Whale Novelty Cake Workshop

Today I had a day off work to attend one of Lindys courses, today I made a whale cake, today I got totally hooked on sugarcrafting, today it all made sense! There’s no going back!  Having said to Lindy that even if my whale turned out like a blue blob my little boys would love it, I have actually come home with, if I may say so myself, a rather fabulous creation. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder of course! I am in shock! We called him ‘Free Willy’ and he’s been eaten already!

There was much excitement and anticipation amongst the students for this whale cake. Lindy got the class under way with the cutting and carving of the cake. Because the whale needs height you start with a tall cake by cutting your cake in half and placing one half on top of the other. Then the carving begins. Lindy has a developed a unique way to teach carving skills and the seemingly impossible… is possible! After watching Lindy’s demonstration I went back to my workstation and didn’t really know where to start. I am sure my student friends felt the same. But under Lindy’s and Sally’s (Lindys expert assistant!) guidance you get started and it does start to take shape. Ureka! It is possible to create a ball shape from a rectangle, and the lovely curved shape that forms the spine of the whale.

Colouring the sugarpaste was interesting, we worked with blues, greys and purples today and no two whales came out the same colour! Covering the whale with the sugarpaste was brilliant, it moulds beautifully. You then begin smoothing it with a ‘smoother’ or your hands, a wonderful, almost therapeutic process, that I could have done for hours!! The whales are really taking shape now.  But it’s the eyes and the mouth that really give your whale it’s unique look and personality. We then added the tail, and started the process of making the sea and waves that the whale is swimming through! By mixing sugarpaste in various blues together to form a ball, you then cut it in half to reveal a marble effect. You then press and shape the paste to your board creating peaks. We then painted the waves with white Royal Icing to create the surf. And finally applied piping gel to give a ‘wet’ look.  The whales turned out brilliantly. Chatting to another student we remarked that our family and friends won’t believe what we have done!

Lindy’s workshops are a truly a fantastic day out. I personally loved the process of creating something. I also enjoyed the other students and the bond you form as the day goes on. We were all there for different reasons, some for business, some for pleasure, some just to do something different, some to be able to make fabulous cakes for family and friends and me because my boss made me!!  We shared so much… laughter, tools, colours, recipes, tips, cake crumbs!! and a genuine support for each others work.  And the sense of achievement is just great. We’ve learnt a new skill, it was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it!