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Happy New Year! Although we are only a week into 2016 it feels like I am running full steam ahead. I’m not quite sure how it happened… one moment I was relaxing, enjoying Christmas and ringing in the new year and the next moment, the universe just decided that I had enough rest and it was time for everything to start moving again!

I finished off last year with one of my favourite cakes and with what I think is just the cutest Hello Kitty styled party ever!

I was actually not planning on doing any more cakes once I returned from my Singapore and Malaysia teaching trip but when the opportunity to do a 3D Hello Kitty cake came up, I seriously could not say no. And when I got sent the invite I got even more excited…

OMG… look at all the pretty pinks and cuteness… and to top it off it was an ice cream themed party!!

A couple of years ago, I took a class with Mike McCarey from Mike’s Amazing Cakes and one of the most important things he taught me (that I now use for every 3D cake I do) is to create life sized templates and use that as a basis for planning, measuring out the structure and carving the cake.

From here once you have the template, it makes it much easier to create the structure because you now basically have a plan and measurements to work with.

Everything gets sealed with a layer of floral tape and cling wrap and then its time to get all the cake on there. By far the most challenging part was building the cake around the bottom portion. But by carving following the shape of the template and a little bit of squeezing, it all worked out.

One of the things I have learnt from experience is to carve the cake smaller than what you need it to be. If you think it’s just right, it probably needs a little more shaving. Because once the layer of ganache and fondant goes on it, it will ‘gain’ a little extra weight. 🙂

For 3D cakes, I usually spend a little extra time to make sure the ganache is applied on evenly and smoothed out. It makes a world of difference if you spend an extra 10-15 mins doing this. Note that I don’t mean for you to spend hours and hours… because to be honest, you also need to know when to stop and walk away!

Once the cake is fully covered in ganache you’ll get a better idea of the shape and what needs to be fixed. Sometimes when you can still see the cake layers and boards, it can mess with your head.

And wait until you see the party she gets to attend… Astrid from Paper Playground did an absolutely beautiful job styling the party and dessert table. Tahlia is one lucky little girl!

Everything was so pretty that I wanted to just stay and bask in all the cute and pretty things. Seriously, I think this was the prettiest party I have ever delivered to!

I am beyond excited that I got to be a part of this party next to some really amazing suppliers and it was an amazing way to end 2015.

Supplier Details (courtesy of Paper Playground)
Design & Styling | Bespoke Paperie | Custom chocolate bars | Paper Playground
Marquee & Candy Cart Barny & Moo
Cake Stands & Pedestals Pretty Pedestals
Hello Kitty 3D cake Sharon Wee Creations
Hello Kitty Character Macarons Le Sucre Du Patisserie
Cake pops & mini cupcakes La Petite Pops
Strawberry cheesecake trifle with freeze dried raspberries Sugar High Desserts
Hello Kitty character cookies Sugar Bee Cakes
Artisanal cotton candy Fluffegram
Flower cookies bouquet Spoon and Fork
Hello Kitty character donuts eliseaki
Chocolate gems Bake Down Cakery

If you enjoyed this mini tutorial, you can continue to support my work by purchasing full detailed tutorials or my book though my online store here.