Wild Rumpus Marshmallow Fondant Cake

 

So I have this adorable friend, and her little boy is one of the cutest little ones I've ever seen (brightest blue eyes just like his Mom). Well, this little guy turned the big ONE last week, and I was asked to make his birthday cake. 

I was scared to death. I mean, I'll never ever forget how they had a Millennium Falcon shaped (and decorated, perfect replica) cake at their wedding. These guys were used to immaculate cakes, and I had attempted *gulp* 3 fondant cakes in my lifetime. However, I was so excited for this cake, and couldn't wait to get started.

 It's filled with red velvet cake and my almond infused cream cheese frosting. Normally, I would have just gone with the store-bought fondant (even though it tastes nasty, it saves brain cells trying to work with). But this time, homemade marshmallow fondant was in order. I love the taste of that stuff, but it is a beast to work with (it just takes a bit more patience, and I had only tried the recipe once before on my Mom's 50th Birthday cake. Yes, Mom. 50 years young!). It worked alright, and although everything didn't lay perfectly (watching Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes will destroy any perspective you may have on how 'easy' they make it look to prepare and cover a fondant cake), I was still happy with the results. I used a daisy cutter to make the leaves (just cut out the center of the daisy, and used the petals), and eyeballed the trees. Also, I know that the lettering is crooked - but I think it has a fun Where the Wild Things Are charm about it.

It wasn't perfect by any means, but I was satisfied and excited with the results. Then everything went to pot - about an hour before we delivered the cake to the Party location, it started drooping, melting, and tearing. I was devastated, and completely embarrassed. I'm so happy I was able to take these picture to prove that the cake looked somewhat decent at one point! It was a tragedy, and I teared up almost the entire drive to their beautiful (mansion, mind you) home. Here I was delivering a drooping cake - complete walk of shame. There was nothing I could do to save it. 

I still have no idea what happened. I made sure to carefully mind the temperature of the room, keep the cake away from moisture, and not use too much frosting on the crumb coat so the fondant wouldn't be mushy and sticky. Unfortunately, I still have no idea what happened :(. Ryan thinks it might have been the gravity of the trees? Anyway, here's the beast, and what I spent all of Thursday and half of Friday creating. I love the idea of having a Wild Rumpus first birthday party - such a darling concept, and I loved the cake (even if it had so much unplanned drama attached to it).