My Sushi Obsession in the form of Birthday Cake

It's my birthday!

Okay, not today it's not, but it was two weeks ago when I made this cake!

I have a tendency to be just a tad indecisive when it comes to actually carrying out a task. From choosing what type of confection to make, to which recipe specifically to use; and to most things besides baking (which is why most people refuse to go shopping with me,and I do not blame them). So originally when thinking about what I wanted to make for my birthday, I was thinking of cupcakes, a cake, some candies; should I try something challenging and new or should I stick with a tried and true favorite? Ultimately I decided to go traditional with a cake, but then I was hung up on what I should make the theme. Something elegant and simple or something creative and whimsical?

A little sneak peak for what's to come...

 My inspiration came to me in the form of one of my favorite foods. What better than making something delicious look like something else delicious? So I decided on a sushi themed cake. I am always trying to get people to go out and try it because there is the misconception that all sushi is just raw fish and that is usually off-putting to most people and a leading reason why they won't try it.

With this cake I really pulled out all the stops. I had my new Planet Cake decorating book on hand and I took two days off so I wouldn't skip a single step to finish it. I started with a white chocolate mud cake, layered it with dark chocolate ganache, and then used fondant for the decorations. I actually used store bought fondant for the first time with this cake. In the past I have always made marshmallow fondant from scratch, and in my opinion the most noticeable difference between the two is that 1.) store bought fondant is more expensive,and 2.)store bought fondant is ready to use so you save quite a bit of preparation time when using it. As far as taste and reliability go, there isn't too major of a difference. I will be soon posting a tutorial on how to make marshmallow fondant from scratch,though, so keep an eye out!

Are you ready to see the cake?

Sushi!

Look, I made "paper screens",too!

Makizushi

Gotta have some wasabi and ginger!

Soy sauce and chopsticks

Makizushi with a little nigiri

It's all about the layers

What your hands look like with your color fondant without gloves on

The only thing that bothered me about this cake is that I couldn't find any white sprinkles in such short notice to use on the rolls for "rice" :( Alas, I am still fairly satisfied with the outcome. My next post will be a small guide on how to make and assemble the cake that I have used here; just the basic square cake, layered with ganache and covered properly with fondant.