I Made A Cake For My Brother's Welcome Home Party...
Decorating By FromScratch Updated 4 Jun 2007 , 11:56pm by debster
My brother just got back from Iraq so we had a cook out and I made a cake for the party. I took inspiration from Creative Pastries's USMC Logo cake and I didn't do too bad of a job. My MMF was VERY dry and hard to work with.. SUCH a pain in the butt. It cracked around the top and was very hard to smooth, but I got it on decently. I made chocolate MMF for the black area and hand molded the Eagle Globe and Anchor. I was running out of time and patience by the end of it all. I lost a day of work because I had to pick my sister up at the airport so it was rushed at the end. The rop border is a little screwed up in one area because it's thinner than the rest of it and it kept breaking from the dry fondant.. SUCH a pain.. did I mention the dry fondant was a PAIN??? Anyway.. here is a picture of it.
Your cake is fantastic! What a great job!!! Thank goodness for your brother's safe return home from Iraq.
It's perfect. My son was a Marine too and this touches my heart. I am so happy your brother is home safe and sound on U.S. soil again. Semper Fi!
You're cake gave me goose bumps.. I'm so happy to hear you're brother is home safe and sound as well. tell him thank you for his service to his country..
I live in Canada but am very grateful and proud of all the young men and women who put their lives on the line for ALL of us!
Your cake turned out just great ! And so did your brother.....thank God ! Tell him "THANKS" for all he and his brothers and sisters in arms are doing for US, and many other countries..... God bless them all.....
I think you did a awesome job! Well done!! Be proud! As the saying goes--we judge our work to much! You may have seen something wrong--but others don't! Great job!
Thanks everyone for the sweet comments. I really wanted this cake to be just perfect for him. I was an hour late to the party finishing it up and I got dressed there.. LOL. I wanted to paint the yellow with gold luster dust but I did't have time so I just brushed it on dry.. and I also wanted to make a rope border for the bottom of the cake too, but the fondant was SOOOOOOOOOO uncooperative. I am totally buying fondant from now on as it's much more consistent. I made MMF before and it was much better. But I was rushing and added too much PS.. . Everyone was very impressed with it. Thanks again everyone..
First, I'm glad your brother is home safe.
Second, sorry you had so much trouble with the cake, but it looks fabulous!
Third, I too have had trouble with the MMF being so dry and cracking and generally being very difficult to work with. I've read a couple of things on here that I think I did wrong. The marshmallows shouldn't be completely melted in the microwave, just almost melted and then stirred until it becomes a paste. And the amount of powdered sugar is usually the most you would need. It shouldn't be added all at once, maybe 3/4 of what's called for and then more depending on how wet it is.
I haven't had occassion to try MMF except the once when I had so much trouble, but I've read these suggestions and taken note when (if-now I just buy SatinIce) I need to make it again.
I absolutely love your cake! I am so happy that your brother made it home safely. My husband is a retired Marine, and our 2 sons are Marines. My daughter in law's brother is a Marine also, and they have asked me to do a cake for his return home in early July. If you don't mind, I would love to use your idea.
Of course!! It would make me so happy if you used my cake as inspiration.. I never imagined someone would do that. If you need any info let me know.. not that it's a hard design.. LOL. Tell your sons (and your husband DIL's brother too) that we are proud of them.. it takes a lot to go into the armed services and we owe them a debt of gratitude at the very least.
The cake turned out great despite all your problems! I bet no one else noticed a thing wrong. When I make MMF I melt the marshmallows only until they are very soft, and when stirred they all completely go into the thick liquid form. Then I add approx half of the PS and add more as I mix. I find that I almost never use the entire amount of PS. If it does get too dry, I will melt more marshmallows to add or a bit of water. Everytime I have gone exactly by the recipe it has never turned out great, I've always had to modify it.
Welcome home to your brother. You must be thrilled. BTW...your cake is awesome.
Joanne
As a former Marine myself (as well as DH) Congrats on your brothers safe return and on the cake! It looks great! I just love the look of this cake, does the EGA proud.
I grew up as a USMC brat, and my broteher joined too. So I am pretty partial to this design. I am very thankful your brother made it home safe and sound. SIMPER FI !!
You did a fantastic job on the cake. Remember, it's not he cake that matters, it's that your brother is home.
Very nice job, give brother a hug for me and say thanks, I pray for them on a regular basis.
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