Ambitious birthday cake - fondant and marzipan

[TottenKing]

My friend has a birthday coming up and she's having a party. I want to make a cake for her and I want it to be fondant (because they look so darn cool). I found this picture and thought about making something like it (though probably not quite SO ambitious)...

I've made multi-tier cakes before with buttercream icing so I feel pretty okay about all that stuff. Here are my questions:

1. What do you all think the letters are? Cookies with icing or marizpan? If they're cookies, I'm guessing they were made then cut with a small knife into the desired shape. (What do you think?)

2. Does marzipan get hard like candy and, if so, does the consistency hold so that you could make upright letters like that? From what I've read, you'd cut the letters out of rolled marzipan...is that right?

3. If I'm pretty good at cooking and baking, should I be able to manage the fondant on square cakes like that?

Remember, I'll probably keep it a little more simple than that one (most likely more simple on the stop). Really, though, if I can figure out the letters, I think I'll be good-to-go.

Thanks for any input you can offer!

 

[TottenKing]

Anyone? Anyone?

 

[Katy Belle]

I think you could do the letters with sugar cookies and royal icing. It dries nicely and then you could outline in another color of royal icing. I know nothing about marzipan...but always thought it stayed soft...but I really don't know.

You can purchase cookie cutter letters, but these look hand drawn and cut out.

I hope some of the cake decorating people will answer you!

AND I love the cake!!! Post your photo when you finish your freinds cake!
Katy

 

[MazdaUK]

Marzipan does stay fairly soft but I expect it would harden if left out. I think the letters might be made out of sugar paste (like you use to make flowers for wedding cakes etc.) as its soft to mould but dries hard. No idea how to make it I'm afraid - I can never get th fondant icing on straight (there's always a bulge on the sid somewhere ) so i let the kids decorate any cakes to avoid any comments

 

[Goofysmate]

good luck with this one, hope it works for you

 

[Baboo]

Marzipan does stay soft. I think the letters are probably sugar paste too. If I were you, I'd go with sugar cookie letters decorated with royal icing.

Good luck!

 

[pfishgirl]

I agree Sugar cookies for the letter and this way if someone doesn't want the cake they can steal a letter cookie.. Or Gingerbread.. or maybe even Gramcracker.. I was trying to think of a stiff enough standup type of cookie..


Best Wishes and Show us Pics when you're done

 

[sahm1000]

I agree with the sugar cookie idea for the letters. I'd probably use the royal icing or at least some variation of a royal icing (I decorate my cookies with an icing that looks like and dries like royal icing but doesn't use any meringue powder and it doesn't dry as fast when you are working with it). I've never used fondant before but I know you can buy it already rolled out so that might save some time. My only tip I've learned with fondant is that you have to ice your cake first with a thin layer of frosting and then put the fondant on. Good luck and I can't wait to see pictures!

 

[cryssi]

If you do make them out of gumpaste (which is what they look like), be sure to do them well in advance, so they have a chance to dry. I haven't done any gumpaste yet, but I know that they need at least a week to dry...

You can stick them to your fondant-covered cake with royal icing...