Elmo Box Cake

Jeri wanted a birthday cake for Gabby and said she loves Elmo... just Elmo, none of those other Sesame Street characters :) She knew she wanted something unique and colorful so this is what we came up with. I've always wanted to do a box cake and this was the perfect opportunity for that. I was just so lucky that Jeri was awesome to work with (again)! This box was 8 inches by 8 inches by 8 inches which doesn't sound that big but this cake turned out to be pretty huge. There were two tiers here (4-inches thick each), and only the top was real. The cake was a Snow White Cake (sweet vanilla cake with vanilla cream filling and buttercream) dyed to match the colors of the decor (red, green, and blue, I believe). I know Jeri loved it and I hope Gabby did too.

All of the decorations are made out of homemade marshmallow fondant, including the bow on top. If you care to try caking on your own and want to learn how to make a bow, read ahead, otherwise you can stop here :)

In order to make the bow, roll out thin strips of fondant about 1.25-1.5 inches wide and 5-7 inches long. Take a small rolling pin (I use clean PVC pipe) and wrap each strip around the pipe and adhere the edges with a small dab of water. Now let the ends that you just adhered hang down from the pipe and prop the pipe up so that they can hang that way over night. When they are dry the next day, take a 6-inch baking pan and place each of the pieces in, some on top of each other, until they form a nice bow. Using a paintbrush, dab a bit of water wherever the bows touch each other. Happy Caking!