Hi guys...I just took a look at the comments for my fire dept. theme cake and a few of you asked for directions.....I had sent them to TC...so I copied and pasted them here for all those interested...
the basic cake was just 2 layered cakes, stacked and frosted with buttercream. however, in retrospect, I should have covered them in fondant because there are so many pieces to "glue" on later and fondant on fondant glued with royal is much sturdier than fondant on buttercream. So, do that if you can.
I google for images and I came up with these. The fire is actually 3 sizes of metal leaf-shaped cookie cutters. So I cut them first and let them dry then I use a light coat of Wilton spray food color (red) all over them.....only the large and medium ones. The small ones I handpainted yellow. Then, when the medium ones that I have sprayed once with red are dry, I give them a light coat of yellow with the paintbrush to get an orangy flame. The large ones I spray again with red after they have dried. So now you have large red, medium orange and small yellow. (You can add food color to the fondant and color it before you cut them out if that's what you want. My preference is to paint them afterwards.
So, the water is the same concept. I used rounded leaf shaped cutters for that. The big shot of water coming out of the hose is just a freeform that I cut with my exacto knife. Then I spray the pieces with blue...let them dry...spray again with blue (very light each time)...let them dry...and then even more lightly, spray with green...to barely add a little color....but it makes them really pop! After they are dry, brush them with a little piping gel to make them look wet. Let them dry.
The figures are all just fondant that I sculpted (think playdoh) and then painted. The hose and all the silver stuff is painted with silver luster dust and a drop of vodka.
The name in stars is just cut out fondant. I cut the stars, turn them over and put a toothpick on them and press gently. Then I take a little square of fondant, wet it a tiny bit and put it on the back of the star so the toothpick will be secure when it dries. Then, when dry, paint them and paint the toothpicks (silver). Everything else is fondant. I don't think I left anything out but pleas ask me if I did.
Put the fireperson on first and then the fire. Then the water and the other stuff. I just used bc to glue it all, but I was very nervous that it was going to fall apart.
I forgot to add this originally, but before I put any decorations on the cake I cut rectangles of fondant and decorated the top corners of each cake....this is not a necessity...I just like the smooth look of fondant.
Have fun!
Thanks so much !!!!
You should type this up with pictures and send it to Jackie and see if she will post it as an article.
Adven68,
Thanks so much for the directions. Your fire cake is one of the cutest I have seen. My brother is a fireman and his wife, daughter and son are all volunteer fireman. They would love this cake. I might attempt it in the future, but unfortunately I don't have your wonderful artistic talent.
When you hand paint the figures what do you use for paint? Do you disolve gel paste colors in extract or vodka?
Thanks so much for the directions! I am going to make this for my brother - now that he is back from Iraq, I can make him "fireman" cakes instead of "soldier" cakes.
Adven68,
I might attempt it in the future, but unfortunately I don't have your wonderful artistic talent.
When you hand paint the figures what do you use for paint? Do you disolve gel paste colors in extract or vodka?
I'm glad to give the directions.
Price...thanks so much...but it's really not that hard. I always say that the hardest part of decorating any cake is the design. The fondant figures are pretty much cartoons, so even if they don't look exactly like mine, they will still be adorable. For the paint, I use gel colors. I take a small plate and put a few drops of vodka in the middle. Then I put a little gel color on the side of the plate. I just wet my brush with the vodka and then swirl it around the gel....just to get it smooth....otherwise it globs up on you. I don't add vodka to the paint because then I find it is too thin.
Glad to help!!!
Thanks again Adven for the directions! My daughters 16th bday is Dec 6th. We've decided to wait until our FD's Christmas party (which is on Dec 14th) to present this cake & have her Sweet 16!!! That way all her friends will be there.
Here's what my plans are on the cake. I'm going to make a Firegal (for my daughter) & hydrant in color flow since I haven't shaped any figures in fondant yet. I will do the hose in fondant though. That looks so cool! I don't have time to practice.
Instead of the way you have the sides of your cake I'm going to TRY doing brick design in a brown color. I don't know if I'll do it in fondant or BCI. I'm going to add my DD's name in stars like you have your's. That's a cute idea! I'm gonna try your water BUT I doubt I can get it looking as good as yours! I have an idea of how to do the water though. I've tried making homemade piping gel before. It didn't turn out so great at all! I wound up throwing it away! I thought about making it again & adding blue to it. It looked like a glob so I can possibly make it look like water. We'll see! The fire will be easy~ I can't wait to make this cake!!
You have inspired me!!! Thanks a lot for all your help!!
The brick wall idea is great! Originally, I planned to do an edible image that looked like a building as my "wall" . I think your bricks will looks awesome. Color flow will look great too! A fondant hose is not hard....just take your time and roll it evenly! Or even use a clay press if you haave one. Make sure you post!!!
Thanks Adven! Your always full of great ideas!! I will post the picture. I will probably have more questions for you once I get started!
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