Vans Shoe Cake

Difficulty Level:  Hard
Supplies Needed:

Cake board covered with aluminum foil
(2) Cake mixes (any flavor)
Wilton buttercream icing (see recipes)
Fondant (see recipes)
Gel icing colors (your choice)
Mini chocolate donuts

For this cake, the birthday boy requested vanilla cake and buttercream icing.  I started by baking 2 cakes, 1 9x13 and 1 9" round.  Let cool completely.  In the meantime make buttercream icing.

Once cake is cool to touch you can start constructing your shoe.  I cut my pieces on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.  I used an edible marker to draw a sole on the cake freehand, but used pictures I had printed from the vans website as a guide.  Find a shoe you like and you can view and print from all different angles.

First I cut the sole from just the 9x13 cake.
Then I laid the round cake on top of the back end
of the sole and trimmed to fit.  I took extra pieces to
construct the very top.  It looked like this:

I ended up with a scrap of cake that was almost
the exact shape of the Vans skateboard logo so I
decided to add that as well.

Once I had a shape I liked, I then transferred it to my cake board, covering each layer in buttercream icing as I went.  Don't worry about crumbs getting in the icing - it will all be covered by the fondant.

After the shoe was completely covered in icing, I stuck it in the freezer and began working on the fondant.  As this was my first time working with fondant, I found there is a lot of room for error!  The first recipe I found on the internet got great reviews.  I followed the recipe and directions carefully and ended up with . . . glue!  What a mess!  No matter what I did, I could not save that icky, sticky stuff!  I was afraid for any of it to go down my drain.

I tried a new recipe and it worked out really well, although the finish was very shiny and I would've preferred a little less shine.  Finding a fondant recipe I love will be a work in progress!

Leave yourself plenty of time to work (most if not all of the day!).  Once you start putting fondant on the cake, you do not want to refrigerate it or it will ruin the finish of the fondant.

I covered the shoe with fondant in this order:

The back of the tongue of the shoe
The front of the shoe and covering the front of the tongue
The sides of the shoe
The inside of the shoe
The back tab and back half-oval
The white sole
The eyelets and laces

The next day I used my buttercream icing (and added 1/2 tsp piping gel) to pipe on the details like the stitching and wording.  I used a bit of the icing to attach two mini chocolate donuts for the wheels of the skateboard.

Easter Grass Cupcakes

These little cupcakes are so simple and quick to make!

Supplies needed:
Cake mix (any flavor)
Wilton buttercream icing (see recipes)
Grass Tip 233
Green gel icing coloring
Baking cups

Bake cupcakes according to package directions being careful not to fill more than 2/3 full.  In the meantime, make the buttercream icing and color it green.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely you can make your grass.  Using grass tip 233, push the tip flat against the cupcake to start (this will help it stick in place) and pull straight up, then over, releasing pressure on icing bag as you do so.

Stick jelly beens or large round sprinkles in grass for the "eggs."