From Hat Boxes to Wedding Cake

Being the creative individual I am, there are times I think I can do anything; even making a wedding cake... though I can hardly make a birthday cake... Let the experiment commence!
I decided if I was going to make a wedding cake that I better get busy with my trial and error phase. I kept reflecting back on my daughter's cupcake-tiara fiasco (the poor thing looked like something from a Dr. Seuss nightmare and toppled over upon completion of the Happy Birthday song) but I knew I could do it. It's just a cake. Right?
So after researching on the net a bit I decided to try out marshmallow fondant. It seemed easier than homemaking regular fondant and so it was a natural choice. The resulting concoction was white and powdery and so unworkable that it just kept breaking or getting massive holes when I tried to roll it out. It was apparent I'd need to work with small pieces of it- sort of a patchwork quilt of fondant over the cake. So I found some cute little heart cookie cutters and it was the answer to my coverage problems... sort of.



But I could see the vision of it- I only needed some practice, and this would work out beautifully!


Did I mention this little 8x8 cake weighed, like, 20 pounds?! Magnifique! (Or not so much!)

So it was back to the drawing board, or more accurately, the internet, where I found some great ideas for cake stands. And it occurred to me: If I could make the cake stand the focal point, it wouldn't matter how plain the actual cake was. I headed off to the craft store for more inspiration, where I found them- round stackable hat boxes- and I knew that a great wedding cake would be found within. As I headed home with my find I wondered how I would turn these ordinary paper mach'e hat boxes into a cake. Should I paint them, cover them in fabric, and then set cute cupcakes down inside?

Why not cover the boxes in fondant? Make them as close to a real cake as possible, without using real cake! It was genius. And mad.

My dear friend and neighbor heard of my exploitations and wanted to help. Then her sweet mother, who is crafty and creative, (and has decorated real cakes before) also wanted to help. So she came down 3 hours from her home, to help with this half-hitched idea of mine. She must have thought I was nuts when I told her how I thought we'd make this whole thing work! And so we started, rolling out our fresh white (store-bought) fondant and adding yellow food color to it, to get a slightly creamy looking color.



All was going great until we got to the bottom box- the BIG one! Now we were rolling out a circle of fondant meant to cover a round box, probably 2 feet across with sides 5 or 6 inches high. Once we got the massive sheet of fondant on top and centered, the sides started breaking off under its own weight. We rolled out, probably 3 times before we decided to ditch that idea. Then one of us came up with the brilliant thought of using just the biggest boxes lid. with only 2 inches of side to cover, it was a success.

We pressed out fondant polka dots and attached them and the ribbon to our "cake" and it was finally starting to come together.



The morning of the wedding came and as I started to prepare my masterpiece for transport, I notice that the polka dots on the back half are missing in action. Both my girls are completely baffled as to how that could have happened, Good thing we punched out extras! And we are off...



Bottom layer = extra large hat box lid; short wide vase filled with ribbon and river rock placed right in the middle with cupcakes all around; Next layer gently and squarely placed on the vase. The medium hat box with a homemade belt buckle (chipboard painted with metallic paint) baring the bride and groom's initials, also gets a short wide vase placed in the middle of it with cupcakes all around. The top layer and wooden horseshoes painted to match the buckle make this western-themed cake complete.

My opus is finished! And I will never do a wedding cake again... but at least I know I can... Sort of.