Coolest Undead Crest Birthday Cake

The cake I made is the Undead Crest from the World of Warcraft game. I made it for my husband’s 31st birthday (he is a World of Warcraft fanatic).

The cake recipe I used is on the back the of the Pillsbury best whole wheat flour bag. It’s called ‘Whole Wheat Walnut Crumb Cake’. I did mine a little differently, but I did follow the cake recipe, I just didn’t do the streusel (sprinkled) topping or the glaze and I put the walnuts in the cake batter instead.

The cake recipe calls for Crisco No-Stick Spray with flour. I just used the baking spray and that works just fine, 2 cups of Pillsbury best whole wheat flour, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup butter, softened 1 large egg. Combine all the cake ingredients in a large bowl and pour the batter in your pan or pans.

I used a 14-inch square pan so I had to make up more than just one batter, it called for 13 1/2 cups of batter, but 10 was enough for me. So you let that bake for 30-35 or until the cake is done. Then I made a pattern of the design I wanted to do.

Once the cake cooled and I leveled it, then I laid my pattern on top of the cake and cut it to the shape of pattern. Then I used a vanilla chocolate 16oz bar to make chocolate gananche to coat the cake, instead of icing.

Ganache recipe: 14oz candy melts or bar, 1/2 cup whipping cream, chop candy melts, heat whipping cream in a sauce pan just to boiling point (don’t boil), remove from heat and add chop candy, stir until smooth and glossy. Once that hardens I used a homemade fondant recipe to cover the cake.

Fondant recipe: 1tbsp of unflavored gelatin, 1/4 cup of cold water, 1 tsp of almond extract (I’ve used different extracts other than almond, so you can experiment),1/2 cup of light corn syrup, 1 tbsp of glycerin, 2lbs 10x confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 tsp of white vegetable shortening.

Directions: Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowel and let it rest for 2 minutes to soften. Then microwave for 30 seconds on high, until the gelatin dissolves. Add the almond extract, add corn syrup and the glycerin and stir until the mixture is smooth and clear. Sift 1 1/2 lbs of sugar into a large bowl, make a hole in the center and pour the liquid mixture inside.Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture become sticky.

Sift the remaining 1/2 lb sugar onto a smooth clean surface. Knead the fondant, adding a little more sugar if necessary to form a smooth pliable mass. Rub vegetable shortening on your hands and knead it into the fondant. Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and place it in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out.

Once I made the fondant I tinted it a teal bluish green color and rolled it out large enough to cover the cake. Then I shaped the fondant to the cake and cut the excess off. Then all the decorative elements I put on top of the cake, like the gold trim, the face, and the arrows. I used gumpaste, now you can make gumpaste, but I just went and bought the ready to use gumpaste by Wilton.

Then I decorated the cake as close to the image as possible. All the painting I did I used combination of gold and silver petal dust and food coloring. My husband really enjoyed his homemade Undead Crest birthday cake.