Growing up, I used to love watching the princess stories by Disney, my favourite being Belle of Beauty and the Beast. I guess it was because she was portrayed as someone kind, gentle, loving and always looking for the good things in others...
My little one loves Cinderella and it was her love for this princess that gave me the idea to make something special for her birthday. I'd always been fascinated by cake decorating, from the time I was given a book on such at the tender age of 8. It was a simple book with simple cake decorating ideas. Alas, due to lack of encouragement and being lazy, I did not try my hand at it.
So, it was with much courage (and possibly a tinge of over-ambitiousness) that I decided to make a 3D Cinderella doll cake for little one's birthday. Having baked only 2 cakes in my entire life and zero cake decorating experience, I scoured the net looking for cake ideas. And I was rewarded by the page 'Coolest Cinderella Cakes'.
I decided that using fondant seemed the best way to do it as it had a nicer finished look. However, after reading all the comments found on the net, marshmallow fondant seemed the best choice. Peggy Weaver has a very good recipe on What's Cooking America with detailed explanations on how to make it. I highly recommend her recipe to anyone looking to make their own fondant. [Point to note though, I did not use the entire 2 pounds of icing sugar recommended. Being in a country with high humidity and hot all year round, too much sugar would make the fondant dry and tear easily.] You'll also need to check out the Buttercream Icing recipe on the same site as the icing is the 'glue' that holds the fondant to the cake.
Anyway, long story short, after a month of looking for ingredients, baking and fondant making trials, the day of reckoning arrived. And the finished product? See below....
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| the Cinderella Doll Cake |
It was difficult because I couldn't find the mould that would give me the shape of the top part of the skirt and tried using a mixing bowl to bake the cake in. The result was not good as the middle part of the cake was not cooked. So, as a last resort, I baked two 8" x 3" cakes, stacked them up and carved them to get the shape.
All in all, it was a difficult process but the result was a really satisfying end to the hard work put in. And the delight in the little one's face was the best gift I could have received. Truly, the Lord's promise that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength is real and meaningful to me. Praise be to His name!
