I made this cake for my Grandmother’s 80th birthday. She loves to go to the casino, so I wanted to make her something she would love. I came up with the idea of three level cake with a dice on top. I do not have a lot of experience making cakes of this size, so to me, this was a challenge, but I love to do it.
This homemade grandma’s casino cake is made up of three layers. The bottom layer is 13″ square white cake covered in purple homemade fondant. The second layer is two layers of 9″ round cake pan trimmed and sculpted to fit in the center of the square layer. The top die is three layers of the round cake trimmed to 6″ x 6″ square. All layers are covered in homemade fondant.
I first started by making two batches of fondant icing. You can also purchase pre-made fondant in the stores, but it is cheaper to make. Simply melt a 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows with 1/2 tsp of water in the microwave, stirring every 30 sec. Grease the counter-top with Crisco so the marshmallow does not stick. Pour about 1/2 bag of powdered sugar onto the greased counter-top. Pour the melted marshmallows over the sugar and start kneading until you can ball the fondant up. Coat with Crisco, wrap in wax paper and aluminum foil. I let the fondant sit overnight in the refrigerator to help it set, but it is not necessary. I do not add the color until I am ready to decorate.
I also make the cakes the night before and set them in the refrigerator overnight. This helps shaping the cake much easier and little crumbs. The next day, I will remove my cakes and shape. I use a whipped icing between layers and a thin layer on the outside of the cake. This helps the fondant hold to the cake. I then put them back into the refrigerator.
When you take the fondant out of the refrigerator, warm it up a little in the microwave to make it more easy to work with. If adding color, cut what you want from your ball and add it now. The gel food coloring works the best with fondant. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on the counter to help keep it from sticking. Roll the fondant out to a thin layer, approximately 1/16″. Use the rolling pin to roll the fondant around so you can just unroll onto your cake. Simply trim the excess from the bottom edge and smooth.
The second level is done in the same fashion with the fondant. I used a diamond shape cookie cutter to cut the shapes out of fondant and lightly painted the back of the shapes with water before sticking them on. The water will help hold the shapes to the fondant.
The dice was done in the same fashion as the first two. I used a bottle cap lid for the dots. The ribbon on the 2nd and 3rd levels are fondant. They help conceal the creases from the two cakes.
The fondant also helps seal in the moistness of the cake. I served this homemade grandma’s casino cake three days after it was made. Make sure after you put the fondant on, do not put the cake back in the refrigerator, leave at room temperature.
This cake was very simple to make, just very time consuming. The levels are not perfectly centered, but this was the first one of multiple levels I have made.
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