This is my very first special order Fondant cake. My grandson chose one of his favorite Lego character from the lego.com and said, "I want this for my birthday cake." So, he got it. It's Lego Pharaoh. Luckily on his 4th Birthday, he visited Lego Land, San Diego, California and gave me a Lego cake mold as a gift. To plan and design the how to of the details was challenging since I have not yet had a chance to work with Fondant directly. But I trusted my sight memory of how Fondant was handled and processed in the class, I set to work.
Ingredients and Tools:
Prepare 1 recipe cake batter for Persian Love Cake
Spray Lego cake mold with Vegalene to aid in browning
Fondant - 1 to 1-1/2 lb
1 Cup - Buttercream Frosting: Butter + powder sugar + vanilla - used to hold Fondant on cake
Food colors: yellow; Blue; Blue+Green+Red
Cake pearl dust Gold color
Dedicated paint brush for food use
Fondant rolling pin
Fondant rolling mat
Fondant/Candy Tool Set
Powder sugar + mini sieve
Lego Pharaoh Body & Cobra Staff - White fondant + yellow food color
Procedures:
1. Baked one test cake in the lego cake mold. Cake batter for Persian Love Cake was used. Result: Cake got stuck to the mold and texture is dense. But perfect to use it as a model.
2. Pharaoh's Staff and Head Gear - Prepared one recipe for the Rice Crispies squares. Instead of pressing it into a pan, I started to shape it into Lego Pharaoh's Cobra staff. Squeezed it as tight as possible and inserted three cookie/candy sticks as enforcement.
* Working with marshmallow rice crispies while "hot" (150'F) is essential for the formed object to hold its shape. When the marshmallow rice crispies has turned warm to the touch, they might look still pliable, but the elasticity/stickiness seem to have lost it's power. By the time I was done with the Cobra staff (passed 20 minutes) and ready to make the head gear, the marshmallow crispies had cooled. The head gear did not want to hold its shape. I was going to give up, but bet on the Fondant.
3. Find a couple of bowls that can be used to form the head gear. Set aside.
3a. Cover the cooled cake with Buttercream frosting.
4. Knead fondant to soft taffy texture.
5. Sprinkle powder sugar on top of fondant mat
6. Roll the fondant large enough to cover the Lego pharaoh cake
7. Carefully using the plastic tools and hands, pull gently and tuck and shape fondant into the outline of the Lego cake pharaoh. Cut the excess off with 2 mm excess - to tuck/curve under the cake.
8. Using the plastic tools, define the eyes and mouth, arm, etc.
9. Sprinkle the fondant mat with the powder sugar again. Roll out the colored fondant to cover the Cobra staff. Seal with a smear of water. Not a drop of water, but bare smear of moisture on finger tip.
10. Sprinkle powder sugar on top of fondant mat. Roll out the rest to form into head gear using the bowl as guide. *Basically the head gear is made free form. Using the print out as a guide. Have fun with it!
11. Place the head gear on the fondant covered Lego pharaoh. Form the side flaps and attach to the head gear. Using the plastic molding tool with a smear of water moisture, stick the flap to the head gear. And roll it along the body shape near shoulders. Smear a bit of water moisture in underside of the flaps to the shoulders.
11a. Yet, roll and cut out some rectangular pieces to make Pharaoh's lapa skirt. Set aside to dry.
12. After 30 minutes. Start painting the details with the food color.
13. Store in air tight cake container.
My grandson was delighted to see his Lego Pharaoh Birthday Cake.
And, I had fun making it.
If you like this, you might also like my Fondant - Lego Punk Rocker Birthday Cake I made for my grandson's sixth birthday.
http://rockdavinci.blogspot.com/2011/10/fondant-lego-punk-rocker-birthday-cake.html
