2D
Cute Animals Smoking Cigarettes
by Natalie Phillips · submitted Aug 2, 2011 · 2011 contest
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Description
There are so many amazing Threadless designs that I would LOVE to make in cake, so it took me ages to decide which one I was going to do for this contest. But once I saw “Cute Animals Smoking Cigarettes” I knew it was going to be just the challenge I was looking for.
First I needed to make the gumpaste figures. I knew they had to be perfect for this cake to work, so it took a lot of time to complete. I printed out copies of the Threadless design on my computer and cut out templates for each character. Then I rolled out the gumpaste and used the template to cut the basic outlines of each character. Next came the tricky part…I had to free-hand the details of each figure by using a combination of several things: 1.) Foodwriters, which work just like magic markers but use edible food coloring instead of ink, 2.) Gel food coloring painted on with a brush, and 3.) edible petal dust which is normally used for adding color to gumpaste flowers.
I then baked a 2-layer rectangular cake and frosted it with black buttercream icing. The airbrush effect in the background of this design is something I was really concerned about reproducing. But, after some thought, I found the perfect solution: Wilton Color Mist. It has the look of an airbrush without actually having to buy one. I began by putting some white icing in the center in order to make the blue and purple colors pop. I then used the Color Mist to color the purple and blue parts.
Finally I attached all of the gumpaste figures to the cake by brushing a little bit of water onto the back of each one. I added in the flower leaves, the flame from the cigarette lighter and the smoke clouds with colored buttercream icing…and voila! My cake was done! It was definitely the most difficult cake I’ve ever made, but I am thrilled with the results and I hope you like it too!
First I needed to make the gumpaste figures. I knew they had to be perfect for this cake to work, so it took a lot of time to complete. I printed out copies of the Threadless design on my computer and cut out templates for each character. Then I rolled out the gumpaste and used the template to cut the basic outlines of each character. Next came the tricky part…I had to free-hand the details of each figure by using a combination of several things: 1.) Foodwriters, which work just like magic markers but use edible food coloring instead of ink, 2.) Gel food coloring painted on with a brush, and 3.) edible petal dust which is normally used for adding color to gumpaste flowers.
I then baked a 2-layer rectangular cake and frosted it with black buttercream icing. The airbrush effect in the background of this design is something I was really concerned about reproducing. But, after some thought, I found the perfect solution: Wilton Color Mist. It has the look of an airbrush without actually having to buy one. I began by putting some white icing in the center in order to make the blue and purple colors pop. I then used the Color Mist to color the purple and blue parts.
Finally I attached all of the gumpaste figures to the cake by brushing a little bit of water onto the back of each one. I added in the flower leaves, the flame from the cigarette lighter and the smoke clouds with colored buttercream icing…and voila! My cake was done! It was definitely the most difficult cake I’ve ever made, but I am thrilled with the results and I hope you like it too!
