Mario Brothers Cake 11
by Ashley Macejka
(Jessup, MD, USA)
Will's Mario Birthday Cake
My friend Will is an avid video gamer, so I made this cake for his birthday. I made vanilla cake and used food coloring to tint some of it blue. I then made checkerboard layers and decorated it with homemade butter cream icing. The mushroom and the pipe on top are made from sugar cookies that I cut out and iced.
Some Tips:
When layering a cake, be careful not to use too much icing in between layers. If you have too much icing, your cake will slide which not only makes a mess, but it also puts crumbs in your icing.
When decorating cakes, it is best to use gel coloring, not liquid. Liquid food coloring doesn't allow you to get the richness in color and it also changes the consistency of your icing.
To get a smooth, fondant-style look to your butter cream icing, use medium consistency to ice the cake, let it set for a half hour, and then lay a piece of parchment paper over the top. Gently rub your hand across the top to smooth the icing.
Be sure to give your cakes enough time to cool before icing them. It's easier to get crumbs off if the cake has had enough time to set. I usually make my cakes a day before I ice them.
