Viking Helmet Mini Cakes - April 2011

I made these viking helmet mini cakes for my son, Caleb, to share with his 3rd grade class on his birthday.  He had a How to Train Your Dragon birthday party, so we thought this would be cute to go along with his theme (see the post Night Fury!!! to view the cake).

I used a mini wonder mold pan to bake these mini cakes in.  I didn't fill them up very much, about as much batter as you would use to make a regular-sized cupcake.  You might have to experiment with the amount to get the size you want, I happened to get the size I wanted on the first try, yay!  :)

After the mini cakes were baked and completely cooled it was time for the icing.  I tinted some vanilla buttercream icing a dark gray and then put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, just enough to get a dipping consistency, but not too runny.  I dipped the mini cakes in the icing and set them aside so the icing could set (this was a bit messy).

After the icing was set I piped the flat lines around the base of the helmets and the ones that go down the center.  I used a flat tip for this, like one you would use for a ribbon.  On one of the helmets I piped some rounded dots on top the flat lines and thin lines running along the edges of the flat lines (both of these things were done with a small round tip).  (If I was doing this again I would tint the icing that I used a light gray instead of keeping it white.  I think it would have made the next step a little better.)

After the piped lines had set I got some silver Wilton pearl dust and mixed it with a little lemon juice.  Then I painted the silver onto the piped lines to make them look metallic.  I think I would've had to spend a little less time on this if the icing had been tinted a light gray (as mentioned above) instead of just being white.  I think I would have to use a little less since it would be accenting a similar color instead of trying to cover a totally contrasting color.  A missed or thinner spot may not have been so noticeable as it was with the white underneath.

The last thing was to make the horns.  To do this I got white fondant and mixed just a bit of brown food coloring in to make a more cream-ish color.  I pinched a bit off, rolled it into a little ball, and then made it into the shape of the horn.  I let them dry some so that they'd keep their shape.  Then I inserted them into the cake where I wanted them.  I ended up having to carve out just a bit of the cake where they were going to be so that they would stay in and not fall.  If I had more time I may have embellished a bit around the horns either making it look like fur tufts or just a line of the dark gray or silver to secure it better and to hide the rough edges of the hole.

Caleb and his class really enjoyed these mini cakes!  :)

Click here to see a slideshow of the progression of making these mini cakes.

I created my animated name at this site.)

Parties I've linked this post at:

Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons