The bride wants to incorporate realistic looking lake fish (painted fondant and gum paste) from Minnesota into her wedding cake (3 tier, ivory buttercream, round). I have poured over thousands of images and can find nothing that matches her request to her classy chic wedding and NY lifestyle. I can't come up with anything that doesn't look like a kids cake or science class diorama. If anyone has any ideas, any ideas at all, please let me know. I desperately appreciate it.

Walk into a Bass Pro (or something like it) and look around. Or go to their web site. Are you thinking molds or free hand painting? In my mind I'm seeing three tiers of white cake with fondant fish on the sides... but then, I'm deep in Arkansas where trashy meets chic daily.

Good luck..wish I had more help for you!

Can you maybe make the cake blue and have the fish appear to be jumping out of the tiers? I have a trout cake in my gallery that I did that way.

. . . have you seen Collette Peter's fish cake . . . http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316702749/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

. . . and I love this one of bonnedouche's . . . http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_591923.html . . . maybe you could incorporate elements from each and come up with something fabulous . . .

did she specify anything else on the cake other than ivory bc and fish?

possibly you could use the wilton taylored tiers between each tier. http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=304-8174

you could place the fish in front of the tailored tier piece that has an image of a lake from her home town.

make the cake board look like a fishing dock, you know like planks of wood

intead of smoothing the bc give it a rustic look by leaving the spatula marks in it.

Maybe it's just me, but "classy cake with fish" is a big oxymoron to me!

You could dress the fish up in Tuxedos!
LOL
Collette had a real nice cake awhile back.

I thought I was the only one in bizarro world.

I am doing a huge wedding next weekend. Her cake is suppose to be chic but incorporate her colors (apple green and marine blue) and then have Blue Marlin painted on the top tier.

I really like that picture of collette's cake.

I can't find a picture, but does anyone remember the Charm City Cakes wedding cake with the water birds and the marsh grasses painted on the sides? It was very elegant and everything was pretty realistic. I think it would be so pretty with fish instead of birds. I would never be able to make a classy fondant fish so I'd have to go the handpainted route. lol

Good luck!

Anya

anya....great minds think alike. i just spent the last 15 minutes on charm city cakes website looking for that cake. didn't he make it for his college roommate or something?? they don't have it posted. it was reather elegant with the marshes and birds painted on the sides.

Yes! The one for his old roommate! I could have sworn it used to be on there but I must be imagining things. I do think it would be perfect for this fish cake idea...obviously, if great minds like ours both thought of it!

Anya

Ok, fish on a wedding cake?? That is really a new one! Strange..... lol

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Vcmariposa, when I read the title to your post, I figured you were from around here, in Johnston County, NC! I could see in my mind a classy, single-wide trailer wedding reception with beer bottle lights strung around the beer keg and pig roaster!!!!

Seriously, this sounds like a pretty difficult task. Can you mold the fish in white, and put it on top of the cake? I am thinking a cake with basketweave sides and the fish on top, with marzipan fruit all around, sort of looking like it was brought home from a day fishing... Does this make any sense at all?

Colette Peters has a birthday cake with fish on it. It's on the cover of "colette's birthday cakes". There are some elements that are fabulous and it shows a wonderful way of presenting fish on a cake. Good luck, I look forward to seeing the resulting cake.

What about something like this? Soft elegant colors.....as much as you can w fish anyway.

that looks a lot like the cake duff did

he's my hero....lol

Ivory Bc with fish. Hard to envision elegant hand-painted fish on ivory Bc. I have to do one for a party this weekend with fish, but it's on blue bc.

Colette also did an amazing fish cake for one of the food network challenges. Fish were coming out of the top of the cake. I'll try to find a pic.

This is the best i could find. Hope it's ok to post... http://www.flickr.com/photos/12217933@N00/25593322/

. . . same cake . . . (better photo??) . . . http://www.colettescakes.com/imgs_cake_event/competitionwinner3b.jpg

THanks dragonfly! MUCH better photo!!

hard to invision that cake in Ivory...what was the bride thinking?
is it possible to make the Ivory look river/lake "foam" and have the fish coming out of that?

Ok, since my guy is a total fishing nut, I've done quite a few fish cakes.

Here's my line of thought... Make the fish either from molds or freehand, but make them pretty thin, keeping them the same ivory color as your fondant. Then, using luster, pixie or disco dusts color the details of the fish, but very lightly and softly? That way, they don't overwhelm the fact that it's a wedding cake, and while I don't think you'll avoid it becoming a focal point, it hopefully will provide the "classy" look she wants??? Or at least as classy as a fish/wedding cake could be!

Obviously there are other decorations that could go on it too, and what I drew up is way darker than what I'd make it IRL, but it's an idea...

I just posted a cake with realistic looking fish. Blue background though. Maybe you could do it with different shades of ivory?

You could do an oval medallion for each tier that is painted in muted colors with a small raised fish on each one. Make then maybe 2 inches. Then surround it with ornate filligree designs that go out and stretch across the front of the cake. It would be an almost vintage look to the cake, not as much chic but pretty classy I think. I hope that's not confusing.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and ideas. I'm relieved to know other folks have the same feeling about the concept as I do. I now have a lot of ideas, thanks to your imaginations. Thank you again!

. . . here is another idea starter perhaps . . .

http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/ID-SparklingFish.jpg

These are quite nice, and could translate beautifully into a 'classy' wedding cake.
http://www.seawear.com/rings/triple-fish-bands.html

I was thinking...
I have seen cakes with stenciled designs on them... You could get some stencils; and using either brown or white, do that around the sides. Could look nice.