Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Baby Girl Turns 5

Hello Everybody!

I am excited as punch to show you Baby Girl's Birthday party. I worked hard on this party, and I had some help, too. Shaun and Mom thanks for putting up with me this weekend while I was preparing for the party.

First off, just look at that big girl, isn't she just the prettiest 5 year old you ever did see? I certainly think so.


Now onto the other lovely in the picture, the piece de resistance, the cake.


This took me a couple of days to work on. I started out by doing a batch of marshmallow fondant using this recipe over at Wilton. This was my first time at doing fondant, and I know I didn't do it exactly right. I think it needed more powdered sugar, and I probably used more shortening then it called for. It still turned out ok for my first attempt. I also made this Buttercream icing recipe from Wilton. I then made two 9-inch cakes from a box mix...Shhhhh, don't tell anyone! I put the cakes in foil and put them in the freezer overnight. I put the fondant and the buttercream in the fridger overnight.


I got the idea for the tower from one of the cake shows on Dish Network. I think it was Extreme Wedding Cakes or something like that. Sorry, I really don't remember which show it was. I do know it wasn't Cake Boss or Ace of Cakes. Anyway, on the show they made a batch of rice krispies and moded them in the form of a tower using a pvc pipe and non-stick spray. They then pushed the tower out the other end. For mine, I started to put it in a pvc pipe, and then I decide I would just form it with my hands. Just a note, put your rice krispies in the fridge for a couple of hours to let them set up a little bit. This makes them easier to form into whatever shape you are making. I formed my tower around a dowel rod so I could stand it on the cake. Another bit of information, one dowel rod alone will not hold the tower, it is really heavy and will sink into your cake and eventually fall over...wouldn't know this from experience. I recommend forming it around at least two rods if possible or even digging out a little bit of the cake where you would like it to sit. Don't really know if that would work, but it's worth a try. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. I also formed a cone shaped roof to attach to the main tower part. Once you have your tower formed, stick it in the fridge so it will harden and set more. Now, onto the fun of decorating your cake.


The next day I took my fondant and buttercream out of the fridge and I let them come to room temperature. I then took my cakes out of the freezer. I put a little bit of buttercream on my cake stand and placed the first layer on the stand. I then put a layer of buttercream on top of the first layer. I placed the second layer of cake on top. This is where mom came into the picture. While I was working with my fondant, she iced the rest of the cake in the buttercream.

I colored my fondant pink by taking a toothpick and sticking it in the food gel, and then poking it into the fondant. I did this several times to get the pink color that I was wanting. Once, you have put the food coloring in just knead your fondant until it becomes the shade of color you want. I used Wilton food coloring. I rolled the fondant out, and then placed it onto the cake. Mine cracked on one side, and it took me several tries to roll it out and lift it up without breaking. If anyone has any pointers on this step, please let me know.


For tower, I colored it a gray color using a little bit of black food coloring. I then put a thin layer of icing on my tower. I then placed the tower on the fondant and just rolled it up...much easier to put the fondant on the tower than it was the cake. For the roof, my husband dyed the fondant a purple color, and he cut individual shingles out and placed them on the roof one at a time.

We placed both the cake and tower back in the fridge until the party day which was the next day. We didn't put the tower on the cake until about 30 minutes before the party was supposed to start.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think or if you have any pointers for future cakes.

Thanks,

15 comments:

WobiSobi said...

You made that Cake? Awesome job!! It looks amazing! what a lucky little girl.

Sheri@childmade.com said...

Well done! I wouldn't begin to take on a challenge like that. You have a lucky little girl! Thanks for linking!

seven thirty three said...

Great cake!

Thanks for linking with Sugar & Spice.

Ladybird Ln said...

Wow, what a beautiful cake! Your daughter looks thrilled! What a great mom you are!

ladybirdln.blogspot.com

~K @ VintageSkye said...

That is great! My four year old would love it!

Sew Can Do said...

Great job! What a special cake. You don't really need to refrigerate the fondant though - it usually just makes it sticky & tougher to work with. You may want to give modeling chocolate a go - it's very easy to make and a bit easier than fondant (I've got some how-tos in my tutorial section).Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday:)

Pati @ A Crafty Escape said...

BEAUTIFUL cake! My daughter would LOVE this for her birthday, might have to come to you for some tips. I don't like the texture of homemade fondant so I always order the Satin Ice one from fondantsource.com, the texture is always perfect and it tastes good. Great job!

Audrey @ The Cloth Parcel said...

Hi Stephanie, thanks for the comment on my owl cake. I am planning to share my marshmallow fondant recipe soon when I help a girlfriend make a baby shower cake. It isn't the Wilton recipe.
Also, love your little girl's name! ;)

Mariah said...

Hi Stephanie, thanks for your sweet comments about my Strawberry Shortcake party. I had to stop by and check out your "Tangled" party and WOW what a cake! You did a great job and the look on your daughter's face shows all of the hard work was worth it!

http://gigglesgalorenmore.blogspot.com/2011/02/strawberry-shortcake-party.html

AllieMakes! said...

Adorable! My little one asked for a castle birthday cake ans I countered with Toy Story cupcakes cuz I'm lazy! This is great!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

Malory {Snips & Spice} said...

Very cute! I am making a cake this weekend for a girl's party, but I haven't yet picked out the design.

Amelia@SavoryandSweet said...

What a beautiful cake...I bet your daughter was thrilled. :)

Rachel said...

That is so awesome!!! I bet that was one happy girl!!! Thanks for linking up!

Sweet Little Smoothie said...

Wow that is an AWESOME cake!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog & for your sweet comment. I'm your newest follower :)

Meghan @ Domestic Sugar said...

Towers are so hard to pull off! I love the cake. Lucky Little one!