3D
The Snail s Daydream
by Lindsay Feduniw · submitted Nov 24, 2015 · 2015 contest
1 / 26
Description
I loved the mood, layout and concept of this design and thought it would have a good impact as a cake. I learnt a lot throughout this process; it was skill testing and humbling and not to mention a lot of fun.
I started out with box mix cakes. 4 of them. I knew that decorating this cake was going to be a bit sluggish (pun intended) so I took the preserved route.
I must say that I made way too much cake. I only ended up using a small sheet cake, a 10 inch round and 2,8 inch rounds because I realized that it would never be able to support itself. Box cake isn't the strongest stuff around or, the easiest to work with but I managed to only use 6 halved chopsticks for support after I changed my original design.
The towers are cut from a sheet cake that was cut in half and layered and the base of the snail is 2, 8 inch rounds intersected (as seen in photo) with a 10 inch round on top, cut on a bias. I then carved the cake into a tear drop and took out the appropriate pieces to help create the effect of the shell.
I crumb coated every piece and then covered it with chocolate ganache for strength. the bases of the towers were built separately onto the cake so I could match the angle properly and keep everything level. I then cut the corners off of the tower pieces to make octagons and put them together to get the structure I wanted. When I mentioned "skill testing" earlier, I was referring to this structure. The more you look at this picture, the more it draws you in. The shapes were tricking me and I was getting anxious for answers when: my daughter ripped up and entire story book and threw the pages on the floor and laying there, was this shaky little drawing of this same cathedral! A cake miracle! I did a little research and found that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me! Eric Fan, you sly fox. This is St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow... At least a basis for interpretation.
I used a mixture of modelling chocolate and fondant to cover and detail the entire thing. There were definite pros and cons to this method. It was very forgiving but got very sweaty and tricky to work on. I used panels to cover the towers and to add dimension. The majority of the details are done with a dresden tool, a few cutters, piping tips and a shaper. The tops are textured gum paste and the crosses are wired. The snail itself is just modelling chocolate. I caught my error and had to use what I had to make this piece closer to scale. I also made the two of the small towers from the same dough and the top of the larger one as well for the same reasons. The shell was just wrapped around in strips and raised with rolled pieces of chocolate fondant. Then I got my first airbrush lesson because I couldn't possibly leave it this hot dog color and other techniques wouldn't have the desired affects.
I don't know how long this cake took. I couldn't possibly count the hours it was on my mind or how many hours were put into it. All I know is that this cake was eleven days old when it was dismantled. I sectioned off pieces and gifted them to friends and that was it, it was gone. It required some sort of gala and I was in no position to throw one. My daughter is shamelessly pictured enjoying her cake, she thought it was her birthday but it was more of a good job ripping up your books cake.
I started out with box mix cakes. 4 of them. I knew that decorating this cake was going to be a bit sluggish (pun intended) so I took the preserved route.
I must say that I made way too much cake. I only ended up using a small sheet cake, a 10 inch round and 2,8 inch rounds because I realized that it would never be able to support itself. Box cake isn't the strongest stuff around or, the easiest to work with but I managed to only use 6 halved chopsticks for support after I changed my original design.
The towers are cut from a sheet cake that was cut in half and layered and the base of the snail is 2, 8 inch rounds intersected (as seen in photo) with a 10 inch round on top, cut on a bias. I then carved the cake into a tear drop and took out the appropriate pieces to help create the effect of the shell.
I crumb coated every piece and then covered it with chocolate ganache for strength. the bases of the towers were built separately onto the cake so I could match the angle properly and keep everything level. I then cut the corners off of the tower pieces to make octagons and put them together to get the structure I wanted. When I mentioned "skill testing" earlier, I was referring to this structure. The more you look at this picture, the more it draws you in. The shapes were tricking me and I was getting anxious for answers when: my daughter ripped up and entire story book and threw the pages on the floor and laying there, was this shaky little drawing of this same cathedral! A cake miracle! I did a little research and found that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me! Eric Fan, you sly fox. This is St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow... At least a basis for interpretation.
I used a mixture of modelling chocolate and fondant to cover and detail the entire thing. There were definite pros and cons to this method. It was very forgiving but got very sweaty and tricky to work on. I used panels to cover the towers and to add dimension. The majority of the details are done with a dresden tool, a few cutters, piping tips and a shaper. The tops are textured gum paste and the crosses are wired. The snail itself is just modelling chocolate. I caught my error and had to use what I had to make this piece closer to scale. I also made the two of the small towers from the same dough and the top of the larger one as well for the same reasons. The shell was just wrapped around in strips and raised with rolled pieces of chocolate fondant. Then I got my first airbrush lesson because I couldn't possibly leave it this hot dog color and other techniques wouldn't have the desired affects.
I don't know how long this cake took. I couldn't possibly count the hours it was on my mind or how many hours were put into it. All I know is that this cake was eleven days old when it was dismantled. I sectioned off pieces and gifted them to friends and that was it, it was gone. It required some sort of gala and I was in no position to throw one. My daughter is shamelessly pictured enjoying her cake, she thought it was her birthday but it was more of a good job ripping up your books cake.