wonder woman unicorn cake

I have always wanted to make a unicorn cake. They are just so sweet! Lucky for me, my friend Nanette asked me for not only a unicorn cake, but a Wonder Woman unicorn cake! Amazing! I had really no idea what I was doing, but it seemed pretty straightforward. Make a unicorn horn, ears, and a tiara out of fondant. Color the appropriate parts gold using luster dust mixed with vodka (neutral alcohol) to make an edible paint. Dye frosting red and blue for the horsie mane. Assemble. Voila!

It required a bunch of trial and error to twist a graduated rope of fondant around a long lollipop stick without it cracking. So much so that I made two, just in case one broke, and stuck them in my orchids to stand upright while they dried. (Not to worry: the lollipop stick is inserted into a straw hidden in the cake, so it is nice and clean.) I must have twisted them two dozen times each, had them crack, unwrapped them, rerolled the fondant snake, and tried again. As it ended up, their shapes were a bit different; one was a bit flatter. I actually liked them both, and I decided to just wait and see what looked the best when it firmed up and the paint dried. Luckily for my sugar-lovin' elder child, she got to eat the extra one. 

See how this one is flatter? I rolled it on its side a bit.

This is the one I ultimately used.

I looked at a bunch of other unicorn cakes to get ideas for the shape of the ears, and I looked at some Wonder Woman cakes for an idea about the shape of the tiara. Nanette sent me some pictures to use as a guide as well. Fondant is pretty soft when it's fresh, so I kneaded in some tylose powder, which helps it set up firm and keep its shape. It is still super fragile - the tiara actually cracked - but I was able to stick it back together reasonably easily. I also started the fondant pieces a few days ahead in order to give them time to dry and harden. I draped the ears over a rolling pin to give them a tiny bit of bend, and I rested the tiara around a big jar to make sure it didn't droop. 

Once all the fondant pieces were ready, it was just a matter of baking, filling, and frosting the cake with vanilla frosting. I used blue and red frosting with different sized and shaped piping tips to create a mane, giving it height and depth. To be honest, it requires a *ton* of frosting, so I'm not sure what the cake-to-frosting ratio is when you eat it, but it's probably a little much. However, it gave the full mane look that I was after! Most of the cakes you see online follow this general look with some hair down the forehead, on the top of the head, and then down the back and curving around the side. I just followed that general look and style. Once I piped the mane - which, by the way, was fun because it was so free-form! - I fitted in the horn, ears, and tiara. Here are some different views.

I was really excited by how cute the cake came out, and Nora and her family loved it, too. Happy 8th birthday, Nora!