Cake...cake...what cake??!!! Argh! LOL! I don't know whether to be stressed out or just insanely ha ha about the situation I placed myself in. Two weeks ago I volunteered to go all 'Ace of Cakes' on an up and coming project for my niece's 25th birthday. My sister-in-law was originally ordering cupcakes for over $80 and I volunteered to make something; bigger and better you might say. Luckily I've managed to get some pretty good deals on the supplies I needed with such short notice. Wilton takes forever, and I could never guarantee my supplies arriving in a timely manner. Thank goodness for Michael's coupons - which saved me on fondant, piping gel, and a ginormous cake pan. Two Friday's ago I sketched up the coolest looking 'Hippo' cake and faxed it to my sis in law at work - I would say she loved it and got the contract. I wish I had done a little more research on how much this cake would cost as I have never made a cake for 50 people before (Pirate cake was about $60, this one regular price would run $120 approx.). 210 oz. of fondant later, 3 dozen eggs, and 5 lbs. of butter if that gives you any idea of the complexity of this cake - that I made nine times! 2 - 12x18 (body), 2 - 8" (head), 4 - 6"(head&feet)cakes, hopefully will be enough, especially when I was considering the cake to 8" high when completed; 4" high will be more than plenty; I'm not feeding 100 people, I'm also basing the slices on 2"x2" instead of the standard wedding serving of 1"x1" (poor wedding guest :oP)
I've been baking cakes since Tuesday evening, as I was short on milk and my car (having Dave start his new job on Monday)decided that it wasn't going to run anymore :o( Seems having only used it twice over the last two and a half months was a bad thing - killed the battery (we hope):o( Ever night this week I've had to run out for more ingredients. My initial list was just to make four recipes of my cake not nine - it takes three recipes to fill the 12x18 pan alone (four if it were my chocolate version)! Now I know! :oP
The last cake came out of the oven after 9:30 last night. Dave is going to cut my plywood...I mean cake board tonight (3'x2')and I hope to assemble and get the fondant ready today. Assembling hopefully tonight and tomorrow. Problems with fondant in a residential setting is there is a lack of space! I have cakes stuffed in my little apartment size freezer and the stuff that usually goes in there is crammed into my fridge's freezer space, working thus far I might add, as long as I don't go for the extra two layers of the 12x18 cake.
I plan to do a strawberry and whipped cream filling as per the request; at the same time I have flashes of my masterpiece sliding off/shifting on the board as we transport it downtown. How many stakes should I use to avoid this...I really don't know. I don't think the piping gel water is going to hold anything in place. I feel like emailing AofC and seeing if they have any recommendations - is it better to have no filling on the larger portions...I just don't know :oP
Well I should run I have a ton of fondant to colour (I bought it as the discount made it cheaper than making it this time)and a gum paste flower to make to set on the Hippo's ear as well as whipping up a few batches of buttercream icing to keep this sucked together. I plan to use some pink petal dust to colour the pinkish areas on my gray hippo, I hope this is a good solution as I don't trust piecing together two different pieces and having them stay together either. Cake boss and Ace of Cakes have shown many of the do's and don'ts of the trade. I hope they will come in handy as here I go a wastling, I mean building :oP
Here is my vision:


Sorry for the poor quality - pencil sketch :o( If I don't over think things and not stress too much everything will be just fine...yeah...keep telling myself that.