Eliza and her mother Ellie, to be told that we were going to decorate our own cake.
The bakery smelled like icing, sugar and candy. We were handed a clipboard filled with options for the genetic makeup of our cake. We had originally thought that we were going to make an Avengers themed cake, because that is our favorite movie. After seeing what they had to offer, we realized that a cake with such a complicated theme would be extra hard to create. So we were left to think about what we wanted. Many ideas were thrown around, but none made us overly exited. At that moment
I was reminded of something that my godmother Lynn made, a giant piece of sushi with real fish. She had referred to it as a sushi cake. So, why couldn't we do that, but without the fish?
Eliza and Ellie loved my idea and we began plans for our cake. It would be made up of vanilla cake, and the frosting would also be vanilla. The outside would be built of white fondant. Fondant is thick creamy sugar paste. You may be thinking, sushi isn't white. Ah, but the rice is! Our amazing helper, who was extremely nice to us (let's call him Alex), cut large slices of black fondant and wrapped them around the sides so it began to resemble a sushi roll.
We were really getting into it, snatching pieces of fondant and sugar, then moving our newly clothed cake to our table. We were each given another large piece of white fondant by Alex and we proceeded to learn how to stick fondant to fondant. Fondant is an extremely sticky material to work with, especially when your hands are wet. Soon, there was a circle of water on our cake, leaving a lopsided circle in the middle for fish. After about a half hour the entire wet area was covered with over sized "rice" grains. The fondant "rice" began to harden and we began working on the next area of the sushi. The avocado and the salmon, only the most important parts!
I cut cubes out of my fondant and set them down on the table, wondering how I was going to get them orange. Eliza had the same problem after cutting triangular slices of "avocado" out of her fondant. Alex pointed us to the dye rack, the only part he forgot to point out were the gloves. Only a minor detail right? No. I still look like Snooki gave my hands a terrible spray tan, and Eliza's hands have green spots. But, back to the story!
I grabbed the dye bottle labeled orange while Eliza picked up yellow and green. I tried squeezing the orange, expecting it to come out like liquid, but it was actually colorful paste. I did the only thing I could think of, smashing the fondant cubes between my hands until they turned as Orange as the bottle. I also helped Eliza with mixing green and yellow, then molding them together. I stuck the orange cubes to the clear circle with water and then went around each one with orange butter cream frosting. To top off the salmon look, I sprinkled sparkly orange sugar on the icing to give them impression of salmon roe. I know what you're thinking, I'm so full of good ideas, right? Eliza did the same with the avocado, using green frosting.
I grabbed the dye bottle labeled orange while Eliza picked up yellow and green. I tried squeezing the orange, expecting it to come out like liquid, but it was actually colorful paste. I did the only thing I could think of, smashing the fondant cubes between my hands until they turned as Orange as the bottle. I also helped Eliza with mixing green and yellow, then molding them together. I stuck the orange cubes to the clear circle with water and then went around each one with orange butter cream frosting. To top off the salmon look, I sprinkled sparkly orange sugar on the icing to give them impression of salmon roe. I know what you're thinking, I'm so full of good ideas, right? Eliza did the same with the avocado, using green frosting.
The cake looked heavenly, I didn't know whether to continue working on it or take a giant bite out of the side. I obviously didn't do the latter. Then we sprinkled the sides with brown granules of sugar that looked like sesame seeds. Finally, we added some green grass peeking out from underneath as a garnish. It turned out amazing, better than we ever could have hoped. It was our baby!
I tried the cake with Eliza that night, it was so good! I love how the vanilla cake compliments the sweetness of the butter cream and the fondant. It might be the best cake I've ever had! If you'd like to check out our cake on instagram go to @DuffsCakeMix and click on the picture of the sushi cake! It has over 850 likes, last time I checked and over 33 comments! I feel so accomplished. Please go there, it is so fun!
I tried the cake with Eliza that night, it was so good! I love how the vanilla cake compliments the sweetness of the butter cream and the fondant. It might be the best cake I've ever had! If you'd like to check out our cake on instagram go to @DuffsCakeMix and click on the picture of the sushi cake! It has over 850 likes, last time I checked and over 33 comments! I feel so accomplished. Please go there, it is so fun!
See you soon,
The Watermelon Radish
