About a month ago, Abi specifically requested "a princess cake with white cake, pink frosting, flowers and butterflies". Being an obedient servant, I heeded her commands. As I was thinking of ideas for the layout, I couldn't decide if I just wanted to stick to her requirements or tweak things a bit. I felt that if I just had the elements from her request it wouldn't be "princessy" enough but ultimately I didn't want to disappoint a 4 year old on her birthday and ruin her party in front of all of her friends (albeit they are also 4) and family. So I decided to add only one more element and took inspiration from the image of a castle on her online invitation. It was a simple cookie cutter image and was therefore easy to mimic with fondant.
This cake was definitely the most time intensive one I have had done so far. It was my first time making any type of human figure so it took me awhile to figure out how to work with gum paste; how to make the skirt sit just right; how to place her top and sleeves; how to make her hair just so; and how to make a teensy, itsy bitsy tiara. As you can see, my "arm and hand" technique needs a little work.
I should note that I used Wilton's Gum Paste Mix and I have to say: it was a load of crap. Maybe I didn't mix it properly but it wasn't elastic enough. Because it dries fast, it worked fine for making solid parts but when it came to making the skirt it kept cracking where I tried to form a pleat or where I wanted to wrap it around the base. It took me awhile before I realized that I should just use fondant.
This cake was also the first time I tried anything from the book Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri. I used his Classic White Cake Layers recipe and it was really tender and moist. I will definitely be using this recipe over and over again. The frosting I used was Martha's Strawberry Meringue Buttercream.
The inspiration for the castle.
Close up of Princess Abi
And finally, the real Princess Abi herself!
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