Capistrano Spring Break

Our interpretation of "Capistrano Spring Break" is made of yellow cake with a buttercream icing filling on the first and third tiers, and a raspberry buttercream on the second. We then covered the cake in burgundy fondant, which we colored ourselves, and formed the arch and fountain out of Rice Krispies Treats. These, too, were covered in fondant. We then made gumpaste birds and a gumpaste panel for the arch, and painted the scene on the panel and the colors on the birds using gel foodcoloring diluted with vodka (to dry faster). We also used a white icing food dye to paint some of the details. We used royal icing in various colors for the piping, flood royal icing for the water in the fountain, and gumpaste for the flowers. The only inedible parts are a few dowels to provide structure, some toothpicks to attach the fountain, and some gumpaste-covered wire to mimic the water spray in the fountain. It took us over four days, both because things had to dry and set, and because our schedules were packed. We then threw a small party to enjoy the cake!