{Candy Crush Birthday Cake}

I was planning to retire from making cakes after the hectic process and stressful experience of attempting a 3D sailboat cake for a baby shower party (post to come). Then, 4 days just before my relaxation getaway trip to Cuba, I got a request asking me to make a chocolate birthday cake for his girlfriend who is addicted to playing the popular game Candy Crush. I thought it's a very cute idea to transfer a game idea onto a cake. I get really excited to anything game inspired. It's so much fun and stimulate my creative juices (My first game inspired project was an edible Angry Bird Cake Topper). I was so tempted by the idea because Candy Crush is so popular these days. So, I convinced myself to take on this challenge.

This was my first pistachio cake. The process was quite hectic and dramatic, all thanks to my pretty darn old oven of more than 20 years. If my oven would stop adjusting temperature on its own, then I'd enjoy all my baking sessions a whole lot more. I just can't wait to get a new home so I can enjoy all those shiny brand new appliances that come with the house. Well, until then, I gotta stick with this antique. I used the recipe from Kittencalskitchen. It was simple and great for procrastinator like me. Besides, I had to make a birthday card and plan a full day birthday celebration for the bf. The recipe calls for pudding mix to create the pistachio flavour. I've done similar recipe for my strawberry cookies using jello mix before. So, I'm confident that this recipe will turn out just as what it's called, awesome.

Here are my steps during the process:

The pistachio pudding mix already has pistachio bits in them. It is really convenient if you don't want to add in extra walnuts or pistachios into the cake. However, the frosting also uses the same pudding mix so it is necessary to make the fondant thicker to cover all the lumps.

 

I wanted to make a Captain America cake for my boyfriend's birthday because he is a superhero fan. Of all superheros, I wanted to find one that relates to him the most so I chose Captain America. It's not because he particularly likes the character or movie. It's solely because Captain America has a letter A on his helmet and my boyfriend's name starts with an A as well. Haha.

I made the white and skintone fondant out of marshmallows. The blue and the red fondants are actually store bought. I think it will take me forever to knead my fondants into such intense red and blue colour. Plus, most people don't eat the decorations anyway. I love how the cake turned out. Being a perfectionist, I spent too much time fine tuning every single details to make it look perfect. Once I'm started, I couldn't stop and I ended up sleeping at 4 am. I looked like a zombie on his actual birthday. How fabulous.

Well, at least it was all worth it. My boyfriend was very surprised about everything I've planned for him especially the cake. He told me he was actually looking at that picture I took with Captain America earlier the week. Coincidence or simply psychic?

If you're not a fan of fondant, you can also make this pistachio cake and dress up with a cake topper like a custom superhero bobblehead. You can make it look like the birthday celebrant by providing their photo to the bobblehead manufacturer. Check out Cheap Bobbleheads.

A funny shot of the cake at the surprise party. We spent a good while figuring out where is the best spot to place the candle. Either between his two fingers like he is holding a cigarette or on his face like he is actually smoking with his nose (which is not even there). I am glad that everything turned out perfectly and everyone enjoyed the cake.

Now, I can get my beauty sleep.