Cakes aren’t just delicious, and one of the best ways to celebrate, but they can be made into some real works of art. At one point, you might almost feel bad for slicing into them because they’ve been so elaborately decorated.
They take any birthday, wedding, or special event to a whole new level. There’s beautifully embellished desserts everywhere from local bakeries to the Food Network’s old show, “Ace of Cakes“, and TLC’s “Cake Boss“. But have you ever wondered how they’re actually put together?
Zoe’s Fancy Cakes on Youtube shows us just that! She makes videos documenting all of her fabulous creations. Perhaps one that I’ll be making for my birthday, this whimsical Volkswagen Campervan Cake is decorated with bumpers, windows, wheels, and even their signature lights – which she made into cartoon-y eyes.
She makes it look seemingly effortless. Just watch!
For much of the sculpting, she used Renshaw Fondant Icing, and the following tools:
- A cake knife
- Cake smoother
- Round cutters
- Cookie cutters
- An extruder gun (to create the thin pieces of fondant that line around the windows and van)
- Blue food coloring
- Flower/leaf-shaped cutter
- Heart cutters
And underneath all that icing lies a delicious, basic sponge cake. Here was the recipe provided:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
Cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Once smooth, slowly mix in the flour. Pour the batter into a greased cake pan, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
For the buttercream:
- 2 ½ cups icing sugar, sifted
- 1 ¼ butter (salted or unsalted), softened
- Optional flavorings
Beat all the ingredients together. And voilà!
Based in the UK, Zoe’s Fancy Cakes has some of the best pastry-decorating tutorials on Youtube. To see more of her marvelous creations, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, her website, or on her Youtube channel here.
