Ice Cream Cheerleading Stunt

Most of the work for this cake was completed over the course of one day with just a small amount of stacking left to do on site.

I'm a home-baked kind of girl, but for convenience and stability I used box cake for this challenge. The bottom layer was yellow and the top lemon, but both were filled with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream and sliced strawberries because my friends are crazy for the classic combo! After frosting the cakes with more buttercream, I covered them with grey fondant and decorated them with hand-cut fondant drips of "ice cream."

In terms of support, I used wooden skewers to ensure that the cake wouldn't collapse on itself and royal icing between the levels as glue to make sure that the cake wouldn't slide.

The ice cream scoops were modeled rice crispy treats covered with fondant. Afterward, I stacked them on skewers, one at a time, with sheets of gumpaste wrapped around their "legs" for support and color.

The cone on top of the cake was filled with cake and some buttercream for weight, then glued in place with royal icing. The finishing touch (the scoops on top) were set in place after arriving at the park for the going away party this cake was created for. However, due to windy conditions and a slightly uneven top layer, I removed them after a few minutes, replacing them just as I was serving.

Making this cake was a great experience, and my friends loved the final product! I think the original design is absolutely adorable, and I hope I've done the artist justice with my recreation!