PRESENTS!!! GIMME GIMME GIMME!

Isn't that what everyone screams on their birthday? Or is it just me? : ) I was asked to make a birthday cake for a friends little sister to help celebrate her 15th birthday. Coming up with an idea wasn't the easiest thing. So I thought, who doesn't like presents? Incorporate her favorite color purple and this cake could be very cute! My original idea was to cover the entire cake in fondant and use an imprint mat that I have that says 'happy birthday' all over it. After getting the fondant on the cake however, I was not happy. Fondant decided to hate me while making this cake. So, I ripped it all off and tried a new technique: Faux Fondant.

Now, after doing a faux fondant cake, I may never go back to fondant. Basically it involves using a buttercream icing that will develop a crust after about 20 minutes. You have to put a fairly thick coat of the icing onto the cake but it ends up looking fabulous. Next step, take a paper towel (mine happened to have a pattern on it) and put it up against the icing. Gently rub the paper towel into the cake. The icing smooths out and the pattern imprints on the cake. FABULOUS!

This was also my first time making a fondant bow. I chose a 14 loop bow because I wanted it to basically cover the entire top of my 8x8 cake. After the bow was assembled and nice and hard, I applied an edible lustre dust to the bow to give it a fabulous glittery girlie feel. LOVE IT!

All in all, despite the original set backs I had when I started this cake, I am very happy with how it turned out. I learned new techniques and feel I did the cake justice. Let's just hope that the 15 year old likes it!

And of course, credit to Chelsea Belle Photography for some great photos. (I even added one with me because I was told I had too. That one is just for you Chels!)