Castle Cake #1: Whimsical Castle Cake

HOW TO MAKE AN ALL EDIBLE CASTLE CAKE

The whole design is actually NOT my original. I have seen several versions of Castle Cakes online which I used as inspiration for this cake. I cannot specify one particular artist as this is not a copy of any actual cake design. As an example: I saw the carriage in a magazine – got the idea from that. The carriage is not an actually copy on the magazine and the maker of the cake was not specified. It was an ad for a fondant. So I improvised.

Tower can be prepared 1 to 2 weeks ahead.

CAKE BOARD

Cut a 6-inch diameter foam board and cover with white sugarpaste.

TOWER
To make the Towers, roll different sized sausage shapes fondant with tylose or gumpaste in varying lengths or heights (depends on how high you’d like your tower to be).

Roll each tower using two smoothers to ensure a neat and smooth sausage shape without any finger marks.

Use a very sharp knife to cut the ends and also two smoothers to flatten. Poke a long skewer on each tower for support.

Set aside all towers to dry.

Note: The Wilton Wave Flower former set is very useful in drying the tower on a surface so it will retain its shape while it dries flat on the surface.

TURRET

Roll out different sized cone shaped pink sugarpaste (fondant with tylose powder or gumpaste). You can design the roof as you wish (Option 1) or leave it simple (Option2).

Option 2
Without Shingles

Roll out a cone shaped pink fondant or gumpaste. Flatten the base so it sits level on top of a tower. You may wish to leave the tower cone-shaped or you can go further just like the photo. Pinch the base of the cone using your fingers to flatten forming a “witch hat”. Get a circle cookie cutter (with a bigger diameter than your tower) and place it over the top of the “witch hat”. Cut out the excess sugarpaste to get a perfectly round shaped base.

I don’t have a picture of the above steps but I do have these photos, which is basically the same idea on what I am explaining above. You can actually use a flower cookie cutter (of course bigger that what was shown in the photo) to acquire a prettier base.

Option 1
Roof With Shingles

1. Follow steps in Option 2.

2. Use the smallest circle cutter to cut each shingles. You can indent a design on the shingle or you can leave it smooth. Attach each shingle using edible glue.

ASSEMBLE TOWERS ON THE CAKE BOARD

Get a skewer and put a hole on the spot where you are placing a tower. This is so it will easier to put the tower on the cake board (Remember in the above step where we put a skewer as support for each other). Cut the excess skewer if it’s too long to go on the board. Again, this really depends on the height of your tower.

Secure the roof using royal icing and toothpick.

Now to cover the side of the cake board, measure the circumference of the cake board. Use this measurement to cut out a long sugarpaste. Use a small square cutter to cut out the castellaton (see photo below):

CARRIAGE

To make the carriage (this is the one I saw on a Cake magazine in the advertisement section for fondant, I think( but not the exactly design).

Roll out a sugarpaste and cut the carriage using a circle cookie cutter (the size depends on how big you like and proportoniate to the cake size). This is about 4 inches in diameter.

Score a line from the top to the bottom of the carrige, this is like making a 2D Pumpkin. You can use the end of the brush or a stick or gumpaste tool,

Cut a small square black fondant and attach it in the middle of the carriage.

To make the curtain, roll a thin piece of fondant, cut in the middle and attach it over the black fondant creating a curtain drape. I made sure that a little piece of the black fondant is showing (see photo).

To create the side of the carriage, I roll a long sausage shaped white sugarpase. Make both ends pointed and then attach to the carriage and make both ends rolling in (just like the circled part of the photo)

TO make the wheels, I cut two circle shaped sugarpaste. I used a small cutter (which came with the snowflake cutter set) to cut the design on the wheels. If you don’t have it, you can use your x-acto knife.

To create the top of the curtain, you can use any mold or cut any design you wish.

ASSEMBLE THE WHOLE CAKE

Aseemble the cake as you would normally do.

Put dowels to support the tower topper. Consider the Tower topper as a second tier of the cake.

If using Rice Krispy Treats for the towers then your topper will not be as heavy as using fondant/gumpaste. But I will still put dowels, probably about 4 to 5 dowels.

Brush the cake with water or clear piping gel.

Measure the circumference of the cake and the height of the cake. Use these measurements as guide in cutting the strip that will cover the cake.

Cut out the castellation (same as the one in the cake board above), use the smallest square cookie cutter or triangle cutter, whatever your preference.

Leave the strip to dry a bit so it will not stretch when lifted. Not too dry though that it will crack.

Dust the strip with icing sugar or cornstarch and roll the strip around your rolling pin.

Roll out the strip little at a time to cover the cake. This way you are not stretching the fondant.

Put Royal icing on top of the cake and place your Tower Topper.

For the door, use circle cookie cutter and then cut the base straight so it sits flat on the cake board.

As for the four pillars (towers, see the circled part in the above photo) on the cake, follow the instructions in making the towers.

If you have any further question, don’t hesitate to email me or visit my Facebook Page: Out-OF-THE-BOX Cake Designs – https://www.facebook.com/BMTCakesDesigns

Good luck! Happy Caking!