This is the first time I've made a Christmas cake, but I thought I'd use the chance to practice doing a celebration cake ahead of attempting to do something for our wedding next year. Good job I did, as I have to say I'm slightly disappointed with the results. Obviously, a large part of the cake's success will be in the eating, and I'm hoping that the vegan/gluten free recipe that I made comes up trumps (I think it will as I've used it before). But aesthetically, I feel it is a little lacking...The first problem came when I put the icing on. Or rather it came with what I hadn't done before - levelled the cake out, or used sufficient marzipan to create a flat surface. The first layer of sugar paste provided a quite wobbly surface. Fine, I thought...I was planning to make Penguins to go on top, so that will make a nice snow scene. Until I (and then K) tried making Penguins. We followed the instructions but the results were not fit to go on a cake; I think a 5 year old would have made better Penguins. So it was back to sorting out the wobbly cake.
K cleverly built up the surface with more sugarpaste and then I covered it with another layer of sugarpaste, which did come out reasonably ok. It is just that the cake looks a bit wonky. I cut stars out of more sugarpaste and decorated them with silver balls...it's not fantastic, but it'll do, and I'll need to
Future sister in law saw it on Monday night, the day I covered it, and was very complimentary about it, so perhaps it was not as bad as we thought.
(I think actually the photo makes it look a bit worse than it really is)
Wow. I have fear of marzipan (and fruitcake) so I'm always impressed when I see how nice and smooth it looks. I think it's beautiful. And you're making your own wedding cake? Double wow.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look bad at all - in fact, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteIt looks good from here.
ReplyDeleteWe've just been to Asda to get a few bits and bobs, that I either couldn't get in Sainsburys last night, or forgot. As I looked for a 1 serving size Xmas pud for me, I noticed an extremely lop sided cake, a Maderia sponge which had been made to look like a ski slope. There was a penguin at the bottom of it. Didn't make it into our shopping basket, if it had been GF then maybe I'd have fallen into temptation.
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks wonderful to me, much better than I could achieve, icing and I don't get on very well.
I think it looks great... maybe next year I'll get up the courage to try this!
ReplyDeleteIf you put the almond paste first and then put a thin layer of fondant it will look smoother and easier to decorate! you can then cut out from fondant shapes you want, outline with those silvery stuff, flowers whatever. Just an idea for the wedding.
ReplyDeleteThanks all!
ReplyDeleteKaren - I may regret it 2 days before the wedding, but I have a lady at work on back up if it all goes wrong!
Anbolyn and Susan - thank you!
Geraldine - that cake sounds so cute. I don't think I get on very wel lwith icing and really need more opportunity to practice.
JoAnn - ooh yes, do give it a go!
Mystica - that was what I did pretty much...I need to level off the cake next time though.