BRIGHT ANIMAL PRINT!

ok so my friend was turning 18 the other day and asked me to design a cake for her. now she gave me nothing but animal print and bright colors haha. So, i brainstormed a little, and since zebra and leopard print are "in" right now i decided to go with that. The design was actually quite easy to do and it was very fun.

STEP 1  


pick my colors. after picking a few colors and figuring out my design, i decided to sketch out the zebra print to the correct size. now in order to have the zebra print lay flat, i piped the buttercream onto wax paper and froze the print. 


STEP 2


while the print was freezing i began to pipe the outline of all the leopard print. after all of the outlines were piped, i was able to fill in the colors. in order to get the colors to look evenly distributed, i piped one color at a time and only a few spread out. if i noticed there was not enough on a color, it was then easy to go back and add extra of a specific color.


* its always better to add a little at a time, because you can always add, but it is much more difficult to take away.


STEP 3


when the zebra print was nice and frozen it was very easy to work with, i pulled it out and flipped it upside down. in order to guarantee that the print did not crack i gently applied pressure to the top of the cake with my hand. now, by gently rubbing the top of the wax paper i am doing two things. 1. i am applying pressure and pushing the top layer of buttercream into the cake. 2. i am applying heat from my hands which helps the buttercream get soft enough to attatch itself to the cake and not simply slide off. however, you must be careful not to take too much time, or the buttercream will get too hot and the wax paper will pull it up and make a mess of your cake.


*  if you do notice that the buttercream has gotten to hot (which can happen for several of reasons, including having it out too long, your work area was too hot etc) you can simply place your cake in the freezer for a few minutes. keep in mind, fondant cakes do not do well in freezers, but a minute or two will do no harm as long as you dont forget about it :]


then i simply added a border. i chose a double border up top, but you could use just one if you thats what you like :]


And there you go! you have a beautiful, fun, and unique cake!