At first, I was debating whether to ice it with frosting, but although fondant is more challenging and is physically more strenuous, I prefer the look and now I'm glad I chose it.
I went to Michael's and bought the big box of white fondant. I swear this is the last time I use the Wilton brand. It's just SO hard to knead and dye. When I watch the tutorials, the Satin brand looks so much more pliable that I know for sure I'll be using that brand next.
So, this is the cake I was asked to make. My friend was rather flexible. She said to make something "like" it, so I decided to eliminate so many of the colors to make sure it all tied together. Just like when designing a piece of marketing material or a webpage, the less colors and mixes of font types, the better - as far as design goes anyway.I had the wires in my hand at the store already, but even then, I just wasn't completely convinced. This cake looks real busy and the way I remember Hello Kitty from the 80's is thick lines and simple illustrations.
Crystal said she wanted strawberry filling. I used the crushed strawberries they sell at Costco. They're already sweetened and I think it gives the filling a sweeter flavor than fresh strawberries. So, in this cake, there's three layers in each tier. I made the mix from scratch and baked each layer individually -- no cutting. This kind of back-fired on me because when I was stacking the layers, I noticed that they were not very soft. I hoped that once I put the icing and filling in and around, they'd soak a little over night.
My schedule went like this:
- Friday: Bake, fill, stack, frost and cover in fondant.
- Saturday: Make fondant decorations and add final touches.
On Friday, I worked from 10am till 11:30pm, with breaks in between of course. Then Saturday, I was able to wake up at 8am, have breakfast and then get to work.
I think the result was worth it. The party was to start at 12:30pm and I was done by 11am. My sister, Terry, did the honors of delivering this massively heavy cake.
