Ribbon Rose Hobnail Wedding Cake

This cake is a good place to start if you’ve never made a multi-tiered cake or worked with fondant before. The decorations are fairly simple, which lets you focus on the basic techniques of stacking the tiers and creating a smooth fondant finish. The design was inspired by vintage hobnail glass and the soft, snuggly, nubby chenille blankets that can be found tucked into a newborn’s crib—perfect for a baby shower. Or stick with an all-white palette to turn it into a simple wedding cake, or use deeper or brighter colors for a sweet birthday cake.

Ingredients:

For the cake and filling:

• 2 6-inch diameter round cakes, either Vanilla Chiffon Cake or Devil’s Food Cake
• 2 8-inch diameter round cakes, either Vanilla Chiffon Cake or Devil’s Food Cake
• 12 cups (3 recipes) Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream, or one of the variations

For the decoration:

• 4-1/2 lb. white fondant
• 2 lb. pale blue fondant
• 2 oz. leaf green fondant
• One 4-oz. container of 6-mm edible white pearls
• Piping gel, for attaching decorations

Tools:

• 6- and 8-inch round cake boards
• Long serrated knife
• Ruler (preferably metal)
• Level
• Large offset spatula
• X-ACTO knife or scalpel
• Plastic fondant rolling pin
• 4 dowels, 1/2 inch in diameter, at least 6 inches long
• Fondant smoothers
• Cake turntable
• 3-1/2-inch round cookie cutter
• Extruder (optional)
• Small paintbrush

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