Everything on the cake, including the masks and feathers are edible.
I also entered a second cake based on the beautiful gondolas in Venice.
The bottle of "Prosecco" is actually molded chocolate that I airbrushed and decorated.
Susan Fox from Midway Country Corner and Lori Rees from Layer by Layer also placed with beautiful cakes which I encourage you to check out!
I had a lot of people ask me about the feathers on my cake. Here is a short tutorial on how to make the feathers: You'll need edible wafer paper (sometimes referred to as "rice paper"), white 28 gauge wire, pearl dust, and clear piping gel. You can get wafer paper online or at cake supply stores. It also comes in a few different colors.
First, make yourself a template shaped like a feather. Then, use the template as a guide to cut the feather out of the wafer paper.
Next, using small, sharp scissors, make diagonal cuts along both sides of the feather (the closer and smaller you can make the cuts, the more realistic it looks).
Coat the white wire with clear piping gel, using your fingers to remove the excess, and place the wire on the feather. Put the feather on a flat surface until the gel is dry (approximately 1 hour).
Gently dust the feather with pearl dust. Next, hold the feather over a steaming teapot (not too close!) to give the feather movement and shine. At this point, be very careful with your feather as it is very fragile. Here is a close-up of the feathers.
As you can see, the feathers are fairly easy to make and they are stunning on a cake when you don't wish to use real feathers. Enjoy!
I'm actually a baking and pastry major over at Johnson and Wales, I stumbled onto your blog, and I think your feathers are absolutely incredible! You are so talented!
ReplyDeleteAMAZING! I'm so glad you gave instructions for the feathers-so nice of you to share your secrets!! Your cakes turned out awesome....and beautiful....and incredible! You are so good at this-you really did find your "purpose". I love looking at your cakes. Keep them coming. Congrats on winning the Grand Prize and also best tasting.
ReplyDeleteJulie, you are incredible!!!! I absolutely LOVE the Italian themed cakes!! Congratulations on winning. If you need a cake taster I am ALWAYS available and down the street.
ReplyDeleteWhat a STUNNING cake! And thank you so much for sharing how to make the feathers! I can't wait for an opportunity to give them a try!
ReplyDeleteStunning! I saw your cake at the show. It blew me away!!! All the other cakes I had seen those techniques done before. But I had no idea how you did your cake! It was Amazing! I hope some day to be half as good as you! If you ever need an intern or employee let me know! I would love to study under you!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited for you! The cake was fabulous! You are amazing and very creative. Just wanted you to know how impressed I am with all the beautiful things you put on it. Did you use a circuit cutter for the bottom layer cutouts? They were just so perfect and I loved it. Kelly
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a great idea. Much better than having people pick feathersout of ttheir cake. You are blessed with awesome talent. May you be blesssed to continue and bring much joy
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