I have a pseudo win for you, from the Lego Cake you posted today. It's not nearly as pretty as the original pin, but I thought it turned out pretty great for an amateur!
I didn't take process shots, but here's what I did and learned:
What went right:
- First, I did use mini cupcakes for the Lego studs, and they worked out great! Much tastier than marshmallows, I'm sure. I trimmed them to make them round, and made sure I baked them big so they'd be tall enough.
- I used gel frosting coloring, and a ton of it to get the color right. I think I used an entire jar of red.
- The pin as it is doesn't make cakes thick enough to really look like Lego bricks - I did two layers to get that look.
- Stacking the Legos of different colors was tricky (see leveling below), but paid off big time in the overall effect. Highly recommended!
- I used my own most reliable non-crumbly cake recipe - I knew I would be stacking these up, and didn't want to risk a cake-tastrophe.
What went wrong, and what you should do different:
- I'm picky about frosting which backfired on me - it's a cream cheese buttercream so it's hard to get really smooth and never really firms up well. I'd stick with something sturdier.
- This took WAY longer than I had allotted, so by the time I pulled the cake out to add the second layer of frosting after the crumb coat, the party was in full swing. Make this sucker the day before!
- I cheated on my leveling - when I sliced the layers in half, I tried just flipping it so the flat part was on top. This backfired, and you can see that the cakes still tip to the side and aren't really flat on top, plus the layers are visible where there were huge gaps between cakes. Definitely take your time leveling!
And of course, the verdict?
My son, who was turning four took one look, and said, "it's not a REAL Lego cake" and left the room. I about cried after all that work! But after adding a Lego border and a few Lego 'candles' and minifigures for decoration, he declared it a success.
Best part? Delicious!
I've had trouble with red gel food coloring, too. All the other Wilton gel colors are beautiful every time, but that red just comes out a little "salmon-ey" no matter how much I use. I switched brands and used AmeriColor red for the flag cake I made this July. I was much happier with the result. I would recommend trying that brand if anyone else has trouble.
ReplyDeleteThat lego cake looks awesome! It's totally on my baking to-do list!
I did a Lego party for my now 8 year old daughter back in March. I didn't bother with the cake. Instead, I ordered cupcakes and had the frosting done in primary colors. And then before the party, I topped each cupcake with a candy mini fig. We didn't have a single complaint and all the kids thought they were awesome.
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