Birthday Beauties

January brings another year of birthdays and ideas for a cake to personally complement each recipient. Between friends and family there have already been three birthdays in the past few weeks. One of my most recent creations was a guitar cake. This post is a tutorial of how to make this playful cake.

Guitar Cake - level, cut out using template and crumb coat

Decide how big your guitar will be, roughly sketch it out on a piece of parchment paper then cut out your template. Keep in mind, the size of cake served at a party is typically 1-1/2" x 2". This cake was made with two 9" x 13" sheet cakes; one was used for the neck, the other for the body of the guitar, which served 30.  
As for any cut and formed cake, they should be made from scratch to produce a cake sturdy enough to cut out, manipulate and decorate without crumbling. Madeira cakes are often used for this type of decorating. *NOTE: Cake mixes produce a light, crumbly cake and are not suitable for this type of work. The cakes must be baked at least the day prior to cutting and assembly.
After baking, cool completely then wrap the cakes well in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. When ready to cut and assemble the guitar, level the cakes (remove the rounded tops) then place parchment template on the cakes and cut out the guitar shape.

Refrigerated crumb coat, assemble on cake board

To cut, use a sawing motion with a very sharp knife. Keep the knife at a 90 degree angle to the counter so the sides of the cake are straight. Gently remove the unwanted sections of cake and 'crumb coat' each section. This means, ice all surfaces of the cake with a very thin layer of icing then refrigerate until the icing is firm. (This cake was about 2 feet long, so it remained in two sections until final assembly.) 
Now it is time to ice and decorate; transfer the cake carefully to a prepared 'cake board' for decorating, transportation and serving. Cake boards can be made with clean, heavy cardboard cut to the size you need, covered with tin foil then plastic wrap. A paper doily or colored tissue paper can be placed under the plastic wrap if desired. Color your icing any color you want for the guitar but remember to reserve some white buttercream icing for the guitar strings. 'Glue' the two sections together with colored icing then ice the entire cake and smooth the sides and top. 
The next step is to use 'rolled fondant' for the fingerboard, soundhole, pickguard, saddle and bridge. ('Ready to Use' fondant can be purchased at The Bulk Barn.) Simply open the package and roll out using a small amount of confectioners sugar so it does not stick to the rolling surface or rolling pin. Pipe the strings in white buttercream. Finish by piping a simple border in the same color as the guitar around the base of the cake on the cakeboard and insert jujube candies on toothpicks for tuning keys. 
I hope you found this tutorial easy, informative and has you excited to try creating your own Birthday Beauty!

Guitar Cake in cardboard 'Guitar Case'

Till next week...Bon Appetit!

Photos, cake, cakeboard and 'guitar case' by Sally Rae