American Baker in Germany

This cake was inspired by a good friend of mine. She visited me a few months ago all the way from New York and while she was here she told me about her interest in the steampunk culture. I had seen some steampunk things before and I think they look really cool. So I knew I had to at least try to make a steampunk themed cake. And what is more iconic of the steampunk culture than a top hat? So that's what I decided to make. Before I started on cake, though, I had to make some hardware. I used circle cutters, a knife and various round piping tips to make some gears or cogs of several sizes. I also made the base of a pocket watch, small rings to act as grommets, a belt buckle, and a watch chain, or at least half of one. I set these aside to dry for two days.  Then I painted them with bronze edible paint. Basically everything. And I used the paint to make the clock face as well. Now we can finally get on with cake. I had baked four four-inch round chocol...

This blog and cake were neither sponsored nor affiliated with the Disney Corporation. It qualifies as user generated content according to the definition in the Disney terms of use. A friend of mine contacted me and asked me if I would be willing to make her daughter's birthday cake. She wants a doll cake. And she has the doll already. It's Belle from Beauty and the Beast. My answer? An unhesitating yes! I've been wanting to make a doll cake for months, but I hadn't had an excuse yet. In case you didn't know, and most people don't, doll cakes are really tall. My friend measured the length of the doll from toes to waist and it was 7 inches tall. Most cake tiers are 2-3 inches tall. So, this one will be literally two or three times as tall as an average cake. I baked two recipes of my vanilla cake in a half sphere pan and one 8 inch and one 7 inch pan. The sphere cake I cut into three layers and the two round layers I cut into two. That gave us a total of 7 la...