This is a German Chocolate cake with fondant covering, buttercream frosting edging, and gum paste roses. I first tried to make my own German Chocolate cake but I didn't calculate the altitude well, so I used a Betty Crocker box mix. What was nice about the box mix was there wasn't a need to altitude adjust. I live at 7600 feet so I have to pay attention to this. I did add 2 tablespoons flour to the mix and it came out perfect. I also used Betty Crocker Pecan Coconut Frosting.
This cake was fun to make. These are the first gum paste roses I have done. There are mistakes of course but I made a pretty cool "first" wedding cake. I did pretty good at making the rose buds too. For the green ribbon I made a strip of fondant and attached it to the cake by brushing a little water between the strip and the cake. Then I brushed a light film of water over the fondant to make the ribbon shine. Then I was able to apply sugar pearls, one at a time, to the edge of the ribbon. Water makes the fondant sticky so that part was easy, it just took time to apply.
My problem right now is when I put the fondant on the cake I get air bubbles. I need to figure out how to get those out before I decorate. I think one way is to have the cake eye level and in good lighting so I can spin the cake around to make sure it is smooth.
This batch of fondant came out speckled. Normally I wouldn't have used it but I kind of liked the textured look so I kept it. I used butter cream frosting for the edging around the bottom.
I can understand why these types of cakes are so expensive. One bakery charges $5.00 a slice for wedding cakes. This is because the gum paste flowers are time consuming. Each step takes time to make, dry, and apply. I loved doing it and though there are flaws, this being my first wedding cake, I am really happy with how it turned out.
