3D Finalist 13
NeverEnding Solo
by Jessica Keller @cakeninja · submitted Aug 1, 2012 · 2012 contest
1 / 37
Description
I'm back! I wasn't sure if I had the time to make a cake this year for the competition but somehow I found the time. I choose "Never Ending Solo" by Alvaro Arteaga,this is the second design of his I have transformed into cake. Last years "Carpooling Is Fun" cake was one of his designs as well. I guess I really like his style!
I just HAD to do this design, I mean come on, Falcor rocking out 80's style!?! How could I say no! I even prepped by watching "The Never Ending Story" for the millionth time, research is very important. And yes I did cry when Artax sunk into the Swamps of Sadness,just heartbreaking.
So now for the cake, I started out making some cream cheese pound cake, it's a very dense cake and carves beautifully. Originally Falcor was going to be small but since I over do it on everything he ended up being pretty big and I had to bake more cake for his base, that cake was chocolate.
I also made a truck load of chocolate ganache for my glue/filling/icing.
Next was the fondant, I made homemade marshmallow fondant and colored it.
Then I stacked the cakes, using the ganache in between the layers, I used absolutely no internal support or structure onFalcor's body and relied only on the density of the cake and the fact that ganache hardens when it is chilled.It was a bit of a chance to take with the angle at which Falcor's body was but it worked out. Then the cake was wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill.
While it was hanging out in the fridge I started on my details, I made those out of fondant mixed with tylose powder. I could of used gumpaste but since I already had my colors mixed in fondant I just used that.
I used those old fashioned candy sticks for anything that would need support. So even that was all edible. I left them to dry and harden.
I amde his mouth and top of his head out of rice crispy treats and melted white chocolate.
Once the cake was nice and cold (cold=hard when it comes to butter,sugar and chocolate) I started carving it. I didn't make Falcor's body as curved as I would like, but with no supports I didn't want him to collapse in on himself. He still had a nice curve to him and I was happy with it.
After he was carved I ganached him (I'm pretty sure ganached is a word right?) and stuck him back in the fridge.
Next I added some cake ball mix (cake crumbs and icing) to his head, which I later removed because it made him look like a cone head.
I covered him in white fondant, I wasn't concerned with seams or inperfections since I was going to cover those up with "fur".
At some point in time I also stacked and carved his base and covered it in fondant, I can't remember exactly when but it was sometime in between covering Falcor with fondant and the final assembly. I did add some candy sticks to that cake for support since Falcor turned out so large.
Oh I also want to add that I forgot his tattoo, like a dummy! I didn't notice it until the cake was already long gone. I didn't even make it, my eyes just skipped over that part, super frustrating that I forgot such an important piece. Not much I can do about it now.
After that I started to assemble him, I stacked him on his base, added his tail which was made from fondant and started with the fur. The fur was just buttercream that I spread on and then textured with a couple of toothpicks. Worked out pretty well and was easier then doing it in fondant.
After that went on all the little details, I used more buttercream as glue and held my breath with the guitar-piano thingy. I was worried it was to heavy but it stayed.
I also made some pulled sugar wavy thingies to add to him, I wasn't able to take pics of the process since I had to wear gloves and work quickly. It was my first time working with pulled sugar and I was pleased. The humidity took a toll on them and they lost their shine but win some lose some. They are just shoved into the cake or stuck on with more buttercream.
Next came the eating part. I gathered the kids, who had been waiting very impatiently to devour the cake and we got that show on the road! The kids had fun playing with the fondant accents and of course a sugar rush from all that cake, ganache,fondant and buttercream.
That's that, I enjoyed my 3rd year entering Threadcakes,and I'm already looking forward to next year!
Thanks for reading!
I just HAD to do this design, I mean come on, Falcor rocking out 80's style!?! How could I say no! I even prepped by watching "The Never Ending Story" for the millionth time, research is very important. And yes I did cry when Artax sunk into the Swamps of Sadness,just heartbreaking.
So now for the cake, I started out making some cream cheese pound cake, it's a very dense cake and carves beautifully. Originally Falcor was going to be small but since I over do it on everything he ended up being pretty big and I had to bake more cake for his base, that cake was chocolate.
I also made a truck load of chocolate ganache for my glue/filling/icing.
Next was the fondant, I made homemade marshmallow fondant and colored it.
Then I stacked the cakes, using the ganache in between the layers, I used absolutely no internal support or structure onFalcor's body and relied only on the density of the cake and the fact that ganache hardens when it is chilled.It was a bit of a chance to take with the angle at which Falcor's body was but it worked out. Then the cake was wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill.
While it was hanging out in the fridge I started on my details, I made those out of fondant mixed with tylose powder. I could of used gumpaste but since I already had my colors mixed in fondant I just used that.
I used those old fashioned candy sticks for anything that would need support. So even that was all edible. I left them to dry and harden.
I amde his mouth and top of his head out of rice crispy treats and melted white chocolate.
Once the cake was nice and cold (cold=hard when it comes to butter,sugar and chocolate) I started carving it. I didn't make Falcor's body as curved as I would like, but with no supports I didn't want him to collapse in on himself. He still had a nice curve to him and I was happy with it.
After he was carved I ganached him (I'm pretty sure ganached is a word right?) and stuck him back in the fridge.
Next I added some cake ball mix (cake crumbs and icing) to his head, which I later removed because it made him look like a cone head.
I covered him in white fondant, I wasn't concerned with seams or inperfections since I was going to cover those up with "fur".
At some point in time I also stacked and carved his base and covered it in fondant, I can't remember exactly when but it was sometime in between covering Falcor with fondant and the final assembly. I did add some candy sticks to that cake for support since Falcor turned out so large.
Oh I also want to add that I forgot his tattoo, like a dummy! I didn't notice it until the cake was already long gone. I didn't even make it, my eyes just skipped over that part, super frustrating that I forgot such an important piece. Not much I can do about it now.
After that I started to assemble him, I stacked him on his base, added his tail which was made from fondant and started with the fur. The fur was just buttercream that I spread on and then textured with a couple of toothpicks. Worked out pretty well and was easier then doing it in fondant.
After that went on all the little details, I used more buttercream as glue and held my breath with the guitar-piano thingy. I was worried it was to heavy but it stayed.
I also made some pulled sugar wavy thingies to add to him, I wasn't able to take pics of the process since I had to wear gloves and work quickly. It was my first time working with pulled sugar and I was pleased. The humidity took a toll on them and they lost their shine but win some lose some. They are just shoved into the cake or stuck on with more buttercream.
Next came the eating part. I gathered the kids, who had been waiting very impatiently to devour the cake and we got that show on the road! The kids had fun playing with the fondant accents and of course a sugar rush from all that cake, ganache,fondant and buttercream.
That's that, I enjoyed my 3rd year entering Threadcakes,and I'm already looking forward to next year!
Thanks for reading!
