Pink is the New White in Snowman Land

Here are some pics of the pink snowgirl cake that I did for my friend's daughter's Winter ONE-derland themed birthday party. It all started when my friend, Tara came up with such a cute idea for her daughter's first birthday party, a pink, wintery ONE-derland theme! She came up with the idea of a pink snowgirl cake, and I loved it! Using the invitation as a guide, my creative juices began to flow:)



Here's the cute invitation!



Here's the sketch I made of the snowgirl cake.


What does it take to make this cake? Lots and lots of stuff!! I'll be mentioning what I used along the way.

When making a cake, you will be washing your hands A LOT, so I thought I'd take time to give a little shot out to my favorite soap, William Sonoma's Peppermint!! It's only available during christmas, so I wait until Christmas has passed and stock up once it goes on sale! Anyway, let's get down to the nitty gritty:)

Here's a big glob of marshmellow fondant that I made using Peggy Weaver's recipe. Marshmellow fondant is easy to make, but slightly more difficult to roll out and use compared to the store bought fondant. But, it does taste a lot better! Once the fondant is done, I divided it up and dyed it into various colors using Wilton's dye. I than sculpted the arms, nose, holly leaves, darker pink polka dots and bow, a hat and a banner. Depending on the size, it's usually a good idea to let the shaped fondant dry at room temperature for a day in order to harden.

Here are a few sculpted items, the holly leaves and bow, stick arms and polka dots. For the "carrot" nose, I sculpted it and than stuck a little toothpick in the back, so that it would stay in place on the snowgirl's face, and than set it upright on a piece of styrofoam to dry. (I was going to include a pick, but my hubby mentioned it looking like a falic symbol, so I decided to leave it out).

Here are the two halves of the sphere cake. I used Wilton's Sports Ball cake pan. Once the cakes were cooled, I used a serrated knife to flatten the bottom of one of the halves so that it would sit flat on the base. Then, I iced the top with buttercream icing (I use Wilton's recipe) and added the other half of the sphere. I than iced the entire ball in buttercream and than covered it in fondant; which had been dyed pink. And, for you dirty minded folks, you know who you are, my hubby also recommended I not include this pic, but since I was asked how I made a spherical cake, I included it anyway . . . so go ahead and have a little snicker, and let's move on:)

Here are all three tiers covered in fondant. The body and the head were actually made out of the same cake mixture as the cake pops, so we'll get to that later. Each tier was iced with buttercream, wrapped in fondant and than stacked using a wooden dowel to secure it in place. I did not worry about making the fondant perfect, because I knew I'd be adding some sparkle and other details that would hide imperfections.

I then decided to add some sparkle to enhance the wintery theme, and really, what girl doesn't want some sparkle in her life? I bought some silver pearl dust and large pink granular sugar (which I put in a zip lock bag and used my rolling pin to crush into smaller pieces) and added those into a bowl with a little bit of vanilla extract. Now, don't worry about the alcohol in the vanilla, because it will evaporate. Other sites will recommend you using everclear or some other type of liquer, but I like to use vanilla, because it works just as well, and it adds the yummy smells of the cake. Once that was all dry, I freehanded a few snowflakes using the white buttercream, a regular piping bag and a #1 tip. I than added the hat and stuck on some polka dots to mimic the invitation.

Here's some close up details of the face. I used some store bought icing in a can with a star tip to create the fringe around the base of the hat and at the tip top. I than added the holly leaves and some red sprinkles (later I also added the darker pink bow to the hat as well). I attached the nose and cheeks to the face and drew on the eyes, mouth and buttons using a black edible pen. With the white buttercream and #1 tip, I added some little accent dots to all the black "coal" pieces.

Here's how the little snowgal looks thus far! I also poked some holes in the side of the body to be able to attach the "stick" arms. I made a little white and pink striped scarf by laying pink and white fondant together and than rolling over them with my rolling pin. Once all that was put together, it was time to focus on making the "snow" for the base.

I used coconut for the snow and threw it into the mixer with more of the silver pearl dust, pink dye and smaller sized sugar sprinkles. I than pulsed it until I thought it looked like snow and than poured it out around the cake. Finally, I wrote a little message for the birthday girl on the banner and place it on the base as well.

Here's the final product! But, I wasn't done just yet . . . now for the cake pops!

I got the idea for these cake pops from Bakerella, and I just want to say that they are so easy and delicious! There are so many possibilities for these, and it's great for kiddos to help with too! My daughter is 4 and had the best time unwrapping the candies, shredding the cake and drawing on the faces! I highly recommend giving these a try!!! Anyway, to make them, just use any store bought cake mix, bake according to directions, cool and than shred into a bowl. Next, add any tub of store bought icing and mix (either with the back of a spoon or your hands; hands are easier, but very messy).

So, it looks pretty yucky at this stage, but believe you me, it is so YUMMY!!

I bought a little ice cream scoop to make perfect little spheres, than stuck them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and than stuck them in the fridge. While they hardened, I melted some pink chocolate chips in the microwave. I bought some lollipop sticks at Hobby Lobby, and once the chocolate was melted, I dipped one end of the stick in the chocolate and than stuck it into the cooled ball of cake. Once that was dry, I dipped the entire ball into the pink chocolate, attached the nose (an orange Tic Tac) and than set it in a styrofoam block to dry. For the hat, I used one York Peppermint Patty and attached a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup using the melted pink chocolate. I had flower shaped sprinkles already, and used the chocolate to attach them to the hat as well, after adding a little center dot with my red edible marker. I than allowed all the pops to dry in the styrofoam block.

Here are all my little snowgirls in a row:)

My daughter and I used the edible markers to draw the rest of the face.

I bought little bags and ties for the cake pops, but decided I didn't like the gold ties, so I ran back up to Hobby Lobby and bought some cute white and pink ribbon to tie the cake pops instead. They turned out so darn cute, if I do say so myself:) REALLY, you must try this one! I am already thinking about red velvet Valentine's Day cake pops! Can't wait!

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Baby K! I love you!!