Designer Purse Cake

by Avi
(AR)

I made this birthday cake especially for my sister who celebrated her last birthday with us last April. It was extra special because we haven't seen each other for more than 7 years since the last time I went to my home country for a visit. It was also her first trip to the US so I made sure that she gets a nice cake for her birthday.

The birthday cake was layers of alternating vanilla cake and chocolate cake, iced with vanilla butter cream and then covered with chocolate marshmallow fondant.

Vanilla Cake Recipe:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
4 ounces butter
1 whole egg
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
2 egg whites
4 ounces milk
8 ounces white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a medium sized bowl, take butter and stir by adding sugar to it.
2. Fold vanilla into this mixture along with the eggs (one at a time).
3. When these ingredients are mixed well, add flour alternating it with baking powder.
4. Once this is done, pour milk slowly into the mixture, stirring continuously.
5. Continue stirring till the batter attains a smooth texture.
6. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and also sprinkle some flour in it.
7. Transfer the cake batter into the baking dish and place in a (350oF/180oC/Gas mark 4) preheated oven.
8. Bake the cake for 30 - 40 minutes in the oven.
9.

Chocolate Cake Recipe:

2 cups flour
125 grams chocolate (squares)
3 eggs
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
¼ cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (180oC/Gas mark 4)
2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and also sprinkle some flour in it.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a deep pan of boiling water.
4. Cream together butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time, beating well.
5. Add the melted chocolate and beat till well combined.
6. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and fold into the chocolate-egg-sugar-butter mix. Don’t beat too much.
7. After the mixture is blended well, pour into the baking pan.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes, or till well risen.

Vanilla Buttercream:

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

1. In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter.
2. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
3. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Marshmallow Fondant:

1/4 cup butter
1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided
Directions

1. Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
2. Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows.
3. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth.
4. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff.
5. Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Putting everything together:

I made the decors in advance prior to baking the cake. I used some marshmallow fondant tinted with a little copper food color for the bag handle, and zipper. I then painted the zipper metal with gold highlighter.
Using cricut machine and sugar sheet, I cut out the designer bag logo design.

I cut the cake in half, you should end up with 4 9x6.5 cakes. Alternate each cake putting vanilla buttercream between layer.
After all layers have been placed, carve the top to give it a round edge finish.
Crumbcoat the cake with the remaining vanilla buttercream. Then let it set.
While waiting for the icing to set, I tinted the rest of the marshmallow fondant with brown food color to match the designer bag color.
Once the icing has set, cover the cake with the fondant and then put on the rest of the decorations.

It was a lot of work but I had a lot of fun. And also I didn't mind the long hours since I did it for my sister. For more of my baking adventures, please visit alotofsugar.blogspot

Recipe source: www.allrecipes.com

Hi Avi,

Thank you for your submission. That marshmallow fondant sounds so yummy, I must try that. Thanks for sharing!