3D
Let's Get Physical
by Amanda Estrada @manda_estrada · submitted Aug 14, 2010 · 2010 contest
1 / 15
Description
Let me start off by saying it took me a good 2 weeks to choose a design for this cake. I scoured through the gallery of designs with my boyfriend and we contemplated the cake-y compatibility of several designs. In the end, it was between the "you got some splainin' to do" and "lets get physical". They were both so cute I couldn't decide! In the end though, the mouse won over my heart =D
I decided to bake a pound cake since there would be some carving to do. I used Paula White's scratch recipe which always comes out super yummy =D I bought all the supplies, got fired up, and baked away one evening since I'm a student by day (only a year and a half until I have my B.S. in Architectural Engineering! yayyyy!) One 11x15 sheet pan looked to be sufficient, so I baked it and froze it, as is my customary routine. I planned on finishing the cake that weekend, but some pretty serious health issues came up with my dad and it put me out of commission for quite some time. Family came and left, and almost two weeks later my professors let me take my finals with the rest of the class, even though I had missed so much school.
When I finally got back to my house, I opened the freezer and low and behold a sheet cake stared back at me. Even though I didn't feel up to much of anything, I knew I needed a distraction and this would be the perfect release. I called up my boyfriend, who I have volunteered as my assistant every time I bake a cake, and we got started. I made marshmallow fondant and vanilla buttercream from scratch. I then cut out the mousetrap base out of cake using proportions from the image. I proceeded to carve the mouse using stacked pieces of cake. The body of the mouse didn't seem to be shaping up too well, so I decided to separate the body and head and handle them separately. After applying the base coat of buttercream to both the mouse and mousetrap base, I let them set while I dyed the fondant.
All pieces were covered pretty smoothly, and I was pleased with my work. I mixed brown gel dye with coconut extract (which gave me a headache after awhile lol!) to make a paint for the wooden texture. After painting it on, I decided to paint the outline black to make it look more cartoon-like. By then I was sleepy, so I headed off to bed to allow the "paint" to dry. The next day I went on a hunt to find a metal bar that I would be able to bend into the proper shape. Luckily I found one pretty easy, and I got to fitting it appropriately. I gave my boyfriend, who is extremely detail-oriented, the job of creating the shoes out of fondant. While he worked on that, I assembled the mouse on the board. I got to work on the ears, legs, face, arms and hands. I covered the wire in fondant and painted it with silver dust. My boyfriend made the coil out of fondant and I painted that silver as well. The last things we worked on were the tail, cheese and water bottle, which again I was pleased with.
I was getting ready to take the final photo when my boyfriend, in an appalled voice, asked me what I was doing. He insisted we find a background of appropriate color and he take 'professional' pictures using his new camera. I let him do his thing, which included dragging me to the craft store and finding a blue fabric, and I must say the final picture came out really well.
We cut the cake earlier today and while that's always my least favorite part of the process, the taste was delightful. As a side note though, my boyfriend went out and bought more flour and sugar and now he says he's going to submit his own entry. Threadcakes world, look out! He's baking in my kitchen as I type.
My dad always loved my cakes, he always called them "neat". I know he would have been proud.
I decided to bake a pound cake since there would be some carving to do. I used Paula White's scratch recipe which always comes out super yummy =D I bought all the supplies, got fired up, and baked away one evening since I'm a student by day (only a year and a half until I have my B.S. in Architectural Engineering! yayyyy!) One 11x15 sheet pan looked to be sufficient, so I baked it and froze it, as is my customary routine. I planned on finishing the cake that weekend, but some pretty serious health issues came up with my dad and it put me out of commission for quite some time. Family came and left, and almost two weeks later my professors let me take my finals with the rest of the class, even though I had missed so much school.
When I finally got back to my house, I opened the freezer and low and behold a sheet cake stared back at me. Even though I didn't feel up to much of anything, I knew I needed a distraction and this would be the perfect release. I called up my boyfriend, who I have volunteered as my assistant every time I bake a cake, and we got started. I made marshmallow fondant and vanilla buttercream from scratch. I then cut out the mousetrap base out of cake using proportions from the image. I proceeded to carve the mouse using stacked pieces of cake. The body of the mouse didn't seem to be shaping up too well, so I decided to separate the body and head and handle them separately. After applying the base coat of buttercream to both the mouse and mousetrap base, I let them set while I dyed the fondant.
All pieces were covered pretty smoothly, and I was pleased with my work. I mixed brown gel dye with coconut extract (which gave me a headache after awhile lol!) to make a paint for the wooden texture. After painting it on, I decided to paint the outline black to make it look more cartoon-like. By then I was sleepy, so I headed off to bed to allow the "paint" to dry. The next day I went on a hunt to find a metal bar that I would be able to bend into the proper shape. Luckily I found one pretty easy, and I got to fitting it appropriately. I gave my boyfriend, who is extremely detail-oriented, the job of creating the shoes out of fondant. While he worked on that, I assembled the mouse on the board. I got to work on the ears, legs, face, arms and hands. I covered the wire in fondant and painted it with silver dust. My boyfriend made the coil out of fondant and I painted that silver as well. The last things we worked on were the tail, cheese and water bottle, which again I was pleased with.
I was getting ready to take the final photo when my boyfriend, in an appalled voice, asked me what I was doing. He insisted we find a background of appropriate color and he take 'professional' pictures using his new camera. I let him do his thing, which included dragging me to the craft store and finding a blue fabric, and I must say the final picture came out really well.
We cut the cake earlier today and while that's always my least favorite part of the process, the taste was delightful. As a side note though, my boyfriend went out and bought more flour and sugar and now he says he's going to submit his own entry. Threadcakes world, look out! He's baking in my kitchen as I type.
My dad always loved my cakes, he always called them "neat". I know he would have been proud.