Fondant icing novice, I need cake help

[Bumperlicioso]

DD2 is 4 this month, and I have managed to narrow her down to a Toy Story cake. I was thinking of something a bit like this. We have a bunch of figures around and I could make a large sponge base and use a loaf tin for the bed but I have never used fondant icing before. How do I colour it it, roll it successfully and attach it?

What would I use to make the bedstead?

[SarkyLady]

Colouring fondant...
Easiest to buy ready coloured (tesco do small multipacks or order online)
Avoid liquid colouring - ends up very sticky unless you want a pale colour.
Gel or powder colouring are fine, just takes a while to mix through. Again order online.

I've used a flake to make a bedstead.

[SarkyLady]

And the rolling and attaching will be easy for the bed as you'll want it drapey. Just roll out on icing sugar and cut to size before lifting with a rolling pin and draping over.

I tend to cover the cake with butter icing or similar first before putting the fondant over. But for a drapey shape like this that is not critical.

[Bumperlicioso]

Thanks for the tips. Flakes are a great idea. Four corner ones? Or a row at the back?

[Bumperlicioso]

Thanks, doesn't sound too difficult. Will be butter icing the rest anyway. What about the stars? Any easy way to do them? Should I just do circles from balls to make things easier?

[SarkyLady]

I did a bed a few years back but can't remember how I did the posts... Will check when I can get Dh off the Pc :)

Or if you want a thinner row then matchmakers could work.

[Bumperlicioso]

Mmmm, mint matchmakers, excellent. I'm also thinking about doing cupcakes like this with some soldiers.

[SarkyLady]

Stars will be a faff if you don't have a cutter.

Triangles would be easiest to cut from rolled fondant, but if you don't have a second colour rolled then might be easiest to buy some type of sprinkle iykwim. Most supermarkets stock a fair selection if these.

[SarkyLady]

I did ds2 a castle this year. Lots and lots of yummy matchmakers...

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

Hi there, do you have any biscuit cutters?

if not, print off some stars onto regular paper and use them as a template and cut them with a sharp knife.

I would second the idea of using butter cream to help the fondant stick to the cake.

[Bumperlicioso]

Ooh, you're right, I might even have some in my cupboard, well done! Thanks for all the tips :)

[Bumperlicioso]

Thanks Greyskull, my star cutters would be too big (for the bed cover) so I will go with the sprinkle idea. I don't know why I go to all this trouble every year when DD1 doesn't even like cake, well, obviously she like to have one but she never eats it!

[SarkyLady]

Now can you help me? :)

I always do my boys' cake in the shap of the present that Dh and I give them. This year we are giving ds1 a highsleeped bed and a set of Roahl Dahl books

[SarkyLady]

Shap? Shape.

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

perfect job for a loaf tin, do two, stick them together with jam and butter cream and cover with black fondant.

then make a thin duvet cover out of fondant (colour pattern that you think he will like) and a pillow to go on top (but only goes about 1 inch over the edge)

using modelling paste (available from cake suppliers shop) roll out some pillars in the colour of the high sleeper (assuming metal if not wood is easy)

Top to bottom at 4 corners
horizontal round the base of the mattress

Then the fun bit. Go onto clipart and get some basic shapes of what is going to be underneath his bed (book case etc) and roll out your fondant flat and cut the relevant colours into the shapes you need (does that make ANY sense at all?)
Once you have them flat on your board use a little dab of water all over the back of each and 'glue' it to the black sugar paste base to his bed.

If you put it on a bigger board then you could have some toys/clothes hanging round the bottom of the bed to make it a bit more like a bedroom?

[Bumperlicioso]

Hmm, depends how expert your skills are, how about this or this. Or you could do a row of books with a model of DS sleeping across them

[SarkyLady]

I think I follow...
So basically use black-covered cake to fill in the space under the bed?

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

use the black to pretend there is a space under the bed but it is infact the bottom layer of loaftin cake iykwim?

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

I would cover BOTH loaf tin's with the black so that the duvet layer can be looser draped over the top inch or so

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

I guess you may already know this but don't try to colour up your own black (unless you have the patience of a saint) just buy it already done

[SarkyLady]

Thank bumper.
I can't open the first link (prob my phone's fault)
The second one looks good - not sure how to do the pics on the book though ...

[Bumperlicioso]

I've tried to make black butter icing before, nearly used the whole bottle!

[SarkyLady]

I made nearly black icing (for a top hat) by making ganache with dark chocolate and adding some black colouring. Tasted fab :)

Tbh I tend to always use ganache instead of buttercream. Tastes soooo much better.

[SarkyLady]

Btw any tips for doing writing on cakes?

Have never got the hang of it. But if I'm going to do books...

[Bumperlicioso]

What's the difference? I'm a real amateur compared to you two by the sounds of it!

[SarkyLady]

I could adapt this...

books