Father's Day Contruction Cake!

Ok so my original idea was to make a cake for my hubby, who works for a home builder, and a cake for my dad who just got a new job. Well it turns out that a. my sister-in-law is making a father's day cake for when my dad visits them the day before he comes here, b. I really don't need to be eating cake left overs for 3 weeks, and c. I really don't need that much cake!

I may still end up making a small cake for my dad, but I'll figure that out tomorrow, after we dig into the construction cake.

Anyways, so I promised to show how to make just about anything out of cake (and fondant). This is a pretty simple cake. It only takes about 3 hrs to complete start to finish. The fun thing about this cake is the decorating!

Let's get started.

(Ingredient list at the bottom)

Mix your cake mix, as directed, and add an extra egg. (I also add a touch of vanilla to make the taste really pop)

 

She's my little helper ;) (This is a great way to let the kids make something special for dad!)

 

 

Coat cake pan, use rectangle, with PAM spray. I like the butter flavored kind, but any kind is fine. Once the pan is fully coated, pour in your batter and bake as directed.

 

 

For all her hard work, my little helper got to lick the wisk. :)

 

 

While the cake is baking, you can start making your fondant. I use a marshmello fondant recipe given to me by a friend. It's easy to make and tastes better than real fondant. The tricky part is kneading it enough to get the right consistency.

 

Get your supplies out.

Heat the marshmellos and 2 tblspn water in the microwave, in a microwave safe dish, 30 seconds at a time, mixing between each cycle, until melted.

*****This part gets hot and sticky----- Use caution and remove all jewelry*****

Grease your countertop with crisco... lots and lots of crisco.

Next, pour your marshmellos onto the greased countertop. You will want to grease your hands well. (be sure to coat your entire hand because this part gets really sticky)

Add powdered sugar a spoonful at a time, kneading the mixture as you would bread. You want your fondant to be maliable enough without breaking. You want to be able to work with it without it sticking to everything, but still moldable. (hint... this is the tricky part)

I don't have a picture of the fondant as I mixed it, and you'll see why. It's SUPER sticky!

Once your fondant is made, set it aside.

Your cake should be ready by now. Take it out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

 

 

Once the cake is cool enough to touch, take a knife, or cake leveler, and level your cake. (cut off the top part the poofs above everything else)

 

 

After the cake is nice and leveled, let the cake cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled, Place on piece on your serving platter/plate/surface.

 

 

Coat the bottom layer with icing, then place the top piece ontop. Coat the entire cake with a thin layer of icing. Place the cake in the fridge. This will harden the icing so that you  can easily put the fondant on top.

 

 

While the icing is hardening, get your fondant back out and make your shapes. I chose to go with a tool belt, a hammer, plyers, a pencil, a box cutter and a tape measurer for this cake. One batch is enough for the accessories and you will need  a seperate batch for the actual covering of the cake. The fondant for the cake covering you can go ahead an color the marshmellos before adding the sugar.

 

 

Now get your paint brush out, a clean one that is food safe, and your food coloring.  Go ahead an go nuts. Be creative and paint!

 

 

Once you are done painting, place the shapes in the fridge to solidify a little.

If you haven't made your fondant to cover the cake, now is the time to do it! Once it's made, take out your cake. Roll out your fondant until it's about 1/8" thick. roll it and the place it on your cake. The easiet way to transfer is to roll the fondant so it doesn't stretch, then when you put in on the cake you just unroll it!

Once youre cake is covered, cut off the excess fondant around the edges with a sharp knife. Now place your shapes on top and decorate more if needed.
Presto!!

 

 

Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

2 packages of 16 oz. marshmellos

2 packages of 16 oz. confectioners sugar

2 tblspn Water

2 cake mixes

1 can of icing

food coloring of your choice

Crisco

 

Mix and bake cakes according to instructions, adding and extra egg per batch and a touch of vanilla.

Let cool and level.

Coat on layer with icing, place other layer ontop. cover with icing. Refrigerate.

 

Melt marshmellos and water in microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing between interavls, until melted. Grease countertop with crisco. Also grease your hands very well. Pour marshmellos on greased countertop. knead in powdered sugar spoonfuls at a time until desired consistency is reached. You want your fondant maliable but wont break or tear when stretched.

 

Decorate cake as desired.

 



Tune in tomorrow to see if I decide to make another cake for Sunday!