Fun Tea Party Birthday Cake
by Sheila Borden
(Halifax, N.S Canada)
Tea Party Cake 1
Tea Party Cake 2
The Presentation
This cake was inspired by multiple internet sources when I was searching for ideas for a Tea Party cake for my Daughter.
When my daughter was a little girl she loved tea parties with her Grandmother who she adored. Her Grandmother and my Mother passed three years ago leaving a huge hole in our lives. I was looking for a special cake to make for her Birthday not only to wow her but to test my newly acquired cake making skills.
My Daughter was overwhelmed and knew right away what my inspiration was and recognized the tea cup right away that I modeled to look like one her Grandmother (my Mother) had given to me in shape only.
The tea cup and saucer were made from gumpaste and was my first attempt it was a thrill to make and even though I was not sure I could do it I jumped in head first. I used the cup and saucer given to me by my Mother and made a paper pattern and used it to cut out my gumpaste for both cup and saucer, fashioned a handle and left the gumpaste to dry in the cup and on the saucer for more than a week, shifting it regularly so it did not stick ( cornstarch in the cup helped with this) the handle and cup base was put into aprox 2" of cornstartch to dry this also helped to keep it safe and from breaking at the end of the first week I removed the gumpaste cup from the cup and attatched the handle and base with Royal Icing smoothed a thin layer of Royal Icing over the entire cup and saucer and set aside to dry.(this gave the cup and saucer more strength)
Cup and saucer were both later airbrushed in pearl sheen and edges and cup handle were hand painted in gold sheen airbrush paint. Handmade tiny painted gumpaste flowers were glued to the cup and saucer (using tylose glue) to give a 3D effect along with hand painted leaves directly painted on the cup and saucer.
Cake was Lemon Pound cake with lemon buttercream my Daughters favorite! covered in Moss green fondant, layered with a white table clotth that had been embossed with a impression mat in gingham pattern and topped that with a fondant napkin also embossed with another impression mat and airbrushed with Pearl Sheen.
Homemade gumpaste roses and hand painted Orchid help top the cake along with handmade gumpaste heart shaped cookies dusted with raw sugar.
This cake was filled with love and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did making it.
