Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Pearl: Age Four

Ahh! The dangers of FarceBook! I post pictures of Pearls birthday cake and then promptly crossed it off of my list.

Poor, poor neglected bloggy.

Sooooo.... the cake!



Behold my first attempt at covering a cake with fondant!

I learned from my small foray into store bought fondant with Birdie and Lilac's cakes in February; the stuff is only technically edible. As in, you can eat it, it won't hurt you, but it is naaasty! My SIL Gingerbird suggested that I try a homemade recipe for fondant that uses marshmallows and powdered sugar, and the Internets are rife with how-to videos on making it, so I gave it a whirl.

Highly recommend it. The texture and the flavor are more in the realm of "I could eat that" even if it is not quite "I'd like to eat that." Not even the kids could manage much more than a few bites, but then that may be because I went a little too thick with the white cover.

Ya'll, one recipe has a whole bag of powdered sugar, a whole bag of marshmallows and a half cup of shortening. Whuff, that's some challenging eatin' even for the younger set!

So yeah... too thick. Since this was my first ever try at covering a cake, and I was doing it with a bare hour to go before time to leave for Pirate Island for the party, I went thicker since I was afraid if the fondant cracked or tore, I would never get the job done in time. The result was a layer that was soo thick and heavy, it smooshed the whole cake down into a squashy couch cushion sort of a look. Not what I had intended, but it didn't look terrible either. I will do it different next time!



Behold! My four year old! Another area of excessive pride, but for vastly different reasons than the cake.

11 comments:

Heather said...

You really are amazing. What a cake, and what a girl!

Thanks for the comments on facebook!

Sunni said...

Ain't she beautiful! Nice job on the cake too!

Meredith said...

That is awesome! You have so many talents and gifts - I wished we lived closer so I could use them :-) Oh and for hanging out of course.

Fantastagirl said...

She's all grown up... beautiful...

The cake is amazing as well - you did awesome!

elizasmom said...

The cake and the kid are both awesome! Happy Birthday Pearl!

The Absent Minded Housewife said...

That's it...the next birthday cake I make will be covered in the stuff. It's not like they get eaten anyway. I could make a normal cake and everyone eats it. I spend hours on a huge birthday cake and no one ever wants any.

It looks really really good.

Mama D said...

As I had mentioned on facebook, the cake is lovely. I think you already did an amazing job and if it only improves from here... wow. Pearl, so grown up. So beautiful!

Suburban Gorgon said...

That looks great!

anne nahm said...

That is a seriously cute cake! And cute kid!

Anonymous said...

What I find almost more amazing than this beautiful cake is how much Pearl has grown. I remember the pictures when you all went through that medical nightmare with her. She was a baby back then! Where did time go so fast? Like my daughter said, both the cake and the kid are awesome!
Mama

Diana Mancuso said...

This cake is awesome! Pretty impressive for your first fondant cake. I don't know how you had the patience to make your own fondant. Happy belated birthday to Pirate Pearl!