"How did you... make the George Mason University grad cake?"
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This is a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling, lightly coated in vanilla BC, and covered in fondant.
The size of the book cake is 6"x8"x4". The grad hat is a small cake covered
in fondant with a graham cracker
base for the top. The diploma and
all other accents are fondant. As with all my cakes, it is completely edible.
Below are a few photos taken during the process. I hope you enjoy!
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Level
I started with a 9x13 (1/4 sheet) cake. I leveled it and cut in half to stack for the book. By using the same original cake for the top/bottom, I avoid layering a thicker cake and ensure the border/shape of the cake is the same on all sides. This eliminates the need to carve down more.
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Filling
The grad doesn't like chocolate, so this cake is vanilla with vanilla buttercream. Once filled, I placed the other half of the cake on top for the book.
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Crumb-coat
The book cake is crumb-coated in vanilla buttercream. The crumb-coat helps to keep crumbs from flaking off, adheres the fondant covering to the cake, and adds flavor since fondant is a very mild icing medium.
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Color Fondant
George Mason colors are green and yellow and the grad loves pink. Working these colors together was a bit of a challenge. The more fondant you knead and color, the more fatigued your hands will be. Only 1 lb of fondant for this cake, so not too bad. ;)
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Roll
Unless you are making sculptures, fondant is rolled out to cover cakes and make cut-outs. Once the fondant is rolled, you need to work quickly or it will dry out and start to crack when you place it on the cake or work with it further.
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Cover
Covering the book cake was a greater task than I anticipated, as it required covering the cake on both the bottom and top with a single piece of fondant. The pages are a strip of white fondant, trimmed to fit. I scored the pages with the edge of a ruler to give them a closed book appearance.
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Finishing Touches
I cut-out letters from rolled fondant. The scroll is a white piece of fondant rolled up. The grad hat is a small cake covered in fondant with a graham cracker base for the top. The book cover and accents are hand-painted or have luster dust to add dimension. Once all pieces were complete, I assembled on the cake and voila!
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Piper Cakes
