Parents and other party planners can make a three-tier cake that commemorates the guest of honor's transition from childhood to blossoming young woman. You can decorate the tiers of a three-tier square or hexagonal cake with pictures of the birthday teenager's momentous childhood milestones and top the cake with one of her favorite things, such as a purse made from fondant, framed movie poster or a sugar paste flower bouquet. The cake can be made up to 72 hours in advance and hidden underneath a light fabric cloth for a party day surprise. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cover the entire square or hexagonal three-tier cake in a thin layer of buttercream icing. Use one color of icing for the entire cake or use different colors for each of the tiers. Cool the cake in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes to firm the icing. Spread a thick layer of icing onto the entire cake and smooth out the icing with an icing smoother. (If you do not have an icing smoother, a paint guard or thick piece of paper will work to smooth out the icing as well.)
2. Decorate with icing pearls. Insert a round icing tip into a pastry bag and coat the inside of the bag with a clear piping gel. Carefully fill the right side of the bag with white buttercream icing and the left side with a light pink buttercream icing. Make icing dots with the pastry bag all the way around the bottom edge of each tier to make pearl-like decorations.
3. Add the pictures. Transfer pictures of the guest of honor's baby and toddler years onto edible frosting sheets by printing them from the computer and onto the paper. Each picture should measure a little bit smaller than one side of the bottom tier of the cake. Remove the backing from the frosting sheets and affix the pictures to the cake by pressing them gently against the side of the cake.
4. Repeat the above step for the second tier by printing pictures of the guest of honor's middle childhood years onto the frosting sheets. Print pictures of the teenage years for the top tier.
5. Create an icing-pearl border for the pictures in the same way the pearls were made for decorating the bottom of the cake tiers.
6. Top the cake with a framed recent photograph of the guest of honor.
Tags: guest honor, buttercream icing, cake with, frosting sheets, entire cake