Bamboo Cake

For my Wilton4 class' finale I decided, after a lot of going back and forth, to do something different.  I had other options, some inspired by books I've seen, but I figured if I had the book and instructions in them, I could always do those later.  So I decided to do a cake with an Asian theme.  I had done a Sakura theme before, so although I was drawn to the shapes and colours of Japan, I thought it would be neat to do something more Chinese.  But looking at patterns and paintings...I didn't want to do anything RED...so I decided to do bamboos.


The trick?  How do I make them close to real?  How do I shape them?  How do I ensure they stick to the cake?  How do I position them? etc etc etc


Originally I had wanted to do 3 tiers but this week has been crazy and I've had no time to shop for a third tier so I decided 2 tiers was good enough for a practice cake.


I started working on the bamboos a week before.  I thought, if I could not tackle that, i would move onto plan # 2 which was a mosaic Greek theme cake.  But I seemed to be able to do it so I stuck with plan #1


The knots in the bamboo - well, I think ideally i would have used a straight crimper..but remember I told you I had no time to go shopping?  So I just improvised and used the tip of 2 skewers (LOL).


Painting - as I was assembling the cake at Michael's people came and asked me what colours I used.  I can't really tell you cause I used a blend of so many colours!  lots of greens and browns...and in an ideal world I would have added some pale yellow and ivory as well - this is when my painting/colouring skills come into play!


The final touches - the cake board was covered in white fondant - i originally thought of doing some patterns to it but didn't get to it.  Finding the right ribbon took a long time but at the end I am so happy with the choice - simple black.


Topper - I originally wanted to do a Ikebana style Orchid arrangement.  I tried an Orchid and it came out ok, but I felt it didn't quite match the size of my cake and its round shape.  and besides, I didn't have the right wires at home so couldn't really do them.  Then I thought of water lilies...but again, just didn't feel it was perfect.  Then, just out of the blue, my mom mentions how about a panda!?  Of course! why didn't I think of it!!!


So, the topper isn't fondant...but it just looks perfect if you ask me...


This was a fun exercise..away from all the whimsical and contemporary cakes I usually do....I'm glad I did it...and am so happy with the results.  I tested/learned many things in the process and love the outcome.