My son wanted a car for his 16th birthday. He also wanted a guitar. I was cheap so he got the guitar. He also got a matching cake to go with it. This cake is modeled after the Kona KES1 Series Double Cutaway Red Electric Guitar. Of course, you can make any kind of guitar cake you want, but the instructions are written for this cake - exactly as you see it pictured here.
I’ve been making birthday cakes for my family for years. I search online for inspiration, tips, and (because I can be quite lazy at times) shortcuts are always welcome. I am definitely an amateur but I enjoy decorating cakes and want to show people that they too can make beautiful cakes with just a few materials and some patience.
This was my first time creating a cake with fondant. I had previously avoided fondant like the plague but I knew this cake would look so much better with fondant.
To avoid the bland, undesirable taste of store-bought fondant, I decided to try making marshmallow fondant. I could make it fairly quickly and flavor it as I wished. I used a great recipe that can be found at What's Cooking America. It turned out beautifully and I have been using the same recipe ever since.
This cake looks big - especially stretched across a board 2 feet long, but it is made from a modest 9" x 13" cake so you can bake the cake right at home and shouldn't have to worry about too many leftovers.
I’ve been making birthday cakes for my family for years. I search online for inspiration, tips, and (because I can be quite lazy at times) shortcuts are always welcome. I am definitely an amateur but I enjoy decorating cakes and want to show people that they too can make beautiful cakes with just a few materials and some patience.
This was my first time creating a cake with fondant. I had previously avoided fondant like the plague but I knew this cake would look so much better with fondant.
To avoid the bland, undesirable taste of store-bought fondant, I decided to try making marshmallow fondant. I could make it fairly quickly and flavor it as I wished. I used a great recipe that can be found at What's Cooking America. It turned out beautifully and I have been using the same recipe ever since.
This cake looks big - especially stretched across a board 2 feet long, but it is made from a modest 9" x 13" cake so you can bake the cake right at home and shouldn't have to worry about too many leftovers.
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials and Template
To make this cake, I first had to create the template. I traced a guitar. It took 4 sheets of 8x11 paper. I scanned the tracings, put them together and shrunk the body of the guitar to fit on one 8x11 sheet of paper.
I also traced the head of the guitar and shrunk it down to be (somewhat) proportional to the base. Both the head and the body templates I used are attached below. You'll need to print them both and cut them out before placing them on your cake and carving.
Materials:
1 baked and cooled 9x13 cake
Guitar template (you can get it below)
Small Knife
Pizza Cutter (optional)
Dental Floss (optional)
1 container icing (any flavor) – I used vanilla just in case some icing just in case I had any icing to show through the fondant on the finished cake. It didn’t.
Spatula – for icing the cake
1 full batch of marshmallow fondant – (recipe from What's Cooking America) I did not color the fondant but I did flavor it with almond flavoring. You could use purchased fondant instead of making it. I would guess you would need to buy a couple pounds to be on the safe side – It can be white. The cake is painted later.
Rolling Pin
Cornstarch
Large Cake Board - the one you see pictured is a 14" x 21" silver colored cardboard cake board that usually costs under $3 at a party store or craft store. *
Red food coloring gel - I used Wilton’s no-taste red gel
Black food coloring gel
Almond or clear vanilla flavoring - don’t use regular vanilla unless you are making a brown or black guitar. The brown in the vanilla will discolor your colors
Wilton Silver "Pearl Dust"
Wilton Gold "Pearl Dust" (optional) - just a small amount of this was used to paint text on the headstock of the guitar
3 Small Paint Brushes (or you could just use the same one over and over)
3 Small Bowls – for mixing your “paint”
Silver Dragees - these little silver balls can be really hard to find nowdays. It might be best to get them somewhere online.
Metallic Silver Embroidery Floss - this is for the "strings". I tried wire. It didn't work.
Toothpicks - lots
*If you don't want to buy a large cake board, you could cover a large sheet of wrapping paper (front and back) with clear contact paper. It's washable and easily rolled up for storing. AND you can match it to any birthday party. If you ever need to move your cake while using this method, slide a large flat baking sheet under the paper and lift your cake.
I also traced the head of the guitar and shrunk it down to be (somewhat) proportional to the base. Both the head and the body templates I used are attached below. You'll need to print them both and cut them out before placing them on your cake and carving.
Materials:
1 baked and cooled 9x13 cake
Guitar template (you can get it below)
Small Knife
Pizza Cutter (optional)
Dental Floss (optional)
1 container icing (any flavor) – I used vanilla just in case some icing just in case I had any icing to show through the fondant on the finished cake. It didn’t.
Spatula – for icing the cake
1 full batch of marshmallow fondant – (recipe from What's Cooking America) I did not color the fondant but I did flavor it with almond flavoring. You could use purchased fondant instead of making it. I would guess you would need to buy a couple pounds to be on the safe side – It can be white. The cake is painted later.
Rolling Pin
Cornstarch
Large Cake Board - the one you see pictured is a 14" x 21" silver colored cardboard cake board that usually costs under $3 at a party store or craft store. *
Red food coloring gel - I used Wilton’s no-taste red gel
Black food coloring gel
Almond or clear vanilla flavoring - don’t use regular vanilla unless you are making a brown or black guitar. The brown in the vanilla will discolor your colors
Wilton Silver "Pearl Dust"
Wilton Gold "Pearl Dust" (optional) - just a small amount of this was used to paint text on the headstock of the guitar
3 Small Paint Brushes (or you could just use the same one over and over)
3 Small Bowls – for mixing your “paint”
Silver Dragees - these little silver balls can be really hard to find nowdays. It might be best to get them somewhere online.
Metallic Silver Embroidery Floss - this is for the "strings". I tried wire. It didn't work.
Toothpicks - lots
*If you don't want to buy a large cake board, you could cover a large sheet of wrapping paper (front and back) with clear contact paper. It's washable and easily rolled up for storing. AND you can match it to any birthday party. If you ever need to move your cake while using this method, slide a large flat baking sheet under the paper and lift your cake.
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I used Wilton Pearl Dust to paint it along with all the other metallic looking parts. You need to add quite a bit of the pearl dust to just a few drops of water/alcohol/extract but a little goes a long way. If the mixture is too thin, the metallic color won't show.
I've also tried using the Pearl Dust dry but it was VERY faint. You couldn't even tell any had been applied. I opt to paint it on every time.
And...I have used MMF for years now. I Love it for decorations, but I cant stand it when having to cover a cake. I go to roll it out and it always seems to be "too" elastic, if that makes sense. Just when I think I have the right size, its like it retracts a bit. It seems to be more like modeling clay then fondant. Plus I have found, also that if I dont sift my powdered sugar, I tend to have little sugar balls everywhere. So not pretty. What am I doing wrong? Please help me. Totally frustrated! And i just figured I would ask an expert ;)
The gel colors will be fine for painting (that's what I use - concentrated gel). I just prefer to paint on colors because I get a brighter color and I can be sure I have enough fondant to cover everything. I'm so cheap, I don't want to make too much of one color and not enough of another.
I wouldn't want to damage the decoration with candles either, much less eat it. :)
You got my vote + 5 star rating !