Decorate The Cake: Just A Little "Horsin' Around"

I would like to send a big Thank You to Rebecca Stewart for helping me out with the latest blog post.

I wanted to make a small display cake for the 2013 ICES convention in Kentucky. When I saw the horse molds at DTC, I knew just what to do! This cake measures just 8" from base to the top of the topper. I used a set of octagon dummies, but the same sizes can be cut from one 9x13 sheet cake (templates provided via link at end).

Materials Needed:

2" high cake tiers (1 each, 3x5, 4x6, 5x7 "stretched" octagons)

Fondant (ivory, brown (2 shades) and red)

Tylose powder

DTC Molds: Horsehoe, horse head, running horse

Sugar Delites mold: mini rose (or) use the smaller rose in the DTC Floral 1-Mini-9 Spring Flowers mold

Extruder with rope die is helpful

Gum glue or melted chocolate

Mold the horse head, running horse and horseshoes using lighter brown fondant with a small amount of tylose added. I will refer to this as fondant throughout the post. When molding tiny detail such as found in these molds, it is best to pop the filled mold in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes. You can then unmold the figure without the tiny bits breaking off.

Make 2 heads, 2 running horses, 6 horseshoes, and 12-14 mini roses.

Use thin strings of fondant (50/50) to get into the tiny spaces, such as the legs on the horse.

Roll the filled mold to press the fondant into all the spaces.

Carefully skim off the excess with a thin blade palette knife.

After freezing, carefully unmold your pieces.

Follow the same procedure to mold the roses with red fondant/tylose.

Allow all pieces to dry, preferably overnight.

To assemble the miniature topper, use a small log of fondant to match the cake and slightly flatten it. Place the horseshoes in the log, pressing down slightly into the fondant. Carefully remove them and apply a small amount of gum glue or melted chocolate in the indentation.

Replace the horseshoes, positioning them as desired. Fill in the base by attaching the miniature roses.

Ice, cover with ivory fondant if desired, and stack your cake tiers. Using straight fondant in a darker shade of brown, extrude a rope border and place it around the base of each tier. With shorter lengths of rope, tie a knot and attach it front and center on each rope border.

Apply the molded elements to the front and back, using gum glue or melted chocolate. Place topper.