Fondant Decorative Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday, Germaine!

I volunteered to make this cake for my friend's girl for her early birthday celebration. She is going to be 7 year-old, that explains the number of bees on the cake. This is one of the best ways to practise my cake making and decoration skill because it creates pressure and this pushes me to do better each time. Look at my own birthday cake and you'll agree with me (http://shiraschoice.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-very-own-birthday-cake.html) For own consumption, you need not to perform too well! Ha! Ha!

It is a Double Cheese Cake. Only cheese 500gm, sugar 200gm (cream together with cheese), and 4 eggs with some fresh mango and puree inside. I used mango cream cheese to smoothen the surface before laying the fondant. You can imagine how rich the cake is now!! Plus the 3-5mm sugar paste on top, I felt guilty after eating it.

This is my 2nd fondant decorative cake. My friends said that the cake was too rich. They were also alarmed by the bright, artificial fondant colouring. Singaporeans are more health conscious nowadays. Knowing that the 3-5mm layer of sugar lay on top of the cake, they surely feel heavy! The fondant is vanilla flavoured and it actually tasted like chewing gum... honestly I didn't finish all the fondant on my plate.

This type of decorative cake are well accepted overseas. However, it is not so common in Singapore. Phoon Huat started bringing in other brands (more economical, S$ 6.5 for 1 pack) than "Wilton" for these cake decorative material last month. It is a bit costly if I use "Wilton". In my first attempt I travel from CCK to Bukit Timah Road to buy these material at BIY http://www.b-i-y.com/.

Although feedback is not so good, I still find it a successful cake, cox it is presentable and sweet (Kids love the decor and the sugar paste...) I can improve the cake base by cutting down the cheese cake portion to half and use sponge cake next time.

Some encouragement to myself : I never pay a penny to attend any "Wilton" cake decorative courses, yet I can make such cake. Don't give up!!! Those courses are available from S$240 to S$300+, total 3 sessions in order to complete. Most importantly, I find great joy in creating this cake. Me and my helper had so much fun making the little bees and decorating the cake. My rewards are the smile from the kids too! I'll do better next time and carry on doing it until I can be as good as those professional out there - I'm amazed by how great looking their cakes are.

Special thanks to Louise http://www.cakejournal.com/. She gave some helpful advices on how to use cream cheese cake base plus fondant. Her cakes look beautiful.

P.S. My eldest girl keeps saying this cake looks better than hers (photo shown below) and she wanted something better next year... seems I don't have a choice but to perfect my skill...