KITTENS IN A BASKET
This cake was made for Anika's 3rd birthday party on October 21, 2007
DESIGN
Anika's only design criteria was "kitties". I initially thought about making a hello kitty cake, but realized that Anika probably didn't even know who hello kitty was and probably was thinking of something more realistic. Who knows what she actually had in mind, but this is what I came up with. I had a hard time deciding between the basket of several kittens or one big cat lounging. But the kittens peeking out of the basket seemed a little more dynamic and kid-like than a boring lounging kitty.
CAKE
Famous "Chocolate Blackout Cake" recipe by Margaret Braun.
FILLING / ICING
I went with a little twist this time and flavored the italian meringue buttercream with peppermint extract. The cake tasted like a peppermint patty !!
DECORATION
The kitten's heads were made with the mini ball pan. The ears were molded from candy melts piped into a small hole piping tip and quickly chilled in the refrigerator. The flowers were made from fondant with shaped cookie cutters and dried in cups and bowls to get the rounded shape. The whiskers were made by piping melted chocolate over dry spaghetti.
THANKS
Again, many thanks go out to Blake. He made the ears, helped pipe some of the kitty fur and also placed all the flowers on the cake. These cakes are really labors of love from both of us.
