So my friend's girlfriend is moving to town, and we are having a suprise "welcome to Chicago" party for her. I have been hired to make the cake, and I'm trying to come up with something creative to do, to put myself on display as a cakerator!

I've been toying around with the following ideas...
1) creating a skyline out of fondant to wrap around the side of the cake, then putting text on top.
2) Creating a few notable buildings out of fondant and putting them on top of the cake

Has anyone else done some sort of "city" cake like this? Those are all I can think of besides doing a sports sign (like the Welcome to Wrigley Field sign), but she's not into sports.

Any help is welcome!

I'm too new at this to have a weighty opinion, but the first thing that comes to my mind is a skyline - so I think however you incorporate that it will be great! Maybe you could have a green Chicago River meandering through.... I grew up in the suburbs and the skyline is what I think of when I think "Chicago".

Thanks! A friend and I were searching and found this http://www.jacquiscakes.com/photos/Birthdays%20amp%20Celebrations%20Gallery/Seattle%20Skyline2.jpg which is what I'm using for my basic ideas (obviously, different buildings).

I think the cake will be light blue with royal/white marbling behind the buildings, and then I'm going to temper some chocolate and write "welcome to Chicago", put it on a wire or two and stick it springing out of the top of the cake (at least that's my idea as of now!)

Even if someone is not into sports, Wrigley Field is still one of the things "I" think of when I think of Chicago. Don't forget the "corncob" buildings when you doing your buildings. How about the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier or one of the museums? Uno's or Gino's pizza, Chicago hotdogs. The Chicago theater sign. Just a few ideas. My daughter lives in Chicago. I'll be there next month for her wedding!

When I think of Chicago I think of Baseball and hotdogs..Oprah show..

I did one a while ago for my friend's dad, but it was a sheet cake.

Try googling chicako skyline silhouette, print it out in the size you need, cut out of paper and lay it on some fresh black gumpaste, use an exacto knife to cut out and attch to cake, while still bendable.

If you want you can let it partially dry around a caketin, that is just a tad larger then your cake, then use small "blocks" of fondant to attach aroud the cake, so that you have a bit of space between the cake and the skyline. Get some LED's and out behind the skyline. If you do that, do not forget to cut some windows into the skyline buildings

Thank you everyone! I appreciate all the ideas!

And Megpi - that was one of the first cakes I saw and I think that is AWESOME. Seriously. How on earth did you do that???

The reason I'm staying away from Wrigley is because this is only a one-tier cake, so I have to make some decisions, and if she's not into baseball, I'll stay away.

I definitely want to include the Ferris Wheel, and I want so bad to sculpt a "Bean" and paint it silver to put on top of the cake... I swear, there are about a billion ideas in my head!

This reminds me of the show Fabulous cakes and a bakery here in Chicago that did a cake for the Chicago Tribune.
http://www.alliance-bakery.com/cakes/2d-3d/

I would do a cake like someone else said from Fabulous cakes...they did a stacked cake that included a large piece of Chicago deep dish pizza, a Chicago hot dog, maybe Oprah, jazz-if she likes jazz. Maybe do a search of Chicago ideas or something similar.

When you said, "Create a skyline out of fondant to wrap around the cake',
This is what came to mind: The middle tier of this cake.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2088588/

HTH