My daughter just turned the big 11! I am not sure where the time has gone. She chose puppies as her birthday theme this year, which I was pretty excited about. It was a fun challenge making her design and these little puppies come to life! She had an awesome time and the kids all had fun devouring the fondant puppies. That’s what birthday parties are about, right? Loading up on sugar! I hope everyone’s summer has been wonderful! I am ready for fall, personally! Have a fantastic weekend!
The cake is a homemade one bowl chocolate cake, from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. I doubled the recipe to make a large sheet cake. The icing is also homemade, and made with real butter (see recipe below). This type of buttercream can crack easily and is a bit more challenging to work with than the vegetable shortening variety, but I prefer it.
When frosting a cake, frost the top first and then the sides. Place a large amount of icing on top of the cake (you can remove the excess later), to prevent crumbs from mixing with your icing. After icing the top and sides, smooth out with a cake spatula and remove any excess icing. Place the cake under a stove fan and light for about 20 minutes to slightly harden the icing. Smooth the cake by using a smooth paper towel (Viva works well). Place the paper towel on one section at a time, and gently smooth with your hand. Repeat, until the cake is where you want it. I also use the paper towel to smooth the edges, by placing the paper towel on the edge, and smoothing gently from the side to the top. The cake is now ready to decorate. I use a disposable cake box to store the cake in, until it is ready to put the decorations on and time to put on display. I bake the cake 2 days before the party and ice it the day before the party.
I mixed the icing with green gel color. The decorations are made out of fondant and gum paste.
- All the puppies, dog bowls, and bones are made out of fondant. I molded them and used colored fondant, food safe markers, and color dust for the details.
- I used gum paste for the letters, buckles, kibble (in the bowl) and flowers, along with color dust. The eyes had to be cut and placed on the characters.
- I used a mixture of gum paste and fondant for the collar along the side of the cake. The mixture gives it stability, but also enables it to remain flexible.
- The water is a blue icing gel, and the dirt is made from crushed Oreo cookies.
- I used a gum paste glue to adhere the decorations to each other and the cake (made with water and gum paste). I placed all the decorations on the cake a few hours before the party, but had everything ready the day before, including icing the cake.
I am excited to bring my daughter’s birthday cake to Fiesta Friday #288 this week, and to be co-hosting with the amazing Angie of Fiesta Friday! Check out her site and Fiesta Friday for delicious recipes!
Ingredients
- 6 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
- 8 cups pure cane confectioners sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp real vanilla extract
Instructions
- With the flat beater attachment, beat the butter until smooth (about 45 seconds). Add the sugar (sifted if possible or at least whisked well) and beat for about 30 seconds or until combined. Add the vanilla and beat on high until very fluffy (around 2 minutes). Store in a sealed container and use within a day or 2.
Check out more of my birthday cakes 🙂
The Like button isn’t here, but I like the cake a lot! The puppies are so cute and varied! Love the little one digging into the cake, and the dog tag.
I showed #1 Grandson your son’s latest birthday cake the Minecraft one and he loved it and thought it was way cool too.
Summer is flying by, but I’m not ready for fall just yet. Happy Belated Birthday to your Zoe.
Thank you! I am so slack about visiting other blogs these days, I left it off for awhile. I hardly have any time on my blog, or to visit friends, like you. I hope that can change at some point soon. I think the puppy digging is one of my favorites too, plus it was one less face I had to sculpt, lol! I’m glad he liked it! It really is almost over and my calendar is getting way too full already. I had to break the colorful sharpies out again. Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you again for the kind words, Deborah!
Thank you! I hope you have a lovely week-end too!
Thank you! 😀
Cute!
Thanks, Lacey! 😀
Before you know it, the next will be a wedding cake 🎂 !!
Wishing all the best!
You’re right, it’s just flying by! And, she is almost as tall as me already! Thank you for the wishes and for stopping by, Spira!
Another adorable cake – I love all the puppies and the accents you’ve made. Another good job Antonia 🙂
Thank you so much, Judi! 😀
This is so cute! And so much amazing detail!
Thank you, Kat! 😀
I love puppies! What an adorable cake! 🙂
Thanks, Nancy! 😀
That cake is too adorable! Amazing! You really are becoming a pro at this. Ever thought about opening a bakery?
Thanks for cohosting with me, Antonia! XOXO
Thank you, Angie! Maybe one day…. I enjoyed it! <3
Adorable!
Thank you, Irene!