On the cover of Volume 3, Issue 4 of Cake Central Magazine, we featured a beautiful peacock cake by cakemaker and CC user Mina Bakalova. We’re still in awe of the vibrant colors, intricate details and the cascading arrangement of unique peacock feathers that adorn this creation. When we came across this gumpaste peacock feather tutorial by Kate Sandy on her blog, we just had to share it!

Here is the finished peacock feathers, the final and crowning touch on this cake by Kate:

 

Materials

Dresden tool
Feather cutter (I used this one from Global Sugar Art)
Foam Pad
Gumpaste
Luster dust (Gold, Peacock Blue, Purple, Emerald Green, Black)
Paper towels
Paint brushes
Peacock feather to use as a guide for painting
Rolling pin
Shortening
Vodka/grain alcohol for painting

1. Knead your gumpaste with a little shortening to condition it and roll out fairly thin. I rolled it to a number 3 on my kitchen aid pasta roller.

2. Cut out feathers with a cutter.  I find in works best to place your gumpaste over the sharp edge of the cutter and roll over it with your rolling pin. I find doing it this way gives you a sharper cut then placing your paste on your board.

3.  Place your feathers on your foam pad. On each side, starting from the center,  pull out with your dresden/veining tool all the way to the outside edge, the goal being to add lines and dimension.  Pull the tool out past the edges to thin and soften the tips of the feather.

4.  You can also use scissors to snip towards the center very close together to give it a feather appearance as well.  Here you can see what it looks like with one side completed.

5.  Lay your feathers over a bit of foam or balled up paper towel to dry. You don’t want the feathers too look flat and stiff. The foam will help make them look a bit more natural.

6.  Now, here comes the fun part. Once the the feathers are dry, lay out your palette of luster dusts and a little bit a your vodka or lemon extract.  Using your real feather as a guide, mix your luster dusts with a tiny bit of the alcohol and go to town painting your feather.  I started from the inside of the feather and worked my way to the outside, using the real feather with its natural egg/oval shapes as a guide.   Afterwards, I used a brush to try to blend the colors together.