What we'll need:
1. inspiration
2. cake ingredients
3. modeling tools
4. supportive friends
Since I've been preparing this for quite a while, I think I have all of them down. Time to get started!
Phase 1: PREPARATION
Don't get fooled, this has nothing to do with cake making. It's all about prepping the area for the arrival of guests (this is the part when you frantically move around your house with your laptop in one hand and random things in the other):
- take the trash out (done)
- putting away clothes, shoes, towels, makeup stuff, etc (done)
- freshen up the toilet (done)
- clean the sink (kinda relevant to cooking actually... ok, now it's done)
- change tabs, pull up live24.gr, start shaking booty
- vacuum really fast the living room and the kitchen (done)
- make sure there is nothing too old in the fridge (done)
- throw in the wine to keep it chilled (done)
Now that the house is good to go, get everything you're going to need out and see what you can start getting ready.
Aha!
Fondant Glue
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water
Mix water, syrup and vinegar in small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. In small bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water. Add this mixture slowly to first mixture. Stir constantly. Let stand overnight before using.
hmm... "let stand overnight"... that's definitely an oversight. Well, let's hope it will be ready in a couple of hours instead. Entering rush mode!
Ok, I'd say this looks pretty gooey! Letting it sit and moving on.
Next? prepare all the fondant colors. We'll need massive amounts of brown (this is after all a chocolate cake) and then orange, green, and light brown.
Doorbells right, open the door, greet friends, make coffee, talk, talk, talk, eat ice cream, talk some more, time to get back to business!
Phase 2: COOKING
First you prepare the cake mix. Grease the bowls, make sure you leave some room for the cake to overflow and in the oven they go. Timer set for 30 minutes, turns out that's not quite enough. Keep poking with a knife till it comes out clean.
In the meanwhile, you make the frosting. Not too much of it though. Why do I say that? Well, last time I followed the recipe to the letter and ended up with a salad bowl worth of frosting and nothing to do with it. Remember, once frosting gets in the fridge it hardens, so you need a few minutes for it to reach room-temperature and be usable again.
2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
9 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups baking cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency.
At this point your friends have already lost interest in your troubles and start playing boardgames while you're huffing and puffing between the kitchen table, the oven and the fridge.
Phase 3: Modeling
You take your model bunnies (heh, you'd better have some) and put them on the kitchen table. Take extra care to not mess them up with all the colors and everything. Now you start experimenting, as some point you know you'll get there but boy, will it take long.
Useful props: raw pasta. Yup, you heard me. Gum paste doesn't hold weight too much, so it's good to have some rigatoni for stability!
I didn't actually get to use the glue but in one of the carrots, so don't really know how well it works! Still looks gooey for sure though. I wonder how I'll get rid of it tomorrow.
Phase 4: Awe
It's all worth it in the end. My only fear, if I'm raising the bar so much, what am I doing next time?
Hope he loves it!
PS. He did love it. And then he pointed out I forgot the tails. Sigh...
