Novelty 101 – Planet Cake Course

Posted by: jen on: February 10, 2009

• In: Cakes & Cupcakes | Decorating Classes
• 11 Comments

A couple of Saturdays ago i tottled off to my first ever cake decorating course at Planet Cake. Their cakes are one of the best in the business so i figured if i want to make cakes as outstanding as theirs, i’d better learn from the best. Their courses aren’t cheap (i’ll be the first to admit that) but they are very, very worthwhile.

Initially, i wanted to enrol into their Basics series (meaning classic shapes and designs) however i was a little too slow and the course dates i wanted had booked out. After speaking to Paris, the owner of Planet Cakes, she advised that i could enrol into the Novelty series and then pick up Basics later on. This suited me fine, it meant that i would learn different shapes and probably walk away with more skills as i was constructing harder shapes.

The first course for the novelty series was the circus tent and clown cake. When i first saw the cake i thought there was no way we were going to be finishing this cake in a day! It looked so complex and detailed, but of course, we did and looking back now i still can’t believe i actually made the cake.

We started off with a square block of cake (marble mud – yum) and had to sculpt it to a circle shape. With the extra pieces, we used that to build the pointy top. We also used chocolate ganache to stick all the bits and pieces together. It was cool, like having edible glue 🙂

 

Cake shaped like a tent

The next step was to ganache the whole cake and make it as smooth as possible. Each and every lump should be removed otherwise you’ll have uneven fondant when you finally put it on.

 

Ganached till silky and smooth

After ganaching, you’ll need to let it set. We used this time to head off to lunch. After the ganache has set, it’s time to apply the fondant. Before applying the fondant, we brushed the whole cake with a syrup. This acted as a glue so the fondant would stick to the cake.

 

Decorating with fondant

Then it was just a matter of adding decorating the tent and making the clown. It was amazing to see how with the right tools all the wonderful things you could do (and so easily).

 

Finished cake!

I’m excited to say i’m booked into Novelty 102 where i’ll be making a mermaid cake. I’ll be sure to post photos once i’m done! 🙂

Tags: Fun, My cakes