Making the Maker's Mark

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of a dear friend's bar. His wife, one of my best friends, asked if I could make a cake that looks like a Maker's Mark bottle for the occasion. I couldn't pass up the chance to celebrate and have another go with Marshmallow Fondant (MMF).
I figured that since the shape is a bit simpler than Thomas, it shouldn't pose too many issues. It wasn't particularly difficult, but again took ages to complete.

Just like the Thomas cake, I started by baking and freezing two square cakes. The next day I made the MMF. I died a tiny bit red, some a cream color for the label, and the biggest chunk I did in a pale yellow. My plan was to paint the bottle so it would look a bit more glass-like. Starting with a pale yellow gave me a good base color for the brown paint.

The following day I did up the icing and everything was ready to go for Thursday night.

The first thing I did was trace the bottle onto one of the cakes (can you see the upside-down faint red outline on the photo below??).

My friend was hoping to feed 20, so I knew the cake couldn't be the actual size of the bottle. I gave ample space around the sides and started chopping away. I then laid that piece on top of the other cake a cut it up. Then I used the scraps to make the top of the bottle.

Next I glued all of the pieces together and started carving away at the cake so it was a bit closer to the shape of a real bottle.

Once it was all covered in buttercream, the whole cake was put back into the freezer for a bit.

Finally it was time for the MMF. Just like last time, I was a bit scared that it wouldn't turn out well. With MMF you have to work quickly, so no photos of this part of the action.

Once it was covered in the light yellow, I measured and cut out the label and then the same for the wax. Once those were on, I wrote the label. It's a tad messier than I was hoping for, but those markers aren't always the easiest for details. Also I was shaking like crazy the entire time - this didn't help much either.

Once that was done, I got to painting. I mixed vodka with brown gel coloring and it worked perfectly. (It is only half painted in the photo.) The vodka evaporates over time, so there is no strange taste or anything. And with that, the cake was done for the night.

MMF needs time to dry, so I let it sit until Saturday morning. I wanted the bottle to be shiny, like glass, so I put a super thin layer of oil over the bottle. It worked quite well.

I didn't go out last night, but Y did. He said the cake was nearly gone by the time he arrived. My friend sent me the photos from the bar and said that her husband loved the cake and that it was a hit!! Yahoo!!

Although I couldn't be there to celebrate that night - plans are in the works for a boozy night next week - I'm stoked I could still play a small role in the celebration.

Congratulations Shin!!!