The Orange County Interfaith Shelter was holding their annual Christmas Luncheon and asked the local cake club that I was a board member of for some cakes to be donated as table centerpieces that would also be auctioned for their fundraiser. This is the cake I made for them, an original design.
I sketched up the design back 2 months ago in October and just waited, and waited, and waited for the event to come up to get started on it. Usually, I make all my decorations by hand using pictures as guides but I was so lucky that during one of our cake club meetings last month, a lady was selling gumpaste decorations and she had a few of these reindeer's. They were perfect and exactly what I was looking for in my design - No need to hand-cut them! I later asked her where she had purchased them but unfortunately, she had bought a case of these a long while back from a cake supply store that had since closed. I have scoured the internet looking for anything similar but have not been able to find them.
The cakes are a 10-inch and 6-inch White Almond Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream (Nutella). Covered in MMF made red with Candy Melts (about 1/3 cup melted), about a 1/4 teaspoon of Americolor Super Red, 3 drops of Americolor Maroon, and about 1/4 teaspoon of Chef Master Pink (I just squirted these straight into the melted MMF so they're approximate measurements) - I didn't want the cake to be a bold red but rather more of a cranberry red with a slight pink shade to it. For the complete recipe and instructions on how to make MMF, please see my previous 2 blog posts:
1) Recipe: Marshmallow Fondant (MMF)
2) Recipe: Red Marshmallow Fondant (MMF)
The sleigh was hand cut out of MMF (mixed with Tylose for instant gumpaste) and painted with pearl dust to match the pearly reindeer.
I used piping gel to attach the reindeer up against the cake. 9 total reindeer's and off course, I had to add the red nose with a tiny ball of MMF dusted in pearl dust for Rudolf. For the reindeer that floated higher off the cake, I used Royal Icing to attach sticks of spaghetti to the back of the bodies then inserted those into the cake for added support (I usually make cakes for kids and avoid using toothpicks or skewers). I did have to use toothpicks behind both of Rudolf's feet since he was free-standing and needed more support (you can see one behind his front paw that I painted red to blend in with the cake).
The board was covered in Royal Icing and I used a small trowel to texture it to look like snow that also went up the sides of the bottom tier. Snowflakes were piped with Royal Icing then dusting of edible disco dust. I also added small dots of the disco dust mixed with some diluted piping gel randomly around the cake for more sparkle.
I absolutely love how the cake turned out and I heard, it was auctioned off for a large sum. I'm so happy that I was able to contribute an elegant cake for such a good cause.
Dec 2011 Update: By popular demand, I was able to source food-grade silicone and learn how to make both sleigh and reindeer molds for purchase through my Etsy store, Shop Sugar Sweet.
Oct 2017 Update: I'm sad to announce that I have decided to NOT make these molds anymore. Therefore, they will not be available for purchase from this day forward. Thank you for your support over these past few years and for sharing all the beautiful cakes you have made using them. I have decided to retire from making cakes and cake decorations for the time being.