Helmet Cake

Decorating By jbramble Updated 6 Jul 2007 , 11:39pm by qtcakes

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jbramble Posted 2 Jul 2007 , 8:45pm
post #1 of 9

I just made my first football helmet cake as a practice for my brother-in-laws grooms cake in his upcoming wedding. I knew I'd run into problem, thus the reason for doing a practice run. Things went well yesterday, as shown in the first picture, but by today the cake is collapsing and the fondant facemask softened and fell. Any suggestions on how to make the real cake turn out better and last for more than a few hours? I had to freeze the layers first before carving into the helmet shape. Did this make everything extra moist and cause the layers to shift? How do I prevent this from happening...a dowel rod? Storing it the refrigerator? What about the face mask? How can I keep the fondant hard? Would gumpaste work better? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!
LL
LL

8 replies
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snowshoe1 Posted 2 Jul 2007 , 9:10pm
post #2 of 9

Did you use any dowels. I think a cake that heavy should have each tier supported.

My fondant decorations never dry as strong as gumpaste - I would suggest trying gumpaste next time.

The finished cake is fantastic! He's going to love it. You sound like me - always make a practice cake before the important event.

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jsmith Posted 2 Jul 2007 , 9:27pm
post #3 of 9

Also, I wouldn't put the fondant on until the cake comes to room temp. As the cake defrosts the moisture will make the fondant gummy.

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qtcakes Posted 2 Jul 2007 , 10:19pm
post #4 of 9

looks good. did you make the face part ahead of time and let it dry? i have to make one too for the 21st. im going to make the face part ahead of time. is your cake 3 layers? and did you use 8 inch cakes or larger?

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jbramble Posted 3 Jul 2007 , 12:23am
post #5 of 9

I used 4- 9" round layers on the bottom and a 1/2 soccer ball shaped pan on the top. I didn't use dowel rods. I've never used any...how do I do that? I make cakes for my kids because my son has celiac disease and is on a gluten-free diet. I took a couple cake decorating classes so that I could make cakes that my son could eat, but still look good. Somehow, years later, I'm making a helmet grooms cake! I didn't make the facemask ahead of time to let dry. I thought about that, but had a hard time trying to figure out how to make it stay in the shape I wanted to dry. Maybe I could make the bottom, top, and verticle spokes of the facemask, but not the part that outlines the opening of the face part of the helmet? I think I'll try gumpaste next time. Thanks for the suggestions and also any help on how to use the dowel rods for this. I really appreciate the help! Also, I thought I had read somewhere to freeze the layers for easy carving. Should I try to carve the cake without freezing it first? Would refrigerating it work just as well? Thanks again.

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jsmith Posted 3 Jul 2007 , 2:38am
post #6 of 9

Sorry. icon_smile.gif Yes. I would freeze the cake to make it easier to carve then crumbcoat it. But then I would put it in the fridge to let the cake kind of defrost then put the final buttercream coat on and let it sit out for a while to bring it to room temp. before putting the fondant on. That's how I do it anyway.

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anoldhippy Posted 6 Jul 2007 , 5:39pm
post #7 of 9

You did pick the best football team there is!!!

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KittisKakes Posted 6 Jul 2007 , 8:02pm
post #8 of 9

Hi,
These are instructions I've sent out in the past. HTH!
Kitti

Let's see...The bottom layer of the large helmet is made of 2 - 8" layers and the top layer is a dome pan with an 8" base. Actually, I used the pan you see on TV that Betty Crocker sells for a cake within a cake http://www.bakenfill.com/?source=gg&camp=bake&term=betty%20crocker%20bake%20n%20fill&gclid=CJ6Sz4KflIgCFQJuGgodgDhiCw , it's at the bottom of the page, but any dome pan should do. I do have a cake board under the dome cake for added support. Stack the cakes and then stake them with a dowel. Freeze the cake for several hours. While it is frozen, using a serrated knife, cut away from the cake until the desired shape is achieved. Next, crumb coat it while it is still frozen. Once it comes to room temperature, ice it. I use a crusting buttercream. Let it "crust" for 10 - 15 minutes and then smooth it with either Viva or Job Squad paper towels. For the logo, I printed up the size I wanted and then poked holes through the outline. I carefully put that on the side of the cake and poked through those holes again. Then you pretty much connect the dots to get the picture. Fill in the picture with the appropriate colors.

For the face mask, I use gum paste. I used a 1 - 1/2 gallon pitcher covered with parchment to lay the mask across so it would dry in the right shape. The "posts" that are inserted into the cake should almost reach the countertop. I believe the front part of the mask was just over 2" from top to bottom. Just make sure you do all this in advance. I ususally do it at least one week prior. If you have to paint it, don't forget to do the inside part of the mask, because that will be noticeable.

You can do a smaller version if you want to, just use 2 - 6" layers for the bottom and one of the Wilton ball pans will fit. For the face mask I used a can the size of a large formula can.

Here are some of my helmet cakes
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=20112
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=50852
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=66174

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qtcakes Posted 6 Jul 2007 , 11:39pm
post #9 of 9

thanks for the instructions on the football helmet. i have one to make this month for a grooms cake. i like how yours turned out, it helps to see and read how to do this. thanks for writting.

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