Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Bratz cake instructions



INSTRUCTIONS FOR BRATZ CAKE BY SOCAKE



First print out a picture to use as a template. The size will depend on the size of the cake you are baking. I have made this using a 12” square pan. I checked that my Bratz picture was the right size by cutting her up and placing the pieces onto my cake pan. When I was happy that the size I made her would fit the size of my cake I stuck her back together with sticky tape.

Then colour all your fondant (black for hair, pink for clothes, green for eyes, purple for eye shadow and flesh colour (I used peach and caramel brown) dark pink for armbands and flower belt)

Start by cutting out the bulk of the hair (the bottom layer) put a few lines in the hair to make it have a bit more character. The fondant should be rolled fairly thin (approx. 2 mm)

Then cut out the face. Using a sharp knife, cut out the eyes and lips. Using some of the pink fondant, cut out some more lips using the piece you removed of the flesh colour as a guide for the size. Put the pink lips into the face and smooth out so the edges of the lips and the face meet.

The eyes are done the same way, the white part is the same size as the removed flesh colour piece. The green part is made by rolling two balls of green fondant and squashing them flat. The pupils are also two squashed balls of black fondant placed on top of the green. The white flecks on the eyes are done the same way. Position the coloured part of the eye on the main white of the eye and press them flat. Place the eyes into the eye holes in the face. Roll out the purple fondant very thinly and cut out the eye lids place the eye lids over the eyes hiding the join between the eyes and the face. Paint on eye lashes using black liquid colour.

Using petal dust, brush a bit of shadowing onto the face to add more character. Also using purple lustre dust give the eyes a bit if eye shadow. When you are happy with the face, carefully lift it up and position it on top of the hair you have previously cut out. Stick it down with a little sugar glue (or water)

Next cut out the fringe pieces from you black fondant and stick them in place on top of the face making sure that the top part of the face is covered. Put a few lines in the fringe as well to add character and make it look more like hair.



Cut out two small pink rectangles for the hair bands and stick them in place tucking the ends under to make it look like it is wrapped around the hair.

Next cut out the body by rolling out the flesh colour paste and using your template as a guide. Smooth the edges with your finger to remove the cut look on the edges.




Roll two small balls of fondant and place them on her chest then roll out some pink fondant, cut out the shape of her top using the template as a guide then place the top over her body. Smooth over the chest to give a slight 3D look to her bust (doing this helps give her some of the “Bratz” attitude!)

Next cut out the pants and the feet and shoes using the template the same way as you did the other shapes. Attach the feet to the bottom of the pants using a little sugar glue.

The finishing touches can be done once she is all together on the cake.

Re-cut your template and place them on your cooled levelled cake. Use your template to cut out the cake pieces. Position the pieces of cake in the correct place and stick them together with butter cream and crumb coat the cake with butter cream. Cover the cake in fondant. Using pink royal icing, pipe a shell boarder around the base of the cake.

Now very carefully lift the hair and face of your baking paper and place it on the cake sticking it down with sugar glue. Next lift the torso off your baking paper and position it on top of the hair so the neck meets the bottom of the chin. Stick down with sugar glue. Do the same with the legs and feet.




Add the finishing touches - black eye brows, black ribbon on the shirt, dark pink arm bands, black waist band on the top of the pants, black belt with pink flowers.

I used FMM brand letter cutters to cut out the fondant letters for the cake board.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Instructions for my gumpaste shoe.


How to make my gumpaste shoe!


You will need…….

· Modelling paste
· Non stick baking paper
· Pencil and scissors
· Modelling tools
- small rolling pin
- cutting wheel or sharp non-serrated knife
- quilting wheel
· Non stick board (a smooth surface)
· Paint brushes (small)
· Sugar glue (water works just as well)
· Letter cutters
· Food colouring of your choice
· Gold lustre dust
· Clear alcohol
· Royal Icing
· Piping tip “0” (very small round tip)
· Piping bag
· Wooden skewer
· And last of all.. Some kids play dough.


Step one ………...Making the templates.

Shape A is the main frame of the shoe and shape B is the inner sole.




Shape C is the top of the shoe.





Shapes D, E, F and G are the
decorations on the top of the shoe. (Shape D should look like shape F in reverse, my drawing skills on the computer need some work!!!)




Shape H is the tip of the heel.



These templates are only a guide and should look like this when layed on top of each other. My shoe was actual size but you can make it any size you would like!
Draw all of these shapes onto paper and cut them out. (Feel free to skip a bit if you’re an advanced decorator and just make your shapes free hand when you need them!!)


Step 2 ….Use the Kids play dough to make a drying platform.

Take a block of kids play dough and mould it to the shape of the shoe so you have a place to put your modelling paste sole to dry.





Lay a piece of non stick baking paper over the play dough so that the modelling paste and the play dough NEVER TOUCH. The moisture in the play dough will make the modelling paste go soggy if it touches.

Step 3….Making the sole

Depending on the size shoe you are making, roll out enough modelling paste to fit your template. Roll the modelling paste thick (about 4mm) for the heel and thin it out down to about 2mm for the front of the shoe. Place your template (Shape A) on the modelling paste and cut around the template using a sharp knife or a cutting wheel.






Place the sole you cut onto the drying platform you made in step 2.
Leave to dry over night.


Step 4…. The inner sole

Colour some modelling paste to make the inner sole of your shoe. Roll your modelling paste to an even thickness of 2mm. Using shape B cut out your inner sole.



Carefully stick this to the sole starting at the heel and work your way down to the toe. The shape may stretch a bit while attaching so any excess would be at the toe which can be trimmed away with a sharp knife. (Any imperfections will be covered later by the top).

Leave to dry.

Step 5…. The heel

Using modelling paste, mould the shape of the heel . Start by rolling a tear drop shape, flatten the base onto your work surface. Place the flattened base onto the template for the sole (Shape A) and shape to the same size as the heel area.



Cut the wooden skewer to the hight of your shoe by measuring it against the height of your drying platform. Place the skewer into the centre of the heel and work the paste up to the hight of the skewer getting thinner as you go up. The end should finish being the same size as the template shape H. Flatten the inner side of the heel as seen in the picture. Make shape H out of brown modelling paste and attach with glue.

Stick the heel to the base of the sole with sugar glue.
Stand up in a safe place making sure the heel is straight.

Leave to dry overnight.

Step 6….The front of the shoe.

Colour some modelling paste for the front of the shoe. Thinly roll out your paste and using template shape C, cut the front piece out. Brush some sugar glue along the back of the two shortest edges and stick them to the edge on the bottom of the sole. Make a cone shaped roll of baking paper and push it under the front to help keep its shape. Leave to dry.





Step 7….Gold trim across the top of the shoe

Roll out your modelling past thinly and cut out shape E using your template. Use your quilting wheel to indent the stitching around the edges. Stick in place with sugar glue. Do the same with shapes D and F tucking the edge under the side of the sole.







Cut two of shape G, indent stitching and glue in place tucking the edges into the holes of the other shapes.

Leave to dry.


Step 8…. The texture on the front of the shoe.

Using piping tube size 0 or 1, pipe the paten on the top of the shoe starting at the top and working down to the tip of the shoe. Leave to dry.








Step 9…. Finishing touches.

Mix your gold lustre dust with a small amount of clear alcohol to make it like a paint. Paint the gold highlights as seen in the photo.











Using letter cutters and a contrasting colour paste make a “brand” to personalise your shoe and attach it to the inner sole.

With any luck you should now have an edible shoe in front of you!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Yoda cake instructions

How to make Yoda!

I used a 6" round tin and a pudding steamer bowl shaped tin as seen in the attached photo.


I stacked the cooled cakes and crumb coated in buttercream. Shaped the feet out of green fondant and put them in place.

then placed a ball of fondant on the top of the cake for his neck which i then covered on green fondant.

I then thinly rolled out a rectangle of brown fondant and cut a rounded collar on one end. I then placed it down the front of the cake and scrunched the bottom up a little. I rolled out a strip of fondant for his belt and stuck it across his waist.

Now for the fun part... his head!!

I needed his head to be able to support his ears so i made it from chocolate crackle (like rice crispy treats) I formed the chocolate crackle onto a ball and put it in the freezer to set firmly. (I inserted a bamboo skewer into the ball before it set)once really firm I carved a rough yoda shaped head and then pushed the skewer into the cake so the head was just touching the neck. I then covered the head in buttercream. I placed a raised teardrop shaped piece of fondant where his cheeks would be on either side and a raised triangle for his nose, a raised circle with a line dented into it for his mouth and two small sausages for his eyebrows. Next I rolled out a thin layer of green fondant and cover the entire head smoothing over the fondant shapes underneath.
I marked the wrinkles onto the fondant with the back of a knife (or modeling tools if you have them!)I press in the mouth the same way.
I made a nose out of green fondant and put ontop of the "nose bump" I made earlier. I rolled three small sausages of green fondant and place over the bridge of the nose to look like wrinkles.
Next I made the eyes with white fondant and a small circle of green fondant. I attached them to the cake with a little water. I rolled out three small thin sausages of green fondant for each eye lid and two small thin sausages for under each eye, I attached them to the eyes with water.
I then rolled out two eyebrow shapes and put them over the eyebrow bumps.

Next I rolled out yodas coat using some cream coloured fondant. I cut a rectangle shape and cut out a small semi-circle from the middle of the long side for the neck then draped the fondant over the cake and trimed away the excess. I stuck the edges down at the front to the edge of the brown clothing with water.


Then I rolled two thick sausages of fondant for each arm and stuck them to yodas body. I shaped two hands out of green fondant and attached them to the body at the base of the "arm sausages". I thinly roll out some cream fondant for the sleves of the coat and stuck them over the arm shapes and a little over the hands to cover his wrists. I then used some brown chalk colour to age the coat by randomly dusting brown patches all over it.

Now for the ears!

I added some tylose gum to some green fondant for the ears.(this made them hold there shape)I rolled out two large tear drop shapes for the ears, pressed in the shape of the inner ear then inserted a toothpick into the side of Yodas head where the ear would be leaving just over half the toothpick hanging out, I put some water on the ear where it would be touching the head and pushed the ear onto the toothpick hold it in place for about 20 seconds then I left them to dry.

I wrote the birthday message on the cake board the way Yoda would speek...."30 you are" but If I had more room I would have written "Happy Birthday you must have" (I forgot to take a photo after I added the writing)

I hope this was easy to follow! I have attached a series of photo's showing some of the stages of building this cake that might help to show how I did it!

It took about three and a half hours to decorate but was much easier that it looks!

Take care,

Sandra