3D
A city built on rock n' roll would be structurally unsound
by Shelley Binder @uffish thoughts · submitted Aug 4, 2009 · 2009 contest
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Description
A Cake Built On Rock 'n Roll is Structurally Unsound
The bakery where I work doesn't mess with topsy turvy cakes, but I've been wanting to try my hand at one and this seemed like a good opportunity. This is one of my favorite threadless tees and I've been thinking about ways to create it in cake since back whenever I belatedly heard about the original threadcakes contest.
If I wasn't so tired and last-minute posting this, I would better narrate all the things I learned. But mostly, while I like my cakes to taste as good or better than they look, my usual recipes are not the best for this sort of thing, and three layers without support is indeed a bad idea no matter what the internet says. And experimenting with a new tiramisu flavor on the bottom tier probably wasn't the best idea either. (Tasty though.)
I think I'm out of complete sentences, so here's a succinct rundown of the whole process (which took nearly a week in between work and life and a very tiny amount of sleep): Made buildings out of gumpaste first. Baked, filled, sculpted and crumb-coated cakes. Took apart sagging top tier to restructure and add support. Bottom seemed fine. Iced, smoothed, and stacked cakes. Had to use straws because my dowel-cutters were missing and it was the middle of the night. Realized too late that bottom was cracking. Sad, but not terribly surprised the next morning when it had fallen down. Luckily able to save the top, which became the whole cake. Took cake and buildings to work to airbrush them. Worked out final design plan and piped everything on. Added buildings and took pictures, then took to my friend's bachelorette party to share. Didn't survive the party bus to the piano bar very well, but got them to play "We Built This City on Rock and Roll" and then we ate it. The end.
The bakery where I work doesn't mess with topsy turvy cakes, but I've been wanting to try my hand at one and this seemed like a good opportunity. This is one of my favorite threadless tees and I've been thinking about ways to create it in cake since back whenever I belatedly heard about the original threadcakes contest.
If I wasn't so tired and last-minute posting this, I would better narrate all the things I learned. But mostly, while I like my cakes to taste as good or better than they look, my usual recipes are not the best for this sort of thing, and three layers without support is indeed a bad idea no matter what the internet says. And experimenting with a new tiramisu flavor on the bottom tier probably wasn't the best idea either. (Tasty though.)
I think I'm out of complete sentences, so here's a succinct rundown of the whole process (which took nearly a week in between work and life and a very tiny amount of sleep): Made buildings out of gumpaste first. Baked, filled, sculpted and crumb-coated cakes. Took apart sagging top tier to restructure and add support. Bottom seemed fine. Iced, smoothed, and stacked cakes. Had to use straws because my dowel-cutters were missing and it was the middle of the night. Realized too late that bottom was cracking. Sad, but not terribly surprised the next morning when it had fallen down. Luckily able to save the top, which became the whole cake. Took cake and buildings to work to airbrush them. Worked out final design plan and piped everything on. Added buildings and took pictures, then took to my friend's bachelorette party to share. Didn't survive the party bus to the piano bar very well, but got them to play "We Built This City on Rock and Roll" and then we ate it. The end.
