A lady from Church requested that i bake a cake to our monthly fellowship gathering for her 4 grandsons' birthday. I don't really know what her grandsons like so it was difficult to come out with a design. And for 4 boys to share 1 cake seems a bit sad..so i thought why not bake 2 cakes for them instead since I couldn't decide if i wanted to decorate the cake into a book or a car, i might as well do both and see which one turns out looking better...hahahaha... Perhaps also because of this, both cakes turned out less than satisfactory to me. There are a lot of mistakes and i can spot them right away. I decorated both cakes at record time..hahaha..i decorated both cakes the same time i decorated the camera cake i did earlier... so 1st lesson i've learnt - "never decorate more than i can handle"!
Both cakes side by side
Book Cake
Vintage Car Cake
From the photos above, you can see i didn't cover the cake board as i ran out of fondant...so i had limited fondant to work with. :p And I seriously think that there is something wrong with my eyes (other than the floaters that are still floating in my right eye!)..every time i carve a cake, it will end up slightly crooked..no matter how i try..even after taking proper measurement!? Arggh!
The 2nd lesson i've learnt is: "use modelling paste for all the other parts of the car, tires, bumper etc and not just fondant cos it is way too soft"! The vintage car is a copy from one of Debbie Brown's book and yes, i can't even copy properly! LOL! Seriously, it looks terrible and far from her original one! I think my cake here looks more like a cartoon car instead of a vintage car..and it has flat tires! Or perhaps it looks more like the vintage car had been wrecked or something..LOL! Besides flat tires, the bumper is also crooked..hahahahaha.. looks like the car is pretty knocked up..lol! See what i mean...argggh..modelling paste please the next time...this is the result of no proper planning which is true cos i didn't plan ahead what i needed.
The gathering went on well and i hope the 4 birthday boys enjoyed their cakes! :) I forgot to add that both cakes are made of chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream covered with chocolate ganache. Yup.. chocolate again.. :)
PS: Nobody mentioned about the car looking wrecked so i guess they probably thought i did that on purpose..LOL!
The gathering went on well and i hope the 4 birthday boys enjoyed their cakes! :) I forgot to add that both cakes are made of chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream covered with chocolate ganache. Yup.. chocolate again.. :)
PS: Nobody mentioned about the car looking wrecked so i guess they probably thought i did that on purpose..LOL!
I work with fondant a lot as well and its a beast to get right like that. Gum paste and fondant hybrids do the job!
ReplyDeleteStill totally adorable, I bet they all adored it and the little boy loved it, well done! <3
Faithy, these are absolutely adorable! Completely charming.
ReplyDeleteMy Lord, I think both the book and the car are amazing! That's some talent! I love them. I'd love to have seen and tasted the cakes though.
ReplyDeleteFaithy, I don't agree with you here. I think these look great!! I have a friend who restores old hotrods. I would love to make him one like your vintage car!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! Well done, I bet they loved them.
ReplyDeleteYou are so hard on yourself - I think they both look great. And you pointed out things that have run through my mind for my cakes too.... yup, flat tires... I hear ya, even when I use gumpaste and dry them for 5 days. And yes - they turn out cartoony - I actually now tell that to my clients beforehand. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh these are so cute, I bet the boys loved them!!
ReplyDeleteThey look great!
ReplyDeleteAnything chocolate is wonderful. Faithy, you are an amazing decorator. Isn't it funny how we can be so hard on ourselves? You are very talented.
ReplyDeleteNobody notices as many flaws as we do ourselves. Honestly, I think they look fabulous!!!!! I'm so impressed, really!
ReplyDelete:)
ButterYum
Brilliant! I love both the cake and the car, totally adorable!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Thank you ladies for your lovely comments! All of you are so sweet and made my day for being so wonderfully kind with your comments. Thanks again!
ReplyDelete@SweetThingsTo: Thanks Juanita for sharing with me your experience! :) It's good to know that even with gumpaste that such things do happen.
They're beautiful, Faithy. I'll bet the boys were thrilled!
ReplyDeleteYour creations are great!! Love to look at them!
ReplyDeleteFaithy, you are being too hard on yourself. I see nothing wrong with the car! It's super duper cute. You are very talented. Even I wish I have it for my birthday, and I'm not a little boy LOL!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lois, Rhonda & Jenn! All of you are so kind and sweet with your comments! :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou're so hard on yourself. That book and car look awesome! And I bet everybody loved them both. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteYou are too hard on yourself, you did an amazing job on the cakes! :-D
ReplyDeleteFaithy, do you have an e-mail address I can contact you on to talk about some Fairtrade cake recipes? I don't want to hijack your comments page!
ReplyDeleteEmma
Thanks Hanaa & Brandy for your encouraging words! :)
ReplyDelete@Emma: Hi! You can contact me via twitter (http://twitter.com/theamateurbaker) or you can leave your email address here so i can contact you? Thanks!
The cakes look so impressive!! LOL! I ain't up to your level yet ... You're indeed one good baker!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Lunar New Year to you!! Hope the Year of the Tiger will bring abundance of wealth and health to you & family!
DIVINE!! Looks amazing and definitely worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comment on my blog and I'm so excited to be a part of the HCB group. Your fondant book and car cakes are EXCELLENT!! :)
ReplyDeleteHello there, that is one impressive car! I am trying to make one for my friend's son. Do you mind if I email you sometime to ask you some questions about making it? My email add is cwhorj@yahoo.com.sg. Thanks for sharing your lovely work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pei-Lin, Sarah & Jill for your kind comments!
ReplyDelete@Insomniac: you can email me at faithybakes{at}gmail{dot}com or you can click the email link on my profile page and send me your questions and i will try to answer them. However, i must say beforehand that i might not be much of a help since i am not a professional cake baker and i only do by trial & error.