Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network August 2018 Cake! Magazine | Page 36

Step 1 - 4: Allow the cakes to come to room temperature - this will make them easier to cut and avoid any blow outs or air bubbles down the track. Cut your cakes and keep the top dome or excess from the 6” round. Start by filling and crumb coating with one 5” round on the base, then add the 6” round on the top, followed by the second 5” round. Using a food processor, blitz up the excess cake into a crumb, and add in some ganache to bind the crumb together. Roll into even-sized cylindrical strips and add onto the top and base of the 6” cake to alleviate the sharp edge. Push into any crevasses that are creating a harsh line, and add another around the centre line to create a rounded edge. Smooth out the cake crumb until it is the desired barrel shape, then ganache the cake. Step 5: Step 6 & 7: Step 8: Once all the main parts are filled with ganache, use a flexi smoother to get the ganache as smooth as possible. Trim the excess ganache off the top. Roll out some spare fondant into a sausage, using a cake board to get the thickness even. If the fondant is not rolling but is squashing, very lightly spritz the fondant with a tiny bit of water to make it slightly tacky. Place the sausage on the top and lightly pinch it into place. This ensures that the barrel does not have a flat top. Cut out a fondant circle slightly larger than the top of the barrel. Step 9 & 10: Teddy Bear Figurine Step 11 & 12: Use a ruler to score the lines to achieve a wood plank effect. Place the circle on the top of the barrel and press down with a 4” tin. Trim off the excess fondant from the fondant circle. Roll out white fondant to desired thickness and cut into strips. Starting from base, adhere the strip to the cake and then let the excess rest on the top. Once the cake is covered, trim the excess off the top. By Pearl Toh of Pearl’s Creations Step 13 & 14: Step 15 & 16: In a container, mix the ivory and brown food colour gel with some vodka to a watercolour consistency. Add more brown for a darker wood or more ivory for a pine wood look. Paint the crevasses first to ensure they are coloured and not white. Then paint the remaining strips with a light coat to start - you can always go darker. Let the paint dry slightly, then go over it with a damp brush. This will slightly pull the base colour and give a natural wood grain effect. If the brush has too much liquid it will take off the base coat. Roll some excess fondant into three sausages, one long slightly thicker and two short. Spray the styrofoam ball with water and wrap the thicker sausage around the base of the base to keep it steady. Add the two smaller sausages on the top with a slight gap. Add a touch of brown to white modelling chocolate to achieve desired colour and roll into a circle. Spritz the styrofoam with water and place the modelling chocolate over the Styrofoam, smoothing it onto the hat structure. Trim the excess to get the desired shape then curl the brim of the hat up to the side of the structure. Place the hat aside to set to desired shape. In a clean pot add in the Isomalt granules and a few tablespoons of water (just enough to coat the granules). Have a bowl of cold water large enough to fit the pot next to the isomalt. Heat the isomalt slowly to 165 degrees Celsius, keeping a close eye on it as the temperature changes rapidly. Carefully swirl the isomalt occasionally to ensure even heat distribution. Do not stir the Isomalt as crystallisation can still occur. Once the temperature is at 165 degrees Celsius, take out the thermometer and carefully place the base of the pot into the cold water to stop the temperature rising further (roughly five seconds).