This Great Cake Contest entry was submitted by CurlyOR from Eugene, Oregon: This cake was for my daughter's 5th Birthday Party. Oodles of Poodles and Noodles. It was actually her idea to have a bowl of noodles.
What you'll need
- 4 boxes of your favorite cake mix (follow directions on what to add)
- Favorite buttercream icing
- Pre-made fondant
- Pre-made gumpaste
- Food coloring
- Strawberry Jam
- Junior Caramels(from Jr.Mints)
How to make it
- Cakes like this work for me because lots of parts can be done well ahead of time. First, I bake the cakes using directions on the box and freeze them. I often add an additional box of pudding for moisture. I used large rounds and a half-ball to make the bowl. That one I left IN the pan in order to retain it's shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze.
- Using a mixture of premade gum paste and fondant, I make a clay-like compound and color it with food paste colors. Use it to create poodles or other characters. I used a garlic press to make the "fur".
- Assemble the large layer cake, using butter cream in between rounds and on the outside. Roll a large piece of fondant for the tablecloth. Cut out squares in another color and lay on white in a checkerboard pattern. Carefully, lift onto cake. The best thing about this tablecloth is that the fondant doesn't have to be even or smooth or have clean edges!
- Ice half-ball cake and cover with fondant. It won't matter if the top is messy as it will be covered with 'noodles'. I also added a little fondant plate, which I had made previously and let dry. I molded the fondant onto a real plate, then popped it off when dry.
- Using a garlic press and some icing, squirt noodles onto cake bowl, making a mound of spaghetti. Arrange poodles and menu on cake. Slight heat up strawberry jam. Rough up some round caramels and place in jam. Spoon the 'meatballs and sauce' onto cake. Enjoy!"
