3D
Kabuki Fish
by Laura MacLean @moonbabel · submitted Aug 16, 2010 · 2010 contest
1 / 64
Description
KAAAAAAAABUKI FISH!!!
Ok now it is your turn. Yell “Kabuki Fish” out loud. Do it!!
Well if you say it loud enough you will get an idea of what I have been doing for well over a month. I really liked the design when I first saw it, but once I started saying it out loud I fell in love with it and have to admit the Kabuki fish has since become a part of my everyday life. Not only did I print of a kazillion copies of the image to place all over my house for inspiration, but I also have them up at work, on my cell phone, as my screensaver, etc. I have also taken on the (somewhat annoying) habit of yelling it out at random. KABUKI FISH!! Alright, now that I have revealed that embarrassing info, let’s get down to the details…
To make the great fish, I baked a total of four cakes – a combo of chocolate and banana, because the amazing drama fish could never be “plain old vanilla”. He was carved out of one 10” and two 8” rounds and topped off with a small Pyrex bowl dome cake. Baking the cakes was the easy part. With over a month of planning in my head I began the task of decorating. Like the once great Samurai Warrior, I planned my attack, calculating every move I would make. Ok, not really, I pretty much winged it. With the cakes in the freezer, I decided it would be best to get the gumpaste work out of the way so it would have plenty of time to dry. I made cardboard templates for the fins, and cut the pieces out. I used piping gel as a glue to attach the layers, and while they were drying up I formed the Kabuki mask. I formed the mask inside a shallow bowl and then left it to dry over a mini soccer ball. Apparently the colours used in these masks depict emotion, and rice flour is often used to achieve the matte white. I just used corn flour - close enough. KAAABUKI!
While the cakes were still frozen, I carved them into the right shape. Because I wanted to make the cake 100% edible, I chose chocolate ganache to hold it all together. After sticking the cakes together, I coated it all in the semi-sweet chocolate goodness and let it set overnight in the fridge. The next step was to cover the cake in fondant so I could begin adding the details. Once covered, I began the really fun task of making each of the scales. I really didn’t know if it would work as planned, but I rolled out different layers of fondant around eachother to make a log and then sliced off thin pieces to reveal the multi-coloured rings. I spent a couple of hours slicing, pinching, and flattening each scale, but was happy with the results. KAAAAABUKI FISH! (Sometimes it sounds like a really loud sneeze). To attach each scale, I painted on some edible glue (combo of water and tylose powder) and worked around the body of the fish. I cut out the top piece out of fondant and got back to work on the mask. I had overestimated the size so I had to carve down the dried gumpaste, but finally got the right shape. Using royal icing in two shades of blue, I painted on the mask details and gave the cake a face. I sliced into the side of the cake where I would attach the fins, but used cardboard to hold the place until the very end. Oh, I nearly forgot about the boats, which I made after coming up with a paper template. The fishing lines had me the most worried as I knew using wire would be the best looking, but it wouldn’t be edible. Just when I was about to give in I discovered crEATables candy! Edible string like candy that even came in the right colour!! You got it – KABUKIIIIIII!!
Now that I had all the pieces of the puzzle, I put it together. I used bright blue buttercream to make the water, and white royal icing for the caps of the waves. Rising out of the sugar sea, the mighty fish fought its captors as best it could, but alas it was no match for the knife…Slicing into the fish was both sad and satisfying. I knew that this would be the end of the great love affair I had created with the mystical fish, but it also meant that I had achieved what I set out to do. And as I ate a big yummy slice of the rich cake, I knew the great Kabuki fish would always be a part of me - literally, I think it all went to my hips. Now with all my gusto, one final time - KAAAAAABUKI FISH!!!!!
Ok now it is your turn. Yell “Kabuki Fish” out loud. Do it!!
Well if you say it loud enough you will get an idea of what I have been doing for well over a month. I really liked the design when I first saw it, but once I started saying it out loud I fell in love with it and have to admit the Kabuki fish has since become a part of my everyday life. Not only did I print of a kazillion copies of the image to place all over my house for inspiration, but I also have them up at work, on my cell phone, as my screensaver, etc. I have also taken on the (somewhat annoying) habit of yelling it out at random. KABUKI FISH!! Alright, now that I have revealed that embarrassing info, let’s get down to the details…
To make the great fish, I baked a total of four cakes – a combo of chocolate and banana, because the amazing drama fish could never be “plain old vanilla”. He was carved out of one 10” and two 8” rounds and topped off with a small Pyrex bowl dome cake. Baking the cakes was the easy part. With over a month of planning in my head I began the task of decorating. Like the once great Samurai Warrior, I planned my attack, calculating every move I would make. Ok, not really, I pretty much winged it. With the cakes in the freezer, I decided it would be best to get the gumpaste work out of the way so it would have plenty of time to dry. I made cardboard templates for the fins, and cut the pieces out. I used piping gel as a glue to attach the layers, and while they were drying up I formed the Kabuki mask. I formed the mask inside a shallow bowl and then left it to dry over a mini soccer ball. Apparently the colours used in these masks depict emotion, and rice flour is often used to achieve the matte white. I just used corn flour - close enough. KAAABUKI!
While the cakes were still frozen, I carved them into the right shape. Because I wanted to make the cake 100% edible, I chose chocolate ganache to hold it all together. After sticking the cakes together, I coated it all in the semi-sweet chocolate goodness and let it set overnight in the fridge. The next step was to cover the cake in fondant so I could begin adding the details. Once covered, I began the really fun task of making each of the scales. I really didn’t know if it would work as planned, but I rolled out different layers of fondant around eachother to make a log and then sliced off thin pieces to reveal the multi-coloured rings. I spent a couple of hours slicing, pinching, and flattening each scale, but was happy with the results. KAAAAABUKI FISH! (Sometimes it sounds like a really loud sneeze). To attach each scale, I painted on some edible glue (combo of water and tylose powder) and worked around the body of the fish. I cut out the top piece out of fondant and got back to work on the mask. I had overestimated the size so I had to carve down the dried gumpaste, but finally got the right shape. Using royal icing in two shades of blue, I painted on the mask details and gave the cake a face. I sliced into the side of the cake where I would attach the fins, but used cardboard to hold the place until the very end. Oh, I nearly forgot about the boats, which I made after coming up with a paper template. The fishing lines had me the most worried as I knew using wire would be the best looking, but it wouldn’t be edible. Just when I was about to give in I discovered crEATables candy! Edible string like candy that even came in the right colour!! You got it – KABUKIIIIIII!!
Now that I had all the pieces of the puzzle, I put it together. I used bright blue buttercream to make the water, and white royal icing for the caps of the waves. Rising out of the sugar sea, the mighty fish fought its captors as best it could, but alas it was no match for the knife…Slicing into the fish was both sad and satisfying. I knew that this would be the end of the great love affair I had created with the mystical fish, but it also meant that I had achieved what I set out to do. And as I ate a big yummy slice of the rich cake, I knew the great Kabuki fish would always be a part of me - literally, I think it all went to my hips. Now with all my gusto, one final time - KAAAAAABUKI FISH!!!!!
