A couple of weeks ago I was contacted to make cupcakes and a cake for a friend's 7 year old daughter. The little girl is having her party at the Richmond SPCA. Mom wanted puppy themed goodies for the two parties the little girl was having. One party, the one the cupcakes were for, was held at school Wednesday afternoon. The cupcakes (see earlier post) were a big hit. I got a call from the Mom and she was thrilled and said the kids loved all the different puppies. She also said the cupcakes tasted as good as they looked. Great stuff for a cake maker to hear.
I finished the puppy themed cake yesterday. I always finish cakes a day before they are due. That way, should something go horribly wrong, I have a day to try and fix it. I also show up 5 minutes early for appointments. I would rather sit around for a few minutes than show up a few minutes late. It's just the way I am.
This cake was so fun to do. A lot of tedious stuff...cutting out each round "paw" and each "toe" for the paws and then carefully placing each piece on the cake. But it was so fun to see it come together. I used black fondant for the paws. I cut out the big part of the paws with two piping tips. I used the bottom of an extra large piping tip for the big paws and a medium tip for the small paws. The toes were done with the top of a #12 tip and a #8 tip.
The dogs were made from fondant. I use Satin Ice fondant. I think it's much easier to work with than Wilton's brand and it tastes tons better. You pay a bit more for it, but some things are worth the extra money. I styled them after dogs Lorraine McKay does. She has several on-line videos teaching you different techniques and I watched the dog one ages ago and remembered how to do them. The two dogs on the board that are holding up the bone banner were made several months ago and have been in a box waiting to be used. I decided to put them on the bottom and have them hold the bone. I do not like writing on cakes. I always worry about messing up the words or how they fit. I almost always make something to either place on the board or on the cake. It's a lot easier to make another plaque then to fix messed up icing. I learned that the hard way.
The dogs on top represent two dogs Loren has. One is named Frank Sinatra, Jr. and the other is Sammy Davis, Jr. And, of course, each dog has it's own food bowl filled with Kibble. :) They are sitting on a "rug" which is hiding a small cardboard circle. The cardboard circle supports the puppies so they don't sink into the icing on the top of the cake.
I love playing with fondant. It's like being a little kid again playing with Playdough. It's so fun to see something "come alive" in your hands, something that began as an idea in your head and suddenly is real and tangible. And, then to see or hear about the joy that something you created with your hands gave to someone else. I thank God for the gift he has given me that allows me to bring such happiness to so many people.
The cake is a White Almond Sour Cream cake with a simple Vanilla Buttercream icing. It is 2 8" layers, torted and filled and 1 6" layer torted and filled. I will be delivering it tomorrow to the SPCA. I can't wait to hear what the kids think of this one. If they liked the cupcakes as much as they did, they should love this cake.
