The Little Mermaid Birthday Cake

It was October 7th of last year when I last decorated a cake with fondant.  I’ve baked and decorated many cakes thereafter but I always find myself taking the easier route when decorating.   That is, I use either buttercream or creme chantilly.  I’m too lazy to knead fondant, not to mention fearful of the body aches that come several hours later.

Saturday last week, I thought I should “re-connect” with fondant.  I made a cake for a sweet little girl’s 4th birthday.  The birthday girl loves Ariel, the Little Mermaid.  So I made  her a Little Mermaid-themed cake.

This a 9″(diameter) x 4″ (height) chocolate cake  with milk chocolate and white chocolate chips. It has a perfectly chocolate chocolate filling.  This is a 360-degree cake.  There’s something to see all around the cake.   Here, allow me to give you a short 360-degree tour.

A slight turn of the cake and you’ll see a school of fish and seaweeds and one of Ariel’s sisters.

Another slight turn and you’ll see the back of the cake.  There are starfish and corals and more seaweeds and more sisters of Ariel.  On top of the cake there’s a happy octopus.

Turn the cake just a tad and you’ll find some yellow starfish and you guessed it, another mermaid sister.

And we’re back in front, where you’ll find the birthday girl’s name on a gigantic starfish on either side of which is a sister of Ariel.  Hee hee.

Now, let me give you a closer look of the top of the cake…

That’s Ariel, of course.  I got Ariel and her mermaid sisters at the Disney Store.  So I cheated and didn’t sculpt them out of fondant.  That allowed me time to play with the details.   All other decorations – the rocks, seaweeds, corals, flowers, school of fish and starfish were fondant and gumpaste.  I used some spiced gum drops as well.

At the back of the cake, behind the rocks is a yellow, purple-eyed octopus. Didn’t I tell you this was a fun cake to make?!  I thought I needed to put something behind the grey rocks and an octopus was an easy sea animal to make.

For the sand, I used crushed graham crackers.

Hubby, my little girl and my mom were constantly hovering as I decorated this cake.  They were very excited to see how the cake would come together.  They also had a suggestion or two.  My daughter loved the cake and was already thinking of a birthday cake design for herself!  Hubby loved that I veered away from my usual pastels and used bright colors.  My Mom, on the other hand, couldn’t help saying that this cake looked better than her birthday cakes (THIS and THIS)!  Hee hee.  What can I say, there might be some truth to what she said.

As for me, I love that I had sooo much fun decorating this cake.  At no point did I feel stressed-out during the decorating process.  I was even humming to myself almost all throughout…”Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun…”  I wasn’t scrambling for time or anything.  For once, I wasn’t late for the party! No achy arms, too!

Perhaps in God’s time and God willing, I can turn my hobby into a business (and secure a business insurance in the process).  Hmmm, maybe.  Why not, right? Like my Mom always says,”It’s free to dream.” *wink*

Cheers, y’all!