*Here Comes the Bride!*

Bridal Shower Cake-  Corset/Bustier Shaped 2-layer chocolate cake, filled with strawberry preserves and vanilla frosting, covered in "skin" colored and white fondant, with pink and white flowers and pink lace patterned fondant detailing.

So this is my first "va-va-va-voom!" cake, and I can confidently say it was the closest I've ever been to working at the Barbie factory. As this cake went through it's stages, it reminded me of the Barbie head my cousin had when we were kids, you know, the kind that you can put make-up on and style it's hair. It particularly made me giggle when I would take a break away from it, only to see something in my kitchen that looked not unlike a headless torso-it can be rather shocking!

I'm sure you're wondering about the "busty" part, that was achieved with the help of my Wilton Sports Ball cake molds. I've used them before (See- Play Ball!), but this time I filled them to the brim to so that it would look more like the Bride-To-Be...let's just say she's very blessed in that department!

The challenging part of this cake was pulling off the look of lace, without having to fork over hundreds of dollars for fondant molds via the interweb. My final solution was to buy paper doilies and roll them into the fondant and cut them out. I layered them for depth and, of course, showered them with pearl Luster Dust. For the front lace piece, I found a website that detailed how to get that look using a lace place mat and a stencil sponge with Luster Dust. I looked everywhere for a lace placemat to no avail, so I had to improvise with a handkerchief with a lace edge. It proved to be slightly problematic, but after a false start, it worked out pretty well. I do have to say, it's more impressive with a darker hue of Luster Dust, but I'm happy with it.

Having not yet mastered (or even tried for that matter) creating my own sugar flowers, I opt to purchase them from my local cake supply store. They're always beautiful and I know it saves me from pulling my hair out. I love the flowers I picked up this time because they came with those pretty pearl accents. I did add, what else, some of Wilton's version of Luster Dust to the edges of the little white flowers that curve along the top. After pushing them into the cake, I topped them off with a tiny dot of white royal icing.

Oh! And before I forget, the bow and the garter are simply decorative....I'm not that good! Other than that, everything else is edible, and DE-lish!