Hiding

So since I started with a non-fondant cake, I decided to incorporate buttercream into the next one. I love to see precision piping, so when I saw this design, I knew I could do it.

I started out with a single-layer sponge cake and then covered it in buttercream and fondant. Next, I used the design to score out the most important points on the fondants, so that I would have reference points throughout (yes, there was a ruler involved).

I used a food colouring pen to mark out the lines. Drawing straight lines is such a pain, especially when it's black dye on white fondant. If you screw up, it's fixable with vodka (for washing, not drinking), but it's a pain and it causes a delay. Once I had the design marked out, I started piping with black chocolate buttercream and the smallest piping tip I could find.

Once the piping was done (and once I'd corrected the major error of reaching across the cake and smearing some of the buttercream), I had to figure out how to add the chameleon. I gave it a try with black and white buttercream, but it just wasn't working for such an intricate design. I decided to get some black and white candy melts, and painted it on with a teeny tiny paintbrush. I used the pattern as a reference point, and took a few passes to get it right. Finally, it was just visible enough, while retaining the "hidden" nature of the pattern.

I'm always cautious about adding chocolate to fondant, but aside from dying our mouths black, the eating worked out rather well