The Making of a Louis Vuitton Purse Cake

SUPPLIES

~half sheet (13"x18"x1" pan size) cakes

~filling (buttercream or ganache type suggested)

~Fondant

~sugarcraft gun

~gumpaste

~luster dust

~cake board or foamcore

~serrated knife

~offset spatula



INSTRUCTIONS

When making any purse cake (replicating a real purse) I search for images of the purse, including the purse name and the dimensions. the LV Speedy 25 is around 10"x7"x6". Measurements are good to know so that if you need to rescale the purse smaller (or larger) it can still be proportionate to the original.

This particular cake was made to the actual size of the purse.I baked 3 of the half sheet cakes. I cut the cakes into strips 6 inches wide by 10, so about 3 strips per cake. you can either make sure you have enough full strips for the entire cake, or you can use the bigger scrap type pieces in the middle layers.

I cut 2 pieces of cake board. The bigger one for the bottom, it measured slightly smaller than the size of the cake, mainly because purses tend to have a curve on the bottom. the other board can be cut to the same size for this purse, but I usually cut slightly smaller for ease of carving.I placed my strips of cake and icing between them just as if icing a cake, however after my 3rd layer of cake, I place straws or dowels in the center, just 3 for this size cake, and then smear a little icing.

On top of the dowels, I place my second cardboard. I then finish layering my cake. Once done, you have just a rectangle of cake and icing.

as you can see here, I have 8 (I think :)) layers of cake.

The filling isn't very thick, just about 1/4 inch. I don't recommend using a slippery filling when carving/sculpting any cake.Chill the cake until it has firmed up and is ready to carve, depending on the cake, this time could vary.

At this point, I actually had a photo of the end of the purse, enlarged to the size I wanted the cake to be.
I used this as a template to carve my cake. If you are are in touch with your artistic side that day, you can wing it! When carving, I carved a straight line down the center of the first layer of cake, to indicate where the center was then I carved each side.. I learned that tip from Mike McCary's DVD ( He's one of my cake idols.. I have quite a few!!!)

Anywhoo..... once the cake was carved into the shape of the purse:

I covered it in buttercream and then chilled it again..From here on, I don't have any pics in process (sorry!) but here is what I did.

~make a zipper using a long rectangle strip.

I have seen many ways to make a zipper: using a mold, marking with a paring knife, or using the side of a jar to make the lines. Color the zipper portion gold and lay it on the top of the bag.(this is important to do first because I forgot and had to lift up my sides to fit the zipper in.. NOT FUN!!

~roll out fondant in rectangles, to cover the sides and ends.

I do this one piece at a time so the fondant doesn't dry. I roll out the longer sides first, but I'm sure it doesn't matter. Place the fondant up against the side you are covering and trim along the edge of the purse with a very sharp knife, xacto knife or razor, but make sure it's sharp so you can cut with a sliding motion, instead of a sawing motion. trim along the bottom, leaving just a little bit of excess so you can use a dogbone tool to push it under the cake. For the longer sides trim along the sides of the zipper you placed on the top. Do the same procedure for the remaining 3 sides.

~If you have an airbrush, this is the point where you would airbrush your cake.
You can airbrush from white to brown, or you can start with beige or brown fondant and airbrush from there. If you don't have an airbrush, I suggest using chocolate fondant. I personally HATE coloring fondant brown..

~check your photos to see if any details are under the seams.
 On this purse, it looked like the little tab on the end was under the seam, so I cut that out and applied it before I did the seam.~once all 4 surfaces are covered, soften some fondant with shortening and use your extruder with the round opening to make strips. glue these lines to the edges where they join, you can use water, but I like to use tylose glue. (tylose powder with water added) I try to make one long piece to cover, but if not, you can smooth the seams with some water and a palette knife or offset spatula

~LV has a very specific pattern.
 On this cake, my emblems are larger than they would be on a purse, but I tried to stick to the pattern, except in the spot where I got off.. hey every cake has a back right??!! I hand painted these emblems on with gold luster and lemon extract. there are also cutters that are similar to the shapes. using and edible image is also an option. This is part where you can get creative. Sometimes we like items to look like exact replicas, but I have come to realize that it is an ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION, and therefore does not have to be exact. I'm sticking to it!

~if you notice on this bag,
 the handles aren't at the top of the bag, so while I'm sure it would be possible to make hard handles standing up, I felt like it would be easier to make them hanging down. If you wanted to do them standing up, I would suggest gumpaste handles made in advance of course. Elisa Strauss has instructions on how to do handles in her confetti cakes book. and I'm sure you could google.. google is my friend when making cake! So for these handles, I first made the shapes of the leather patches that are stitched on the bag. for the gold metal circle, I just cut a circle of fondant with a round tip and painted it gold. I made the handle with a rectangle folded in half and stitched on the edge.

These handles also have a distinct way they come together over the hardware so to replicate that I made the end of the handle fold over where the hardware would be and stitched it. I glued the handle to the leather patches. Because the handles are not standing up, the hardware is just an illusion. I made 2 thin sausage shapes out of modeling chocolate and stuck the ends in the opening on the patch and the opening in the handle. I then painted them gold

.~make any other hardware that comes on the purse that you want to make. and voila! a purse!

here is another LV purse I made, different shape, pretty much the same procedure

Photos and Tutorial by Samele Thorner 2009. All rights reserved.
The tutorial or patterns cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes without permission from the author.

How to make a Shoe Box Cake

Supplies

I quarter sheet cake (9x13), cut in half, filled and stacked
Non-crusting buttercream, or thick ganache

Fondant

Roller

Ruler – with good straightedge
Pme cutter, or pizza cutter
White chocolate, colored to match fondant
Use milk chocolate if your box is brown
spatula

White Gumpaste

Edible markers and/or luster dust

Intructions:
Roll out fondant for box lid the night before you want to decorate the cake. This allows the fondant to stiffen and makes it easier to handle.

If you want a contrasting box and lid, then cover the cake in one color for the box,
and Roll and cut the lid in a different color.

Roll out rectangles 1/2" larger than the measurements to insure against mistakes. The 10 & 7" strips are the sides of the box lid. The thinner you can roll out the sides of lid the better.

Roll out white gumpaste in a small rectangle for the barcode, diamond shape for the box label. If you want, you can also cut out lettering for the top of the shoebox. Allow to dry. Using an edible marker and straightedge, draw a barcode and a label. You can also paint your lettering with luster dust.

To Assemble:

Take stacked and filled cake, and crumb coat with buttercream or ganache. Cover cake with fondant and trim flush with the bottom. Smooth and make your corners as sharp as possible. I use the straight edges of my fondant smoothers together at a 90 degree angle and crimp my corners.

When finished, remeasure lid sides to fit over fondant box place the sides of the lid on the top side of your cake. Attach with melted chocolate. Remeasure and recut top of lid to fit perfectly. Lay on top and run bead of chocolate over seams and corners, the smooth with spatula.

Once complete you can attach labels, barcodes or lettering to the box.

Note-
Because Buttercream or ganache will eventually soften the fondant, Place in refrigerator until ready for delivery to prevent sagging sides.

The original idea to incorporate the Birthday and Name into the barcode was the clever genious of Nati Leelavetchabutr. I was so thrilled when she gave her permission for me to use on this birthday cake! Thank you Nati!

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Photos and Tutorial by Jacque Benson 2007 -all rights reserved.
The tutorial or patterns cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes without
permission from the author.

How to make a Pillow (Cushion) Cake by Toni Brancatisano

BAKE a rectangle or square shaped cake.

For this tutorial, I used my large baking dishes... large rectangles.

1: once you have baked and torted your cake, begin my carving the shape of the cushion ... I like to roughly outline with a knife on the top of the cake.... a very rough guide, but it helps.... you could also use a template.. But I am not usually that organised!!!

2: Carve the 'shape' of the cushion, tapering corners, and curving sides.... this will give the more authentic cushion shape to your cake.

3: cover one side of cushion with BC, then fondant, and flip cake over onto cake board.

4: If you wish, you can emboss the top cover of the cushion... I used the embossing mat to help lift the fondant onto the top of the cushion, and then raised the mat off the fondant once happy with the position of the fondant on the cake.

You can do whatever you like with the design of the 'fabric' for your cushion..... quilting, painting, embossing, etc...............

5: Use a ribbon to help guide your stitching wheel to ensure straight lines.

6 & 7 * Create dents for buttons

* Create cord detail, holding in place with pins until dried in place.

(I leave the pins in overnight).

8: Paint cake as desired. You don't have to paint it of course, but that is what I did for this cushion.. All painted with Lustre Dusts & vodka.

Place your pre-made ballet slippers on the cake.... and hold in place with ROYAL ICING.

9: Voila..... finished cake!

This was my first cushion cake, and remains one of my cakes that I am still proud of. I did make the error of not covering the board, and while painting, flicked colour ... making a splattering all over the board.. hence the heart cut outs............ strategically placed to cover my mess!!!

I have included this photo of a 2 tier cushion cake dummy I did for a trade fair, to give another decorating idea.

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What a brilliant tutorial!

Thank you for being our guest teacher this week Toni!

Torteditoni

**********************About Toni**********************

Toni grew up in Melbourne, Australia and as a young adult her travels took her to Italy. She met her husband, and now calls Italy her home... Pietrasanta (LU) on the Tuscan coast. Disappointed that cakes, such as a simple cupcake, were impossible to find there, Toni began making special birthday cakes for her own children. She is now is serving the public with her own special brand of cake artistry!

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Photos, patterns and tutorial by Tony Brancatisano ( Torteditoni ) 2009 all rights reserved

This tutorial was used with the expressed permission of Toni Brancatisano ( Torteditoni )

and may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.

"Hush Little Baby" Crib Cake

Materials:

Cookie sheets or cake cardboards
Tape
Waxed Paper
2 cups Royal Icing
Blue, Green, Red and Yellow coloring pastes/gels
Parchment or pastry bags
Piping Tips- #2,#3,#12,#86
Art Brush
10” Square Cake Layer
Quarter Sheet Cake Drum
Black Food-coloring Marker
Matching Ribbon
Glue Stick


Instructions:


1. Make several copies of each animal-shaped pattern and the letters from patterns below. Attach them to a firm, smooth surface that can be set aside. Cover the patterns with waxed paper and tape them into place. Remove 1/3 of prepared royal icing and set aside. Divide the remainder into 5 portions and tint with light blue, dark blue, green, red and yellow. Load a small handful of icing into a small piping bag fit with tip #3, then pipe the outline of each figure, being careful not to leave any gaps in the outline. Use a damp brush to help correct mistake and join line together.

2. Add drops of water, one at a time to the remaining colored icing until a ribbon of icing melts into the icing below it in 10 seconds. *Use tip #2 to flood each outline, building it up until the icing has a puffy, raised appearance. Allow the decorations to dry at least 24 hours. Repeat the process with the crib rail panels using the white icing.

3. Cut the cake in half, creating two rectangular 5 x 10” layers. Fill and stack on a cake drum, using a dab of buttercream icing to secure. Cover the cake with buttercream icing. Carefully remove the dried floodwork from the waxed paper with a thin, flexible spatula. ( Or you can pull the paper to the edge of a table or countertop; then pull the paper slowly over the edge, catching the piece as it comes from with your other hand.) Attach the bed rails to the cake, positioning them 1” above the surface cake drum.

4. Pipe green and red stripes across the front of the cake using tip #12, ending the bottom of stripe 1” above surface of cake drum. Alternate the colors randomly, piping 1-3 stripes of the same color before switching.


5. Pipe a red bead border around the base of the cake using tip #12.


6. Using tip #86, pipe a green ruffle around the entire cake just above the bead border, splitting the distance between the bead border and the bottom edge fo the rails/stripes. While piping, wiggle the tip in a very tight zigzag motion to achieve the ruffled appearance.

7. Pipe another green ruffle across the top of the stripes at the top edge of the bed’s front side.

8. With tip #86, pipe a second ruffle around the base of the cake in red. Expose just a little of the green ruffle below, keeping the top edge against the base of the bed rails and stripes. Add facial details to the animals using a black food-colouring marker. Arrange animals and letters on the bed and around the base, using buttercream to prop them up. Finish the cake drum by attaching pretty matching ribbon using a glue stick.

* Handy Tip from Mame... Begin piping the figure with two colors first. Pipe and flood the smaller portions, allowing the icing to crust. Then finish with the second color. I flooded the backside of the dry, completed figures to provide a more finished, 3-D appearance. You may choose to finish the pieces with only one layer.

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PATTERNS

Tutorial by Mame Recckio-Wolfe
2009. all rights reserved
Photography by Katie Hilbert
2009. all rights reserved
This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.
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You can find wonderful tutorials just like this one in every issue of American Cake Decorating Magazine. Order your subscription today!!

How to Make a Gumpaste High Heel Shoe

Supplies

Gumpaste colored to taste
2 toothpicks or thin bamboo skewers
Gum glue
PME cutter or pizza cutter
Roller & Gumpaste Board
Styrofoam Board
Cardboard center from paper towels (cut into a 3" triangle)
Clean plastic 2 litre bottle & tape
scissors

Wax paper for pattern

ball tool
Confectioner’s Glaze (opt)

Instructions:

Begin with a small 1"- 1-1/2" ball of firm gumpaste.



Start pulling a cord from one end of the ball until
you get the desired length of your heel.



Using the guide below,
find a design for the type of heel you want to make.
Using your hands, form heel to desired size and height.


I usually form a 2 – 2 ½ inch heel.


Then place the ball end of your heel on the board
and flatten.
Use your ball tool to smooth the curves on your heel.


Once it is formed, insert
a tootpick or thin skewer through the heel leaving
some of the skewer extending from both ends.



Pushing the skewer into your styrofoam,
Secure the heel in place upside down and allow to dry.








Once dry, you will cut and attach your sole to the shoe.
But before you do, you will need a form to secure the shoe
while the sole dries.


Kerry Vincent, in her book "Romantic Wedding Cakes", makes a
form for her beautiful gumpaste shoes using an aluminum soda can. But for me, I have found
using plastic is easier to handle and more forgiving
( as I am heavy handed and kept breaking the fragile aluminum form).





While your heel dries, create a form by cutting
a one inch wide strip from a plastic 2 litre bottle.


Measure in inner side of your heel and make the plastic
form the same height.

Once formed, secure with tape.

Now that your heel is dry, turn it right side up on your styrofoam and secure while you prepare your sole. Roll gumpaste out to about 1/8"-1/4" thickness. Place sole pattern over and cut around using a pizza or pme cutter.

If you are making a pair of shoes,

flip the pattern to cut the second shoe creating a left and right shoe.

Position form in front of heel.

Moisten top of heel with gum glue and attach sole to heel.

If you want to line your shoe, this is the time to cut a lining 1/4" inside the line of the original sole pattern. Brush with luster dust and place over sole of shoe.

Just as you cut the sole, roll gumpaste out and cut according to pattern, remembering to flip the pattern if you are making a pair of shoes.

Brush the edges of your sole with gum glue and place the top part of your shoe in place.

Take the cardboard triangle and place into the upper shoe

as a support while it dries.

Add additional trim to decorate the shoe, according

to the design you want to achieve. On this one,

I added white gumpaste strips brushed with copper luster dust.

Check heels and soles from every angle to be sure that they are straight
and allow to dry completely for 2 days.
(Resist the temptation to pick them up and check them---it is hard (I know!)---but the soles will crack if disturbed before they are completely dry.)

If you would like to achieve the look of patent leather,

brush with confectioner's glaze once shoe is completely dry.

And the last bit of advice is to have fun with it. Create, laugh and have loads of fun.
After all, it is only sugar!!

Shoe Patterns

Pictures, patterns and tutorial by Jacque Benson 2007 . all right reserved

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.