Thursday, July 17, 2014

Dirty Thirty Subaru

My move out west left me scared and nervous for many reasons.  I hated the thought of leaving all my family and friends, and missing so many important events in their lives.  After a few months, we heard some great news ... friends of ours from a few hours away back in Ontario were also relocating to Alberta.  And 5 minutes away no less.  Yay!

Due to distance and working around 2 pilots schedules, we didn't get together very often back home.  In the 4 years I knew them they came down for a birthday party, I got up there twice, and fella a few times on his own.  Fella and Gary worked in the same company so they passed each other a few times more.

For me and the slight depression I was going through, this was fantastic news.  Friends from back home, also moving away from friends and family, one with no job lined up yet, just like me.  We found a local restaurant with an awesome special every Wednesday, and on their first week in town, we decided that we would meet there every week.  Well anyone not working would be there (we've only missed 2 nights in 3 months... not a bad record)

Then Sarah let us know that she was throwing a birthday party for Gary's 30th.  As usual my ears perked up and I asked about the need for a cake.  Sarah mentioned that it was a cigar party, and I thought about making a large cigar, but they have a tendency to look like a few other things if not done just right.  Then I thought about a humidor, but my last box didn't turn out the best.  At a pizza night that Gary didn't make it too, Sarah was talking about the party, calling it his Dirty Thirty, and I had a brainwave!  Gary is into racing and has a rally car!  His Subaru, driving through a mud puddle, covered in dirt!

Perfect.

I have started every cake with a sketch of how I want it to look.  I hadn't really placed much emphasis on having a prototype of sorts, but after my big wedding cakes last fall, I found this was a big help.  I love being creative and just letting the cake become what I envision, but having a plan makes the whole process just fall into place.

This was my plan for the Dirty Thirty-mobile

Jen Bakes Cakes

Thanks to the magic of Facebook stalking, I was able to find a picture that Gary made of how we wants to paint the car eventually, but this gave me a perfect profile, and shots the the front and tail end of his car.  It was the perfect tool for shaping the cake.  After baking and layering the cake, I printed and cut out the car and used it to sculpt the cake.


Jen Bakes Cakes



I didn't get it exact, and it ended up too round to get all the final details spot on, but I didn't know that yet.  It looked spot on from the cut out, but I didn't take into account the icing, and how that would change things.

Jen Bakes Cakes



I remembered to take lots of pictures along the way, so here is how I made my first car:

The sculpt was finished, so I popped it in the fridge to firm it up, then put on a crumb coat of butter cream

Jen Bakes Cakes

Cut out some holes for wheels...

Jen Bakes Cakes

 Then cover with fondant.  This was too thick, which hurt the accuracy of my details later on.  But the Blue Beast was coming to life!

Jen Bakes Cakes

 A quick trim and it's starting to look like a car.  It was right here that I noticed it was too round to be a Subaru.

Jen Bakes Cakes

 I had earlier made a short rectangular layer to be the bit of ground with the mud puddle.  My measurements were off, and I noticed here that the car was going to be just as long as the puddle.  Seeing as there were only 10 or so people coming to the party, less cake was better, but my initial drawing was off.  I really should have made the car smaller to begin with, but oh well.

I also, here for the mud, accidentally created the perfect consistency for butter cream.  I've been making it according to a wonderful recipe for a few years now, and it's delicious, and by putting in a little more dairy than called for it has given me a usable putty for a few years now.  In order for my mud to be fluid enough I added an additional third in small increments and oh my, this was so much easier to work with.  I will be doing this from now on.  Not only will it go on smoother, but it will also go further!

Jen Bakes Cakes

 Car meets mud!  And also a ton of details.  I had Sarah send me a few picture of Gary's car, so I knew exactly where I needed colours and logos.  Any references you have when making a realistic cake the better.

Jen Bakes Cakes

 The back end complete with plate cut out and trim indents

Jen Bakes Cakes

 The front end featuring Gary's black hood and scoop

Jen Bakes Cakes

And finally, all covered in mud!

Jen Bakes Cakes

I had a lot of fun making this but definitely need to remember to stick to my initial measurements.  For some reason, I didn't think 10" long was going to be impressive enough, so I changed it to 11, and then didn't take into account how much frosting and fondant add to the cake.

Happy Birthday Gary... Your Blue Beast was fun to recreate!


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