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LuLu’s Castle Cake- She’s 4!

by Dana Zeliff on March 9, 20112011-03-09
in My Kitchen, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Castle-Birthday-Cake

My baby celebrated her 4th birthday last week!  I cried a little 🙂

After much deliberation, she decided on a castle cake.  I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone for this years cake.  Although it was my first time working with fondant and making my own icing, I think the cake turned out well.  No laughing at my amateur cake decorating skills!

I had absolutely no idea how to work with the fondant, so it’s not as smooth as it should be.  We also couldn’t get the fondant to stick to the cones for the towers, so we just used icing.  I later learned to brush on bit of water or Vodka to make it stick.

Luckily, Derrick is willing to help me with my crazy cake ideas!

A big thanks to Ann for all her help & these recipes below!

Butter Cream Icing

I used my KitchenAid mixer which made this a snap.  And it’s tasty too!

  • 1 stick of salted real butter
  • 1 stick of unsalted real butter
  • 1 cup of shortening (not oil)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 2 pound bag of powdered sugar

Add 1 stick of salted real butter, 1 stick of unsalted real butter, 1 cup of shortening (not oil).  Mix then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla, mix.  Then add a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar.  It will get really stiff so then you add just a little bit of water at a time to get the texture you want.  I used about 5-6 Tbsp (adding 1 T at a time)

Homemade Fondant

  • Bag of of mini marshmallows
  • 1 tablespoon of shortening (not oil)
  • 1/2 bag of powdered sugar

Add a bag of of mini marshmallows and 1 tablespoon of shortening (not oil).  Melt that in the microwave.  While they are melting, take shortening (not oil) and grease your counter.  Dump about a 1/2 of a 2 lb bag of powdered sugar on your counter.

If you are wanting all the same color of fondant then color the melted marshmallows.  Pour the marshmallows over the powdered sugar and knead in until you get it like play dough.

Make sure you put the fondant in an air tight baggie.  After it sits a while it will get a little harder.  If it is too hard to work with then put it in the micro for 10 seconds and let it soften up.

Last year LuLu had a Dora Cake

Do you make birthday cakes? 

Filed Under: My Kitchen, Recipes

Comments

  1. Karen S says

    March 9, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    You did AWESOME!!!!! I would be proud of myself if I did that!!!!

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:32 am

      Thank you!!!!!!

      Reply
  2. Linda says

    March 9, 2011 at 12:41 pm

    Hello! I just wanted to say that you did a fantastic job on LuLu’s castle cake! I bet she thought it was the most beautiful castle ever! I made my first castle cake a couple of years ago for my little girl, which the design looked similar to yours. Fondant can be intimidating, but you should be commended for stepping up to the challenge! (cakecentral.com is an amazing resource) I do cakes on the side as a hobby so I can appreciate all the hard work you put into your little princess’s cake! 🙂

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:35 am

      Thank you! She did think it was beautiful. This picture didn’t have it but we put a princess on it too.

      Fondant is definitely intimidating!

      Reply
  3. Angela says

    March 9, 2011 at 1:23 pm

    it looks great!!!! my cakes never turn out looking good.. lol they taste good though haha..

    Happy Birthday LuLu…… and the cake does look great so does Dora from last year.. you are so talented at cakes! 🙂

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:37 am

      I’m sure yours look good! As long as they taste good, that’s what matters 🙂

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Heather says

    March 9, 2011 at 1:23 pm

    Oh my word! This is beautiful! You did a fantastic job & should be proud of yourself! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Ann T. says

    March 9, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    GREAT JOB!!! I think you did an awesome job! There are a lot of people out there who wouldn’t even consider tacking a castle or even a simpler cake.

    Cake central is a great website. That is where I have learned so many tips from and where I go to get ideas for cakes. Fondant is fun to work with but it is something that takes practice. For your first time of rolling it out, it looks great! If you ever want to play around with stuff, left me know cause I love showing people how to do different things.

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:37 am

      Thanks! Just let me kow when & where 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jade says

    March 9, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    o.o oh man…you are way more skilled with cake then you think…..awesome

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:37 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  7. Stacey says

    March 9, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    Fantastic job! 🙂

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:38 am

      Thanks!!!

      Reply
  8. Momondealz says

    March 9, 2011 at 10:44 pm

    You did a great job! We always do the kids cakes too, sooo much fun! This years was a firetruck, it took forever!

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 10, 2011 at 6:38 am

      Thanks! It is fun but stressful. A firetruck sounds so cute! I’m sure he loved it

      Reply
  9. Terra Heck says

    March 15, 2011 at 4:12 am

    Happy belated birthday to your daughter. I think you did a wonderful job on the cake.

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 15, 2011 at 6:43 am

      Thanks so much!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. My Farm Fresh & WAGS Trips (03/09) says:
    March 9, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    […] also picked up powdered sugar to try my hand at working with fondant again.  I want practice before Monkeyboy’s birthday in […]

    Reply
  2. Thrifty Thursday: Birthday Parties on a Budget says:
    March 10, 2011 at 9:20 am

    […] cake.  It usually tastes better too!  Cakes can be a simple sheet cake or something a bit more extravagant.  Whatever you decide, the kids (and adults) will enjoy it and won’t think twice about your […]

    Reply
  3. I Joined the 2011 Ultimate Blog Party! says:
    March 31, 2011 at 11:46 pm

    […] is a picture of my kids enjoying the castle cake we made my daughter in March for her 4th […]

    Reply
  4. Easter Bunny Cake says:
    April 6, 2012 at 11:14 am

    […] Want to make your own homemade Butter Cream Icing? […]

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Dana, the writer behind the scenes of The Coupon Challenge, a Hampton Roads, VA based coupon blog. I'm a wife and mother of 2. After getting out of debt we started using our savings to travel together as a family and create memories.

Are you looking for ways to save your family money? I strive to help you save on the products you need, so you can spend more on the things you want. Read More about Dana & Family

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