Coach Tim

This is a cake I did a bit ago. Never was caught up with the cakes and now I find that since I have let myself fall another week + a few days behind it might take me a bit longer. Still Tim's cake has been waiting and waiting and waiting - and I know Catherine likes to look at the pictures and I know it is fun to see things that you recognize.

Tim is one of my favorite people - he is part of one of my favorite families too! and husband to one of my favorite friends. When Catherine asked me to make him a cake she said "simple". I am totally good with simple, but Catherine keeps sending me her friends and they have me do creative things.........so I wanted to do Creative for Catherine too. I asked her if there wasn't something that he enjoys (if you know them you know that they are huge WV fans..........so I kinda figured she might say something in that line) - Catherine said no, not really.

Through the year Tim has been subbing for one of our gym teachers. I see him all the time at school in his "Coach" uniform with a whistle hanging around his neck. That is how I have been thinking about him in my head......as Coach Tim........I asked if I could deco the cake with a coach whistle and Catherine said that would be fun.

I didn't realize how "not so easy" making a whistle would be. And my in-experience with modeling things did not lend itself to being over successful the first few tries with modeling a whistle. Eventually, however, I was able to figure it out. I let it dry for a few days and then I painted it with Silver Luster dust and let it dry again - then attached the pieces together - let it dry again for another day. The one thing I am learning is that anything fondant modeling based I should start about 5 days ahead of time. I am also learning that fondant takes longer to dry then gumpaste. At this point though I wasn't quite ready to admit that gumpaste was a bit easier to use.

Day of the birthday I baked the cake. Catherine said simple and chocolate - so simple and chocolate is what I did. A basic cake with a basic icing and a kinda fun little swirl and a trim that looked a bit like a fancy rope.

Next I topped it with the whistle and a thin line of fondant for a rope. Now this is one way that using gumpaste might have been smarter. The fondant thread I created kept breaking when I would attempt to move it up onto the cake. Gumpaste is a bit hardier and could have been moved easier. Live and learn right?

End of cake deco though..........and tah dah...........a Coach Tim cake!! Cute and simple. Now Catherine tells the story that when they presented it Tim really enjoyed it. He was planning in his head to save it and take it to work to show people.......only before he could say what his plan was his daughter (my favorite friend of Andersen's - see how their family is full of favs?) plucked the whistle off the cake and bit it in half. Whoops.

This cake was Chocolate Chocolate Chip with a Chocolate Buttercream icing.