Mouse cake
What cake to make for the party Stacey and I had this past weekend? Well, we were mostly doing it to welcome the first years to Stanford to pretend that PhD students actually have lives. And since a lot of people in the cancer bio department work with mice and models of human cancer, I made a mouse... with cancer.
( Come check it out! )
( Come check it out! )
What I actually covered my mouse cake is in homemade marshmallow fondant. Here's a recipe for making it:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm
If you're interested- here are my tips.
1) You may need to use more than the 2 TBSP of water so do not fear adding a bit more water. But work it into the fondant a little at a time.
2) Steal some gloves from lab for kneading the fondant. Its much less sticky (and you can just cover your gloves with a thin layer of crisco to prevent more sticking)
3) Go to a fabric store or walmart and buy a piece of vinyl- I got mine that covers my entire table-top when I'm working. Get the vinyl if you're going to work with any type of fondant, either purchased or homemade. Just grease it up with a little bit of crisco (adding more if the fondant starts to stick) when you're kneading and rolling out the fondant. It'll work better than any fondant mat you purchase at Michaels.
4) The fondant should not rip/tear easily when you knead it or pull on it- if it does its too dry and slowly add more water, a teaspoon or two at a time. If its sticky and wet or stretching/tearing too easily then add either more powdered sugar or cornstarch to dry it up a bit.
5) If you're interested in other types of fondant, people in the cake decorating community like Satin Ice and Pennitance (sp??)
6) To prep your cake for covering it in fondant, chill the cake beforehand if you're going to carve it (I didn't and had major issues!) After its carved, cover with a thin layer of either buttercream or the 'spackling paste' I mentioned in my post. Then let that crumb coat sit in the fridge for at least a few hours, overnight if possible. Then either the day of or day before the party, cover your cake with another thin layer of buttercream RIGHT BEFORE you're going to cover it in fondant (basically it serves as a glue to hold the fondant to the cake). You might be able to find tutorials/pictures/movies online on how to do this. But basically I just drape the fondant over the cake and then cut the excess off the sides leaving a tiny bit hang over that I can push under the cake (think of how you stuff your sheet under your mattress when you're making your bed)
7) Once covered in fondant do not put it in the fridge. Just leave the cake out overnight in a cool place. The fondant kinda seals the cake so it won't dry out or go bad or anything.
8) Make a practice cake covered in fondant at least once before the real deal!! The first time i covered a cake in fondant I think i used wayyy too much buttercream underneath the fondant and ended up having a cake that looked like this the next day:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o302/chicagojacks/IMG_1680.jpg
granted it was a practice cake and i had no idea why it happened. The awesome ladies on the cake decorating community helped me figure out what the problem was. Ohhh- and since you can't put too much frosting on top of the cake when you cover it in fondant I tend to put an extra-thick layer between the cake layers so you still have some frosting (b/c even though it tastes better than the purchased stuff the homemade marshmallow fondant, or MMF, is still sickeningly sweet)
whew! sorry to wear you out there. i've only done a few fondant covered cakes but i've learned a lot through the community and my own trials and tribulations so i figured i would share my "knowledge" to hopefully make your fondant experience smoother. feel free to ask me questions if they come up.
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