3D
Beneath the Ocean Deep
by jennifer flynn @madgoose · submitted Jul 26, 2009 · 2009 contest
1 / 42
Description
So I find myself in a familiar place taking on another cake, which proves to be both difficult and frustrating. I set myself the same challenge as before: nothing but cake, 100% edible. For a cake to stand vertical this definitely requires a lot of planning and accessing lost information from middle school about the center of gravity or something like that.
The cake you see as the final product is actually version 2.0 of this cake. The conch shell went without a hitch, but then I started the koi fish cake (cue dramatic music). I intended to cover the details of the cake in white fondant and then paint over it using food coloring and vodka to achieve the watercolor look of the tshirt. Yeah, that wasn’t the best idea I ever had. All the colors came out looking wishy-washy (pic included) and I was totally unsure of the whole look of the cake. This was the time to call in some honest advice, my husband. He’s the Geof to my Duff except for the tiny fact that he can’t decorate cakes or bake, but he does wear American Apparel tshirts and have a snarky sense of humor, plus if you want someone to give it to you straight he’s your man.
He told me the colors of the cake didn’t do it justice and he was right. The two days I had slaved away on this cake were down the drain, but I knew he was right. He did cheer me up by creating a hypothetical situation in where a hermit crab somehow found my cake, made it his new home only to discover it was made of cake! We decided that comical situations would ensue and perhaps a new plot for Pixar’s next movie “The Crabcake House.”
Ok, so plan B…take everything off minus the girl and the conch and color the fondant directly. I decided I wouldn’t entirely mix the colors in which would give me a streaky painted effect. Success! The cake finally turned out the way I had envisioned it.
Further cake info:
In total, this cake taking into consideration two different versions took 5 days. The conch is made from a box mix swirl cake and the koi cake is made from a sturdier pound cake, all covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant.
I definitely need a nap after this one.
The cake you see as the final product is actually version 2.0 of this cake. The conch shell went without a hitch, but then I started the koi fish cake (cue dramatic music). I intended to cover the details of the cake in white fondant and then paint over it using food coloring and vodka to achieve the watercolor look of the tshirt. Yeah, that wasn’t the best idea I ever had. All the colors came out looking wishy-washy (pic included) and I was totally unsure of the whole look of the cake. This was the time to call in some honest advice, my husband. He’s the Geof to my Duff except for the tiny fact that he can’t decorate cakes or bake, but he does wear American Apparel tshirts and have a snarky sense of humor, plus if you want someone to give it to you straight he’s your man.
He told me the colors of the cake didn’t do it justice and he was right. The two days I had slaved away on this cake were down the drain, but I knew he was right. He did cheer me up by creating a hypothetical situation in where a hermit crab somehow found my cake, made it his new home only to discover it was made of cake! We decided that comical situations would ensue and perhaps a new plot for Pixar’s next movie “The Crabcake House.”
Ok, so plan B…take everything off minus the girl and the conch and color the fondant directly. I decided I wouldn’t entirely mix the colors in which would give me a streaky painted effect. Success! The cake finally turned out the way I had envisioned it.
Further cake info:
In total, this cake taking into consideration two different versions took 5 days. The conch is made from a box mix swirl cake and the koi cake is made from a sturdier pound cake, all covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant.
I definitely need a nap after this one.
