Last week, in the midst of packing for our DC move, I was able to escape the boxes by baking and decorating three cakes. One of them in particular was so much fun to create.
I was asked to make a surprise groom's cake by a high school friend, who got married on Saturday. I love surprises, but it is tough to keep them a secret!
Her request was a to create a vanilla hunting cake. The inside is filled with chocolate buttercream, and the outside is frosted with both chocolate and vanilla.
The bullets, antlers, and leaves were made out of fondant. Cool looking, but definitely not delicious-tasting.
The tree trunk was fun and easy to create. A swirl on the top for the inner tree, followed by a messy frosting with a knife for the bark.
I looked on a lot of websites to see how to do camouflage frosting. The technique I chose was to pipe the border of each color, fill it in, temporarily freeze it to crust the frosting, then to smooth it flat with wax paper and a fondant smoother.
The grass, although simple, is probably my favorite part of the cake!
To make the antlers I colored some fondant a light brown then shaped them and let them set. I used a knife to create markings and lines, and then used a paintbrush to dry-brush brown food coloring onto the outside.
Congratulations to Elyse and Ryan!!
Okayyyyyyy, this is incredible. Like, really. REALLY!! (It reminds me of Peeta and his camouflage frosting scene in The Hunger Games.) You should get into cake baking in DC. I'm serious.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! I just had a phone call from someone who wants a hunting themed grooms cake ~ this has given me some great ideas! Thanks for sharing! What did you cover the cake board with to make it brown? My favorite tip is the grass tip ~ any time you add green grass to a cake it brightens it up ~ works great for monster's fur, too (like Elmo!)
ReplyDeleteHi Samantha! I'm glad this cake can be of some help to you! To make the brown board I dyed some fondant with different shades of brown and rolled it over the board. The slice of a tree (if you could get one that was food safe) would look awesome as a cake board, but I didn't have one at the time.
DeleteWhat size are the cakes and for the tree rings did u just pipe icing around?
ReplyDeleteThe bottom layer was 10" and the top was 6". Yes, I used a round tip to pipe the rings.
Deleteawesome, thank you!
DeleteFabulous cake! My client asked me to re-create your design, and here is the link to my attempt (I CREDITED YOU!): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=460790533977671&set=a.230589600331100.58139.168729489850445&type=1&theater
ReplyDeleteThank You!!
How cool! Thanks for sharing. The cake looks great!
DeleteI'm a complete novice at this, but when I saw this cake, I really wanted to give it a try for a combined bridal/groom shower. Can you tell me what I need to make the grass and how much fondant I should buy? Thanks - This is a great cake.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous! I used buttercream frosting for the grass. Tip number 233 works great for it. As for fondant, I didn't use a lot. I only used it to create the antlers and to cover the cakeboard. I would say that a regular Wilton-sized package of fondant is enough. Their smaller boxes would certainly be enough for the antlers, but you would need more to cover the board.
DeleteThanks for the info - I'm going to give it a try.
DeleteI want to make a cream cheese icing to go on this cake and was wondering what kind of coloring to use to still make the cake taste good for camo colors just like yours?
ReplyDeleteIf you go to craft stores that sell cake supplies you can often find "no-taste" colors. I have used them before and always use them for red and black since they require so much coloring. check online too. I know that Wilton makes some.
DeleteHi Danielle
ReplyDeleteI have practiced twice now to try to use the cream cheese icing because I have a carrot cake! The cream cheese icing doesn't hold up well enough, plus it will be outside for alittle before the reception. So, I have decided to go with another icing to try to make it stiffer and not droop all over before we get to reception! This is pretty frustrating for a novice! But, I'm determined to get it right. Any further ideas? You are such a good decorator, it's fun to see your creations! Thanks so much
I am sorry to hear that! Perhaps it is the cream cheese that is the problem. I find that it is always a bit softer than butter. Can you put it in the fridge for a bit before frosting? Or add more confectioners sugar? I would be worried to have a cream cheese frosting on the cake in warm weather, unless the cake was kept in a cool place until serving. Best of luck.
DeleteDanielle - Thanks for all your help. I have decided to go with a regular icing so I don't have to worry about it getting warm or hot. My icing still doesn't hold up enough to put the wax paper against it and smooth out with fondant smoother. But, am going to try putting more confectioner sugar in it and see if that helps! Did you use a small round tip to put the colors on, or a medium size round tip? I used medium and larger and seemed like the medium one worked best!
DeleteHmm.... I remember having to put my cake in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden the icing, otherwise it kept sticking to the paper. Have you tried doing that? Another possible thing, if you have it - put powdered egg whites in the frosting so that it almost "hardens" or creates a "hard" outer coat when allowed to sit out for a few minutes. Sounds weird - but you just want the frosting to be dry when it hits that waxed paper. As for the tip - I think I used a medium - which required more piping, but didn't bulge the individual colors and make one bulkier than the other. I really hope something works!
DeleteThanks - that really helps. I did put it in the freezer, but not but for about 5 minutes maybe. I did put meringue powder in it, but maybe not enough. I put 1TBSP and need alittle more. Where we are going to the wedding, am not sure we will even have access to a freezer. Will be staying in a motel and trying to decorate it there before going to outdoor wedding!!! I'm sure it will turn out, just alittle nervous! But, really appreciate all your help. Will let you know how it comes out and will let you see it.
DeleteA friend requested that I make this for a grooms cake for her wedding this weekend (chocolate with caramel buttercream). Wish me luck! Great design you have here!
ReplyDeleteThat is exciting! I'd love to see the final result if you have photo at the end. The caramel buttercream sounds amaaaazing! Good luck with the baking and decorating :)
DeleteThanks, I will be sure to share!
DeleteIt didn't turn out as good as I had hoped (my stump was too small for my antlers) but it was alright and everyone loved it anyway!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151570971012006&set=a.10151217235397006.440349.757712005&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151570971032006&set=a.10151217235397006.440349.757712005&type=3&theater
It looks great!! I really love your camo and leaves! Great job :)
DeleteThanks a bunch! They were super excited. Thank YOU for the great design! I posted my results on Facebook and linked to you for credit. :-)
DeleteHi Danielle, quick question did you use dowels to support the top cake or is there no need? Thanks Caroline
ReplyDeleteHello! If I remember correctly, I did use dowels to support the top. Maybe it didn't need it, but I wanted to be safe, knowing that the cake had to travel to a wedding.
DeleteI'm going to attempt this cake for my Grandson's wedding. I haven't worked with fondant before, so I'm a little nervous about that...however, I'm only going to do the tree stump. Couple of questions, can you please tell me if the antlers are each shaped from one piece of fondant or how you made this shape? Also, did you use gel color - the light brown - to color the fondant, and what kind of coloring used for the dry brushing.
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki! I find that fondant is a lot like the clay you can buy in craft stores - it's better to work with when it is slightly warmed. To answer your questions, I used one piece of of white fondant with some brown fondant rolled in to create the tan based color. Each antler was half of that fondant and I molded it to the shape of the antler. I had to let it dry somewhat before putting it on the cake so that it would retain its shape. To color the antlers, I used brown gel food coloring and brushed the color on with a dry paint brush. I made sure there was very little gel on the brush so that it wouldn't create bold streaks, but rather light brush strokes to show the grooves in the antlers. Brushing it on a paper towel before putting it on the antler will take off the extra coloring. Did that answer your questions? If not, be sure to let me know. I hope you have fun creating the cake!
DeleteThank you so much for your reply which answered most of my questions. I'm just having a problem figuring out how you shaped the antlers. I get the LONG piece, but how did you connect the ones coming off that? Are they shaped separate and added? Sorry, but I can't picture how you got them so perfectly shaped.
DeleteI believe I took only one piece and forked it to form the different parts. I don't remember taking other pieces and putting them together, but I'm sure you can make that work by blending the edges together.
DeleteThanks again for the help. I'm really excited about trying this cake. Thankfully I have plenty of time to practice...the wedding is July 18, so hopefully I will have success. I will keep you posted. Thanks again!
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