Barbie Doll Cake with fondant

This was they first time that I have worked with fondant. I haven't been to any classes, my teachers were buddy (watching every episode of Cake Boss) and google + YouTube lol. I followed guidelines from http://thecakeprocess.weebly.com/ she is honestly AMAZING! wow. Anyway for my barbie cake I made a coffee cake, yeah I know that one would usually make a chocolate or vanilla barbie cake but I don't know what made me make the coffee cake. Here goes:

Step one: Bake your cake

As I had said earlier, I made a coffee cake. I also used a barbie cake mould and had to double the ingredients therefore double the baking time as well.

So once the cake is done, ensure that it is smooth all around, this is the smoothest cake I've ever made and I think that the mould has a lot to do with the smoothness. It doesn't have to be extremely smooth underneath as that part will not be visible but it shouldn't leave your cake tilted either. Once the cake has cooled (I left mine in the fridge as I read that it is easier to work with) you can start to decorate it.

Step 2: Using Fondant

As I've said before, I've never worked with or even touched fondant before this in my life so if it is incorrect PLEASE feel free to correct me. I learned this off YouTube and google and cake boss LOL.

First you will need to colour your fondant so you need to apply some food colouring in the centre and work the fondant the same way you would when making any dough. I don't know if this is normal but to me the fondant had a very funny smell. It's not something I would want to taste though I've heard that marshmallow

fondant tastes quite good.

The plan was initially to make a black and white gown but the fondant was becoming grey I think it was because the food colouring was very weak so I decided to mix some red in and boom I got a lilac colour.

 Step 3: Dirty ice the cake



 

I've used a coffee butter icing to ice the cake. The above picture shows that the icing is not too smooth however you should try to smoothen it as much as you can.

Step 4: Roll out the fondant

Now you will have to roll out your Fondant. Remember, don't colour all your fondant as you may need to colour a few pieces different colours so that you can make different decorations.

I rolled out some white fondant, not too thick pieces just to use at the bottom of the cake as frills for the barbies gown. It is SO SIMPLE! I thought that I would have had a problem with the frills but it was in fact a piece of cake.The width/longness needs to be almost twice the size of the cake (because of the frills) and the height needs to only be about a quarter the height of the cake.

I then rolled out the purple piece of fondant.

*Tip: If you are like me and cannot roll out a perfect circle, roll out the fondant then take a plate, place it face down on the fondant and cut out the circle using a knife or pizza cutter.

The Fondant should not be too big as it will cover the frills, make it long enough so that it just covers the top of the frills.

The cake should have a hole in the middle at the top for the barbie to fit. The fondant should cover that hole for now, it is fine as you will cut the piece covering it later.

Step 5: Dress Barbie

I then made a little top for the doll.

I removed the dolls legs and adjusted the length of the top.I also adjusted the hole in the cake to fit the doll in.

Step 6: Make the hole

Fit the doll in the cake. Adjust the hole accordingly.

Step 7: Decorate!!!

This is the part where you decorate the doll as you wish. I put a belt in the centre to hide the piece where the doll fits into the cake not that it was untidy.

And there you have it, your very own home made Barbie Doll cake!!....

BILL GATES' SPEECH TO MT. WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL in Visalia, California.

I came across this article earlier today. So true, so inspirational, worth the read.

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this!

To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice. Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair -- get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

The difference between Girls and Grown Women

Girls leave their schedule wide-open and wait for a guy to call and make plans.
Grown women make their own plans and nicely tell the guy to get in where he fits.

Girls want to control the man in their life.
Grown women know that if he's truly hers, he doesn't need controlling.

Girls check you for not calling them.
Grown women are too busy to realize you hadn't.

Girls are afraid to be alone.
Grown women revel in it-using it as a time for personal growth.

Girls ignore the good guys.
Grown women ignore the bad guys.

Girls make you come home.
Grown women make you want to come home.

Girls worry about not being pretty and/or good enough for their man.
Grown women know that they are pretty and/or good enough for any man.

Girls try to monopolize all their man's time (i.e, don't want him hanging with his friends and family).
Grown women realize that a lil' bit of space makes the 'together time' even more special-and goes to kick it with her own friends.

Girls think a guy crying is weak.
Grown women offer their shoulder and a tissue.

Girls want to be spoiled and 'tell' their man so.
Grown women 'show' him and make him comfortable enough to reciprocate without fear of losing his 'manhood'.

Girls get hurt by one man and make all men pay for it.
Grown women know that that was just one man.

Girls fall in love and chase aimlessly after the object of their affection, ignoring all 'signs'.
Grown women know that sometimes the one you love, don't always love you back-and move on, without bitterness.

...MUG CAKES...

Chocolate Mug Cake

Equipment:

A Mug

A normal, everyday dessert spoon

A microwave

Ingredients:

4 spoons self-raising flour

4 spoons sugar

2 spoons cocoa

1 egg

4 spoons milk

4 spoons oil

A splash of vanilla extract

Method:

Add dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa) to mug and mix well.

Add the egg, milk, oil and vanilla extract and mix well.

Place MUG in microwave for 3 minutes on high.

Serve with ice-cream, double cream, chocolate sauce or all three.