winter-cardinal-cake

Enchanting Winter Cardinal Cake Design Tutorial

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Enchanting Winter Cardinal Cake Design Tutorial - CakeLovesMe - Fondant Cakes, Holiday Cakes, Special Occasion Cakes - winter cardinal cake -
Ahh, a winter wonderland. A perfect setting for the holidays.

Winter Cardinal Cake Inspiration

How do we get inspired? Where do we find it? Inspiration is all around us. Inspiration can come from anything we see, hear, feel, touch, learn, or experience. Positive and even negative experiences can channel inspiration. Positive experiences to name a few foster comfort, happiness, love, beauty, and joy.

Experiences such as fear, anger, grief, or loneliness can all contribute to extraordinary creativity. All things can inspire us to produce works of art. I also know inspiration can come from anything we are attracted to. For example, colors, textures, patterns, and shapes are all main ingredients from which inspiration comes.

This cake is the perfect combination of rustic and holiday for the season. Looking at this cake makes me feel like I’m walking in a snowy forest, with frosted pinecones about, beautiful red birds perching surrounded by branches adorned with red berries. That image in my mind was my inspiration. An Enchanting Winter Cardinal Cake featuring red cardinals, white pinecones, red berries, and a white bow resting on a red and white tree bark stump was my plan.

Winter Cardinal Cake Design Details

After covering the cake with white vanilla fondant I rolled out measured sections of red fondant and laid white dried torn fondant pieces over the red panels. I then used a roller over the white pieces to create the overall cracked bark look.

cardinal cake with fondant red cardinals white pinecones red berries white bow on a tree stump
Cardinal Cake Design Detail: 9″ Triple layered red velvet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting covered in vanilla and red fondant.

I also used additional smaller bark pieces to get a multi-layered look on the tree stump. I’m sure there are different ways to achieve this look but this was my process.

Since this was a Christmas Cake I wanted to do the tree bark white and red not brown. Things do not always need to be a literal representation. Think outside the box. A red and white tree is much more interesting and fitting for the holidays.

Fully Covered Fondant Cake

Let’s start with the simple basics and I will try to elaborate as much as possible from my own cake-covering experience. You’ll find what you need to know in my How-To Cover A Cake With Fondant – Fondant 101

winter cardinal cake with fondant red cardinals white pinecones red berries white bow on a tree stump
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Fondant Cake Toppers

Most fondant cake toppers can be made prior to cake-making day. This allows the fondant figures time to set and dry, especially if your fondant figures need to be a shape that won’t just happen without drying time. Fondant or gum paste bows and flowers are perfect examples. If you want that puffy gap in the bow foam can be used to achieve this look. Insert the foam in the bow and let it sit for a few hours before application.

Flowers or pinecones are molded with toothpicks or skewers (if needed) and set to dry. The red cardinals were also made ahead of time. All this pre-sculpted prep helps cake decorating go much faster. For more examples of pre-made fondant cake toppers check out this detailed 2 Tiered Star Wars Cake.

Enchanting Winter Cardinal Cake Design Tutorial - CakeLovesMe - Fondant Cakes, Holiday Cakes, Special Occasion Cakes - winter cardinal cake -
Enchanting Winter Cardinal Cake Design Tutorial 25

The advantage of resting fondant cake toppers or decorations on the cake board is the board supports the weight. When you have the heavy fondant figures on the cake top the weight has to be supported underneath by alternative means such as cardboard liners, straws, dowels, skewers, toothpicks, etc.

Enchanting Winter Cardinal Cake Design Tutorial - CakeLovesMe - Fondant Cakes, Holiday Cakes, Special Occasion Cakes - winter cardinal cake -
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I hope this Whimsical Winter Cardinal Cake inspires you.

Thanks for visiting. Happy Baking!

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