3D 1
I'm Like a Bird!
by Patricia Snodgrass @techie1981 · submitted Aug 3, 2009 · 2009 contest
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Description
As an avid baker, I absolutely had to enter this competition. This was my first attempt at building a multi-tiered cake, and it won't be my last!
This cake took me five days (working nights) to complete. The baking and fondant-covering took no time at all...planning the structure and giraffe neck took up most of the time. Normally I would have baked my cake from scratch but to cut down on time, I went with boxed mix instead. I used vanilla on the top two tiers and saved the chocolate for the very bottom. It was very tasty! The vanilla buttercream was made from scratch.
The clouds and birdies were made from gum paste and I used edible markers to draw in details.
The trees and animals on the bottom tier were piped on with dyed royal icing, a #2 tip and a lot of patience. This was my first time working with royal icing and it worked very well!
The giraffe's head and body were molded out of gum paste. The looooong neck was shaped with rice krispy treats and I gave in to a wire in the neck to twist it around the cake properly. Once I had shaped the neck, I let it sit overnight to harden, then covered with fondant. The patterns were painted on with an icing dye/vodka mix.
Miraculously, once the neck was wrapped on, everything seemed to stay in place! Exhausted and satisfied, I forced myself to slice into my creation (I cringed, I admit), and sat down to enjoy. Mmm!
This cake took me five days (working nights) to complete. The baking and fondant-covering took no time at all...planning the structure and giraffe neck took up most of the time. Normally I would have baked my cake from scratch but to cut down on time, I went with boxed mix instead. I used vanilla on the top two tiers and saved the chocolate for the very bottom. It was very tasty! The vanilla buttercream was made from scratch.
The clouds and birdies were made from gum paste and I used edible markers to draw in details.
The trees and animals on the bottom tier were piped on with dyed royal icing, a #2 tip and a lot of patience. This was my first time working with royal icing and it worked very well!
The giraffe's head and body were molded out of gum paste. The looooong neck was shaped with rice krispy treats and I gave in to a wire in the neck to twist it around the cake properly. Once I had shaped the neck, I let it sit overnight to harden, then covered with fondant. The patterns were painted on with an icing dye/vodka mix.
Miraculously, once the neck was wrapped on, everything seemed to stay in place! Exhausted and satisfied, I forced myself to slice into my creation (I cringed, I admit), and sat down to enjoy. Mmm!