Bird and Tree themed Anniversary Cake

A few weeks back one of my friends’ asked for my help to make her anniversary cake. Her husband and she were going to celebrate 5 years of marital bliss and she wanted to surprise him with her first ever fondant cake. Having never worked with fondant before  she asked if I could help her out. She wanted the cake to reflect her marriage invitation, which she sent me a copy of. I drew a sketch based on the pics she sent me and sent it to her. She liked the design and a day before her anniversary we set to create the cake. She baked the cake herself, and I only did the masking, and covering of the cake with fondant and decorations.

The picture below shows the invitation card my friend had for her wedding (left) and the design I sketched out based on the card photo she sent (right). I do realize I have to work on my sketching skills, but it got the idea across to my friend nonetheless and thats what I wanted.

I decided to hand paint the trunk of the trees and the leaves I made from fondant, trying to keep the colors as close as possible to the ones in the invitation card.

For the birds, I used Evil Cake Genius’ poetry mesh stencils on fondant and cut the fondant out with a homemade bird stencil I made. Since my friend had calla lilies on her actual wedding day, I made five calla lilies to sit on the top of the cake – one each for the number of years they have been married.

For her cake flavor my friend chose this recipe and topped it with the swiss meringue buttercream recipe from the blog.

I had a few problems with my satin ice fondant cracking and later checked this forum on cakecentral.com about the same. People suggest to 1. knead the fondant  until it warms up and becomes elastic and 2. It is best to roll out the fondant on the thinnest layer of vegetable shortening smeared on the counter, rather than on a counter dusted with corn starch or powdered sugar.

Also this video on getting super sharp fondant edges is very helpful for all cake decorators.

Since I don’t have a recipe to share, I thought I will do this thing I saw on Facebook on one of my friends’ wall. The rules were simple that I could only answer in YES or NO. I cheated on one of the questions on the list. Actually two. I couldn’t help it.

Also, it stated that I am NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks! So, here are my answers, and hope you enjoy the cake pics!

Kissed any one of your facebook friends? —> Yes
Been arrested? —> No
Kissed someone you didn’t like? —> No
Slept in until 5 PM? —> No
Fallen asleep at work/school/college? —> Yes
Held a snake? —> No
Ran a red light? —> No
Been suspended from school? —> No
Totaled your car/motorbike in an accident? —> No
Been fired from a job? —> No
Sang karaoke? —> No
Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? —> Yes
Sang in the shower? —> Yes
Sat on a rooftop? —> Yes
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? —> No
Broken a bone? —> No
Shaved your head? —> No
Blacked out from drinking? —> No
Played a prank on someone? —> Yes
Felt like killing someone? —> Yes

Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? —> Not that I know of
Been in a band? —> No
Shot a gun? —> No
Donated Blood? —> Yes
Eaten alligator meat? —> no
Eaten cheesecake? —> Yes
Still love someone you shouldn’t? —> No
Think about the future? —> Yes
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? —> Yes
Swum in the ocean? —> Yes
Been kissed in the rain? —> No
Kissed and regretted? —> Yes
Believe in love at first sight? —> No
Almost drowned? —> Yes or no (kind of hazy on that)
Talked to animals? —> Yes!
Been to any of the seven wonders? —> Yes
Fallen in love with a fictional character? —> Yes
Sacrificed something for another? —> Yes
Stolen something as an act of revenge? —> No
Shared something painful with a stranger? —> No
Saved a life? —> No
Spent more than you should on a loved one? —> Yes
Wanted a do-over for your life? —> Yes