Grumpy Old Man

by Michelle Rossouw
(Johannesburg, South Africa)

A friend asked me to make this cake for her husband. It was a joke for him because he is only 38 ;)

The cake is made from 20cm round sponge layers. Two layers vanilla and one of chocolate. These were sandwiched together with vanilla buttercream and there is a surprise in the middle layer which is chocolate ganache.

The whole cake was covered in fondant.

The old man on the top of the cake is made from fondant which I treated with CMC powder. I've used spaghetti inside the man to give him a good foundation.

I started by making the chair. I then added the legs and shoes. Once this was in place I added his body which I decorated with a shirt. I then added his arms and his cardigan. I then sculpted his face and added features like his hair and eyebrows. The bags under his eyes are to make him look older. I finished him off with big ears and gave him a belt and a bow tie.

The table is also made from MCM treated fondant and I used spaghetti for inside the legs and made the table look like wood with a line tool. I then made the false teeth with pink and white fondant. The old man sits in his chair on top of the white rug which is textured with a silicone mat.

The cake was finished off with piped grass edging, washing lines which was piped on with royal icing and I stuck fondant undies and socks on the line with the royal icing.

This cake was a big hit at the party and made everyone laugh. :)