Abby Cadabby Cake

Just made this cake for my dear friend Cela. Her sweet little girl was turning 2 and loves Abby Cadabby!

I was a little nervous doing this cake, because there were a number of challenging elements - carving the shape, getting the face to be recognizable (characters are always tough!), doing the pigtails and the wings.

I started with a 3D teddy-bear mold, which I used for the first time. My first effort was a disaster. I hadn't greased and floured the mold enough, and the cake completely ripped apart. But when life hands you messed up cake...you just make...strawberry trifle!

The second time I greased and floured that sucker until the whole inside surface was completely white. It came out beautifully. Phew!

I carved the ears off and shaped the rest of the face and body. After I put the fondant on the cake, I noticed that the molded arms were barely showing, so I ripped off the fondant, and sliced off the arms. I shaped the arms out of fondant instead. I used a leaf cutter for Abby's skirt and wings. I also put shimmer powder on her wings, then let them dry in the fridge. I used toothpicks to hold the wings in place. For her hair, I stuck two straws into the top of her head. Then I rolled out sheets of pink and purple fondant, cut them into strips with a pizza cutter, and stuck them on alternately onto the straw. I let the strips droop here and there until they looked like pigtails.

The birthday girl and her family loved it! Yay!! They had a hard time cutting into it, so we ended up eating the body, and saving the head (imagine that face looking at you every time you open the fridge or freezer!! Eeks!)