Before our son's 18th birthday celebration we asked him what kind of cake he wanted. His choice was a Krabby Patty cake (from SpongeBob Squarepants). Before I get into the process, I decided to "interview" Mr. Mary Cooks as he did all the hard work on this cake. Remember, he also created the awesome SpongeBob cake for our daughter's 3rd birthday.
So, Mr. Mary Cooks, what was the most difficult part of making the Krabby Patty cake?
Deciding to get up before 1 pm to decorate it. NO! I'm kidding! The most difficult part was deciding if the top of the bun was going to be frosted or covered with fondant. In hindsight, frosting was a better choice. Do you know how hard it is to make food coloring tan? If I had to do it again I'd still have a hard time deciding between fondant or frosting for the top but I'd probably try to use warm frosting to slip a smooth coating onto it.
What part was the most fun?
Seeing all the little details come together. Even though you couldn't see the ketchup and mustard, it looked like ketchup and mustard. Maybe I should do a dozen sliders with cupcakes!
That sounds very ambitious.
What was your favorite part of the whole experience?
When the teenager couldn't tell me how many bites it would take (to eat the hamburger).
Tell me about the fondant. The creation process, the ease of use, and the taste.
Well, on the first day, well, it wasn't real fondant. It was a substitute marshmallow fondant made principally of marshmallows and sugar. A lot of marshmallows and sugar. And, as you'd expect, inside the cake it tasted like marshmallows and sugar so it was actually an item you could eat. Creation process...um...worst than breading chicken with both hands. Sticky, sticky, sticky! When it got warm it got stickier. When it got cold it got harder to knead together. There wasn't really a happy medium. But the gel food color did mix quickly as long as you knew what color you were going to use.
Let's talk about the plastic wrap during the rolling of the fondant.
Well, the fondant really liked to stick to it, especially when I applied the rolling pin. Next time I'd like to spritz it with some vegetable oil. I think that would also make the "lettuce" look more shiny.
What would you do differently?
On the subject of shiny, spraying the brownie patty down with some thinned corn syrup would make it look oily, like a greasy burger. You'd only have to do the edge.
A side of fries would have been nice but time dictated otherwise.
There are more condiments that could be done such as onions, pickles, and bacon. Bacon could be fun, especially for other projects. But that means I'd really want to learn how to make cane glass. I think that's a start towards figuring out realistic bacon.
Would you make this cake again?
I don't know if I'd make THIS one again; but a dozen sliders might be interesting. I think it'd be funny. Little cupcake krabby patties! Doesn't seem to be as much fun to make the same thing again.
Finally, what cake are you looking forward to making next?
I'm still thinking about what cakes I'd like to do. But next is really dictated by whose birthday is coming up. I'd like to do a Gir cake with a cupcake inside his head. Then we could quote some lines from the show explaining why Gir has a cupcake inside his head.
Well, that's it. Thank you very much! On with the photos and descriptions!
Ingredients:
One box yellow cake mix
One box brownie mix (follow directions for cake-like brownies)
Two tubs Betty Crocker vanilla frosting
16 oz. mini marshmallows
2 pounds powdered sugar
water
gel colors
We used the recipe found at What's Cooking America by Peggy Weaver. Mr. Mary Cooks and the middle child made this the night before.
The morning of the cake assembly, I baked the cakes and the brownies. For the cakes, I poured a little more into one round cake pan than the other so the top bun would be thicker.
The tomatoes were formed with small balls of fondant. They were colored red, pressed, and flattened with a rolling pin.
Finally, edges were made to make them look a little more like tomatoes.
Cheese is up next. Some drops of food coloring were put on the fondant.
The coloring was kneaded into the fondant. He also used a tiny bit of red to make the cheese look orange.
The yellow portion of the fondant was rolled out and cut into squares using a pizza cutter. There was enough to make two slices of cheese.
Peeling up the excess revealed the square shape.
The lettuce was made by coloring the fondant green, rolling it out, then using crumpled newspaper on both top and bottom to give it some texture. I thought this was a genius move!
Now comes the assembly. The bottom layer was trimmed so it would be flat.
White frosting for the mayonnaise was applied to the top of the cake.
The brownie layer was trimmed and placed on top of the mayo.
Some frosting was tinted red and drizzled onto the brownie for ketchup.
Next, frosting was made yellow and drizzled on for mustard.
See? Doesn't it look like a burger?
The time for the toppings has come! First, lettuce. We all need a little more green in our lives, right?
Next, cheese. I LOVE how this totally looks like American cheese slices.
Finally, tomatoes. These look delicious.
Every burger should have extra mayo! I mean, if you're going to eat it, eat it the right way!
The top was placed on. Not perfectly...it wouldn't be good for it to look perfect.
The tan frosting was put all over the top bun.
We used almond slices for sesame seeds.
Before I show the complete Krabby Patty cake, indulge me in some detail photos.
Et voila! The finished cake!
Happy birthday!!
