A few months ago I received a phone call from my mother-in-law's sweet friend Karin. She was organizing a women's retreat and wanted to know if I'd come down and do a cake demo after lunch and talk about my journey into the world of cakes. The theme of the retreat was Faith: A journey from mediocrity to maturity. So, it tied into the theme of the day and would give the ladies something fun...like half-time entertainment! :) I was flattered she thought of me and was excited to do it...although, a bit hesitant because I had never done anything like it before! She had been so impressed that I've chosen to use my talent as a blessing to others instead of trying to turn it into a business for profit. So, that's what I talked about. How I started off thinking I'd make this into a business, but how the Lord has really worked on my heart that this talent, for this season of life, is meant to bless others! - and that's it! He has definitely blessed me for being obedient and I have SO enjoyed helping others with their cake journey and have SOOOOO enjoyed blessing those I love with fun, beautiful cakes!! He is gracious and always blesses us for choosing to follow His ways...even though the world is constantly trying to tell us otherwise! :)
So, last Saturday, a cake buddy and sweet friend of mine (
Deborah) and I, headed south to Reedsport (about 3.5 hours away on the Oregon Coast) for the retreat. I was going to show how to make a little purse cake. As I was prepping for the retreat, I took some pictures and decided I would do a tutorial for all of you on my blog!! :) Yeah! :) The SUPER unfortunate thing was I didn't get a final picture of my cake!!! I took one, but it was no where to be found when I got home to go through the pictures! :( It was incredibly cute!!! So, I re-created it Friday evening (before all the craziness with my daughter began) and have a final picture for you! - although...it didn't turn out as cute as the original! :) Oh well!!
So, here's what I'm going to show you how to make:
This little cake is made out of 3 thin 6" round cakes, stacked with two layers of filling in between. You could make this any size you'd like following these basic steps.
Step 1:
Stack and fill your cake - mine was approx. 3" thick/tall. Put it in the fridge/freezer until it firms up so you can carve it. The little swirl on top there is a simple syrup.
Step 2:
Cut off the bottom edge as straight as possible. Cut off a top edge as straight as possible. The top edge should be slightly smaller than the bottom. The right side of this pic is my top edge...see it's a bit smaller than the bottom.
Step 3:
Stand it up on it's bottom and check for straightness.
Check the side as well as the front. Continue to trim to make sure it stands nice and straight.
Step 4:
Start trimming down the front and back so it looks tapered...like the purse is closed.
Make sure both sides are the same! :)
Step 5:
Begin carving the sides in to create the gap of fabric when the purse would be closed. Create a little "V" shape on the sides of the purse with a small knife.
Step 6:
Add a crumb coat of ganache or buttercream. Get it nice and smooth. Then put it in the fridge to firm up over night or a few hours.
Step 7:
Trim your board. Prep the ganache covered cake for covering in fondant by spritzing it with water or water mixed with a little corn syrup.
Step 8:
Roll out your fondant 1/8" - 3/8" thick. Drape over your cake (I have mine sitting up on a little tin so I can get a clean cut on the bottom edge) and start smoothing. Gather the excess fondant on each corner and pinch it (see pic below).
Step 9:
Use a pair of small sharp scissors to trim off the excess fondant as close to the cake as possible without cutting into the cake! :) With warm fingers massage those seams together to make sure they are closed and smooth. You can even use a tiny bit of crisco on your finger tips to help smooth it down. Trim off a little more fondant if it's not laying flat on the cake like the pic below. Don't worry about your seams because you'll be putting on piping later that will hide them. Just make sure you're cutting right on the corners so when you put your piping on it will be hidden! :)
Grab your fondant smoothers and go to town getting the fondant nice and smooth. Use a VERY slightly dampened paper towel or smooth towel to wipe off any excess cornstarch, or rub a very light coating of crisco on the cake to make it a bit more satin-like and to get the cornstarch off.
Step 10:
Use a piece of blank 4x6 photo paper (or a 4x6 piece of card stock) and round the edge off on one side to create a template for the flap. Roll out some fondant and put the photo paper on it, then cut around it. Spritz the back of the fondant with the water/corn syrup solution and lay over your cake making sure it's nice and centered. Use the Wilton fondant embosser wheel for that (click
here). Just run it around the edges of your flap and voila!
Front view (above)
Back view (below)
Step 11:
Add the piping in whatever color you'd like. You can either roll fondant ropes by hand or use an clay/fondant extruder. I use this one (click
here - I got mine at Michael's) because I can hold it in one hand and position the extruded rope right on my cake with the other hand. If you use a bigger kind, extrude the rope on your counter then apply it on your cake. Cover all seams with your piping and you'll have a really clean looking little purse! :)
Time to decorate it! Use my
bow tutorial to create a sweet little bow or create a flower for the front like on
this cake.
For the handle, I rolled a rope out and wrapped it around a glass to make it nice and round. I cut the bottom off so it would be square and let it dry over night. I then added just a smidgen of melted chocolate to the bottom of the handle and set it on the cake. I also used melted chocolate to attach the bow.
The little sparrow bird on the bottom is hand painted. I use a picture I found on line for inspiration. I grabbed my black Wilton gel color and mixed a little vodka with it to thin it down. I then used a tiny paint brush and painted away like it was canvas. You could also use your embosser tool to create a quilted look, or paint zebra stripes, giraffe print, etc etc etc! Be creative and go wild!!!
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and will be inspired to make your own! :)
Blessings!
