It has been a little over a year since I made what I thought at the time was my first "show stopping" cake per my sister's request. The cake requests are definitely getting more creative and complex. However, I can't complain as I am definitely learning a lot along the way.
My cousin, a photography hobbyist, celebrated his birthday last week and as a gift to him, I made him a cake replica of his camera per his request. Having a lot of images to go by helps a lot. After looking at several images of the camera online, I realized it was similar to my own Nikon D60. So, I actually used that as a model and then piped on his camera model at the end.
This was my first time carving without a template; so scary! I started with a 2 layer 8-inch square red velvet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting which I cut in half and then proceeded to carve. After sending a quick picture of it to my boyfriend, he commented that it was too small. So, I added another layer to the top and to the side. I also changed the jutting top piece into a trapezoid from a square the second time around.
I used store bought fondant to cover the cake and it was a nightmare to work with that day. I couldn't get it as pliable as I wanted/needed and my first attempt ended with way too wrinkles. So, I ripped it all off and started over. That resulted in losing all my sharp edges but nothing cake spackle couldn't fix.
I realize I don't take any pictures of the lens in the making! It was made of store bought rice krispies treats I smashed together and covered in two layers of fondant to avoid the lumps and bumps. Pearl luster dust mixed with vodka gave the perfect illusion of a glare for the lens.
My two personal favorite details on the cake was sneaking my dog Patches onto the back screen and the personalized camera strap. I love the trim I was able to put onto the strap with my Wilton cutter/embosser wheel. I learned that I need to work on my piping skills; it took me five attempts to just pipe the words Nikon and D5000 onto the cake correctly!
