Hi everyone!

One of my good friends is getting married and has asked me to make this wedding cake for her, without the gumpaste flowers or merengue mushrooms.  She wants it in crusting buttercream, but i'm not sure how to get the texture of the bark and correct coloring.  Please help with as many suggestions as possible.

Thanks in advance! I gave the link to the cake below.

http://i1.wp.com/www.cakefu.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/kayleigh.jpg

Please use google to search "tree bark cake central".  We discussed this less than a year ago (July 2012, I think) in great detail, and google is the fastest way to find the links.

Sorry but I can't search very fast to back that far.

Thanks for the reply, but all i saw were several people saying that they were wondering how to make it too, and then a link to a white birch cake, which doesn't look like this one...

apple tree cake:

ice the sides grey and the top that light tan--pipe it on at the join if you need to to get it smoothy smooth and even

*pat it or spatula it all smooth & even--you can work all the seams out

using the edge of a fork tine quickly make the 'breaks' in the bark -- maybe press them open as needed with the tip of your spatula--i'd color it later because i wanna get to the top before it crusts--

also you can quickly pipe the big grey holes--then *pat those down to blend into the side icing to erase the seam

for the top of the tiers--i would take the other color of icing and pipe it around spiral-y like a tree trunk--hold the spatula flat on the top of the cake and turn the turntable to go 'round  to flatten --practice it--too much icing and it will cover it instead of shading it

or you could hold a fork in it tines down and turn the turntable--then flatten it down-for a nice effect

wait for it to set up just so it's not sticky and then *pat it down with a folded visa smooth not textured paper towel or a flat weave brand new uber clean folded kitchen towel--just pat it down it will smooth out flat

**this is why you need the sides iced all the same thickness--so nothing droops or cracks--so it's all even

get some fudge or chocolate icing to pipe around the top rim, fill in the 'bark breaks' with the choco--you can pat that down inside with the towel folded strategically

use dark dust to darken & shade some areas use pearl to lighten some areas as pictured

the biggest deal is timing the icing so you get it after it's no longer sticky and before it sets up completely

the heart? i mean you could double ice it there inlay the black under the grey-- scrape out the grey to reveal the dark--cloisonne style

that's how i would do it--could also be done in non-crusting with little different method--more spatula and heat of the fingertips

**in the first place i would trim the cake sides before icing

in the link below--hold a straight edge like a piece of paper up to the side icing of this famous cake serving and see where to trim/shave--just a little to get it all straight up and down

it's kinda dark but see where the icing is thick and thin to compensate for the uneven cake--when i apply pressure to the top to smooth out the icing--the icing on the sides might drop/crack in the thick spots--if it's all the same then i can easier avoid that.

https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=184

how 'bout them apples  more than you ever wanted to know ;)

Oh my gosh K8memphis!  Thank you SOOOO much! this helps me so much, and i'm so thankful for the directions.. i've been mulling it over for a while how to accomplish this look, and i was on the right path, i just couldn't figure everything out.  These instructions are great and i'm ready to start doing test runs! Thank you again!

yay!!

AK8memphis so are you saying the whole cake is buttercream? Is this possible with fondant?

Or you could contact the original creator of this cake and ask her how she did it:

http://www.thepeoplescake.com/gallery_non.php

Thank you VERY MUCH!!

AThanks! Going to try this.

Kaysie has a on-line tutorial for this cake at Cakemasters.com.  I just saw it advertised this morning.  I think it costs about $35 to view.  Hope this helps.

I'd do it a bit different and you could always try it on a cupcake.

I'd dirty ice in a dark black brown on sides then frost with the grey so when you took a toothpick to make the bark lines it would show the dirty ice brown. Unless you were making a chocolate cake then you could go straight to the cake.