The Show Cake

I got this wild idea to make a cake for the "That Takes the Cake" cake show here in Austin last weekend. My idea was pretty ambitious...every one of the 14, yes 14, gumpaste characters was hand-cut, drawn and painted with edible paints. The landscape elements of the cake are buttercream, and I brushed the buttercream with a wet paint brush to achieve the perfect texture, and some of the buttercream elements were also painted with food color after they were applied. Graham cracker crumbs make up the sand on the bottom, and the water is buttercream also.

 

I didn't win any awards at the show for this cake, but I am extremely proud of it, nevertheless. I probably have 100 hours in this cake. It was a huge undertaking! I think it is so much fun, though, and it makes me smile every time I look at it. It is made from cake dummies, not real cake, so it is still sitting in my dining room. I can't bear to get rid of it, though I don't know what to do with it! :) I guess I'll keep it until I start next year's cake...an even more grand idea than this year's cake! It's going to be cool!

My nine year old son, Andrew, made a cake for the show this year too, and he did it all by himself, including baking the cake. This was his first ever attempt at cake decorating, and I'm glad he's so interested in it. You never know, he may be a pastry chef someday! I love how he made the little buttercream baseball players. He won "best baseball cake", so someone in our household came home a winner! He was so excited, and I'm so proud. :)