Friday, October 1, 2010

The Elmo Cake . . . Fat, Furry, and Skewered

 

Well, despite my best intentions, I really didn't have enough time to bake anything fantastic or unique this past week. (Appalling, I know.) But, I just couldn't end the week without sharing at least something with you. As you may already know, I'm a part-time student in a baking and pastry arts program. I'm about halfway through the program and, overall, I must say that I love it. I keep learning such interesting new stuff.


This semester, I have two classes. One is called Pastry I, the first serious pastry related course, and the other is an intermediate cake decorating class called, appropriately enough, Theme Cakes. So far, our work in the latter has focused on cakes for kids, particularly those requiring 3-D "sculpture" of one kind or another.

This past week's cake creation featured a chubby, furry, wide-eyed Elmo. That's Elmo of Sesame Street fame, in case there's any confusion. Yes, as you can plainly see he's looking quite plump, perched comfortably atop a very tall 2-layer cake, iced in soft buttercream. My husband, at first glimpse from the back of the cake, thought for a moment that Elmo was some sort of hefty bear. Couldn't blame him. That little dude's sporting more fur than Big Foot. Though you might not want to eat him, you could safely do so without coming to any significant harm. Except maybe a belly ache.

 
He's not exactly what I'd call a marvel of engineering but, for a novice like me, this fact is reassuring from the cake construction standpoint. His torso and head are indeed made of cake, while his arms were shaped out of homemade Rice Krispie treats. His legs are made from marshmallows trimmed this way and that. His eyes, nose, and mouth are fondant. The gift boxes on the cake are made from Rice Krispie treats too, covered in fondant, while the letters and numbers on the side are also fondant.

This is the first cake I've ever worked on that required a long skewer be twisted into it, all the way down into the base (which--in case you're actually interested in this kind of stuff--consists of a royal-icing covered 1" styrofoam disk that was glued atop four layers of corrugated cardboard that were taped together). The skewer, in fact, impales Elmo right through the top of his melon and holds him securely in place. Doing this was kind of nerve-wracking but my teacher, bless her heart, was guiding me every inch of the way: "Turn the skewer slowly like a screw while you push it down. You have to screw it in."

Uh huh. I skewered Elmo.
 
Oh, and before I forget, this post was brought to you by the letters C-A-K-E.



(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read existing comments, please click on the purple COMMENTS below!)

25 comments:

  1. That is so cute! They cake looks huge too.

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  2. This looks absolutely amazing. You are so talented!

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  3. This is absolutely wonderful! You may think of yourself as a novice, but from where I'm sitting, you are quite the expert. Making Elmo himself is extremely impressive. I love all the letters and numbesr all around the cake. It truly is a work of art, and despite the nerve-wracking bit, I sense you had a lot of fun...especially when you saw the finished result. It's made me smile, and it's the perfect cheery-upper to what looks like is going to be a very damp and grey weekend. Thanks for sharing this. I love it.

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  4. cindy your cake teacher ~October 1, 2010 at 8:52 PM

    He's cute Janie!!! Very good job!!! Makes you appreciate the slavedriver I was as a cake teacher, huh? LOL

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  5. Im impressed, my kid would dig right in

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  6. Oh wow hes just adorable!! You did a fantastic job

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  7. That cake is seriously amazing! I wish I could make something like that.

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  8. That is a seriously impressive cake. Looks amazing!

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  9. Wow, this is one beautiful cake! Elmo is absolutely cute and the cake looks perfect to me! Great job! I would give you a 10 for this!

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  10. I am speechless. How impressive. You are an artist. The cake looks wonderful!

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  11. This is SO stinkin cute! Pretty impressed with what you are doing. LOVE your recipes and your story's

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  12. What an amazing cake and I'm sure it tastes just as good as it looks. This would make some child very happy to eat for his/her birthday. You are very talented and thank you for the wonderful recipes you post for us.

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  13. This is adorable! I love him! Have fun with your program; they are so worth it.

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  14. Wow so cute! its such an amazing job, Elmo looks perfect.

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  15. This is soo adorable! I love it Jane! You nailed elmo completely..it's so adorable!!

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  16. Hey Jane! I'm a pretty new bakie and your blog brings a smile to my face. ^_^

    Love it, inspires me a whole lot and I'm pretty sure I will be following this blog from now onwards!;p

    P.S. Elmo looks fine to me by the way!

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  17. super duper like Elmo. . love the cake, so cute=)

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  18. The cake looks adorable!! I love elmo.

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  19. Jane, sorry for having been a stranger lately. I’m way behind on my blog-commenting.
    Your Elmo cake is adorable!!! Oh my goodness. Super cute!!! That must have been a lot of work. I’ve used that same tip to make grass and it’s a pain in the butt, ha ha. Early this year, I used fondant for the first time, and I made it from scratch. Turned out pretty good. It’s fun to work with. Did you make it from scratch too? How exciting it must be to start the Pastry I class. Looking forward to your posts on that, especially homemade puff pastry and croissants.

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