Ask the Celebration Advisor: I read your post titled "Birthday Cakes in the Shape of What?" and I was wondering how do bakers create such realistic cakes? My brother who lives in Lawton, OK is having his birthday soon and I want to get him good with a specialty humorous birthday cake.
The Celebration Advisor: Birthday cakes have evolved from their primitive box-shape cousins to an array of elaborate and creative styles even Charles Darwin could be proud of. As the focal point of a birthday, birthday cakes should be proud structures that stand to commemorate the recipient, rather than cower close to the table. In Lawton, OK bakeries have taken this new trend of birthday cakes to the next level with the use of some special techniques and materials.
Of course the first step to designing a birthday cake is to have the appropriate canvas. After the cake base is baked and left to cool off, expert bakers will coat the cake in an even coating of butter cream frosting. Now is the point where a cake starts coming to life before your eyes. Just like a sculptor, bakers will form small edible figurines out of gum paste. Gum paste is an edible sugar dough that when formed into a shape will appear to look porcelain or ceramic. Any figurine you can imagine can be a tasty addition to a birthday cake.
A humorous birthday cake from Lawton, OK would be great for your brother. You have the perfect opportunity here to pull his leg a bit and give him a birthday cake that he'll remember for a lifetime. Some of the funniest cakes I have seen include toilets, skeletons, Chuck Norris, hamburgers and horse dung. It would be great to see the look on his face when he meets cake Chuck Norris' kung fu stare.
With the adaptation of special materials and artisan techniques, cakes have been made into an edible art form. Thankfully for your brother's birthday cake, Lawton bakeries have the tools and expertise to bring to life any humorous themed cake you can imagine.
Another way that birthday cakes are formed into such realistic shapes is with rice crispy treats(on a much larger scale of course!). The treats can be used to form curved edges and custom shapes. Some birthday cake bakeries will even carve the actual cake itself to get the shapes they need. The techniques are limitless really, it really depends on the application! Good luck in your search!