The Pokemon Pikachu Cake!

Hello Cake Couture fans!!  Here is a SUPER fun cake that I had never posted about!!  I made this cake back in 2015, but WOW it has had about 8,000 pins on Pintrest!

Thank you for loving this cake!<3
This post is a descriptive summary of the decor that went into this cake.

Below we will talk about the special font, the lightning, the ball and modeling!

DISCLOSURE: I am sooo sorry for not having more working pic.  Sometimes I get so consumed in cake making that I forget to take pic!:-/

The Font

There are awesome font generators online for unique fonts. 

For this Pokemon font I went to:  http://fontmeme.com/pokemon-font/

Scroll toward the bottom and type in the text you want to generate.  When you generate this unique font save/copy it and transfer this to a word doc where you can further manipulate it to get it into the size that you want.    

Then cut each letter so you will have a paper template of how the letters will come together.  With these templates cut out your text backing and text letter fondant pieces!

Here is a PDF showing you the text in the sizing I used and images I used to reference for modeling:  Pokemon PDF

The Lightning

For the lighting I cut out from what I have in the PDF, HOWEVER, I realized that it was just much too thick to fit at the shoulder of the base case tier so I trimmed them down thinner.  

You can see that I kept some that were thicker on the cake itself.

For the lighting on the cake, roll out fondant and use a thick shortening (I liked using high-ratio shortening and NOT Crisco) to make the cake items (including the font) stick to itself.  I am not a fan of using water since that makes it impossible to fix a problem without compromising the clean look of the cake.  

For the 3D lightning pieces I mixed in a good amount of Gum Tragacanth (or you can also use Tylose Powder or other gum hardening agent) into the fondant.  Roll thin, cut out, and let dry at least overnight if not two nights.

Next using a skewer and small fondant pieces with a tad of water, affix skewer to the lightning piece and insert into the cake

The Ball

This ball is made from a 3" styrofoam ball.

First, position the styro ball using a skewer or toothpick into another styrofoam surface for support.

Then coat the entire ball with high-ratio shortening (remember, this sticks much better than Crisco!).

Next cut out a circular white piece approximately 5" in diameter.  Although that is technically close to the real measurement I think I actually guesstimated through trial and error lol.

Repeat these steps for the red piece on the opposite side of the sphere.  Make sure to do the red side last so no skewer holes show!  And prior to laying on the red piece you can plug the skewer hold on that side with a little bit of fondant

Finally cut out a couple of fitting gray rounds, a black round, along with the black strip.

Modeling

Modeling is all about reference, reference, and more reference.  I referenced the exact print outs from the link above to make each piece here.  

My fondant modeling tips:

• You have to have patience!  It take a long time to get a shape just right so just try it! 
• Make pieces like the head, arms, or body by kneading in your preferred gum AND letting the piece(s) dry separately overnight.  
• Put dried and hardened pieces together using toothpicks and sugar glue (about 1/3 cup of super hot water with about 1/2 tsp of TYLOSE powder) 
• Work from light colors to dark colors during one sitting to prevent major hand washing/dry hand issues lol

Hope these tips help you in the next modeling project!

Happy caking!:)

Christie