General Grievous: The Cake

This was quite an ambitious cake to make. I sat for a while with my friend Penny, trying to figure out a way to accommodate her son's party theme: Lego Star Wars. The big request came from her son's favorite Character: General Grievous...

Last year, I made a Pablo Backyardigans cake for her son, but this year, since he's growing up so fast, he wanted something a little more boyish and a little less childish. We settled on making something with General Grivous.... like this:

This was a cool cake to make, but had all sorts of little problems to overcome. Since they wanted Chocolate cake, I had to work through using chocolate cake and icing with WHITE MMF. That is no easy task! There was CHOCOLATE EVERYWHERE! I was battling to keep the fondant nice and pristine. Then there was the issue with the light sabres, and keeping them round. Oh boy, let me tell you: Think about the structure and have a strong idea. Even though I had doling in the swords, they still flopped a little, and the fondant did not keep its shape all that well. (╧__╧;)


The final product, while a little awkward in places, was actually okay to make. This is my first cake since my back injury, so I was pleased to make it. Sadly, my back began to act up, but luckily, I got everything done. The biggest challenge was making all the 'gears' and 'mechanisms' in his legs and arms. I knew that it would be difficult, and wanted to fit the most cake into this cake as possible, so I ended up with solid pieces with piped and fondant-covered details. Not bad.

I was planning a how-to, but when you get into the grove, you really move. It was mostly well-placed cake pieces and covered in chocolate buttercream and fondant. Ah well. It was a neat little project, which was well enjoyed!
Happy Birthday Zander!