3D 1
Don't Eat Me
by Helen Yeung · submitted Aug 3, 2009 · 2009 contest
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Description
I was inspired by this design "Don't Eat Me" for two reasons: 1) it is incredibly cute and I have a soft spot both for predatory animals and cuteness, and 2) I found that it was not only a story of a giraffe and zebra not wanting to be eaten, but also a story of a cake with the same plea (we already know the cake's fate...)
First, because the cake had to support both the weight of its own layers and the weight of the figures above, I decided to use a pound cake for its density. For the frosting, I made a standard vanilla buttercream frosting, and for the decorations I used fondant. At first, I toyed with many ideas on how to depict the animals, particularly the giraffe, in a way that would be light but sturdy because they were large and hence would be relatively heavy to be supported by cake. However, with the limited supplies I had on hand, in the end all the figures were sculpted purely of fondant. Of course the animals would have lacked the strength to stand without the support of strategically placed thin, wooden dowel rods.
In order to fully represent the design and because I thought the cake would be incomplete without the clouds, I struggled for days to devise a way to include the clouds in my cake. Although I came up with several alternatives, I decided to use wire to keep the visibility of the supports relatively low, yet sturdy enough to hold.
As a novice in the art of cake decorating, there were many obstacles I faced and mistakes that I made, in addition to a lack of judgment that is obtained only from experience, that lengthened the project considerably. Furthermore, a yearning for perfection runs in my blood so I had a hard time putting my supplies away and calling it a finished piece. From beginning to end, the cake took about two days of on-and-off work to complete. Although I have been an avid baker for years, my cake decorating career has only just begun.
In the end, whether or not I am awarded a prize, I still win because I am proud of the work that I have accomplished, despite its imperfections. And my family and friends win because they have enough delicious cake to last a week.
With that said, I hope you like my cake. Meanwhile, I will be slowly condemning it to a fate that I hope my nervous giraffe and zebra friends never have to face. I will, however, eventually have to dispose of them.
First, because the cake had to support both the weight of its own layers and the weight of the figures above, I decided to use a pound cake for its density. For the frosting, I made a standard vanilla buttercream frosting, and for the decorations I used fondant. At first, I toyed with many ideas on how to depict the animals, particularly the giraffe, in a way that would be light but sturdy because they were large and hence would be relatively heavy to be supported by cake. However, with the limited supplies I had on hand, in the end all the figures were sculpted purely of fondant. Of course the animals would have lacked the strength to stand without the support of strategically placed thin, wooden dowel rods.
In order to fully represent the design and because I thought the cake would be incomplete without the clouds, I struggled for days to devise a way to include the clouds in my cake. Although I came up with several alternatives, I decided to use wire to keep the visibility of the supports relatively low, yet sturdy enough to hold.
As a novice in the art of cake decorating, there were many obstacles I faced and mistakes that I made, in addition to a lack of judgment that is obtained only from experience, that lengthened the project considerably. Furthermore, a yearning for perfection runs in my blood so I had a hard time putting my supplies away and calling it a finished piece. From beginning to end, the cake took about two days of on-and-off work to complete. Although I have been an avid baker for years, my cake decorating career has only just begun.
In the end, whether or not I am awarded a prize, I still win because I am proud of the work that I have accomplished, despite its imperfections. And my family and friends win because they have enough delicious cake to last a week.
With that said, I hope you like my cake. Meanwhile, I will be slowly condemning it to a fate that I hope my nervous giraffe and zebra friends never have to face. I will, however, eventually have to dispose of them.
