How can I make this cake?

Question

For my daughter's birthday coming up we're doing a girl pirate theme. I found a really neat looking cake that I'd like to make for it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakejournal/1795217690/ However, I can't figure out how to make that. They say it's made with fondant and sugar paste but I've never heard of that before. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Fondant is a lot like edible play-doh.  It's really fun to work with and can be flavored in all sorts of ways.  It's true that the most common store-bought brand (Wilton) tastes terrible and gives fondant a bad name.  I would suggest making  your own.  Here's directions for it: http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fond...

It's going to be hard to make black fondant.  If you use the above recipe, divide the fondant and color the black portion of it right after you make it, while it's still very soft and pliable.  You'll need to use paste color for it and it may take nearly an entire jar.  Another option would be to make two separate batches of fondant, one plain and one chocolate, and then color the chocolate fondant with a little bit of black paste color.  To make chocolate fondant from the recipe above, replace about 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar with cocoa powder...I prefer Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder and it will yield a deeper color than other cocoa powders, too.

It's probably easiest to frost your cake with buttercream, and then make the flag and skull and crossbones out of the fondant.  Covering square cakes in fondant can be done, but it's a skill that comes more easily with some practice.

To roll out your fondant, lightly grease your work surface and rolling pin with Crisco.  Measure the top of your cake and cut the black fondant to about the same size, then cut away parts of the edges to make it look like a frayed flag.  Then just lay it on top of the frosted cake. Print out or draw a skull and crossbones, and cut them out.  Roll out your white fondant, lay the skull and crossbones pattern on top, and cut around them.  I use an xacto knife for cutting fondant because it gives a nice, clean edge.  Make sure you're not using the xacto knife on a fragile surface, though...you don't want to carve a skull and crossbones into your dining room table :D

Remember too that when you make a square cake, it takes a lot more batter than a round cake of the same size.

Answer 2

use icing in a tube

Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup hot strong black coffee

Icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1-2 tbsp. buttermilk or lowfat milk

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a 12 cup bundt pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Dust with flour and shake out excess.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Whisk in coffee until well blended.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes; remove from the pan and let cool completely.

Make icing: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, vanilla and enough of the buttermilk to make a thick but pourable icing. Set the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the icing over the top.

Answer 3

I'd recommend creating a stencil for the skull and crossbones.  Draw everything with frosting.  Ice the cake pink, then add the skull and crossbones in white.  Then, add the flag in black.  I'd use long strips of icing with a flat tip for the flag, but that's just me.  Once everything's on, pipe a nice little border just around the skull and crossbones to make it neater.

Answer 4

Ok, so you want to make this cake. Beware...fondant is not very tasty. It looks really cool, but it tastes very yucky. I prefer butter creme frosting. I use a variety of "tips" on my icing decorator bottle to make pretty designs or pictures.

You can get fondant at most Walmart stores, Michael's Craft Stores and other places that sell cake decorating supplies. You'll find it near the cake pans and icings. You will have to have a roller (rolling pin) and it is pretty easy to work with, as long as you don't "overwork" the fondant.

Bake a cake, just like the package directions. (I always add a package of (dry) pudding to the mix, it makes the cake very moist and creamy.)

Let the cake cool completely.

You can print the picture of what you want to make (in this case the skull) and use it as a template to cut the fondant. Use a very sharp knife to cut it.

Lay the base down over the cake and cut around the bottom. Be sure to leave a little extra at the bottom, you can trim it closer later.

Then cut your skull. Lay it on the cake, and Viola! The cake is complete!

Answer 5

It's basically sugar playdough...You can buy Wilton  Fondant at Michaels...they have a box that contains the colors black, brown, flesh and something else, (maybe white) You could also buy some white.

Knead it to soften it up.  Roll it out using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking and cut out your pattern using an x-acto knife or paring knife and put on top of an iced cake.  Curl the edges like in the picture.

Keep unused fondant wrapped in plastic, so it doesn't dry out.  Don't worry about overworking it, you won't.  

Answer 6

What about Marzipan?  It seems the easiest way to get the picture.  If you don't know what it is, it is sometimes called almond icing.  It is often used on Christmas cake and is usually white.  It has the texture of playdough.  Its pretty easy to use, and really easy to colour (just with food colouring and a paintbrush).  All you have to do is roll it flat and then cut out the design you want.  You could even use the marzipan to cover the actual cake....  Hope this helps...

Answer 7

but some fondet at the store and cover the cake the colored fondet is black ,and a white then you cut out the skull.

Answer 8

Basic Fondant icing

half - (1-pound)boxes confectioners sugar

one half cup white corn syrup

two- eggs whites

one-teaspoon vanilla exract

Cornstarch

sift sugar into large bowl.

heat syrup in small pan over hot water

make well in sugar add syrup,eggs whites

and vanilla.mix with wooden spoon until smooth.

sift additional confectioners sugar onto clean working surface.place Fondant on Sugar. knead until of smooth dough-like consistency

add sugar as needed to keep Fondant from sticking.

sift cornstarch over working surface.  roll  Fondant to one and fourth thick.  trim to fit cake.  place over top doctorate with desired cut-out designs for green peppermint icing.  add  4 drops peppermint oil and 6 drops  green food coloring when vanilla is added. enough for 2-layer cake.  

Answer 9

That's fondant in the picture. I think fondant is kind of yucky to eat though. You could make a stencil of the skull and crossbones, make a chocolate cake with dark chocolate icing, and then sprinkle shredded coconut through the stencil to make that pattern on the cake. Almost everyone I know HATES coconut for some reason though, so maybe that wouldn't work with kids...

Answer 10

go to your local craft store like micheal's.and in their baking area you can find fondant in white .then just get fondant dye paste it should be in that aisle in every color of the ranidow.if you buy the dye dont add to much just dip a tooth pic in the dye and add that way. and make sure you where gloves or your hand will be black.mix in dye ,roll out and cut your bones and skull.place onto of a fondant covered cake .

oh yah 1 more tip to make the fondant stick to your cake brush under-side with very little water.

hope your kid enjoys.

and happy birthday.