek…I accept this. I am super happy with how it turned out and I hope you guys like it as well!
I am a geek. Seriously…a big one…
So when I saw a Leonardo da Vinci style steampunk-ish Bob-omb, I had to do it.
I wanted to try to do this cake without a whole lot of supports, so I made sure that I did not use rice crispies and only 4 dowels in the middle of the cake so that the weight did not crush the bottom layer. For the cake itself, I baked off two 8” and two 6” apple cinnamon rounds. For the feet, I used the cut-off domes from the 8” cakes. I also made a batch of cinnamon buttercream to use for the cake and about two pounds of fondant.
The whole process for the cake took me about four days. I made the gears and the key in the back ahead of time so that they could dry. Then I carved the cake to the right shape and let it firm up in the refrigerator before I covered it in fondant. The bottom piece of the bob-omb I painted with watered-down black food coloring so that it would stay shiny.
The detail of the wires in the front was a painstaking process and took me the longest. I did each wire by hand and layered to give it more depth. Finally, I melted down some sugar and poured it into a lined cookie cutter for the lenses on the bob-omb. When they dried, I wrapped the outside of the lenses in fondant and let them dry as well. Finally, I assembled the whole thing and used food coloring to paint the shadows and highlights on the cake to bring it to life. On a piece of Strathmore art board, I drew the sketch that appeared in the background of the shirt.
The cake was a lot of fun to do and everyone in my house made a lot of jokes pretty much the whole time. My favorite joke was had after my husband had just woken up -- I looked at him and said “Don’t be alarmed, but there is a bomb in the fridge.” I also kept out a little bob-omb statue near the cake while I was doing it and even wore my bob-omb shirt one of the days I worked on it. Like I said, I’m a geek…I accept this. I am super happy with how it turned out and I hope you guys like it as well!
