This is my latest cake creation. I started pinning like crazy a few months ago and decided I would be the next big thing in cake decorating. After spending a buncha money at Wally World, I realized that everyone and their mother decorates cakes, and they're all better at it than I am! After a severe pep talk where I reminded myself that not only do I not have to be the best, but I can also do this gig as a hobby and less as a career, I got back into it. Sometimes I get over zealous and then disheartened. But I (with the help of Hubs) usually kick my rear into gear.
So instead of trying super crazy ornate difficult things that I saw done on Pinterest by professionals, I opted to volunteer my very unprofessional services to friends and family. Every new cake is more practice! And if nothing else, my son will have some seriously kickass birthday cakes.
Anyway the above cake was for a bridal shower, and although it looks kinda fancy, it's really pretty simple. And if you're better at icing than I am, you should have no problems! The candies make it look like I did something incredibly difficult or time consuming, but really it's just a bunch of microwaving and refridgeratoring.
I got my candy forms from a friend who was clearing things out (thanks Cherie!) but you can find them at any cake decorating or craft store. Don't forget to go local! That reminder brought to you by the hypocrisy of the Wilton candy melts I bought from Wal Mart. Life isn't fun without a little double sidedness, guys!
Toss a few candy melts in a ziploc bag, and microwave 15 seconds at a time, squishing in between turns. If you get them too hot they will not melt. They'll actually get more solid. Snip the corner of your bag off and fill the molds, about halfway or so. Put them in the fridge for 5-10 minutes, turn the form upside down to pop 'em out and stash them in a ziploc bag until you're ready to use. My advice would be to start the candy making process a week or so in advance, just doing a batch every time you're hanging out in the kitchen.
The cake itself was pretty easy. Level off the bottom tier with a cake leveling thingamabob once it cools, and apply a thin coat (crumb coat) of plain white icing on the cake. I then mixed my Malibu Barbie-esque icing and did a nice happy layer. After placing and replacing the candies just so, I finally found a way I was happy with, piped well wishes on top and teeny dots around the bottom. Preeeeeetty simple.
I was also doing cupcakes. I would highly recommend that you get a pack of icing bags to make all of your cupcake icing forevermore easy, a 2A tip for icing a swirl (as seen above) and a 4 tip for writing. Buy them individually if you just want the bare minimum of icing necessities, but get a larger pack of tips if you're thinking about doing more experimentation with cake decor.
I put candies on some of my cupcakes but after running out and being too lazy to make more, I drizzled some of the leftover icing across the tops of the others. I gotta say, I liked the variety. You could do the drizzle with the melted candies, though, which I didn't consider until later.
Voila! If you're anything like me, you're going to scrutinize every last inch of the cake. Just remember that while people may notice it, they're much more interested in eating it. The bride to be at my shower said it was too pretty to cut, so the groom snuck over and all but smashed it in half with the knife! Problem solved, haha.
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