Caillou Cake

I was actually asked to make a cake for a kid's birthday party where I knew the character!  Caillou!!!  This little boy was turning 4 and wanted a Caillou cake.  

I made a monkey cake in January for this little boy's older brother.  We decided to do the same thing for this cake which was one layer of white almond cake, one layer of chocolate cake and french buttercream.  The birthday boy's favorite color is red, so I decorated the cake with red.  I used fondant to replicate Caillou.  I was pretty happy with the results.  

I have learned over the years of making cakes that if you want to do two different flavors of cake, you will most likely end up cutting a majority of people two pieces of cake instead of just one because everyone wants to taste both.  Then, a lot of cake is wasted because not everyone can finish both pieces of cake.  Instead of doing cakes half white and half chocolate, for instance, I prefer to do the two different flavors layered on top of one another.  That way, everyone gets a small piece of both in their one single slice.  This makes for less waste.  

Monster High Cake

I made this Monster High cake for a little girl who was turning 4.  Again, I had no clue what in the world Monster High was, so I had to look it up.  Like I have said, I do have 2 little girls, but I am so out of it when it comes to what's popular with kids.

Upon searching for Monster High, I found the Monster High logo and decided to replicate that on fondant as the centerpiece for the cake.  The actual logo did take me some time to complete.  I used a variety of techniques to complete it too.  I cut out the fondant to the correct shape.  I used paint brushes to paint it and used a pastry bag to pipe on it.  I let it sit for a while to stiffen up before moving it onto the cake.  After painting on the fondant, it can get a bit soft.  I used pink and black for the icing colors atop a cake that was half chocolate and half white almond.  I got to actually attend this birthday party, and the cake was a huge hit!  Someone ended up spilling almost an entire pitcher of water on the cake after it was served, though.  L:uckily, I think it was pretty well salvaged.

You have to be careful when adding certain colors to icing.  Reds and purples can really alter the flavor of icing.  You can buy what is called "no taste red,' but even that can leave you with a not quite right taste.  Even hot pinks and purples can really affect the flavor.  So, if using colors in the red/purple family, use a deft hand and keep tasting the icing to make sure it doesn't get an "off" flavor.