Last weekend I attempted to pull off my own version of Food Network Cake Challenge. Instead of 8 hours, I allotted myself 3 days. That much time STILL was not enough, I don’t know how they do it on those challenge shows! I most definitely underestimated how long it would really take to complete two quite intricate cakes. I actually took last Friday off of work because I just wanted a day off. Good thing, because I definitely needed that extra time to give each project my all! This post contains details about Chica. I will also be posting soon about my Minnie Mouse Cake Pop cake and carrot cake cupcakes.
The Chica cake above came as a request for a 1 year old birthday. They said I didn’t need to do anything elaborate, just something that is reminiscent of Chica. Well, I didn’t know who or what Chica is, so I did some considerable research. I found that Chica is, apparently, a character from PBS Sprout’s Sunnyside Up Show. She is a chicken with no legs that sits on a nest and sounds like a kazoo. Yes, that’s right, she does not cluck like your typical chicken. Sometimes I wonder how kids watch this stuff. Then, I remember that I am not a kid anymore, and at least no one is being shot at or turned into a zombie in this lovely show!
This cake really stumped me until Friday afternoon when I just knew that Chica could really only be given proper chicken justice in one way. That one way would have to be in marshmallow Rice Krispie Treat (RKT) style. Chica’s nest is made of RKT and covered in chocolate fondant. Chica’s body and her head are also made of RKT covered in fondant. I didn’t cover the RKT in frosting before covering it in fondant, because I thought the Rice Krispie texture would add interest to Chica; especially since we all know chickens are covered in feathers, not sugar! I’m not sure if this really added interest or it just looks like a lazy RKT job. I’m polling my readers on this one: what do you think?
Chica’s beak was probably the most challenging part of the whole cake. Next time, I would make her beak from RKT and then just cover it in fondant. That would help to get the right shape and probably eliminate the extra yellow on the bottom “lip”. After much ado, I finally just left it at what you see. You get the idea well enough, anyway. I really do love how the barns turned out, though, including the extra detail with the letter “C” for Corinne, the birthday girl. After I was all “done” with the cake, I felt like something was missing and that somehow it was just too plain. So, I added the pink flowers with sparkle dust to girl things up a bit. I am so happy I added those because they add so much to the cake. Click on the picture above and you can see additional pictures of various details
Are you wondering what lies beneath the frosting on this one? It is a 10″ marble cake filled with buttercream and yellow colored buttercream frosting on the outside. I also made a smashcake (which you can see if you click the picture above) and that is chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. I think all first birthdays should consist of chocolate cake and a really big mess. I couldn’t have been more pleased that both of my 1 year olds today did request chocolate smashcakes. I’m also pleased that the only mess that needed cleaning around here today was my kitchen, which did not consist of a toddler covered in chocolate cake or multicolored buttercream flung about.
Finally, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Chica, here she is in cartoon format:
I really am my own biggest critic and I realize that my RKT Chica does not look all that much like this version, but I do think it is reminiscent.