ProudGrandma Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 my son wants a alien space ship birthday cake. I bought little alien dudes and I was going to make a space ship shaped cake and put the little alien dudes around the outside...but then I saw this picture... http://www.coloring-crafts.com/coloring-pages/aliens/images/large/color-alien-space-ship.gif and thought, I could use a clear glass bowl to put on top of a round cake base and put a few little guys inside...but if I wanted to put anything on the clear glass...decorations of sorts...how would reg frosting stick? Would it? Help me figure out how to decorate this....what would you do?? I am open to any and all ideas. Oh, his birthday is Monday and I am not going shopping before that...so I need to use stuff I have at home. THANKS!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I'm not sure, but I think a glass bowl would sink right into the cake. Maybe just put cupcakes around it? Do you have a clear bowl that would fit in a bundt ring and poke up a bit? You could put a piece of cardboard, maybe, in the center and then rest a bowl on that. I think royal icing would stick things on. Just use it like glue or draw designs on the glass with it, maybe? Frost the cake part in regular, yummy icing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I thought about the sinking thing too...I like the cardboard idea...and the bundt pan idea too. So, would I just make a regular cake mix in a bundt cake pan, put a piece of cardboard under the bowl (maybe cover it in foil for a good look) put the little guys underneath and then try and decorate the bowl? Guess, i better expereiment a little bit, huh?? We have food allegies in our home, so I can't use just any kind of icing...but I will just have to play some I guess. Thanks for those ideas!!! Any other ideas on what else I can do to decorate the cake?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 If you have marshmallows and powdered sugar, you can mix up a batch of "fondant like" stuff, sort of like clay that you could pinch off and mold little bits to attach to the bowl. I would do that before setting it on the cake top, so that you would not be pushing down on it. You can color it with food coloring while you are mixing it up or work it into the "clay" later. Just put the marshmallows in the microwave for 20 or 30 seconds to melt them. They will puff up quite large, but then settle down when you add the powdered sugar. Mix in enough so that you can handle the mixture. You can add a bit of cooking spray to make the final product shiny. It is edible, but way too sweet for my tastes. It dries into more of a spongy consistency, not hard. Another option to help keep the bowl from sinking would be to cut 4 dowel sticks to the height of the cake and then use them as internal supports to hold the bowl up at the right height. (Washed off pencils might work well also, if you don't have dowels. I would cut off the metal and eraser end and also even off the lead end if it had been previously sharpened.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 ohhh...that is a new idea for me...that might just work. Great!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Marshmallow fondant is definitely the way to go! Birthdays are the one time of the year that I let go of my health food mama ways. See? I rocked the fondant for my son's alien cake, although I took the easier route and did an abstract alien cake, rather than try to recreate the rocket ship. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Can you run to the dollar store to get a clear lightweight plastic bowl, instead of a glass one? That would work well. And yes, marshmallow fondant would stick to the plastic I think, but honestly, I'm not sure you NEED anything to stick to the plastic. i'd decorate the cake itself, and leave the clear bowl clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 the glass bowl I have isn't too big or too heavy....I don't think. And finding a plastic bowl that is transparent, not transluscent will be hard, I think. So you think if I color the cake (bottom) part and decorate it, the clear bowl part won't look silly with out anything? I like that idea as far as ease...that is for sure. I will thinking I would just make 2 round cakes....I didn't like the look of the bundt cake...I put the bowl on top of the cake pan and it looked too tall or something...I like the height of the 2 round cakes stacked on top of each other...should I do something with the shape of the cake though...I don't know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 the glass bowl I have isn't too big or too heavy....I don't think. And finding a plastic bowl that is transparent, not transluscent will be hard, I think. So you think if I color the cake (bottom) part and decorate it, the clear bowl part won't look silly with out anything? I like that idea as far as ease...that is for sure. I will thinking I would just make 2 round cakes....I didn't like the look of the bundt cake...I put the bowl on top of the cake pan and it looked too tall or something...I like the height of the 2 round cakes stacked on top of each other...should I do something with the shape of the cake though...I don't know... I think you are on the right track. Two round layers, decorated on the sides and the edges of the tops. If anything you could cut the layers around the edges to kind of bevel them...so that instead of the side going straight down it has more of flying saucer shape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I think you can roll the marshmallow fondant out and use it to cover your cakes also, but remember that the texture will be...not like buttercreme! Think more like those orange circus peanut candies rolled flat. You could then use buttercreme to "glue" gumdrops or other candies onto the fondant surface of the cake. Personally, I would consider putting a small disc on top of the clear, inverted bowl, with a gumdrop or other bright candy piece on top, sort of like a beacon light. But I think anything else would obscure the little guys inside. Test this first, but IIRC, the fondant was very pliable initially and if you had a toy with a "console/keyboard" 3D portion, I think you could spray a bit of oil on it and then press a section of the fondant onto it to duplicate the console for your aliens to use inside their saucer. It would be reversed, but the general shapes would save you a lot of decorating time. I also remember that the fondant was easy to cut with kitchen scissors, so save time by clipping instead of modeling if you need tiny bits like fingers or tongues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I like the beacon light idea...and the beveled edges...as long as I don't keep cutting becasue I don't like the shape and end up with a mini flying saucer instead... My problem with the fonant deal is that we are a Feingold family and marshmallows are expensive...and I dont know how/if they would melt the same. Plus the food coloring would be an issue...I do have natural dyes, but they are not really bright and brilliant...I plan to use chocolate frosting as an accent...I will color the space ship frosting...and I will use approved candies to decorate, but I don't have lots of choices. I have approved M&M's (but they are only orange, brown and yellow) and yellow lemon drop candies that are round and round pepermint patti type candies and small peanut butter cups. Out of those, which will make the best beacon light?? the peanut butter cup turned upside down with a yellow M&M on top?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 what would you do?? I am open to any and all ideas. I'd use a Buttercream Transfer that I first heard about here on the boards two years ago. Use the same picture you've posted. It sounds like an awesome cake. Here's another post where I gave details about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Marshmallow fondant is definitely the way to go! Birthdays are the one time of the year that I let go of my health food mama ways. See? I rocked the fondant for my son's alien cake, although I took the easier route and did an abstract alien cake, rather than try to recreate the rocket ship. ;) I think this is GREAT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Try the craft store. They probably have some sort of clear, plastic, half-sphere thing you could use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoLuRu Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 How about something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 that is so cute!!! is the cake just the grey part...I can't really see...from this angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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