Half Birthday Cake

This was such a fun cake! Here is the original concept:

And here is the cake:

The exposed surface of the cake is not actually cake, but fondant that had been made to look like cake:

To achieve the effect, I first covered the cake in a layer of chocolate fondant. I took the matching coloured fondant, mixed it with a bit of water, then melted it it down until it had a paste-like consistency. The melted fondant was then dabbed onto the surface, thus creative that rough texture.

For the layers of filling, cream coloured fondant strips were applied, then roughed up using a paring knife. A thin line of red food colouring was painted on to create the look of jam.

The actual cake inside was chocolate cake with mango buttercream, and the strategically placed crumbs you see  at the bottom of the cake are actually made from torn pieces of fondant.