I've had someone ask me whether I could replicate this building in cake, a huge cake to serve 300 people. He mentioned isomalt and fondant. Fondant I can do but I have zero sugarwork experience.

I've attached pics. Any ideas how I would approach a project like this??

Whoaw! That'll be an impressive cake.

However, it's beyond my capabilities, so I've no advice, I'm afraid.

Good luck.

Suzanne x

Call Duff at Ace of Cakes!!!! Sorry .....but they did do a gigantic hospital the other day on TV!!! I think you'd just take it in sections. I know they made a drawing first, maybe that would help you more than the detailed pics is a line drawing! Good luck and post a pic when you get it done!

I have been doing sugarwork in school for a while and have worked with isomalt. I think if you can avoid it, not having done it before, I would. If you don't get the temp just right (even off by a few degrees) it won't hold up and will disolve if the room temp fluctuates or the humidity changes. Isomalt is less likely to do it than straight sugar, but it can still happen. If you can do it with just fondant and maybe pastillage than I'd stick to that.

Now my main question is:
Could they have picked a more complicated building?

I'm sure if anyone could do it, you could, your work is crazy good! I'm just dying that, of course the thing they want is rounded and glass.

I can't wait to see it!

mqguffey,

I THINK FOR THIS TYPE OF PROJECT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH RICE CRISPIES. AND MAKE ALOT OF ROUND CAKES AND JUST CARVE THEM OUT BUT RICE CRISPY COVER WITH FOUNDANT FOR THE PILLARS IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAME TO MIND. HOPE THIS HELPS.

GOD BLESS WITH THIS ONE AND ANYOTHERS

MICHELLE

ok ... couldn't resist this one before vacation!

and making this to feed 300 -- oh that'll be a lot of cake -- but not all "that" hard.

first have to build up that hill -- that's the gray in the sketches.
just big stacks of cake at -- say 2 layers?-- for the base under the building wing on the right.
to make the curve could bake rounds and quarter them and push up against the base cake and carve OR just make base that much wider and carve to shape you like (making cake balls from the carvings of course)

building wing to left -- just a big ol' rectangular stack of cake layers. treat like any tier construction using internal cakeboards and supports. but the looks of it it would be at least a "2-tier" construction -- 4 - 2in layers stacked 2+2 just like on stacked cake.

center is just a whole bunch of rounds, again 4 to match left wing, with an extra round that is larger on top. that one is a lonely single round on a cakeboard and doweled of course.

wing to right, just another stack of rectangular cakes again about four -- at least enough it rises above the central stack.

now for the supports under that overhang -- gumpaste pieces cut and then RI to glue in place.

if you really insist on sugarglass windows -- those are just flat panels arranged on a curve (even in real architecture, curved gla$$ is avoided due to the expen$e!!!)

but -- oh forget sugarglass and take a hint from Duff -- BLACK fondant pieces applied for the windows.


now I suppose if really want to be ready for the loony-bin by the end of it -- yes you could cast sugarglass panels, ditch the central core of round cakes and build supports to hold up that topmost layers and then arrange the sugarglass underneath to make an open air atrium effect but .......
(the supports would be hidden inside the vertical gumpaste pieces.

---
to finish the cake, detail out with gumpaste or fondant pieces to create the various basic shapes on the facade (mostly lots of rectangles)

HTH

Doug, you never cease to blow my mind.

Have an awesome vacation!

Sorry to hijack the thread!

-Michelle

*hitting print as fast as I can*

Oh Doug, can't thank you enough! I was hoping this post would catch your eye!

wysmommy, thanks so much! I've got a little over a month, maybe I'll practice with sugar *adding ordering Isomalt to to-do list* and see if I can make the panels Doug suggested. If not, break out the black fondant and luster dust!

Yeah, I found the building pic on the architect's web site. That told me something!

It's tough. The guy asked me to give him an honest assessment of whether I truly believed I could do it. No, I haven't done anything like this before but a huge part of me (ego, probably!) is dying to take on the challenge...

I'm exactly the same way. I can't say no to a challenge. Hence my barn cake, which was made while I had just contracted Lyme disease. I felt like death, and made it in the dark, because of a migrane, but I was convinced I could do it.

Once you get into the sugarwork stuff, you'll be hooked. The only bummer part of it is that it's not super reliable. My professor has always told us to screw around with regular sugar first, then mess with Isomalt, because it's much more expensive. Just pay very very close attention to you temps and make sure every single thing you are working with is absolutly clean. We wipe everything down a million times because even the smallest speck of something will make your sugar mass and then your done for (Isomalt too). I can't tell you how many times we've been working with stuff and had it turn into a giant massed ball. NOT FUN.

Have a blast!
-Michelle

Wow! I hope you charge ALOT for this! That's like 10-15 dollars a serving. I would do the sugar mold or isomalt. I would then get a couple of lights to light it up. That would be crazy cool to do.

Wow! I hope you charge ALOT for this! That's like 10-15 dollars a serving. I would do the sugar mold or isomalt. I would then get a couple of lights to light it up. That would be crazy cool to do.

Doug...you ROCK!!

ok you can totally do this! Just break it a part peice by peice, just like Dougs blueprint. Now I couldn't help but notice the name of the pic was Blue Cross...as in blue cross blue shield? If so jack the price of that baby right on up to 20 -25 a serving at LEAST...they can afford it, besides the work involved is worth at least that. Let us know how it goes!

Damn!! Good luck! I love a challenge and would jump on it too.. so have a blast and make sure you charge at least 10$ per serving.. oh.. and post pics!!

next time just pm doug j/k lol but be sure to post the results in public for the rest of us! lol j/k

For the glass panels out front, if you didn't want to work with sugar, could you make the panels with acetate like overhead transparancies?

spongemom, you're cracking me up!

hollyanna, could you tell me more about gelatin sheets?

I'm going to email the guy today and accept the challenge *gulp.* I'll let y'all know how it goes...

I knew that picture looked familiar. What ever happened to mqguffey's cake? Is this for a different event?