Introduction: STEAMPUNK STYLE FONDANT CAKE
STEAMPUNK STYLE FONDANT CAKE
Made by Denae and Yong Tak (9/15/2011 – 9/30/2011)
This Steampunk cake my husband and I decided to make for the Instructables Food Challenge was designed by the both of us. We did our best to explain every detail so all the beginners would have a chance at making this cake well.
Playing with gumpaste or fondant is like playing with play-doh or clay. You can just about create anything that your mind will imagine. You can create a table center piece or a cake topper that will last for years as long as you keep them dry, at room temp, and out of sunlight while being stored.
The nice thing about this cake is if you get bubbles or scratches in your fondant it will be fine because there are tricks of the trade to cover up these types of mistakes.
It took us roughly 24 hours total to create this work of art. In some cases, if your work week is too busy, one can just work on all the detailed pieces on the first weekend then work on cake decorating on the second weekend. All the detailed items you made on the first weekend will have a full week to dry before you use it on the cake. If you have all the time you need, make sure that all the detailed pieces are thoroughly dry before you place them on the cake.
Before you begin, be sure you have all the Tools, Supplies, and Ingredients needed for this cake.
Well, enjoy playing with the food and enjoy the taste of your creation! It’s also a great piece of food art to take to any party for others to enjoy!
TOOLS
12" Square Cake Pan
Large & Small Nonstick Rolling Pin – if you don’t have a small one use just the large rolling pin.
Fondant Smoother or Hands - problem using your hands is you will not get a square, flat top and sides.
Bent-Palette Spatula – to spread the buttercream or icing onto the cake.
Pin or Needle - to pop bubbles in the fondant or gumpaste.
Scissors – to cut cardboard, parchment paper and tape.
Four Small Bowls – to hold the petal dust colors while dusting the cake.
Hand Mixer and Mixing Bowl - needed if you plan to make the buttercream yourself.
Ruler - to measure fondant or gumpaste pieces.
Short Cans - All same size to prop up cake
Cookie & Clay Cutters - Different sizes and shapes.
NEW and CLEAN Paint Brushes - Different Sizes.
Sharp Knives, Large & Small – to cut fondant and gumpaste.
Serrated Cake Knife – to trim the tops off the cakes and sides evenly.
Pizza Cutter - don’t have one? just use a large or small knife in place of pizza cutter.
Cake Turn Table and Cooling Rack - convenient but optional.
SUPPLIES
(Wilton) Bake Easy Spray – to release the cakes easily or you can use a Crisco lined pan with a light coat of white flour.
Gel Colors - Copper, Brown, Black, and Red unless you buy the pre-colored Black and Red Fondant.
Petal Dust – Royal Purple, Royal Blue, Charcoal Black, and Poppy Red.
Luster Dust - Copper.
Liquid Glaze Paints – Gold and Silver.
Tiny Amount of Vodka - to make the paint for the pressure gauge face.
Cardboard - to make the base of the cake and also the cake board if not making the wooden board look.
Packaging Tape - to tape the foil onto cardboard.
Cling Wrap - to wrap up fondant and gumpaste so it does not dry out.
Gallon Baggies - to store the wrapped fondant and gumpaste in.
Foil - for the base of the cake and also needed if you make a plain foil cake board.
Parchment Paper - to draw templates and dry fondant and gumpaste pieces.
Toothpicks – to mix in gel colors into the fondant or gumpaste.
Small Glass of Water – to glue fondant or gumpaste pieces or attach detailed pieces onto the cake.
White Paper Towels - mess clean up.
IF MAKING THE WOODEN CAKE BOARD, YOU WILL NEED THE SUPPLIES BELOW
Black Ribbon, One Roll - used as trim. Width should be a bit smaller than the edge of the board.
Wooden Board - used as a cake board. 18” x 18” x ¾” square, smooth wooden board.
Smoothed Stick or Chopstick - used to add the wooden lines into the fondant board.
INGREDIENTS
TIP: If you decide to shop at Jo-Ann Fabrics for ingredients or tools, it’s a good idea to sign up on their website to receive emailed coupons every week that are usually 40% off one full priced item. This is great for cake makers because it’s rare that the cake aisle has anything on sale, so the coupons are heaven sent.
Powdered Mixture - the stuff you will use every time to help your Fondant and Gumpaste not to stick to the countertop and hands while kneading and rolling. Powdered Mixture is made by mixing a 1:1 amount of White Powered Sugar and Cornstarch together in a bowl. A shaker is the best to use for storing the powdered mixture. Don’t have a shaker? You can also use a new, clean nylon stocking, fill the foot area with powdered mixture, and tie off the open end. You can also use your hands and try to sprinkle some powdered mixture around the counter top. Any of these techniques work but the shaker works best in my opinion.
Cake Mix - (Duncan Hines, Pillsbury, etc.) get four cake boxes of your choice plus the ingredients required by the manufacturer.
Buttercream - you can make this from scratch or purchase buttercream at Jo-Ann Fabric’s cake aisle or at a local cake store. Making your own buttercream? Internet Search “Buttercream Recipes” and a ton of free recipes will result. Choose the one you like best. You will need about two full batches of buttercream or about six pounds of it. If you decide to use a different filling then you can reduce the buttercream amount.
Rolled Fondant - 3 pounds of Red fondant will be for the main skin of the cake. I bought the pre-made red fondant because it takes too much red gel and time to knead the red color into the white fondant, but if you decide to make your own marshmallow fondant, it tastes better than store bought. You will have a better chance at finding a tub of red fondant at your local cake store. Jo-Ann Fabrics has a variety of colored fondant but they may not have the amount of red fondant needed. It’s best to go to a local cake store near you for most ingredients if you only want to stop at one store for this project.
2 pounds of light brown fondant and a hand full of black fondant will be needed if you decide to make the wooden cake board.
Gumpaste - need about two pounds of white and a hand full of black gumpaste for this cake. Gumpaste drys very fast but it is formable just like fondant. There are recipes online if you’d like to make it from scratch. Easy way to make gumpaste is to add Tylose Powder fondant into gumpaste. Tylose Powder can be found at a local cake shop.
Adding Tylose Powder to the Fondant to make Gumpaste: sprinkle the countertop work area with the powered mixture so the gumpaste does not stick. Take a handful of fondant, and make sure you knead it well so it is pliable and workable. Sprinkle in a Teaspoon of Tylose Powder into the fondant and keep kneading until it’s all smooth. The fondant will need to sit for one to two hours before it becomes workable gumpaste. It can be kept in the fridge or out on the countertop if you will be ready to use it soon after. Don’t forget to wrap it in shrink wrap and then put it in a sealable bag to prevent air from drying it out.
INSTRUCTIONS
MAKING ALL THE DETAILED PIECES
COGS & GEARS
LARGE COG
Roll out light brown gumpaste and cut out a large circle with a round cutter or glass. For the teeth take the mini size oval cutter and systematically cut out half oval cuts symetrically around the outside of the large circle. Make one cut then move to the opposite side of the circle and make the 2nd cut as to make it look symmetrical. Make the 3rd and 4th cuts, so if one were to connect imaginary lines across, it would be a plus sign.
You will be making 2 centered, very light impressions with different circle cutters to make yourself a guide to the center making it look like a circle, within a circle. Select a smaller circle cutter than the cog size, lightly press to make a guide where you will be cutting out gaps, then the center small circle for the “axle” of the cog. Cut three circles in-between the light impression circles where the gaps will be cut out like spokes on a bicycle. Take the mini teardrop cutter and use the point end to make the spoke edges sharp. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
For the coloring, take the Copper Luster Dust and brush a coat all over the top and sides with a small, flat, clean paint brush. Set on parchment paper to dry until you are ready to use.
MEDIUM COG
Use the same directions as the large cog for making the teeth but on a slightly smaller scale.
To make the “axle” of the cog, lightly press into the gumpaste with one of your smaller circle cutter in the middle of the cog.
Take a slightly larger circle cutter and cut out four circles evenly spaced. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
Paint it with the silver glaze and let it dry on parchment paper. This make take a few coats but let them completely dry before you paint on additional coats.
SMALL COG DESIGN A
Roll out light brown gumpaste and cut out a circle with a round cutter. Take the star shaped mini cutter and cut little triangular teeth all the way around the outside edge.
Making the center impression, lightly press into the gumpaste for the “axle” with a circle cutter in the middle of the cog.
Using the football shaped mini cutter, cut three holes evenly spaced around the cog’s “bicycle spoke” area. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
Dust with the Copper Luster Dust and dry on parchment paper.
SMALL COG DESIGN B
Use the same directions for the outside teeth as shown in the directions for the Small Cog Design A.
Take a small circle cutter and cut out three circle shapes around the cog’s “bicycle spoke” area. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
Paint with the silver glaze and let it dry on parchment paper. This make take a few coats but let them completely dry before you paint on additional coats.
TIP 1: If you do not have any of the shaped cutters mentioned in this “Instructable” you can cut any of these cogs by hand, but it will take a lot longer and they may not come out as nice but it is feasible.
TIP 2: If you don’t have large circle cutters for the outside edges of the cog, you may follow my directions in reverse for cog-making by starting from the center “axle” outward until you get to the outside edge. At this point you can use a knife to cut your outside edge.
TIP 3: Be warned, the silver and gold glaze tends to cause the cogs to curl up a bit during drying.
PIPES
COPPER PIPE BORDER
Take the 12” square cake pan and set it open side up on top of parchment paper as a guide for the outer pipes. Hand roll copper colored gumpaste into ½” diameter tubes and then follow the design in the picture to figure out where each pipe ends are separated. Dust each piece with the Copper Luster Dust and let the gumpaste dry on the parchment paper.
COPPER L SHAPED PIPES
TIP: You can not complete this step until the Copper Pipe Borders are dry enough, therefore, allowing use of the pan for the next step.
Place the cake pan open side down. Use copper color gumpaste and hand roll a long tube pipe the same diameter as the Copper Pipe Border. Bend an L shape corner on a short side and hang the short end off the edge of the cake pan. It should be about 3 "es long on the top of the cake pan and about 1 " bent on the side. Dust all the pieces with Copper Luster Dust and let dry on the cake pan over night.
CLOCK PARTS
CLOCK HANDS
Roll out a long flat strip of black gumpaste. Have a quick sketch ready so you can see how big and long to cut each hand. Take a small circle cutter and slightly imprint a light circle into the gumpaste for a guide so you know where the connection piece will be. Trim off little pieces of the outside until you shape out the clock hands. To help soften the edges just use the knife and press in the sides to mold the gumpaste the way you need it to look. The gumpaste will dry hard and fast unlike fondant, but it is needed so the hands stay stiff because they will be floating in mid air. Keep them on parchment paper to dry until you are ready to place them on the cake.
ROMAN NUMERALS
This is a nice time to use a pizza cutter if you have one. If not a sharp knife will work just fine. Roll out a long line of black fondant and make thin strips all the same thickness to the best of your ability. Cut the strips into 1 " lengths. Make about four to five extra strips in case you do not like the thickness on some or shapes on others. This should make the total about 20 strips total.
To make the “V” Numeral, cut one left side bottom corner to fit along the side on another strip. Attach with a tiny drop of water. Let dry on parchment paper.
To make the “X” Numeral, use one full line from left top to bottom right. Cut another two strips to fit on the other sides and attach with a tiny drop of water. Let dry on parchment paper.
The 1 " strips will be used for the Roman Numeral “I”. Let dry on parchment paper.
You will need (1) “X”, (2) “V”, and (7) “I” Roman Numerals to make the clock numbers.
CLOCK HAND GOLDEN BASE
Roll some white gumpaste and cut out a circle double the size of the circles from the clock hands. Cut out six really small circles with a cone tip and use these as the rivets for the Golden Base. If you do not have a circle cone tip, hand roll six small balls and flatten them with your finger tip.
Attach them evenly around the outside of the circle with a tiny bit of water.
Paint the circle with the gold glaze paint and let dry on parchment paper.
TINY RIVETS FOR METAL STRIPS
Roll dark copper gumpaste into a strip and cut out tiny circles from a piping tip. Poke them out of the tip with a toothpick if needed. Cut them in half if the piping tip is too big to make the rivets. In your palm roll them into tiny ball shapes. Press the top down a bit to flatton the top. Make about 30 tiny rivets and set aside on parchment paper to dry.
TIP: If you do not have a piping tip, just break of tiny bits of the gumpaste all about the same size and finish the steps from rolling them in your palm.
OVERLAY PIECES TO HIDE PART OF THE INLAID COGS
OVERLAY BOOMERANG SHAPE
Hand cut a boomerang shape with parchment paper first for a guide to see if it will work with the size of covering the edge of the inlaid cogs. When you have the design ready, roll white gumpaste and hand cut the boomerang shape while using the parchment paper guide. Smooth the edges with your fingers and set on parchment paper.
Make two white, domed-shaped circles that look like rivets. Attach one on each end of the boomerang shape with a little bit of water.
Paint the whole thing with gold glaze and let dry on parchment paper overnight.
This has to be completely dry before you try to attach it to the cake or it will sag and will wrinkle the gold glaze.
OVERLAY SHARP CORNERED SHAPE
Hand cut a sharp cornered shape as shown in the picture with the parchment paper first, to use as a guide. Roll some light copper gumpaste and hand cut the sharp cornered shape while using the parchment paper guide. Smooth the edges with your fingers but remember to keep the edges sharp, then set on parchment paper.
Make three same light copper, dome-shaped circles to use as rivets. Attach them with a little bit of water in the three main corners of the sharp cornered shape.
Dust the whole shape with Copper Luster Dust and set aside to completely dry on parchment paper until you are ready to attach it to the cake.
PRESSURE GAUGE
Take black gumpaste and mold it into a one " thick disk. Then take a round cutter and remove the edges. While the gumpaste is still in the cutter, take your fingers and press the top sides into the edge of the cutter to help sharpen the top edges.
Roll out a thin, flat layer of white gumpaste and cut out a circle slightly smaller in diameter than the black disk. Attach the white circle in the middle of the black disk for the face of the pressure gauge.
Take some white gumpaste and cut out a thick square with a square cutter or just cut it with a knife. This will be the gold connector piece for the copper pipe that will be attached later. Paint the white square with the gold glaze paint and set aside for later.
To make the gauge needle just cut out a small, long, narrow triangle that is small enough to fit inside the white circle that was cut earlier. For the needle’s swivel point, roll a small black gumpaste disk circle and stick a smaller white or light copper gumpaste circle inside the black circle. Press the bottom of the black circle into the middle of the needle but just a little bit closer to the wider end of the triangle. Paint the center dot with the gold paint. Set aside to dry for now.
Put charcoal black petal dust in a small dish and add a tiny bit of vodka to it. Mix it up with a super tiny paintbrush and paint on the lines, numbers, and PSi on the white top circle of the pressure gauge. Attach the center of the needle to the center of the pressure gauge and let dry.
Make the copper pipe after the cake is ready to decorate to see how much room you have left.
MAKING THE CAKE BASE
TIP: If you cannot get an 18” x 18” x ¾” square board then the other way of making a cake board is to cut out two pieces of cardboard 18” x 18” and tape the two together. Keep in mind that laying fondant on top of cardboard to make the wood grain does not work very well so if you are going to use cardboard just cover it with foil and skip the wood grain section.
To make the fondant a reddish brown color just add some red and brown fondant together and knead it until it is completely blended. You will use mostly brown and a little red fondant to make the mix right. Make sure you have enough fondant to cover the 18” x 18” board. It can be a thin layer but not too thin because you will be carving little wood grain lines into it.
Before you roll the reddish brown color fondant you need to add black strips to the fondant. Make a large thick tube of the reddish-brown fondant and lay in thin black strips of fondant all over the tube. Fold and twist the fondant tube like a candy cane and knead it only a little bit. Roll it into a tube shape again and fold and twist like a candy cane again until it looks the way you like it. Do not over-knead it, otherwise it will completely blend together and you will not get the black marbling that you need. When you see a good amount of black stripes intertwined, just roll out the fondant as big as the 18” x 18” size board as you can on the counter top. Make sure you have plenty of the powder mixture under the fondant that is being rolled. If you miss this step, the fondant will stick to the counter.
After the fondant is all rolled and looks like it should fit the board then take your powered hands and gently pick up the fondant and lay it over the board. Use your fingers to help form and stick the fondant to the board. Fold the edges over the sides of the board and make sure all the edges are completely covered. The ribbon will stick better to a fondant covered edge than just a wooden edge. If you have a Fondant Smoother, now is a great time to use it for the sides. Press gently on all four sides to make them flat. Trim off all excess fondant and discard.
Do not let the fondant dry before you press in the wood grain lines. If you have a smooth thin plastic tool to use to press in the wooden lines than great! Otherwise use a rounded chopstick to press in the wooden lines. Press gently into the fondant in the middle of the board to test it out first. The middle will be covered with the cake so all your mistakes should be done in the middle of the board. Make wavy lines like the look of wood grain and make a few knots if you would like.
To gloss the wood just apply a layer of water on all areas that will not be covered by the cake with a flat clean paintbrush. This is not needed and it is fine if you skip this part.
To finish up the edges you will need to take black ribbon and wrap it around the edges. But for it to stick to the fondant sides you will need to use a little bit of water to attach it to the sides. I joined my edges in the middle of one side because if you join it at a corner it never seems to stay flat unless you overlap it.
Let dry in a safe area until you are ready to use it.
BAKING THE CAKE
Follow the instruction in the cake recipe or on the back of the cake box to make the batter. Line the 12” cake pan with the (Wilton) Bake Easy Spray or Crisco/Flour, and then add the batter just a little under ¾’s full. Each 12" cake will use 2 boxes of cake batter for a total of 4 cake boxes.
Bake the cakes at 10 degrees less than what the directions say to help slow the rising of the cakes.
If you only have the one cake pan like I do then you will have to let the first one cool down enough to handle and remove. Once the first cake is cooled enough to remove from the cake pan, immediately clean the pan and reline it with the Easy Bake Spray or Crisco/Flour. Pour in the other batch of cake mix like before. When the second cake is in the oven, wrap the cooling cake in cling wrap to keep it moist even when the cake is still warm to the touch but not hot.
Repeat with the second cake for the cooling instructions until you have two 12" cakes cooling in cling wrap. If you have a cooling rack use it for the cooling part in the directions above, otherwise the counter will work fine.
FOIL COVERED CARDBOARD BASE FOR THE CAKE BOTTOM
Before you start to cut and stack the cake you will need to prep a piece of cardboard a little bit bigger than the size of the bottom of the cooled cake. Cut a square shaped piece of cardboard with rounded corners and cover it with foil. Tape the bottom of the foiled board to hold the foil. You need to make this because you will be propping up the cake on some cans while placing a layer of buttercream or icing on the cake. It also allows you to fold the fondant under the cake to make a nice bottom edge.
Set aside until the buttercream or icing step.
CUTTING THE CAKE TOPS
TIP: Before you start cutting the cake tops make sure you have all the buttercream or icing ready. This means you should let it warm up to room temperature if you had it in the fridge overnight. It needs to be spreadable right after trimming the cake so the cake does not dry out.
After both cakes are cooled, take a serrated cake or bread knife and cut off both of the tops until they are even and flat. Eat the cake top scraps or discard them.
APPLYING THE BUTTERCREAM OR ICING
TIP: Beware when you transfer the cake because it may break or crack if the cake is too soft. If you bake a thicker cake it should be fine but don’t worry if the cake breaks or cracks because the buttercream or icing will act like glue and keep it together.
Take that bottom foil covered base and set one of the cake bottoms on the good foil side so the top cut part of the cake is facing up. Apply a layer of buttercream, icing, or filling and smooth it with an angled or straight palette spatula until even. Make sure the filling is all the way out to each side edges of the cake.
Take the other cake and place the cut-side down, on top of the buttercream, icing or filling layer so the nice flat bottom is now the top side.
Trim off anything that does not look straight or flat. Sometimes trimming the top is also needed and I had to do it for this Instructable cake.
CUT OUT THE TRIANGLE SHAPE ON THE CAKE’S TOP
Cut out a pattern from parchment paper close to the triangle shape in the picture. It does not have to be exact because you can always trim the cogs to fit into the triangular hole later if needed.
Lay the triangle pattern 1" from the outer edge of a corner side of the cake.
Take a sharp knife and cut a line tracing around the triangle shaped pattern. Remove the pattern and start cutting out the shape inside cake about a ½" deep.
FINISH APPLYING THE BUTTERCREAM OR ICING
Apply a layer of buttercream or icing all around the outsides of the cake first and then shape it as close to an even square as you can.
Add a layer of buttercream or icing to the top of the cake and make sure the triangle cut out is well sculpted.
APPLYING THE FONDANT
Take the red fondant and knead it on the counter top with some powered mixture to help it not stick. Keep kneading it until it is pliable and ready to roll.
TIP: Before you start rolling the fondant make sure you have a dress pin or needle to pop any bubbles that form on the top layer of the fondant. It is bound to happen. I have yet to make a cake with fondant and not have any bubbles to pop.
Apply a layer of powered mixture on the countertop and start to roll the red fondant. While you are rolling the fondant, remember to spin the fondant around each time you roll and spin it again and again until you have the size needed to cover the cake.
Once you have the fondant size that you need, take your powdered hands and gently pick up the fondant and quickly lay it on the top of the cake. Make sure you center it the best you can and look to see if you have all four sides covered with red fondant.
Take a Fondant Smoother or your hands and gently press the top part into the buttercream or icing first. Smooth it flat as best as you can then take your fingers and press into the cut out triangle top corner. Cut a small hole in the middle of the triangle cut out to help press out all the air that will get trapped inside the corner cut-out. Hopefully, one of the large cogs will cover up the hole.
Trim off the heavy, hanging sides well below the board so the fondant does not keep stretching from the weight of the hanging sides while you form the fondant to the cake.
Use your hands and gently rub the four corners first so they stick to the cake. Now you can use your hands to get everything else straight and maneuver out the wrinkles. Then use the Fondant Smoother to finish up flattening all the sides.
Use the Fondant Smoother to help tuck the sides under the board and then trim off the excess fondant underneath the board with a sharp knife.
APPLYING THE PETAL DUST COLORS TO THE RED FONDANT
Take a clean, flat, DRY paintbrush and dust on horizontal streaks with the royal purple, royal blue, charcoal black, and poppy red petal dust colors. The red really helps to tone down some of the colors that look too strong. This really can be any design you decide to paint on but we used horizontal streaks for the most part.
PLACE THE CAKE ON TOP OF THE CAKE BASE
Pick up the cake from the bottom and gently drop it in the middle of the wooden cake board with your hands. Do your best not to mess up the sides of the cake when you complete this step. Then use the Fondant Smoother to help push the cake into the center more evenly if needed. If you use your hands to move the cake, you will have a higher chance of placing finger prints on the cake.
LAY THE COGS INSIDE THE TRIANGLE CUT-OUT
First check to see if the cogs fit into the sunken corner. If the cogs are too big that is fine because you can trim them down to fit if needed. Just make sure you cut the area of the cogs that will be closest to the curved area where you will be placing the overlay pieces. This will hide the trimmed cogs if needed.
You will need one cog of each size and arrange them as in the picture. Attach them with a tiny bit of water under each cog to stick in place, but make sure the air relief hole in the fondant is covered first before you attach them.
ATTACHING ALL THE DETAILED PIECES
TIP: Set all the dry detailed pieces on the cake to see if they are in the correct area before you attach them down.
ATTACHING THE PIPE BORDER AROUND THE CAKE
Match up all the pipes around the base of the cake as shown in the drawn picture diagram. Keep them about a ½" away from the cake. Do not attach them with water to the wooden board just yet.
To make the single gold attachment pieces, take some white gumpaste and roll a short tube shape slightly thicker than the copper pipe. Fit them in between the single sections that need to be connected.
For the T-shaped gold connectors, take some white gumpaste and make a single tube and attach a ½ size tube in the middle to make the T shape. Make a disk shape connector to push in the copper L-shaped tube into the side of the cake. Then push the longer end of the copper pipe into the white T-shape connector. Do this step for both of the pipes that need to be connected to the side of the cake.
When everything is connected, you will paint the gold glaze onto all of the white gumpaste connector pieces.
ATTACHING THE CLOCK PIECES
TIP: Attach both of the clock hands when you are ready to attach them. They are delicate and may break while attaching the other pieces on the cake. You can save this step for the very last step if needed.
Attach the gold-painted, round disk that goes under the clock hands to the top, right-side corner of the cake about 1" in from the edge.
Arrange the Roman Numerals as shown in the picture. Do not attach them to the cake until you check to see if the clock hands meet up nice with the numbers first. When you know that all the pieces are in the correct spot, attach the numbers with a tiny bit of water.
For the clock hands attach the smaller hand first with a tiny bit of water. For the large hand attach that piece on top of the smaller hand and the pointed end on top of one of the numbers and/or stick a small ball of black fondant under the point to make sure the weight does not snap the long hand in half.
TIP: You can use the charcoal black petal dust and brush a coat of dust to help darken up the black clock hands & numbers if needed.
MAKING THE METAL CORNER AND SIDE STRIP
METAL CORNER
Roll a strip of dark copper gumpaste and trim it into a long strip. Make sure the strip is long enough to run half way down the side of the cake and also run the same distance up on top of the cake. Dust the gumpaste strip first with the Copper Luster Dust and then attach to the cake with a little bit of water keeping in mind to keep the center of the strip on the curved, corner edge of the cake.
Roll out a dark copper square-shaped piece and trim it until the edges meet up nicely and it looks like someone tried to piece together a corner piece. Dust the gumpaste first with the Copper Luster Dust and attach to the corner of the cake butting-up the edges.
Grab the tiny rivets that you made earlier and attach them to the outside edges of the corner piece with a tiny bit of water. Attach them like in the picture or where you would like them. The tiny rivets should all be plenty dry and easy to handle. Touch up the rivets with the Copper Luster Dust to blend in the rivets.
METAL SIDE STRIP
Roll a strip of dark copper gumpaste and trim it into a long strip. Make sure the strip is long enough to run half way down the side of the cake and also run the same distance up on top of the cake. Dust the strip with the Copper Luster Dust then attach it to the cake with a little bit of water. Attach the tiny rivets to the edges of the strip like in the picture or where you would like them. Touch up the rivets with the Copper Luster Dust to blend in the rivets.
LARGE COPPER PIPES ON TOP OF THE CAKE
L-SHAPED COPPER PIPE CONNECTED TO PRESSURE GAUGE
Hand roll a thicker pipe tube shape with the light copper gumpaste. See what kind of room to which you have left to work and mold the pipe coming from the gold piece of the pressure gauge then bend the L-shape in the middle and the end bends into the cake. Do not yet attach it to the cake.
Roll a flat piece of the same color fondant and cut a small round disk slightly wider than the pipe. Take a tiny circle cutter and make light imprints around the outside of the disk.
Dust both the copper pipe and the copper disk with the Copper Luster Dust. Attach them to the cake with a little bit of water as shown in the picture as long as you have room. If not, adjust the size and shape before you attach them to the cake.
Z-SHAPED COPPER PIPE
Hand roll a thick pipe tube shape matching the same thickness as the L-shaped pipe above, but make this one longer in length. Form the pipe into a Z-shape and bend both tips down to make it look like they are both connecting into the cake.
Make the same discs as shown in the L-shaped pipe above, but make two of them.
Dust all three pieces with the Copper Luster Dust and attach them to the cake as shown in the picture as long as you have room. If not just adjust the size and shape before you attach them to the cake.
ATTACH THE COGS TO THE SIDES OF THE CAKE
Attach one cog of each size and shape to each side of the cake evenly. Attach them with a tiny bit of water and hold each cog with the top side of your fingers for over one minute each. The top side of your fingers are a lot cooler than the palm side so this way the silver cogs should not get too sticky. Make sure all of them are stuck good to the sides of the cake before you walk away or you may find a surprise later.
TOUCH-UPS AS NEEDED
Brush off any hair or dust particles you may see on your fondant cake with a clean, soft paint brush.
Touch up any parts of the gold and silver painted areas that may need to be filled in. Just be careful not to touch any other part of the cake that is not meant to be painted.
Touch up any copper dusted pipes that needs to be darkened with the Copper Luster Dust.
Add a layer of water with a paint brush on top of the wooden base. This will help make it look real shiny before you take pictures or deliver it to a party.
TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR FINISHED PRODUCT
Set up a nice background and take some pictures of your creation. Please post any questions you may have and also the pictures of your cake under the comment area, under this Instructable for others to enjoy.
We worked long and hard on this Instructable, so we hope you enjoy it.
Please vote for this Steampunk Style Fondant Cake Instructable!
Thanks for reading!
Made by Denae and Yong Tak (9/15/2011 – 9/30/2011)
This Steampunk cake my husband and I decided to make for the Instructables Food Challenge was designed by the both of us. We did our best to explain every detail so all the beginners would have a chance at making this cake well.
Playing with gumpaste or fondant is like playing with play-doh or clay. You can just about create anything that your mind will imagine. You can create a table center piece or a cake topper that will last for years as long as you keep them dry, at room temp, and out of sunlight while being stored.
The nice thing about this cake is if you get bubbles or scratches in your fondant it will be fine because there are tricks of the trade to cover up these types of mistakes.
It took us roughly 24 hours total to create this work of art. In some cases, if your work week is too busy, one can just work on all the detailed pieces on the first weekend then work on cake decorating on the second weekend. All the detailed items you made on the first weekend will have a full week to dry before you use it on the cake. If you have all the time you need, make sure that all the detailed pieces are thoroughly dry before you place them on the cake.
Before you begin, be sure you have all the Tools, Supplies, and Ingredients needed for this cake.
Well, enjoy playing with the food and enjoy the taste of your creation! It’s also a great piece of food art to take to any party for others to enjoy!
TOOLS
12" Square Cake Pan
Large & Small Nonstick Rolling Pin – if you don’t have a small one use just the large rolling pin.
Fondant Smoother or Hands - problem using your hands is you will not get a square, flat top and sides.
Bent-Palette Spatula – to spread the buttercream or icing onto the cake.
Pin or Needle - to pop bubbles in the fondant or gumpaste.
Scissors – to cut cardboard, parchment paper and tape.
Four Small Bowls – to hold the petal dust colors while dusting the cake.
Hand Mixer and Mixing Bowl - needed if you plan to make the buttercream yourself.
Ruler - to measure fondant or gumpaste pieces.
Short Cans - All same size to prop up cake
Cookie & Clay Cutters - Different sizes and shapes.
NEW and CLEAN Paint Brushes - Different Sizes.
Sharp Knives, Large & Small – to cut fondant and gumpaste.
Serrated Cake Knife – to trim the tops off the cakes and sides evenly.
Pizza Cutter - don’t have one? just use a large or small knife in place of pizza cutter.
Cake Turn Table and Cooling Rack - convenient but optional.
SUPPLIES
(Wilton) Bake Easy Spray – to release the cakes easily or you can use a Crisco lined pan with a light coat of white flour.
Gel Colors - Copper, Brown, Black, and Red unless you buy the pre-colored Black and Red Fondant.
Petal Dust – Royal Purple, Royal Blue, Charcoal Black, and Poppy Red.
Luster Dust - Copper.
Liquid Glaze Paints – Gold and Silver.
Tiny Amount of Vodka - to make the paint for the pressure gauge face.
Cardboard - to make the base of the cake and also the cake board if not making the wooden board look.
Packaging Tape - to tape the foil onto cardboard.
Cling Wrap - to wrap up fondant and gumpaste so it does not dry out.
Gallon Baggies - to store the wrapped fondant and gumpaste in.
Foil - for the base of the cake and also needed if you make a plain foil cake board.
Parchment Paper - to draw templates and dry fondant and gumpaste pieces.
Toothpicks – to mix in gel colors into the fondant or gumpaste.
Small Glass of Water – to glue fondant or gumpaste pieces or attach detailed pieces onto the cake.
White Paper Towels - mess clean up.
IF MAKING THE WOODEN CAKE BOARD, YOU WILL NEED THE SUPPLIES BELOW
Black Ribbon, One Roll - used as trim. Width should be a bit smaller than the edge of the board.
Wooden Board - used as a cake board. 18” x 18” x ¾” square, smooth wooden board.
Smoothed Stick or Chopstick - used to add the wooden lines into the fondant board.
INGREDIENTS
TIP: If you decide to shop at Jo-Ann Fabrics for ingredients or tools, it’s a good idea to sign up on their website to receive emailed coupons every week that are usually 40% off one full priced item. This is great for cake makers because it’s rare that the cake aisle has anything on sale, so the coupons are heaven sent.
Powdered Mixture - the stuff you will use every time to help your Fondant and Gumpaste not to stick to the countertop and hands while kneading and rolling. Powdered Mixture is made by mixing a 1:1 amount of White Powered Sugar and Cornstarch together in a bowl. A shaker is the best to use for storing the powdered mixture. Don’t have a shaker? You can also use a new, clean nylon stocking, fill the foot area with powdered mixture, and tie off the open end. You can also use your hands and try to sprinkle some powdered mixture around the counter top. Any of these techniques work but the shaker works best in my opinion.
Cake Mix - (Duncan Hines, Pillsbury, etc.) get four cake boxes of your choice plus the ingredients required by the manufacturer.
Buttercream - you can make this from scratch or purchase buttercream at Jo-Ann Fabric’s cake aisle or at a local cake store. Making your own buttercream? Internet Search “Buttercream Recipes” and a ton of free recipes will result. Choose the one you like best. You will need about two full batches of buttercream or about six pounds of it. If you decide to use a different filling then you can reduce the buttercream amount.
Rolled Fondant - 3 pounds of Red fondant will be for the main skin of the cake. I bought the pre-made red fondant because it takes too much red gel and time to knead the red color into the white fondant, but if you decide to make your own marshmallow fondant, it tastes better than store bought. You will have a better chance at finding a tub of red fondant at your local cake store. Jo-Ann Fabrics has a variety of colored fondant but they may not have the amount of red fondant needed. It’s best to go to a local cake store near you for most ingredients if you only want to stop at one store for this project.
2 pounds of light brown fondant and a hand full of black fondant will be needed if you decide to make the wooden cake board.
Gumpaste - need about two pounds of white and a hand full of black gumpaste for this cake. Gumpaste drys very fast but it is formable just like fondant. There are recipes online if you’d like to make it from scratch. Easy way to make gumpaste is to add Tylose Powder fondant into gumpaste. Tylose Powder can be found at a local cake shop.
Adding Tylose Powder to the Fondant to make Gumpaste: sprinkle the countertop work area with the powered mixture so the gumpaste does not stick. Take a handful of fondant, and make sure you knead it well so it is pliable and workable. Sprinkle in a Teaspoon of Tylose Powder into the fondant and keep kneading until it’s all smooth. The fondant will need to sit for one to two hours before it becomes workable gumpaste. It can be kept in the fridge or out on the countertop if you will be ready to use it soon after. Don’t forget to wrap it in shrink wrap and then put it in a sealable bag to prevent air from drying it out.
INSTRUCTIONS
MAKING ALL THE DETAILED PIECES
COGS & GEARS
LARGE COG
Roll out light brown gumpaste and cut out a large circle with a round cutter or glass. For the teeth take the mini size oval cutter and systematically cut out half oval cuts symetrically around the outside of the large circle. Make one cut then move to the opposite side of the circle and make the 2nd cut as to make it look symmetrical. Make the 3rd and 4th cuts, so if one were to connect imaginary lines across, it would be a plus sign.
You will be making 2 centered, very light impressions with different circle cutters to make yourself a guide to the center making it look like a circle, within a circle. Select a smaller circle cutter than the cog size, lightly press to make a guide where you will be cutting out gaps, then the center small circle for the “axle” of the cog. Cut three circles in-between the light impression circles where the gaps will be cut out like spokes on a bicycle. Take the mini teardrop cutter and use the point end to make the spoke edges sharp. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
For the coloring, take the Copper Luster Dust and brush a coat all over the top and sides with a small, flat, clean paint brush. Set on parchment paper to dry until you are ready to use.
MEDIUM COG
Use the same directions as the large cog for making the teeth but on a slightly smaller scale.
To make the “axle” of the cog, lightly press into the gumpaste with one of your smaller circle cutter in the middle of the cog.
Take a slightly larger circle cutter and cut out four circles evenly spaced. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
Paint it with the silver glaze and let it dry on parchment paper. This make take a few coats but let them completely dry before you paint on additional coats.
SMALL COG DESIGN A
Roll out light brown gumpaste and cut out a circle with a round cutter. Take the star shaped mini cutter and cut little triangular teeth all the way around the outside edge.
Making the center impression, lightly press into the gumpaste for the “axle” with a circle cutter in the middle of the cog.
Using the football shaped mini cutter, cut three holes evenly spaced around the cog’s “bicycle spoke” area. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
Dust with the Copper Luster Dust and dry on parchment paper.
SMALL COG DESIGN B
Use the same directions for the outside teeth as shown in the directions for the Small Cog Design A.
Take a small circle cutter and cut out three circle shapes around the cog’s “bicycle spoke” area. Use your fingers to smooth the rough cut edges.
Paint with the silver glaze and let it dry on parchment paper. This make take a few coats but let them completely dry before you paint on additional coats.
TIP 1: If you do not have any of the shaped cutters mentioned in this “Instructable” you can cut any of these cogs by hand, but it will take a lot longer and they may not come out as nice but it is feasible.
TIP 2: If you don’t have large circle cutters for the outside edges of the cog, you may follow my directions in reverse for cog-making by starting from the center “axle” outward until you get to the outside edge. At this point you can use a knife to cut your outside edge.
TIP 3: Be warned, the silver and gold glaze tends to cause the cogs to curl up a bit during drying.
PIPES
COPPER PIPE BORDER
Take the 12” square cake pan and set it open side up on top of parchment paper as a guide for the outer pipes. Hand roll copper colored gumpaste into ½” diameter tubes and then follow the design in the picture to figure out where each pipe ends are separated. Dust each piece with the Copper Luster Dust and let the gumpaste dry on the parchment paper.
COPPER L SHAPED PIPES
TIP: You can not complete this step until the Copper Pipe Borders are dry enough, therefore, allowing use of the pan for the next step.
Place the cake pan open side down. Use copper color gumpaste and hand roll a long tube pipe the same diameter as the Copper Pipe Border. Bend an L shape corner on a short side and hang the short end off the edge of the cake pan. It should be about 3 "es long on the top of the cake pan and about 1 " bent on the side. Dust all the pieces with Copper Luster Dust and let dry on the cake pan over night.
CLOCK PARTS
CLOCK HANDS
Roll out a long flat strip of black gumpaste. Have a quick sketch ready so you can see how big and long to cut each hand. Take a small circle cutter and slightly imprint a light circle into the gumpaste for a guide so you know where the connection piece will be. Trim off little pieces of the outside until you shape out the clock hands. To help soften the edges just use the knife and press in the sides to mold the gumpaste the way you need it to look. The gumpaste will dry hard and fast unlike fondant, but it is needed so the hands stay stiff because they will be floating in mid air. Keep them on parchment paper to dry until you are ready to place them on the cake.
ROMAN NUMERALS
This is a nice time to use a pizza cutter if you have one. If not a sharp knife will work just fine. Roll out a long line of black fondant and make thin strips all the same thickness to the best of your ability. Cut the strips into 1 " lengths. Make about four to five extra strips in case you do not like the thickness on some or shapes on others. This should make the total about 20 strips total.
To make the “V” Numeral, cut one left side bottom corner to fit along the side on another strip. Attach with a tiny drop of water. Let dry on parchment paper.
To make the “X” Numeral, use one full line from left top to bottom right. Cut another two strips to fit on the other sides and attach with a tiny drop of water. Let dry on parchment paper.
The 1 " strips will be used for the Roman Numeral “I”. Let dry on parchment paper.
You will need (1) “X”, (2) “V”, and (7) “I” Roman Numerals to make the clock numbers.
CLOCK HAND GOLDEN BASE
Roll some white gumpaste and cut out a circle double the size of the circles from the clock hands. Cut out six really small circles with a cone tip and use these as the rivets for the Golden Base. If you do not have a circle cone tip, hand roll six small balls and flatten them with your finger tip.
Attach them evenly around the outside of the circle with a tiny bit of water.
Paint the circle with the gold glaze paint and let dry on parchment paper.
TINY RIVETS FOR METAL STRIPS
Roll dark copper gumpaste into a strip and cut out tiny circles from a piping tip. Poke them out of the tip with a toothpick if needed. Cut them in half if the piping tip is too big to make the rivets. In your palm roll them into tiny ball shapes. Press the top down a bit to flatton the top. Make about 30 tiny rivets and set aside on parchment paper to dry.
TIP: If you do not have a piping tip, just break of tiny bits of the gumpaste all about the same size and finish the steps from rolling them in your palm.
OVERLAY PIECES TO HIDE PART OF THE INLAID COGS
OVERLAY BOOMERANG SHAPE
Hand cut a boomerang shape with parchment paper first for a guide to see if it will work with the size of covering the edge of the inlaid cogs. When you have the design ready, roll white gumpaste and hand cut the boomerang shape while using the parchment paper guide. Smooth the edges with your fingers and set on parchment paper.
Make two white, domed-shaped circles that look like rivets. Attach one on each end of the boomerang shape with a little bit of water.
Paint the whole thing with gold glaze and let dry on parchment paper overnight.
This has to be completely dry before you try to attach it to the cake or it will sag and will wrinkle the gold glaze.
OVERLAY SHARP CORNERED SHAPE
Hand cut a sharp cornered shape as shown in the picture with the parchment paper first, to use as a guide. Roll some light copper gumpaste and hand cut the sharp cornered shape while using the parchment paper guide. Smooth the edges with your fingers but remember to keep the edges sharp, then set on parchment paper.
Make three same light copper, dome-shaped circles to use as rivets. Attach them with a little bit of water in the three main corners of the sharp cornered shape.
Dust the whole shape with Copper Luster Dust and set aside to completely dry on parchment paper until you are ready to attach it to the cake.
PRESSURE GAUGE
Take black gumpaste and mold it into a one " thick disk. Then take a round cutter and remove the edges. While the gumpaste is still in the cutter, take your fingers and press the top sides into the edge of the cutter to help sharpen the top edges.
Roll out a thin, flat layer of white gumpaste and cut out a circle slightly smaller in diameter than the black disk. Attach the white circle in the middle of the black disk for the face of the pressure gauge.
Take some white gumpaste and cut out a thick square with a square cutter or just cut it with a knife. This will be the gold connector piece for the copper pipe that will be attached later. Paint the white square with the gold glaze paint and set aside for later.
To make the gauge needle just cut out a small, long, narrow triangle that is small enough to fit inside the white circle that was cut earlier. For the needle’s swivel point, roll a small black gumpaste disk circle and stick a smaller white or light copper gumpaste circle inside the black circle. Press the bottom of the black circle into the middle of the needle but just a little bit closer to the wider end of the triangle. Paint the center dot with the gold paint. Set aside to dry for now.
Put charcoal black petal dust in a small dish and add a tiny bit of vodka to it. Mix it up with a super tiny paintbrush and paint on the lines, numbers, and PSi on the white top circle of the pressure gauge. Attach the center of the needle to the center of the pressure gauge and let dry.
Make the copper pipe after the cake is ready to decorate to see how much room you have left.
MAKING THE CAKE BASE
TIP: If you cannot get an 18” x 18” x ¾” square board then the other way of making a cake board is to cut out two pieces of cardboard 18” x 18” and tape the two together. Keep in mind that laying fondant on top of cardboard to make the wood grain does not work very well so if you are going to use cardboard just cover it with foil and skip the wood grain section.
To make the fondant a reddish brown color just add some red and brown fondant together and knead it until it is completely blended. You will use mostly brown and a little red fondant to make the mix right. Make sure you have enough fondant to cover the 18” x 18” board. It can be a thin layer but not too thin because you will be carving little wood grain lines into it.
Before you roll the reddish brown color fondant you need to add black strips to the fondant. Make a large thick tube of the reddish-brown fondant and lay in thin black strips of fondant all over the tube. Fold and twist the fondant tube like a candy cane and knead it only a little bit. Roll it into a tube shape again and fold and twist like a candy cane again until it looks the way you like it. Do not over-knead it, otherwise it will completely blend together and you will not get the black marbling that you need. When you see a good amount of black stripes intertwined, just roll out the fondant as big as the 18” x 18” size board as you can on the counter top. Make sure you have plenty of the powder mixture under the fondant that is being rolled. If you miss this step, the fondant will stick to the counter.
After the fondant is all rolled and looks like it should fit the board then take your powered hands and gently pick up the fondant and lay it over the board. Use your fingers to help form and stick the fondant to the board. Fold the edges over the sides of the board and make sure all the edges are completely covered. The ribbon will stick better to a fondant covered edge than just a wooden edge. If you have a Fondant Smoother, now is a great time to use it for the sides. Press gently on all four sides to make them flat. Trim off all excess fondant and discard.
Do not let the fondant dry before you press in the wood grain lines. If you have a smooth thin plastic tool to use to press in the wooden lines than great! Otherwise use a rounded chopstick to press in the wooden lines. Press gently into the fondant in the middle of the board to test it out first. The middle will be covered with the cake so all your mistakes should be done in the middle of the board. Make wavy lines like the look of wood grain and make a few knots if you would like.
To gloss the wood just apply a layer of water on all areas that will not be covered by the cake with a flat clean paintbrush. This is not needed and it is fine if you skip this part.
To finish up the edges you will need to take black ribbon and wrap it around the edges. But for it to stick to the fondant sides you will need to use a little bit of water to attach it to the sides. I joined my edges in the middle of one side because if you join it at a corner it never seems to stay flat unless you overlap it.
Let dry in a safe area until you are ready to use it.
BAKING THE CAKE
Follow the instruction in the cake recipe or on the back of the cake box to make the batter. Line the 12” cake pan with the (Wilton) Bake Easy Spray or Crisco/Flour, and then add the batter just a little under ¾’s full. Each 12" cake will use 2 boxes of cake batter for a total of 4 cake boxes.
Bake the cakes at 10 degrees less than what the directions say to help slow the rising of the cakes.
If you only have the one cake pan like I do then you will have to let the first one cool down enough to handle and remove. Once the first cake is cooled enough to remove from the cake pan, immediately clean the pan and reline it with the Easy Bake Spray or Crisco/Flour. Pour in the other batch of cake mix like before. When the second cake is in the oven, wrap the cooling cake in cling wrap to keep it moist even when the cake is still warm to the touch but not hot.
Repeat with the second cake for the cooling instructions until you have two 12" cakes cooling in cling wrap. If you have a cooling rack use it for the cooling part in the directions above, otherwise the counter will work fine.
FOIL COVERED CARDBOARD BASE FOR THE CAKE BOTTOM
Before you start to cut and stack the cake you will need to prep a piece of cardboard a little bit bigger than the size of the bottom of the cooled cake. Cut a square shaped piece of cardboard with rounded corners and cover it with foil. Tape the bottom of the foiled board to hold the foil. You need to make this because you will be propping up the cake on some cans while placing a layer of buttercream or icing on the cake. It also allows you to fold the fondant under the cake to make a nice bottom edge.
Set aside until the buttercream or icing step.
CUTTING THE CAKE TOPS
TIP: Before you start cutting the cake tops make sure you have all the buttercream or icing ready. This means you should let it warm up to room temperature if you had it in the fridge overnight. It needs to be spreadable right after trimming the cake so the cake does not dry out.
After both cakes are cooled, take a serrated cake or bread knife and cut off both of the tops until they are even and flat. Eat the cake top scraps or discard them.
APPLYING THE BUTTERCREAM OR ICING
TIP: Beware when you transfer the cake because it may break or crack if the cake is too soft. If you bake a thicker cake it should be fine but don’t worry if the cake breaks or cracks because the buttercream or icing will act like glue and keep it together.
Take that bottom foil covered base and set one of the cake bottoms on the good foil side so the top cut part of the cake is facing up. Apply a layer of buttercream, icing, or filling and smooth it with an angled or straight palette spatula until even. Make sure the filling is all the way out to each side edges of the cake.
Take the other cake and place the cut-side down, on top of the buttercream, icing or filling layer so the nice flat bottom is now the top side.
Trim off anything that does not look straight or flat. Sometimes trimming the top is also needed and I had to do it for this Instructable cake.
CUT OUT THE TRIANGLE SHAPE ON THE CAKE’S TOP
Cut out a pattern from parchment paper close to the triangle shape in the picture. It does not have to be exact because you can always trim the cogs to fit into the triangular hole later if needed.
Lay the triangle pattern 1" from the outer edge of a corner side of the cake.
Take a sharp knife and cut a line tracing around the triangle shaped pattern. Remove the pattern and start cutting out the shape inside cake about a ½" deep.
FINISH APPLYING THE BUTTERCREAM OR ICING
Apply a layer of buttercream or icing all around the outsides of the cake first and then shape it as close to an even square as you can.
Add a layer of buttercream or icing to the top of the cake and make sure the triangle cut out is well sculpted.
APPLYING THE FONDANT
Take the red fondant and knead it on the counter top with some powered mixture to help it not stick. Keep kneading it until it is pliable and ready to roll.
TIP: Before you start rolling the fondant make sure you have a dress pin or needle to pop any bubbles that form on the top layer of the fondant. It is bound to happen. I have yet to make a cake with fondant and not have any bubbles to pop.
Apply a layer of powered mixture on the countertop and start to roll the red fondant. While you are rolling the fondant, remember to spin the fondant around each time you roll and spin it again and again until you have the size needed to cover the cake.
Once you have the fondant size that you need, take your powdered hands and gently pick up the fondant and quickly lay it on the top of the cake. Make sure you center it the best you can and look to see if you have all four sides covered with red fondant.
Take a Fondant Smoother or your hands and gently press the top part into the buttercream or icing first. Smooth it flat as best as you can then take your fingers and press into the cut out triangle top corner. Cut a small hole in the middle of the triangle cut out to help press out all the air that will get trapped inside the corner cut-out. Hopefully, one of the large cogs will cover up the hole.
Trim off the heavy, hanging sides well below the board so the fondant does not keep stretching from the weight of the hanging sides while you form the fondant to the cake.
Use your hands and gently rub the four corners first so they stick to the cake. Now you can use your hands to get everything else straight and maneuver out the wrinkles. Then use the Fondant Smoother to finish up flattening all the sides.
Use the Fondant Smoother to help tuck the sides under the board and then trim off the excess fondant underneath the board with a sharp knife.
APPLYING THE PETAL DUST COLORS TO THE RED FONDANT
Take a clean, flat, DRY paintbrush and dust on horizontal streaks with the royal purple, royal blue, charcoal black, and poppy red petal dust colors. The red really helps to tone down some of the colors that look too strong. This really can be any design you decide to paint on but we used horizontal streaks for the most part.
PLACE THE CAKE ON TOP OF THE CAKE BASE
Pick up the cake from the bottom and gently drop it in the middle of the wooden cake board with your hands. Do your best not to mess up the sides of the cake when you complete this step. Then use the Fondant Smoother to help push the cake into the center more evenly if needed. If you use your hands to move the cake, you will have a higher chance of placing finger prints on the cake.
LAY THE COGS INSIDE THE TRIANGLE CUT-OUT
First check to see if the cogs fit into the sunken corner. If the cogs are too big that is fine because you can trim them down to fit if needed. Just make sure you cut the area of the cogs that will be closest to the curved area where you will be placing the overlay pieces. This will hide the trimmed cogs if needed.
You will need one cog of each size and arrange them as in the picture. Attach them with a tiny bit of water under each cog to stick in place, but make sure the air relief hole in the fondant is covered first before you attach them.
ATTACHING ALL THE DETAILED PIECES
TIP: Set all the dry detailed pieces on the cake to see if they are in the correct area before you attach them down.
ATTACHING THE PIPE BORDER AROUND THE CAKE
Match up all the pipes around the base of the cake as shown in the drawn picture diagram. Keep them about a ½" away from the cake. Do not attach them with water to the wooden board just yet.
To make the single gold attachment pieces, take some white gumpaste and roll a short tube shape slightly thicker than the copper pipe. Fit them in between the single sections that need to be connected.
For the T-shaped gold connectors, take some white gumpaste and make a single tube and attach a ½ size tube in the middle to make the T shape. Make a disk shape connector to push in the copper L-shaped tube into the side of the cake. Then push the longer end of the copper pipe into the white T-shape connector. Do this step for both of the pipes that need to be connected to the side of the cake.
When everything is connected, you will paint the gold glaze onto all of the white gumpaste connector pieces.
ATTACHING THE CLOCK PIECES
TIP: Attach both of the clock hands when you are ready to attach them. They are delicate and may break while attaching the other pieces on the cake. You can save this step for the very last step if needed.
Attach the gold-painted, round disk that goes under the clock hands to the top, right-side corner of the cake about 1" in from the edge.
Arrange the Roman Numerals as shown in the picture. Do not attach them to the cake until you check to see if the clock hands meet up nice with the numbers first. When you know that all the pieces are in the correct spot, attach the numbers with a tiny bit of water.
For the clock hands attach the smaller hand first with a tiny bit of water. For the large hand attach that piece on top of the smaller hand and the pointed end on top of one of the numbers and/or stick a small ball of black fondant under the point to make sure the weight does not snap the long hand in half.
TIP: You can use the charcoal black petal dust and brush a coat of dust to help darken up the black clock hands & numbers if needed.
MAKING THE METAL CORNER AND SIDE STRIP
METAL CORNER
Roll a strip of dark copper gumpaste and trim it into a long strip. Make sure the strip is long enough to run half way down the side of the cake and also run the same distance up on top of the cake. Dust the gumpaste strip first with the Copper Luster Dust and then attach to the cake with a little bit of water keeping in mind to keep the center of the strip on the curved, corner edge of the cake.
Roll out a dark copper square-shaped piece and trim it until the edges meet up nicely and it looks like someone tried to piece together a corner piece. Dust the gumpaste first with the Copper Luster Dust and attach to the corner of the cake butting-up the edges.
Grab the tiny rivets that you made earlier and attach them to the outside edges of the corner piece with a tiny bit of water. Attach them like in the picture or where you would like them. The tiny rivets should all be plenty dry and easy to handle. Touch up the rivets with the Copper Luster Dust to blend in the rivets.
METAL SIDE STRIP
Roll a strip of dark copper gumpaste and trim it into a long strip. Make sure the strip is long enough to run half way down the side of the cake and also run the same distance up on top of the cake. Dust the strip with the Copper Luster Dust then attach it to the cake with a little bit of water. Attach the tiny rivets to the edges of the strip like in the picture or where you would like them. Touch up the rivets with the Copper Luster Dust to blend in the rivets.
LARGE COPPER PIPES ON TOP OF THE CAKE
L-SHAPED COPPER PIPE CONNECTED TO PRESSURE GAUGE
Hand roll a thicker pipe tube shape with the light copper gumpaste. See what kind of room to which you have left to work and mold the pipe coming from the gold piece of the pressure gauge then bend the L-shape in the middle and the end bends into the cake. Do not yet attach it to the cake.
Roll a flat piece of the same color fondant and cut a small round disk slightly wider than the pipe. Take a tiny circle cutter and make light imprints around the outside of the disk.
Dust both the copper pipe and the copper disk with the Copper Luster Dust. Attach them to the cake with a little bit of water as shown in the picture as long as you have room. If not, adjust the size and shape before you attach them to the cake.
Z-SHAPED COPPER PIPE
Hand roll a thick pipe tube shape matching the same thickness as the L-shaped pipe above, but make this one longer in length. Form the pipe into a Z-shape and bend both tips down to make it look like they are both connecting into the cake.
Make the same discs as shown in the L-shaped pipe above, but make two of them.
Dust all three pieces with the Copper Luster Dust and attach them to the cake as shown in the picture as long as you have room. If not just adjust the size and shape before you attach them to the cake.
ATTACH THE COGS TO THE SIDES OF THE CAKE
Attach one cog of each size and shape to each side of the cake evenly. Attach them with a tiny bit of water and hold each cog with the top side of your fingers for over one minute each. The top side of your fingers are a lot cooler than the palm side so this way the silver cogs should not get too sticky. Make sure all of them are stuck good to the sides of the cake before you walk away or you may find a surprise later.
TOUCH-UPS AS NEEDED
Brush off any hair or dust particles you may see on your fondant cake with a clean, soft paint brush.
Touch up any parts of the gold and silver painted areas that may need to be filled in. Just be careful not to touch any other part of the cake that is not meant to be painted.
Touch up any copper dusted pipes that needs to be darkened with the Copper Luster Dust.
Add a layer of water with a paint brush on top of the wooden base. This will help make it look real shiny before you take pictures or deliver it to a party.
TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR FINISHED PRODUCT
Set up a nice background and take some pictures of your creation. Please post any questions you may have and also the pictures of your cake under the comment area, under this Instructable for others to enjoy.
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