U of L Cake

This cake was so much fun to do and I absolutely loved how it turned out! I used fondant for the "Happy Birthday!" and the lines for the basketball. I have a loved/hate relationship with fondant, but I think using small fondant details like this really bring it to the next level that plain buttercream wouldn't achieve (especially if your pipping detail is wiggly). The Cardinal is made out of sugar paper and I colored it using edible markers. I LOVE how it turned out! The sugar paper was extremely hard to trim and I was so nervous that it would crack the whole thing in two. I was well prepared to draw and color that cardinal again, but luckily, the closer I got to the center of the paper, the softer it was. I'm not sure if that is typical for sugar paper or not because this is the first time using it but I'd definitely suggest practice cutting it first. I used small cuts all the way around getting slightly closer to the cardinal until it was the desired white width that I wanted. 

I initially looked into a few companies to make this cardinal for me because I was intimidated by the process but the turnaround was too long or they were unable to make it, so I decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did. It boosted my confidence in that it really is great to stretch yourself with new techniques because you never know what you are capable of. 

The client ended up loving this cake, which is my favorite part about making cakes for people! I love seeing their reactions and I think we nailed this one!