How I did it: I went to Michaels and purchased a basic cake decorating book along with different food coloring. I baked my cakes from scratch and made my icing from scratch. The entire process took about 9 hours. With trial and error I learned how to handle the icing to make it look nice. I went on youtube to learn how to smooth the icing finish (the paper towel method!) 

Lessons & tips:

• You can use either fondant or buttercream icing to finish the cake. If you're using buttercream, use the paper towel method.
• Get a rotating cake decorating platform for you to smooth the icing. 
• Wilton's reusable icing bags are the best. 
• Duff is the best fondant. I buy mine at Michaels. It's expensive but I won't use any other kind because every other fondant I've ever tried tastes like plastic. This one actually tastes delicious! 
• If you need help thinking of an idea of what kind of cake to make, try coolest-birthday-cakes.com or google the type of cake you're looking for like "sushi cake" or "banana split cake" or something 

Resources: Wilton's Cake Decorating supplies

Jan 02, 2011, 08:19PM PST | 1 comment | 4 cheers