The Corset Cake!!!
February 6, 2011
SO! Here we are. Finally! As you read, it was quite a stressful beginning, and (believe it or not) I've learned even more. ONE: ALWAYS dowel and use cake boards for more than two layers of cake. The single most disappointing thing about this cake was that the shot glass could only fit inside tipped over due to the settling :(
TWO: Use PVC whenever possible! Or just cut your copper pipe two inches shorter instead of just an inch and a half.
THREE: When cutting a corset, even though it is more anatomically correct and aesthetically pleasing to curve the bottom, just leave it flat.
FOUR: Never, EVER, dye fondant, then use a bunch of powdered sugar/cornstarch to roll it in RIDICULOUSLY dry weather. It won't work.
FIVE: Don't try to fix said fondant by adding a smidge of water and nuking it. It will turn into marshmallow-and-sugar icing.
SIX: Measure measure measure measure measure. This includes the tiny cake at the top, the pipe, the stacking, the amount of water it says to add to fondant.....etc.
SEVEN: People. Like. Strawberry. Cake. And having too little may lead to small fights.
EIGHT: Don't sweat the little things. Normal people don't notice :)
Okay, so now that you know the skeleton, here's the meat. The fondant almost killed me. I thought I wouldn't be able to finish--it kept crumbling! Luckily I had some fondant that Spencer and I had made for the Billiards Cake that wasn't affected by the weather I could use. I decided against dying it black, and ended up just painting it, which worked fine...it was just a little sticky and my hands might be purpley-green for a couple days. Sticking the jewels to the cake was a little hard...the buttercream really ruined the beauty of how clear they were. Also, because I hadn't been able to buy cake boards and dowels due to the weather, I forgot about them until it was too late. The cake sagged about an inch and a half all told due to this. I did try to make cake boards....but it didn't work. Because of the settling, there was close to an inch of pipe showing! So, I covered it in those sugar jewels. (Forgot to take a picture though) I jokingly told the birthday girl I had a unicorn spit on the cake for good luck ;)
The traveling was fine, though we had a couple bumps that freaked me out. Once we got there it was great! The strawberry cake went first, and we had a few laughs trying to tear apart the corset. Yellow was second most popular, then chocolate. I'm sad I couldn't make the candles, but I just didn't have the tools or the time to get the tools. The brush embroidery I unfortunately figured out more towards the end haha. Overall, I'm very happy, and so was the birthday girl! Picture lineup!
The original carving of the corset. The Dixie cup was my reference for the shot glass haha. As you can see, it fit quite nicely there.
Right after I laced it up. You can see at this point the inset is still big enough for the shot.
This is a (bad) close up of one of the buttons. I edited it so you could get a glimpse of the stitching.
Right before we left; terrible lighting I know.
Final picture of it in the car! You can see how much it's settled :(
So...thoughts?? =D
TWO: Use PVC whenever possible! Or just cut your copper pipe two inches shorter instead of just an inch and a half.
THREE: When cutting a corset, even though it is more anatomically correct and aesthetically pleasing to curve the bottom, just leave it flat.
FOUR: Never, EVER, dye fondant, then use a bunch of powdered sugar/cornstarch to roll it in RIDICULOUSLY dry weather. It won't work.
FIVE: Don't try to fix said fondant by adding a smidge of water and nuking it. It will turn into marshmallow-and-sugar icing.
SIX: Measure measure measure measure measure. This includes the tiny cake at the top, the pipe, the stacking, the amount of water it says to add to fondant.....etc.
SEVEN: People. Like. Strawberry. Cake. And having too little may lead to small fights.
EIGHT: Don't sweat the little things. Normal people don't notice :)
Okay, so now that you know the skeleton, here's the meat. The fondant almost killed me. I thought I wouldn't be able to finish--it kept crumbling! Luckily I had some fondant that Spencer and I had made for the Billiards Cake that wasn't affected by the weather I could use. I decided against dying it black, and ended up just painting it, which worked fine...it was just a little sticky and my hands might be purpley-green for a couple days. Sticking the jewels to the cake was a little hard...the buttercream really ruined the beauty of how clear they were. Also, because I hadn't been able to buy cake boards and dowels due to the weather, I forgot about them until it was too late. The cake sagged about an inch and a half all told due to this. I did try to make cake boards....but it didn't work. Because of the settling, there was close to an inch of pipe showing! So, I covered it in those sugar jewels. (Forgot to take a picture though) I jokingly told the birthday girl I had a unicorn spit on the cake for good luck ;)
The traveling was fine, though we had a couple bumps that freaked me out. Once we got there it was great! The strawberry cake went first, and we had a few laughs trying to tear apart the corset. Yellow was second most popular, then chocolate. I'm sad I couldn't make the candles, but I just didn't have the tools or the time to get the tools. The brush embroidery I unfortunately figured out more towards the end haha. Overall, I'm very happy, and so was the birthday girl! Picture lineup!
The original carving of the corset. The Dixie cup was my reference for the shot glass haha. As you can see, it fit quite nicely there. Right after I laced it up. You can see at this point the inset is still big enough for the shot.This is a (bad) close up of one of the buttons. I edited it so you could get a glimpse of the stitching. Right before we left; terrible lighting I know.Final picture of it in the car! You can see how much it's settled :(So...thoughts?? =D
Posted by Stacey R..