Follow Me: How To Make A John Deere Cake
What you'll need:
1) 10" round cake (enough to be 4" in height after filling with frosting)
2) 8" round cake (enough to be 4" in height after filling with frosting)
3) Buttercream frosting (enough to fill and frost both cakes)
4) Fondant, enough to cover both cakes, plus extra for decorations (Recipe for Marshmallow Fondant found here)
5) Wilton ready-to-use gum paste (I use the 1 pound bag. You'll use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bag for this cake)
6) A printer to print the logo image
7) Ruler for measuring
8) X-acto knife
9) Wilton gel colors: Kelly Green, Golden Yellow, Buttercup Yellow, and Brown
10) Wax paper
11) Clay Extruder Gun
12) Shortening for greasing
13) Cornstarch for dusting
14) Ribbon to match the cake (I used a green 5/8" ribbon and yellow ribbon)
15) 12" cake base
16) Tappits Funky Letters cutters
17) Two Small soft-bristled paintbrushes
18) Homemade edible adhesive (50% lukewarm water, 50% light corn syrup mixture)
19) Offset angled spatula
20) Cake leveler or large knife
21) Large knife
22) cardboard cake circles (one 8", one 10")
23) 12" foil covered cake base
24) Hot glue gun with glue sticks, or quilting pins.
25) Wilton candy melts
26) One long wooden dowel, plus extra dowels to support top cake tier
*Please note: This is cake was decorated based on a photo sent to me by a customer. I am not claiming this cake as my own original design. This is simply a tutorial on the techniques I used to come up with this cake.
1) 10" round cake (enough to be 4" in height after filling with frosting)
2) 8" round cake (enough to be 4" in height after filling with frosting)
3) Buttercream frosting (enough to fill and frost both cakes)
4) Fondant, enough to cover both cakes, plus extra for decorations (Recipe for Marshmallow Fondant found here)
5) Wilton ready-to-use gum paste (I use the 1 pound bag. You'll use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bag for this cake)
6) A printer to print the logo image
7) Ruler for measuring
8) X-acto knife
9) Wilton gel colors: Kelly Green, Golden Yellow, Buttercup Yellow, and Brown
10) Wax paper
11) Clay Extruder Gun
12) Shortening for greasing
13) Cornstarch for dusting
14) Ribbon to match the cake (I used a green 5/8" ribbon and yellow ribbon)
15) 12" cake base
16) Tappits Funky Letters cutters
17) Two Small soft-bristled paintbrushes
18) Homemade edible adhesive (50% lukewarm water, 50% light corn syrup mixture)
19) Offset angled spatula
20) Cake leveler or large knife
21) Large knife
22) cardboard cake circles (one 8", one 10")
23) 12" foil covered cake base
24) Hot glue gun with glue sticks, or quilting pins.
25) Wilton candy melts
26) One long wooden dowel, plus extra dowels to support top cake tier
*Please note: This is cake was decorated based on a photo sent to me by a customer. I am not claiming this cake as my own original design. This is simply a tutorial on the techniques I used to come up with this cake.
Cake decorating often takes days of planning and work. Fondant cakes are especially time-consuming, so I've divided this tutorial into 3 parts - each part representing the work that was completed that day. This cake was due on a Saturday, but I began working on this cake on Wednesday. I hope you find this tutorial informative and helpful. And if you have any questions please feel free to leave a message in the comments box below or contact me by email through the "contact" link on my homepage. Enjoy!
Wednesday (3 days before the cake was due) was dedicated to making the decorations that would need time to dry, and to also make my frostings and fondant. The first decoration piece I started was the large John Deere logo on the front of the cake. I Googled "John Deere Logo" and found a black and white image that worked perfectly. I "right clicked" on the image and copied and pasted it to Microsoft Paintbrush. I resized and cropped it on Paintbrush and printed it out. Since my cake will be about 4" tall, I wanted to be sure the logo would be a little taller than my cake (my printout is about 4 1/2 inches tall).
The link for the image I used can be found here: http://www.deere.com/en_US/media/corporate_images/citizenship/john_deere_inspire/bw_stacked.jpg
The link for the image I used can be found here: http://www.deere.com/en_US/media/corporate_images/citizenship/john_deere_inspire/bw_stacked.jpg
Next, to protect the paper from any moisture and make it sturdier, I covered the entire logo in clear masking tape.
Try to get the tape as smooth as possible (no ripples or bubbles), and be sure to cover the entire logo with tape. Do the same on the opposite side of the paper.
Next, cut out the logo with a good sharp pair of scissors.
Generously dust your work surface with cornstarch. Estimate enough fondant and gum paste to make the logo's background, then knead together until well blended. The ratio I use is about twice the amount of fondant as gum paste. (In the photo: fondant is on the left, gum paste on the right)
After fondant and gum paste have been well kneaded, add a bit of Wilton gel color in Kelly Green.
Knead until color is well blended. Add more color if needed, until desired color is reached.
On a surface dusted with cornstarch, roll the fondant/gum paste mixture until it is slightly larger than the logo. Also be sure the fondant/gum paste is rolled thick enough to remain sturdy, about 1/4" thick.
With the logo placed on the rolled fondant/gum paste mixture, trace around the edge of the logo with an X-acto knife to cut out the logo's background. To make cutting easier, keep knife tip greased with a tiny amount of shortening (re-grease after a few cuts). Also, keep your cuts short (about a centimeter at a time) to keep from pulling the fondant/gum paste and distorting it.
Remove all extra scraps.
Remove the paper logo and neaten the edges with the X-acto knife.
Place logo background on a piece of wax paper and set aside.
Make another fondant/gum paste mixture in the same amount as for the green background of the logo. Color it with Wilton gel color in Buttercup Yellow and knead until color is well mixed, adding more color, if needed, until desired color is reached.
Add a small amount of Wilton color gel in Golden Yellow to better match the John Deere yellow. Knead until well blended and set aside.
Next, with your X-acto knive, trace around the logo to cut out all parts that will be yellow (all the "white" on the paper image).
Place a large piece of wax paper down on your work surface. Place the John Deere yellow fondant/gum paste blend on the wax paper and roll until very thin (as thin as you can get it without tearing it).
Set aside the yellow fondant/gum paste mixture and allow to dry overnight. Meanwhile, make frosting (place in a sealed container and refrigerate) and fondant (wrap well, leave at room temp) for later use.
