I had a couple of people request instructions on how I made my "Tutu on Dress Form" cake so rather than typing a bunch of PMs I thought I'd post it here for all who may be interested.
The bodice is carved from a 6" two layer cake and the dress form/shoulders are formed from rice krispie treats (RKT). They were made on a cake board that has a hole for a center dowel punched through the middle. Most of the cake got carved away, so next time I'd probably make it all from RKT, which would add stability, too. I covered it all in buttercream to fill in the gaps in the RKT and to build up the chest to the shape I wanted and chilled that well. Once I was ready to fondant it I pulled it out of the fridge to let the icing soften slightly so that any lumps in the icing could be smoothed away under the fondant. I covered the whole bodice with a rather thick layer of flesh colored fondant to avoid any lumps from the RKT to show through. I then rolled out a long band of pink that I wrapped around the torso. I used a sharp knife to trim the neckline into a heart shape. I then rolled out another wide band of pink fondant with a healthy dose of tylose powder in it. I set the fondant over 4 or 5 skewers and rubbed my finger over the fondant between the skewers to create pleats. After allowing that to set for a few minutes, I slid the skewers out and pinched the center of the band together, forming the pleated look of the bodice. I moistened only the top of the first pink band and applied the pleated one to the torso carefully wrapping it around the body-sure to cover up the top of the first band. I then moistened the back of the cake to secure the second band to the body. I placed a rose I'd made the day before at the pinched part.
The skirt is made from an 8" round. I carved the top layer at an angle. Iced it in buttercream and covered it with a thin layer of fondant. I then rolled out a long strip of fondant with a healthy dose of tylose powder the length of the diameter of the skirt. I used a frill cutter to cut the scalloped edge of the skirt, leaving a 1 or 1 1/2 cm. band of fondant above the frill cut. I used a frilling stick to roll over the scallops, thinning and ruffling them. I then moistened the base of the cake and applied the strip of fondant around the cake at that 1 cm band above the frills and resting the frilled scallops on the cake board. I repeated this process putting another layer of frill above the first one. I tucked some paper towel under the upper layer so that the frill would stand out slightly when dry. I repeated this process ,several times, building the ruffled frill up the skirt till I reached the top edge of the cake. Finally, I rolled out a large circle of the fondant w/ tylose and trimmed it round w/ a 10" cake pan as a guide. I used my frill cutter to cut the scallops around the circle and thinned and ruffled as I'd done before. I placed this circle on top of the cake, propping up the ruffles, again, with paper towel. I inserted dowels for support. I also inserted a pointed center dowel that was long enough to lower the bodice onto through the hole in the bodice's cake board. I wrapped a fondant ribbon around the waistline and added a fondant bow and voila!
ETA: Boo Hoo! I can't see my picture! But you can see it in my photos.
Thanks for posting the instructions awesome cake! I'll have to give this one a try.
Lori
thank you so very much for being so kind and posting instructions. Your cake is simply elegant. Classy. Beautiful. Im in love with a cake! ( is that normal?) For me it must be because I keep smiling when I look at it!
Amazing job. Thank you for making ME want to do better.
Jessika
Thanks so much. It is such a great cake. I hope I have the chance to make it one day.
Kara
This is AWESOME! Thanks for sharing but I hardly doubt I will ever attempt it. Thanks for showing us the picture and sharing your skills with us. I'm in awe.
very elegant~ I can finally see it after days of accessing the gallery with no luck.
You are very generous to share your methods. )
Thank you so much for this tutorial, I would love to try this! This cake is truly a piece of art!
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