Oscar Cake

You know what cheers up grouchy people?  Cake.  My nephew was having a Sesame Street birthday party for his second birthday and I'll admit, I kinda lamented.  About two years ago I tried these Sesame Street cake pops from Bakerella.  They were a disaster.  They did not meet my expectations and they took like a bajillion years to make.  UUUUUGH...I get grouchy just thinking about it.  So those were a definite no.  Elmo is adorable, but let's face it, he's played.  My favorite character is Cookie Monster, duh, but I couldn't really think of a way to translate him into cake (not yet anyway).  So, when the hubs suggested Oscar, I went for it.  Garbage can=cake shaped=score!  So, I was searching for Oscar images and ran across this tutorial on YouTube.  He suggested using muffin tops for Oscar's head. Brill.  So, that's what I did.

I used five layers of a six-inch chocolate cake for the garbage can.  I was going to use six, but as I stacked them, it started to look too cylindrical.  I stacked three layers, doweled them, and then put the other two layers on a six-inch cake board before stacking them too.  The cake board made a slight rim in the fondant when it was covered, but it looked like the rim of the garbage can; a happy accident.  After covering the cake with A LOT of frosting, I used Duncan Hines Frosting Creations again, cotton candy, kids (and me...) LOVE that stuff, I covered it in white fondant; Duff Goldman's, of course.  It was difficult to cover because it was so tall and we needed a bigger skirt than we were able to get with the amount of fondant we had.  Next time I might consider buttercream in lieu of fondant.

After it was covered, I made details like imprints down the sides using my fondant tools.   I also added a rim using fondant on the bottom and top of the can.  Finally, I made handles (with screws in them; not real ones, duh) and set them out to dry overnight.

For the lid, I baked a giant cookie in my six-inch pan using about half a roll of Nestle chocolate chip cookie dough and ate about a fourth of the rest.  ;)  After letting it harden up a bit, I frosted it and covered it in fondant and added details like imprints and a handle on top. I also made Oscar's eyes and tongue out of fondant the night before so they would harden up a bit too, as well as the number 2 and Slimy!  Slimy is striped, so I rolled out two ropes, one of orange and one of yellow, and cut each into sections.  Then I made a worm using every other color, smushed it together and rolled it a little between my hands to smooth it out.  Thanks Playdough for teaching me these skills in my youth!  If any of you are scared of fondant- it really is like Playdough, but tastes good (if you use Duff Goldman's-- trust me!). I used my Americolor Gourmet Writers to add Slimey's face as well as Oscar's pupils.  Americolor Gourmet Writers are simply markers that have edible ink!  I had just black, red and green ones, but the hubs got me a whole set for Christmas!  Squeal!

Next, I sprayed the entire thing using Wilton Color Mist in black first, a light layer, then in a much heavier layer of silver.  I was really happy with the results.  I frequently get asked if I have an airbrush machine.  Wilton Color Mist is rad.  I don't think I would buy one if I got the chance because I get such good results with the mist!  I would totes buy a Cricut Cake though.  But I digress.  I had to use two whole cans of each color for the garbage can and a whole can of each for the lid and handles.  I actually ran out before the lid and handles and my mom was nice enough to go to the store for me when she came to visit.  I only had four hours to finish the cake and hadn't started Oscar yet.

Then, I dyed the frosting green using about half of a bottle of Wilton Gel Color in green and about a fourth of a bottle in brown to get his grimy color.  I cut two tops off of jumbo chocolate muffins and used the two bottoms for the neck, shoving another dowel through the whole thing.  I frosted the neck and used my spatula, lifting it off of the surface, to create little peaks for the fur.  Then I added the bottom half of his jaw and frosted it using the same technique.  Before I added the top of his head I rolled out a circle of black fondant for the inside of his mouth and pressed it to the bottom half of the jaw till the pressure formed a lip around it.  Then I added his tongue and painted some hilights on it.  I did the same thing with a black fondant circle for the top half of his head after frosting it underneath.  I added the top half of the head, securing it with yet another dowel.  I frosted him and added his eyes with toothpicks, then added his eyebrows and hands using a star tip, then making it messier with my spatula.   Finally, I added Slimey and the handles to the garbage can, securing them with toothpicks.  I waited till we were at the party to lean the lid up in front of the garbage can.  (Ps.  Traveling with him was a little nerve-wracking, despite all of the dowels.  Why do I keep making these tall cakes?!)

I was very happy with the result and so was my nephew!

Disney Brave Cake

I made this cake my my niece who turned four, even though I told her not to!  It took about 7 hours, minus baking time.  The top tier was four layers in 6x2 Wilton pans, and the bottom was 6 layers in 8x2 Wilton pans.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  It started with a sketch at like 3 am:

I wanted it to be very tall and skinny.  I wanted it to have a strong presence and really say something kinda like Merida, and definitely like my Katey Bird.  I knew I'd need a sturdy cake to support itself.  I've used this recipe for a moist yellow cake recipe before from Bakerella, but I've found it more dense than moist, and perfect for carving and when you need some weight!  Here she is:


Moist Yellow Cake from Bakerella
Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 3 cups of sifted self-rising flour (White Lily)
• 1 cup of whole milk (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (McCormicks)
• 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour (3) 8 inch cake pans.
• Using a mixer, cream butter until fluffy.
• Add sugar and continue to cream for about 7 minutes.
• Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each egg is added.
• Add flour and milk (alternating to creamed mixture), beginning and ending with flour.
• Add vanilla and butter flavoring to mix; until just mixed.
• Divide batter equally into three cake pans.
• Hold each layer about 3 inches above your counter and carefully drop the pans flat onto counter several times to ensure release of any air bubbles. This will help you have a more level cake.
• Bake for 25 – 30 minutes (depending on your oven) until done.
• Cool in pans for 5 – 10 minutes.
• Remove and immediately wrap each layer in plastic wrap to seal in moisture. Cool completely on wire racks.
• Once cooled, you are ready to assemble your cake.

I also got the idea of making the top a bulls-eye with an arrow going through it, and hand painting the cake with forest scenes.  I realized that since it was going to be so tall, it would be difficult to cover in fondant, and require a lot of it.  So, I went searching for the best crusting buttercream I could find.  I found it here at Cake Trimmings:

Best Crusting Buttercream from Cake Trimmings
Ingredients

• 2 lbs. sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter (for whiter frosting, use butter without dyes)
• 1-1/2 cups shortening
• 2 tbsp. clear vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup water for frosting the cake or 1/4 cup for decorating
• 1/4 tsp clear almond extract or any flavor you like
• If you live where it is very humid, add 1 or 2 tbsps meringue powder

Directions

• Mix shortening, butter, and extracts until creamy.
• Gradually add water
• SLOWLY add powdered sugar, a little at a time, being careful to not have it poof in your face
• Mix thoroughly just until smooth and creamy.  Do not mix on high speed or over mix it.
• Now you’re ready to frost your cake.

So, the day before I spent about 6 hours baking the cakes.  After cooled I stacked them, doweled them, put cardboard circles about every three layers, then put a giant dowel through the entire thing.  Scary.  My husband did it. He was also in charge of making the arrow.  Um, yeah he's pretty awesome.

I always use Wilton Color Mist for my airbrushing!  Let's face it, airbrushing machines are expensive and seriously, these do the job wonderfully.  They're like little cans of spray paint that you can find in the cake section of your local grocer.  They are amaze.  Duff Goldman has a similar product called Cake Graffiti that offers metallics as well.

I used thinned frosting to paint with and added the ever-so-enticing chocolate rock candy by just shoving them meticulously and artfully in there.  This cake was a lot of work, but it's one of my very favorites.  

*more figurines were added and re distributed.