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Flamingo Cake

May 11, 2015 by Erica OBrien

Our contributor, Erica OBrien, is back for the next post in our Trending series.  Join Erica as she goes from inspiration on Pinterest to cake concept and then the final cake design.

Flamingo Cake | by Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

I love designing cakes, but I especially love designing cakes within given parameters.  Although I’m very flattered when a client trusts my artistry enough to leave the design completely up to me, it’s a bit daunting.  The idea of being able to do anything kind of overwhelms me.  Instead, I work best when given some guidelines, some visual inspiration, and a look, mood, or feel to capture.  That’s exactly what happened with this cake.  Carrie, the editor and founder of The Cake Blog, asked me to create a cake inspired by flamingos. And then it was on.

Flamingo Cake | by Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

My grandparents, whom I was very close to, retired to Florida when I was nine years old.  My sister and I visited them quite frequently, and SoFlo, as South Florida is now known, will always have a special place in my heart.  For this flamingo cake, I wanted the colors to read fun and whimsy and old school Miami.  I figured I’d double up on the trends and incorporate a little watercolor with the flamingo.  I found the stencil at a crafts store and thought it was perfect.  I didn’t want to do an opaque royal icing stencil though.  Instead, I wanted it to be somewhat transparent with some slight variation in color.  We experimented with different application techniques until we came upon one that worked: a sponge dipped in petal dust that had been generously diluted with vodka.

Flamingo Cake | by Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

After stenciling all three tiers and allowing them to dry, we cut the flamingos’ bodies out of pink gumpaste.  The beaks and legs were cut out of orange gumpaste.  We attached the flamingos to the cake using edible gum glue (a mixture of tylose and water).  The flamingos appeared a little flat, so to give them a little bit of dimension we cut wings out of three shades of pink gumpaste and adhered them with the gum glue.  The result is exactly what we were after, a celebration cake that doesn’t take itself too seriously, is a little bit retro, and a lot of fun.

Flamingo Cake | by Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

Flamingo Cake | by Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cake : Erica OBrien Cake Design
Inspirational Pin #1: Frolicking Flamingo Print
Inspirational Pin #2: Flamingo Cake Topper


 

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
My Golden Pineapple Cake
My Marquee Letters Cake
My Pastel Geometric Cake
My Chalkboard & Paper Flowers Cake

May 11, 2015 by Erica OBrien

Erica OBrien , CONTRIBUTOR

Erica OBrien has been a cake designer (and avid cake stand collector) for almost twenty years. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two spunky daughters. Read more about Erica on her bio page.

connect with Erica :

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Comments

  1. Liz Butts says

    May 11, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    I’m absolutely loving this! I too feel like I work best with a given set of parameter. I hope to try this watercolor stencil technique soon!

  2. Zaki says

    May 11, 2015 at 7:46 pm

    Hi Erica!

    I love this flamingo cake design cake! Wow! Its simple but stunning! Thanks for sharing. This is definitely a keeper for me to try on.

  3. Rebecca says

    May 12, 2015 at 8:44 am

    I love this cake!

  4. d design says

    June 4, 2015 at 2:07 am

    I love this flamingo cake design cake! Wow! Its simple but stunning.

  5. Jessica @ Pen + Paper Flowers says

    June 8, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    This is SUCH a beautiful cake. And the flamingos + gold + patterns are so on trend. LOVE this!!

  6. Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land says

    June 15, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    Can’t even get over how much I love this. The colours, the flamingos – aiyeeee! xo

  7. Heather Goll says

    October 10, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    I am trying to recreate this fan pattern on a cake to celebrate my grandmothers 80th birthday. I live in an area where there is no craft store, so I will have to purchase a stencil online. Would you be able to tell me what brand and style name/number of the stencil you used?! i would be so thankful!

    -Heather

    • Carrie Sellman says

      July 6, 2017 at 8:38 am

      This stencil pack has one that is similar to what was used on this cake. Hope that helps!

  8. Lisa says

    March 3, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    Where are the stencil and flamingo cutter from?

    • Carrie Sellman says

      July 6, 2017 at 8:40 am

      This stencil pack has one that is similar to what was used on this cake. The flamingos were cut out by hand.

  9. Connie says

    July 4, 2017 at 12:53 pm

    Where are the flamingo cutter from?

    • Carrie Sellman says

      July 6, 2017 at 8:40 am

      The flamingos were cut out by hand.

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