Any Ideas On A "hey Diddle-Diddle" Nursery Baby Sh
Decorating By dusek Updated 2 Jun 2006 , 6:18pm by steph95
Hi,
I just began getting really serious about decorating/baking cakes about 3 mnths ago, and am up to a challenge 
My sister's babyshower is upcoming in May, and I am making a "Hey Diddle-diddle" Nursery Rhyme themed cake for her. She wants a very special cake and so i plan to make a 10", 8" & 6" cakes that are 3" tall (torted) and of course, the cake will be stacked. I already know about and haved dowled some previous tall cakes, so i'm not so worried about this.
My thoughts so far, are to make a big moon/cow jumping it for the cake topper. I want to make fondant cats & fiddles, and also plates & spoons. Has anyone seen figurines of any sort like this? I've seriously looked everywhere. I am pretty creative when i have time, but that's the problem- i don't have alot of time to practice. Should i just buy a book of Collete peters? Any pictures or directions you could send to me, i would really appreciate your help!
Thanks,
A
I remembered this from the March of Dimes Baby Cake Contest:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-photos_display_91_-29470.html
Yes,
That is such a beautiful Cake!!! Thanks for the sending me the link. I love the figures ( they must have been freehanded), but how in the world are the faces painted on the figures? Are they done w/edible ink markers, or painted on with a brush? If so, what type of edible paint and where do i buy it? What type of brush? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
thanks again
Have a great wknd!
-A
It is a cool cake, isn't it?
You could also try sending a PM to the creator of that cake and ask all the questions you might have.
I found this at www.coryscorner.com (OR www.coriscorner.com ) ....can't remember the spelling. I thought it was adorable - based on a partyware plate, I think.
*Edited to add: I know this isn't a stacked cake nor does it have anything fondant on it...buu-uttt...LOL....I thought it could maybe help get your ideas flowing a little. I really like the background deco of the cake w/the sky and swirls and stars and such.
I saw these figurines and thought they would be fairly cute on top of your cake .... Here's a picture... Shows front and back...
Here is the link as well
http://pic-this.com/picthishome/imagesthumb/t29482.jpg
Also if you go to google.com ad type in Cat fiddle and click image you will see all kinds of ideas...
http://www.marzipanworld.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?ACTINIC_REFERRER=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2emarzipanworld%2ecom%2facatalog%2fsearch%2ehtml&REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2emarzipanworld%2ecom%2facatalog%2fsearch%2ehtml&WD=cow&PREVQUERY=RANDOM%3dNETQUOTEVAR%253ARANDOM%26PAGE%3dSEARCH%26SS%3dcow%26TB%3dA%26ACTION%3dSearch&PN=Marzipan_World_Marzipan_Cows_149%2ehtml%23a136#a136
here are some cows made out of marzipan they look pretty simple, I'm sure you could duplicate this with fondant and then maybe make a fondant crescent moon and stick it on top..maybe stick the cows legs out like it's flying and attatch it to some wire so it's over the moon!!! Make some fondant spoons and plates and use silver luster dust and some extract to paint the spoons silver..maybe even put the first letter of the baby's name on each plate...like a monogrammed plate........sounds like it could be a really CUTE cake!! Good luck
I have a cake in my photo's using the topper that someone posted.. (I think it was Helendelk I think). Now my cake needs a lot of improvement - but it was a ton of first for me. But it at least gives you an idea!
here is the link to the pic
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=redhare&cat=0&pos=8
I did a google search and found a cute print at Target.com that inspired me to come up with this design. (Yes, it's done mostly in crayons, my kids are coloring right now. LOL) To explain, on the bottom layer, it's white BC w/black fondant stripes, with the nursery rhyme written over the top in red icing. I thought the middle and top could be buttercream, with fondant accents, and then a 'icing image' on top like boween does so often. Maybe hang the cow from the moon on a ribbon.
Anyways, that's my idea, feel free to use any or none of it! Hope it helps get your creativity going!
Happy Baking,
Beth
Great ideas, and we actually think alike b/c I am making a 3 layer cake and have decided to use some buttercream transfers/fondant cut-outs to make the back-ground landscape scenery, am going to make some 3D fondant figurines for the characters and the moon/cow for the topper too! I hadn't thought of putting the words of the cake- hmmmm.................. that's a good idea, but i don't know if i could actually make the writing look nice enough! Thanks again, and good job!
this isn't a cake I've done, I just drew up the idea for you based on what you said you were wanting to do. My options today are A: spend way too much time on the CC forum or B:laundry and clean the kitchen. Guess which one I picked!! 
LOL
thanks Helendelk! 
I am secretly hoping that dusek uses this design too, but trying not to be pushy. LOL I'd love to see it become a reality. I get these ideas in my head, and just don't have enough hours in the day to try them all. So,, I share them here and hope to see them show up in the gallery one day.
I'll do my best guys- this design was beautiful and I was thinking to myself that it was VERY nice of you to have drawn this idea for me!!!
I appreciate your help, and will definitely post a pic when i can 
I know when i am icing my cake, i'll hear you in the background cheering me on!
HI again,
I was wondering about using the BC and placing fondant cut-outs onto it- does the fondant get soggy or sticky and loose it's shape? Also, a few more questions:
1) Has anyone ever made cakes ahead and frozen them? How do you do it? I saw on a few forums that ppl say you can do a crumb coating and freeze, however a few posts said not to do this and to freeze just the cakes. Any insight?
2) Has anyone ever traveled with frozen cakes? I am baking these in Chicago (i'm putting on my best friend's bridal shower there) and then flying to Kansas City with the frozen cakes and will ice them there at my aunt's house (she has a beautiful new, big kitchen w/ample counter space). I will have 3" cakes (12", 8" and 6"). The 12" cakes i don't know how to pack these- maybe i should pack them in a box and pad them in my bag for overhead compartment? If they are frozen, and i pad them well they should be fine?
3) How do wrap a cake to freeze it, so it stays ultra moist and doesn't get frostbite? Lots of saran wrap and wax paper?
4) For my hey diddle-diddle cake- I will be using fondant cut-outs for the first time: Do i use the MMF type? I heard it's the best. I'm making my own, and so of course that involves more questions..........
a) Is it best to color it w/wilton colors?
b) How do i get the black to be really BLACK?
c) Can i mix this with an electric hand mixer- my kitchen-aid mixer will not fit in the overhead bin on the flight to Kansas City So, i'll need to use my Aunt's electric hand mixer!
d)How long does it actually take to make the MMF and to color many various sections of it?
e) When do i add Food Coloring- when Marshmallows are hot (and then seperate each portion of recipe into seperate dishes w/respective food colors) or after MMF is made and knead in each color to each MMF dough ball?
f) Fondant figurines: how long does it take these to dry? Do they crack? Storage tip? How long can i make these in advance?
g) Fondant cutouts: do the same rules apply, as for the fondant figurines? I know the cutouts will probably dry faster, but do they crack? How do i attach to cake?
h) Specific- Fondant Figurine (3D Tree Question): How in the world does a person get fondant leaves to stay on the tree? I saw this once on the forum in a pic, and wish i would've asked then but can't find the forum now! I heard i could wrap some sort of mesh wire form in fondant for the trunk, but the leaves have me baffled.
OK, i know there are alot of questions on here! If anyone knows and could be nice enough to share any info, i'd be so appreciative. So far, i've really and truely been taken aback at how nice and professional all of the users on the forums have been! I really appreciate momsandravens ideas and also everyone else on my topic!!! Thanks guys! 
Bake well!
sorry, I can't answer many of your questions since I've never frozen a cake (yet, not that I'm opposed to it, just haven't needed to.) or travelled with one. How long is your flight?
Here's a friendly bump to get you back to the top so someone can help!
Wow, thats a lot of questions.....let me see if I can help some
I almost always make my cakes at least a few days in advance and freeze them they seem to be more moist this way. I wrapp really well in plastic wrap, then in foil making sure everything is sealed up well.
I would imagine (never flown with cakes, but have shipped one...fully decorated..that's another story)....they would be fine if you keep them packed nicely......they will most likely be thaw when you reach your destination.
wilton colors work fine...any gel or paste color will work...don't use the liquid stuff though for the fondant...wilton is fine
in order to get the black really black you have to keep adding and adding.....in my photos I have a teacher's cake with an eraser..and it was REALLY black, I just kept adding and when it looked as dark as it was going to get I let it sit for an hour or so and it was jet black
I mix MMF with a hand mixer all the time....only I use the dough hooks....if you don't have dough hooks for the hand mixer I would advise against it...better off doing it by hand, you'll burn up your aunts mixer LOL
it takes just a few minutes to make the MMF......maybe 10 min. by hand from start to finish...being that you have to knead in the sugar (by the way...it will not need all of the 2 lbs. the recipe says, just add until it's a dough and not sticky)
if you're coloring the entire batch one color then add when the marshmallows are hot........if you are going for separate sections different colors you'll have to knead them into individual chunks of fondant once it's made.....you just put a small amount of color and then continue kneading with shortening on your hands until the color is even throughout the whole piece of fondant
You can make fondant figures up to a few weeks ...maybe longer in advance......store them, once dried, in an air tight container OUT of sunlight of any kind....a dark container is better than a clear one for this too...any light will cause the colors to change...it usually doesn't crack when drying, it should hold it's shape pretty well, but will NEVER get rock hard....but will firm up quite a bit...
fondant cutouts should adhere nicely to the BC on your cake...if you're covering the cake in fondant...just brush a little water on the cutout and it will stick to the fondant covered cake
3-D tree leaves can be held on with royal icing! allow time for drying....at least over night........after the leaves have completely dried for a few days adhere with royal icing...prop them up with foil, cotton, whatever you need, then let it sit for another day or so before moving
hope this helps some.
Tina
I've finished my cake and have pics, however the attachment image will not post to the website- i keep getting a msg that says the image must be less than 800 pixels wide and 800 pixels high. Does anyone know how to shrink an image? It is saved as a jpeg and is only 1.12 mb.
for some reason, my cake was leaning a bit- i doweled it and everything! I don't know why? The pictures had to be resized, and therefore don't do the cake justice- you guys can't even see the plate and spoon which were so cute. If i can find a way to resize them better, i will post the new pics.
I used B/C on the cake and figurines are MMF. It took about 5 days only for them to dry out. I was thinking that maybe my cake was leaning due to the fact that the B/C became room temp on the drive out to the hotel (for the baby shower), although i did assemble the cakes once i got there- they were just really very heavy (each layer was 2 3" stacked cakes). Layers were 12", 8" and 6".
Wasn't bad for my first tall stacked cake- my sister loved it and that's all that mattered. It tasted great and the freezing of the cakes really made the cake ultra moist. I baked all the cakes, and flew with them (packed well) in my bags to KC (from Cleveland), and they made it just fine!
Enjoy and thanks everyone for the advice!
You did a FABULOUS job and you should be very proud of that cake! It's simply beautiful! I love all the detail you put into it, the cow it so cute, the cats look great, it's just a real winner!
Thank you yourself!
It looks like your top layer is leaning however the base looks straight....was it layered and filled? Maybe that's what started to slide a little bit.
Other than that it's still a gorgeous cake! I showed it to my hubby and he was quite impressed. That nursery rhyme is timeless and good for boys or girls so I will defintitely be adding this to my collection of favourites for future use, if you don't mind!
Okay, here are the pics made smaller. Sorry it took me so long dusek, I couldn't get on to this site most of the day yesterday. Talk about withdrawal pains!! LOL You did a really great job, I love your painting!
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