It's a purple-y kind of month!

Lately it seems that everyone likes purple? In just 3 weeks, I'd make a purple cake, a giant cupcake with purple (and pink) icing, and another purple cake! (it was actually the request for this one that made me choose circles on the first purple cake).

It certainly is the season for purple birthdays!

This cake was made for a friend's 30th birthday party. When I asked her to send me a photo of what she'd like, I received this     ->

(Yes, that's as big as the photo gets).

It looked like something I could manage,* so I collected my ingredients and planned out how I would make and attach everything. With making a cake, there's only so many things you can do in advance... Buying ingredients and making fondant cut outs (that need to set) are about the only things that I do before the day before the cake needs to be ready by.

Knowing that some of the balls and stars needed to be silver, I made twice as many white as black shapes, by rolling up fondant. Also prepared were the stars with wire stuck into them:

Once the two cakes (bottom layer, and top layer) were made and covered in purple fondant (which wasn't quite the colour as the photo, but the darkest I could manage at the time), I rolled out some white fondant and sliced it into strips to glue around the cake.

I poured some of my edible silver liquid into a bottle top so that I could use a bigger brush to hopefully speed up this process... Best. Decision. Ever. It was so much faster than using the brush it comes with (it's the size of a nail polish brush, attached to the lid). I painted every second white strip silver - to match the photo that I was given.

... It was about this time that I overheard my husband tell our daughter that "we will have to have a talk soon about what's going to happen to your body in a couple of years.... But mum will explain more about that to you at another time."

It was 9:30pm at that time.

"Gee... Thanks for the heads up!" :/

I continued to paint the white strips silver, and he must have assumed that my response meant that I wanted him to tell her about 'changes' right now? He said "fine, I'll do it", and proceeded back into our daughter's bedroom for another 'chat.' I was focussed on the cake, but overheard words of chickens, eggs, boys, hair, being punched in the tummy, and having to wear nappies in your undies...

Hmm. Maybe I should have done it.

I finished the silver strips, and moved on to paint half of the white balls and stars silver as well. My aim was to get that done, and then finish the rest the following morning (I also didn't want the top tier to sit on the cake overnight and collapse into it).

In the morning, I glued the silver, black, and white balls around the base of the cake. One by one, in their black, white, and silver pattern.

Once that was done, I placed the top tier onto the cake (with some buttercream in the middle), and did the same thing with the fondant balls around the base of the top tier as well.

Time to re-check the photo to see what I needed to do for the top tier. There were circles on top, with a giant 30,** as well as writing around. I had asked if she wanted her name, which she did.

... You know when you look at a word long enough, it looks like it's spelled wrong? Well, that's what happened with Debbie's name. I shamefully had to check Facebook to make sure it did in fact have two B's in the middle. Which it did. Of course it did. I knew that already, but wanted to make sure :)

As I took another close look at the cake, I realised that the spots could go all around the top tier of the cake, and some of my blemishes would be covered up! The cracks, tears, and uneven patches of the cake could potentially not be seen (I always see the areas I need improvement on).

The name was glued on, the stars were placed in the side, and the cake was finally ready to take with us to the party!

And here's one from the party with the "30" candles on top,

looking more of the purple colour it should be:

Happy birthday Debbie!

* I'm becoming more aware that I need (or want) to complete a cake decorating course soon, to learn how to be able to:
- not make fondant crack and rip when placed over a cake
- make the sides straight and smooth
- attach multiple tiers without the top tier sinking into the bottom

** As I was just about to prepare and cut out a big 3 and 0 in fondant, I had a call from the birthday girl telling me that they were meant to be candles. As I didn't realise that, I hadn't bought those with the other ingredients, and so she organised that, and I told her I'd leave a space for them.