It's Competition Time!

 So I decided to take the next step in cake decorating and entered a decorating competition held by Cake Decor (a local cake store). I didn't think my style of cakes were the type to enter the wedding cakes or cupcake category so I went with wild and wacky; a perfect fit I think. My initial idea was under the sea themed, but somehow got diverted to a rock pool scene. And here is the finished article:

The finished cake

This has to be the one cake I actually love at the end of the creation process (unlike the others, which I want to throw out the window!). I do however wish I took more photos during the creation process but atlas, I only have the one:

I originally mixed rice krispies into my icing to try and create a pebble effect, but this just wasn't good enough so I started experimenting with different fondant idea. The simplest idea was the most effective! I just added a little food colouring to a ball of white or yellow fondant and mixed it in a little (not too much though). Several bowls of fondant later I started assembling them on the carved cake. I was really pleased with the result with the addition of a few shells and sea stars here and there. I used a shell tool to shape some of the pebbles as well.

A boning tool was used to add definition to the sea star

An octopus was probably a bad choice for a cake mainly due to the eight leg scenario. I left the assembly of the legs to the day before the competition and there were a few fatalities. But I prepared spares and had to cut back on the length of a few of them.

 

 The next problem I had to resolve was how to transport this incredibly heavy cake to the venue and then up two flights of stairs (whose idea was that!?). So, after a resourceful evening of brainstorming we set off with my cake in a bread basket, spare legs and any tools I might need for some touch ups. I got there quite early and was scared to assemble my cake with my cake neighbours watching me. 

The day itself was a great success. There were some impressive cakes and excellent demonstrations and we all eagerly awaited the results. I had entered the beginners category and there was some tough competition so I wasn't expecting much. In the end I got a gold award level and was the runner up in my category. Great success!

The judges comments included: very colourful, love the angry octopus

A selection of some of my winning!