Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I decided to do a Threadcakes entry based on the "Conservation Status" design. I knew from the start, before I even picked a design, that I wanted to do something modular - cupcakes or cake balls or something, rather than one big cake. I decided on chocolate cupcakes with fondant decorations.

I had help from my little sister (the photographer) and her friend (the taste-tester). It seemed like a straightforward sort of process - trace the 15 silhouettes onto some parchment paper, cut them out, use them as stencils to cut the shapes out of colored fondant, attach fondant shapes to chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. And it was straightforward, except for the fact that at no point before beginning this process did any of us think to verify that we actually had a cupcake pan.

Well, we *had* a cupcake pan. I have no idea what happened to it; at present our best theory is that "some kind of bakeware gnome took it." But no matter. We did have a mini-loaf pan, and decided that was a fine substitute. My sister J set about stuffing silver-foil round cupcake liners into the rectangular cups of the mini loaf pan while I mixed up the batter. We went with Betty Crocker Super-Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix, according to the box). This batter was incredibly viscous. So, truth in advertising, I guess, because it almost had a pudding-like consistency. It's incredibly difficult to ladle cake batter into the cups of a narrow loaf pan, especially when the openings are partially obscured by the folds of the cupcake liners. But we prevailed, and baked up some rather tasty cupcake loaves (or cuploaves).

While that was baking, the three of us started cutting shapes out of the colored fondant. I've never used fondant before--everything I know about using it I got from baking shows and the Internet--so I decided to buy it premade and precolored from Michael's. J and her friend T and I rolled out the fondant and carefully, using X-Acto knives, cut the shapes out. I did Extinct; J did Threatened and Least Concern; T did Endangered and Resurrected. Then, once the cuploaves were cool, we used this ingenious canned frosting to squirt a little bit of icing on and stick the fondant to the cake.

The whole process, including pausing for J to take photos, took the better part of an afternoon; about two or three hours, from tracing the first shape to sticking the last one onto the last cuploaf. According to all involved, the final product was both adorable and delicious. We decided to send them into work with my mother the next day, because we certainly didn't need to eat that many cuploaves or that much sugar paste.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I decided to do a Threadcakes entry based on the "Conservation Status" design. I knew from the start, before I even picked a design, that I wanted to do something modular - cupcakes or cake balls or something, rather than one big cake. I decided on chocolate cupcakes with fondant decorations.

I had help from my little sister (the photographer) and her friend (the taste-tester). It seemed like a straightforward sort of process - trace the 15 silhouettes onto some parchment paper, cut them out, use them as stencils to cut the shapes out of colored fondant, attach fondant shapes to chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. And it was straightforward, except for the fact that at no point before beginning this process did any of us think to verify that we actually had a cupcake pan.

Well, we *had* a cupcake pan. I have no idea what happened to it; at present our best theory is that "some kind of bakeware gnome took it." But no matter. We did have a mini-loaf pan, and decided that was a fine substitute. My sister J set about stuffing silver-foil round cupcake liners into the rectangular cups of the mini loaf pan while I mixed up the batter. We went with Betty Crocker Super-Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix, according to the box). This batter was incredibly viscous. So, truth in advertising, I guess, because it almost had a pudding-like consistency. It's incredibly difficult to ladle cake batter into the cups of a narrow loaf pan, especially when the openings are partially obscured by the folds of the cupcake liners. But we prevailed, and baked up some rather tasty cupcake loaves (or cuploaves).

While that was baking, the three of us started cutting shapes out of the colored fondant. I've never used fondant before--everything I know about using it I got from baking shows and the Internet--so I decided to buy it premade and precolored from Michael's. J and her friend T and I rolled out the fondant and carefully, using X-Acto knives, cut the shapes out. I did Extinct; J did Threatened and Least Concern; T did Endangered and Resurrected. Then, once the cuploaves were cool, we used this ingenious canned frosting to squirt a little bit of icing on and stick the fondant to the cake.

The whole process, including pausing for J to take photos, took the better part of an afternoon; about two or three hours, from tracing the first shape to sticking the last one onto the last cuploaf. According to all involved, the final product was both adorable and delicious. We decided to send them into work with my mother the next day, because we certainly didn't need to eat that many cuploaves or that much sugar paste.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I decided to do a Threadcakes entry based on the "Conservation Status" design. I knew from the start, before I even picked a design, that I wanted to do something modular - cupcakes or cake balls or something, rather than one big cake. I decided on chocolate cupcakes with fondant decorations.

I had help from my little sister (the photographer) and her friend (the taste-tester). It seemed like a straightforward sort of process - trace the 15 silhouettes onto some parchment paper, cut them out, use them as stencils to cut the shapes out of colored fondant, attach fondant shapes to chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. And it was straightforward, except for the fact that at no point before beginning this process did any of us think to verify that we actually had a cupcake pan.

Well, we *had* a cupcake pan. I have no idea what happened to it; at present our best theory is that "some kind of bakeware gnome took it." But no matter. We did have a mini-loaf pan, and decided that was a fine substitute. My sister J set about stuffing silver-foil round cupcake liners into the rectangular cups of the mini loaf pan while I mixed up the batter. We went with Betty Crocker Super-Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix, according to the box). This batter was incredibly viscous. So, truth in advertising, I guess, because it almost had a pudding-like consistency. It's incredibly difficult to ladle cake batter into the cups of a narrow loaf pan, especially when the openings are partially obscured by the folds of the cupcake liners. But we prevailed, and baked up some rather tasty cupcake loaves (or cuploaves).

While that was baking, the three of us started cutting shapes out of the colored fondant. I've never used fondant before--everything I know about using it I got from baking shows and the Internet--so I decided to buy it premade and precolored from Michael's. J and her friend T and I rolled out the fondant and carefully, using X-Acto knives, cut the shapes out. I did Extinct; J did Threatened and Least Concern; T did Endangered and Resurrected. Then, once the cuploaves were cool, we used this ingenious canned frosting to squirt a little bit of icing on and stick the fondant to the cake.

The whole process, including pausing for J to take photos, took the better part of an afternoon; about two or three hours, from tracing the first shape to sticking the last one onto the last cuploaf. According to all involved, the final product was both adorable and delicious. We decided to send them into work with my mother the next day, because we certainly didn't need to eat that many cuploaves or that much sugar paste.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I decided to do a Threadcakes entry based on the "Conservation Status" design. I knew from the start, before I even picked a design, that I wanted to do something modular - cupcakes or cake balls or something, rather than one big cake. I decided on chocolate cupcakes with fondant decorations.

I had help from my little sister (the photographer) and her friend (the taste-tester). It seemed like a straightforward sort of process - trace the 15 silhouettes onto some parchment paper, cut them out, use them as stencils to cut the shapes out of colored fondant, attach fondant shapes to chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. And it was straightforward, except for the fact that at no point before beginning this process did any of us think to verify that we actually had a cupcake pan.

Well, we *had* a cupcake pan. I have no idea what happened to it; at present our best theory is that "some kind of bakeware gnome took it." But no matter. We did have a mini-loaf pan, and decided that was a fine substitute. My sister J set about stuffing silver-foil round cupcake liners into the rectangular cups of the mini loaf pan while I mixed up the batter. We went with Betty Crocker Super-Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix, according to the box). This batter was incredibly viscous. So, truth in advertising, I guess, because it almost had a pudding-like consistency. It's incredibly difficult to ladle cake batter into the cups of a narrow loaf pan, especially when the openings are partially obscured by the folds of the cupcake liners. But we prevailed, and baked up some rather tasty cupcake loaves (or cuploaves).

While that was baking, the three of us started cutting shapes out of the colored fondant. I've never used fondant before--everything I know about using it I got from baking shows and the Internet--so I decided to buy it premade and precolored from Michael's. J and her friend T and I rolled out the fondant and carefully, using X-Acto knives, cut the shapes out. I did Extinct; J did Threatened and Least Concern; T did Endangered and Resurrected. Then, once the cuploaves were cool, we used this ingenious canned frosting to squirt a little bit of icing on and stick the fondant to the cake.

The whole process, including pausing for J to take photos, took the better part of an afternoon; about two or three hours, from tracing the first shape to sticking the last one onto the last cuploaf. According to all involved, the final product was both adorable and delicious. We decided to send them into work with my mother the next day, because we certainly didn't need to eat that many cuploaves or that much sugar paste.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I decided to do a Threadcakes entry based on the "Conservation Status" design. I knew from the start, before I even picked a design, that I wanted to do something modular - cupcakes or cake balls or something, rather than one big cake. I decided on chocolate cupcakes with fondant decorations.

I had help from my little sister (the photographer) and her friend (the taste-tester). It seemed like a straightforward sort of process - trace the 15 silhouettes onto some parchment paper, cut them out, use them as stencils to cut the shapes out of colored fondant, attach fondant shapes to chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. And it was straightforward, except for the fact that at no point before beginning this process did any of us think to verify that we actually had a cupcake pan.

Well, we *had* a cupcake pan. I have no idea what happened to it; at present our best theory is that "some kind of bakeware gnome took it." But no matter. We did have a mini-loaf pan, and decided that was a fine substitute. My sister J set about stuffing silver-foil round cupcake liners into the rectangular cups of the mini loaf pan while I mixed up the batter. We went with Betty Crocker Super-Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix, according to the box). This batter was incredibly viscous. So, truth in advertising, I guess, because it almost had a pudding-like consistency. It's incredibly difficult to ladle cake batter into the cups of a narrow loaf pan, especially when the openings are partially obscured by the folds of the cupcake liners. But we prevailed, and baked up some rather tasty cupcake loaves (or cuploaves).

While that was baking, the three of us started cutting shapes out of the colored fondant. I've never used fondant before--everything I know about using it I got from baking shows and the Internet--so I decided to buy it premade and precolored from Michael's. J and her friend T and I rolled out the fondant and carefully, using X-Acto knives, cut the shapes out. I did Extinct; J did Threatened and Least Concern; T did Endangered and Resurrected. Then, once the cuploaves were cool, we used this ingenious canned frosting to squirt a little bit of icing on and stick the fondant to the cake.

The whole process, including pausing for J to take photos, took the better part of an afternoon; about two or three hours, from tracing the first shape to sticking the last one onto the last cuploaf. According to all involved, the final product was both adorable and delicious. We decided to send them into work with my mother the next day, because we certainly didn't need to eat that many cuploaves or that much sugar paste.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I decided to do a Threadcakes entry based on the "Conservation Status" design. I knew from the start, before I even picked a design, that I wanted to do something modular - cupcakes or cake balls or something, rather than one big cake. I decided on chocolate cupcakes with fondant decorations.

I had help from my little sister (the photographer) and her friend (the taste-tester). It seemed like a straightforward sort of process - trace the 15 silhouettes onto some parchment paper, cut them out, use them as stencils to cut the shapes out of colored fondant, attach fondant shapes to chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. And it was straightforward, except for the fact that at no point before beginning this process did any of us think to verify that we actually had a cupcake pan.

Well, we *had* a cupcake pan. I have no idea what happened to it; at present our best theory is that "some kind of bakeware gnome took it." But no matter. We did have a mini-loaf pan, and decided that was a fine substitute. My sister J set about stuffing silver-foil round cupcake liners into the rectangular cups of the mini loaf pan while I mixed up the batter. We went with Betty Crocker Super-Moist Milk Chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix, according to the box). This batter was incredibly viscous. So, truth in advertising, I guess, because it almost had a pudding-like consistency. It's incredibly difficult to ladle cake batter into the cups of a narrow loaf pan, especially when the openings are partially obscured by the folds of the cupcake liners. But we prevailed, and baked up some rather tasty cupcake loaves (or cuploaves).

While that was baking, the three of us started cutting shapes out of the colored fondant. I've never used fondant before--everything I know about using it I got from baking shows and the Internet--so I decided to buy it premade and precolored from Michael's. J and her friend T and I rolled out the fondant and carefully, using X-Acto knives, cut the shapes out. I did Extinct; J did Threatened and Least Concern; T did Endangered and Resurrected. Then, once the cuploaves were cool, we used this ingenious canned frosting to squirt a little bit of icing on and stick the fondant to the cake.

The whole process, including pausing for J to take photos, took the better part of an afternoon; about two or three hours, from tracing the first shape to sticking the last one onto the last cuploaf. According to all involved, the final product was both adorable and delicious. We decided to send them into work with my mother the next day, because we certainly didn't need to eat that many cuploaves or that much sugar paste.