The Last Piece by Dawn Fino [3D]

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
Hello! My name is Dawn, I'm an amateur baker, currently going to school to get my certificate for pastry and baking. I love making cakes and trying new things, so I figured I'd give this a try.

I chose to use the t-shirt, The Last Piece. It was a big challenge for me, since I knew I'd have to use a bunch of mediums I'd never or barely worked with before. But I like challenges! I wanted the cake itself to be a 3-dimensional piece, so I decided to make it a piece of sushi, and put the wrestlers on top, with another piece of sushi.

My first task was making the cake itself, which I knew had to be big to fit the wrestlers, and if it was going to be big around, it needed to be TALL too (no one wants a flat piece of sushi). I baked 5 10" cakes, 4 chocolate and one funfetti (just for fun), stacked them, and frosted them with chocolate frosting. Then made some dark green fondant-type stuff (the book I used called it 'ready-to-use icing' but its essentially a quick fondant made from glucose, dried egg whites, and powdered sugar. Not as elastic and smooth as the fondant I've bought in the store, but it tastes really good!). I covered the side of the cake with the fondant and textured it with some black food coloring and a knife.

I frosted the top with vanilla frosting, then put a ring of the green fondant in the center. Then I made more fondant, coloring some an orange salmon color, and the other a light green and used it to fill in the center as the piece of fish and avocado in the sushi. I added a little detail to the 'fish' and 'avocado' with food coloring.

To have texture for the rice on top, I made rice cereal with marshmallow and white chocolate and placed it (without flattening it, to keep texture) around the edges of the top. The white chocolate didn't make the 'rice' white enough, so I went back and painted it with a thin simple icing (milk, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla). So the sushi cake was done, it wasn't actually THAT much of a challenge (except for the rice cereal) but now I had a REAL challenge ahead of me. Making the sumo wrestlers.

I've made some flowers and balls out of fondant before, that is the extent of my experience with it. I'd never sculpted anything before and we haven't even started to learn about cake decorating in pastry school, so I was on my own for this. I watch Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes all the time, I don't remember where I saw it, but I remembered seeing them use rice cereal as a sort of skeleton for fondant figures so I made more rice cereal and sculpted my first wrestler. I don't know if you know this (you probably do) but sumo wrestlers are big... and this sucker was BIG. I used all of my skin colored fondant I had bought on one wrestler. It took me about an hour and a half to make ONE wrestler (like I said, I've never done this before!). I made some more of my fondant and sculpted another figure (again using the rice cereal underneath the fondant). I put the two guys on the cake and they were huge, and I realized I didn't have the time, energy, or supplies to make FOUR wrestlers. Plus, everything was melting in the humidity as I worked (I kept as much in the freezer or refrigerator as possible whenever possible) and I needed to get it done before it was, well, done for. I made the tiny piece of sushi (using sprinkles as rice this time) and put it on the cake, secured (as much as possible) the wrestlers to the cake, and declared myself FINISHED.

We took the cake outside for its photo shoot (did I mention it was hot and humid?) which was sort of a bad idea, but it survived! It even survived being brought back inside and served to my family (all 3 of us, and no, we didn't eat the whole thing). The cake was really good, and the fondant was even yummy! (I usually don't like fondant). The rest of the cake was enjoyed by my mom's coworkers.