Make a cactus-shaped cake for a desert-themed party.
Make a three-dimensional round cactus cake with realistic looking spines for a desert-themed birthday party or bon voyage celebration. The cactus cake is made from a 3D dome-shaped cake pan and decorated with a combination of green and brown stiff buttercream icing. Cake decorators with a little bit of experience or brave novices can add a few blossoming cactus flowers to the cake, made from fondant or gum paste. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Cactus Cake
1. Prepare an entire prepackaged cake mix and bake in a greased, dome-shaped cake pan. Bake the cake at 325 degrees F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes, carefully remove it from the pan and cool for another two hours.
2. Apply a thin layer of the green icing over the entire cake to catch the loose crumbs. Let the icing firm in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Apply a second layer of the same icing to the cake. Make this layer about three times as thick as the first.
4. Put a large star icing tip into a pastry bag. Use a knife to coat the interior sides of the bag with brown buttercream icing. Fill the remainder of the bag with the green icing.
5. Squeeze the pastry bag against the bottom edge of the cake and pull the bag away, applying consistent pressure. Release the bag to make a pointed tip. This is the first of the cactus spines.
6. Move over about 1/2 inch and repeat the above step to make the next spine. When releasing the bag to complete the spine, turn the bag on a slight angle to make spines point in different directions. Continue all the way around the cake, making some of the spines against the bottom edge and others about 1/4 inch from the bottom.
7. Move upward about 1/2 inch and make another row of spines all the way around the cake. Continue until you have covered the entire cake in icing spines.
Fondant Cactus Flower
8. Roll out the fondant to 1/16-inch thick using a rolling pin. Use a pointed petal cutter to cut out about 13 petals.
9. Moisten the inner edge of six of the petals with water and arrange them together in a circle to make the bottom layer of petals. Press the moistened edges together to hold the petals together.
10. Moisten the sides and bottom of the next four petals and arrange them together on top of the first layer of petals.
11. Arrange the final three petals on top of the second layer.
12. Insert a pearl sprig through the center of the flower and allow the flower to dry for 24 hours. Place the flower on top of the cactus cake.
Tags: about inch, against bottom, against bottom edge, around cake, arrange them, arrange them together, bottom edge