Minnie Mouse Cake

M-O-U-S-E….Minnie Mouse! Who doesn’t love the mouse? Mickey images always make people smile. Just posting this makes me want to put on some ears and head to Disneyland!

My assistant principal came to me and wanted me to make a birthday cake for her daughter. Originally, she wanted just a mickey head cake—you know, the wilton shaped mickey pan. When I went to double check on the details, I took some pictures of other cakes that I thought were cute, and to show her what I could do. One look at this one and she was sold. Her eyes lit up and she told me that she had to have it. It was so cute to see someone so excited about cake. I always get like that and it makes me happy to see others happy about a cake too!

Normally I use a premade fondant when using it for pieces and decorative work. The Wilton kind is super easy to work with and color, but has an awful taste and smell. I had been wanting to try the Duff fondant. I had a coupon, so I picked up a tub of white. I figured that I would use it for the bow and all of the details. To say that I was disappointed with the Duff fondant is an understatement. In the first place, the “white” was not white. It was totally off-white. And it was waaaay to soft. I guess if I was using it mixed with gumpaste or to cover a cake, it would have been different. I may decide to try it again because I hate to rule something out after one use, but this time, I was not impressed.

The first thing I had to figure out was how to make the mickey ears. I played around with different sizes and went with the bottom of my big frosting tip. I used that for the head and ears. I used the tip to cut a notch off of the bottom and used water to make sure they would stick to the heads.

 

 

Since this cake was for a little girl, they all had to be done up with pink bows to complete the Minnie look. I spent about an hour trying to find an easy way to make the bow. That did not work. So, I went with the long way and cut triangles from the edges of the pink fondant. I stuck them together with water and plopped a little pink ball in the middle to complete the look. Then, they all got a sprinkling of pink sugar. Once they dried, I put the bows in the middle of the heads and they were all good to go!

The next thing I had to figure out was the bow, ears and two.  ( this next part is missing the step by step pics—it must have been too late for me to remember to take pictures ) The two was the easiest. I rolled the black into a snake and then formed the two. I was laid out to dry for a few days before going on the cake. The next was the ears on top. The top layer of the cake was an 8 inch cake. They had to be just the right size on the top of the cake. I tried several different things and settled on a red solo plastic cup. Yep…a plastic cup. I made an impression in the fondant and used the pizza cutter to cut them out. To stand them on the cake, I put some toothpicks in them to make them a little more sturdy since they were not completely dry.

Then came the bow. I always put off the things that I think are the hardest to do. This on turned out to be pretty easy. I cut it in strips and then pinched them together. I made two different sizes and opted for the smaller ones. The laid on their sides to dry and them were put together with a knot piece in the middle.

When it was all done, I stacked it with dowels and assembled all of the pieces. It went together without and hitches and was off for delivery. I so loved doing this cake. Each time I make a cake I learn something new and have so much fun. It made it even better to see the look on her face when we delivered it. Seeing people light up when I do a cake makes all of the late hours and hard work more than worth it. Enjoy!!

 

  Meg