I don't know if I'm out of practice or getting old or just slowing down, but when I made this Under the Sea Baby Shower Cake over the weekend... along with three other big orders, all of the work nearly did me in!
The crazy started on Thursday when I started baking for all of the orders. I'd slept late and when I finally got into the kitchen and got started, it was a full 12 hours later before I was finished. In addition to baking all of the cakes and cupcakes (15 layers of cake, around 100 cupcakes), I also rolled around 3 dozen cake pop balls and got those in the frig for chilling.
It was a long, long day and when I climbed into bed that night, my feet and back were killing me. Then I woke up on Friday morning and had to repeat - except Friday was filled with cake decorating instead of cake baking.
I started by finishing up 5 dozen cupcakes for a bridal shower. Then I did a "You Are My Sunshine" cake and smash cake. Then I did a cake, smash cake, two kinds of cake pops, cupcakes and petit fours for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" party (click for pics!). All of the bits and pieces took all day.
I delivered the last of those around 6pm, came back home, sat down for a couple of hours to eat (yeah - hadn't done that all day) and rest a bit (it was nice to get circulation back in my feet 😉 ), then got back up and started on this Under the Sea Baby Shower Cake.
Wanna guess when I finished?
It was almost 3am. And even then, I wasn't 100% finished. I had to get up Saturday morning, add the topper, set up my photo area, take pics and box it up.
To say I was exhausted would be an understatement. I left home shortly after finishing to go run an errand for church and when I got home, I crashed.
At that point on Saturday afternoon, I hadn't sat in my living room since Wednesday. But I didn't want to sit at that point. My feet were achy and almost numb from swelling. My back was killing me. And we won't even talk about how much my hands ached and throbbed. I needed to sleep with my ice pack mittens to help with the pain.
I actually crawled into bed and slept about 4 hours in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday. Then Sunday after church... I repeated that same long afternoon nap.
It's Monday night now and I still don't feel truly "caught up" on sleep (is that even a thing?).
But all that aside, I wanted to share this cake with you. And I hope to share details of the other cakes very soon.
Under the Sea Baby Shower Cake
So, here's what you might want to know:
- The cake was 5", 7" and 9" round tiers baked in my favorite Magic Line pans.
- It was vanilla bean cake, filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream. So, so delicious and beautiful.
- It was covered and decorated with homemade marshmallow fondant.
- I used white sugar pearls for most of the bubbles.
- I used this pearl bead mold for the top tier and this pearl mold for the other one.
- Here are the other molds I used for the shells, more shells, seahorses, starfish, and mermaids.
- The gold was Imperial Gold Luster dust mixed with lemon extract and painted/brushed on.
- I used gold glitter paper and turquoise ribbon to cover the board - tutorial here. I used the same gold glitter paper for the "E" on top.
Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Leave me a comment!
Terri
Absolutely Awesome !!!!!!! This would have been my dream wedding cake. We were married on the beach in Key West.
Rose
Oh cool!
Charlene Booth
Rose,
This cake is stunning to say the least! Are you self taught as far as the decorating goes? What did you charge for this cake?
Rose
I am self-taught! You can read my cake story here: rosebakes.com/about. You can email me at rose@rosebakes.com if you'd like pricing info.
Tenika
Everything was so beautiful!!
Rose
Thank you!
Evy
I love that cake is so pretty!
Rose
Thank you Evy!
Diane Puddester
Your cakes are absolutly beautiful. You would never know "the Stress" you were underby looking at them. Well done Rose.
Rose
Thanks so much Diane!
Gina
Hi!
Beautiful as always.
Are the shells fondant or chocolate?
Rose
I used fondant but chocolate would also work (or candy melts for multiple colors).
Fabiola
Absolutely stunning!!
Could you give us a tutorial on how to work with fondant? Those tiers with the mermaid tails! Just beautiful!!
Get some rest, you've earned it!
Gail Tudor
I love how the mermaid tails are tucked into the "waves"! You really outdid yourself on this one! Cute, cute, cute!
Rose
Thanks so much Gail!
Karen
You are amazing!
Rose
Thanks so much!
Tess Obispo
Your cakes are really amazing! I love the baby shower cake with all the details.
Rose
Thank you Tess!
Caroline Boehm
Amazing, Rose!
This cake is gorgeous. One of your best :).
Rose
Thanks so much Caroline!
Lisa
Just gorgeous! I especially like how the fish tails stick out of the waves--adorable. I made a sand castle cake for my daughter's birthday at the beach one year and I used chocolate molds to make starfish and seashells. It turned out pretty well but nothing like your sea cake. Thanks for sharing it.
Annie
This is UNREAL!!! You are amazing, girl!
Rose
Thank you Annie!
Ashley
BEAUTIFUL!! <3 I'm a sucker for mermaid anything, but I made my own wedding cake and developed a real appreciation for the process at that time. This has to be one of my favorite cakes I've seen yet
Rose
Thank you Ashley!!
Jane @SustainMyCraftHabit
Absolutely wonderful! My little one is a huge Ariel fan - she would loooove this. So glad to find this at the Lou Lou Girls Fab party. Pinned for later!
Rose
Awww, thanks Jane!
Marie
This is an absolutely gorgeous cake! I love all of the details you put in and of course that you added some shine to it all. Easily the most beautiful baby shower cake ever made. Thanks for sharing it with us at Merry Monday this week!