Elegant Black and White Cake
This was the cake we made for my grandmother's birthday. We wanted something simple and elegant, and she loved it!
Make sure each of your three tiers is on a cardboard disc (found in the cake decorating section of your favorite store) - this would be a very bad thing to forget!!
The bottom tier is covered in black fondant. It is VERY hard to turn white fondant to deep black with food coloring - it is much easier to buy black fondant if you don't want to use about three jars of food coloring... Line the bottom of the bottom tier with white pearls - you can use a strand of plastic pearls if you want, or you can roll your own out of fondant or gum paste.
Roll out white fondant and cut a circle big enough to drape however much you want draped over the bottom tier (this will depend on what size cake pans you use for your three tiers).
Cover the middle tier in white fondant, and line the bottom with black ribbon. You can use storebought ribbon, or you can cut your own out of black fondant. We used a small flower-shaped fondant cutter to cut out many (the number will vary depending on how big your cake is and how close together you want your flowers) little black flowers out of fondant. You can choose to have flat flowers that lay flat against the cake, or curve the petals out for a 3-D effect (as seen below). Either way, shape your flowers and let them dry to harden. Attach them to the middle tear with a drop of royal icing, and add an edible pearl (found in the sprinkle section) with another drop of royal icing.
Cover the top tier with white fondant, and line the bottom with black ribbon like you did with the second tier. Line the top with the same sized pearls (plastic or fondant) that you used to line the bottom tier. Then, use that same size pearls to create a draped effect around the top tier. If you are using a strand of plastic pearls, the draping will be very simple - simply attach with royal icing. If you are using fondant pearls, make sure you outline where you want them to go before you attach them - this will ensure you don't have lopsided drapes! Finish the top tier with some black accents - we used black jewels that you can find in the jewelry making section of craft stores. You could also make more black fondant flowers, or a few black fondant pearls - whatever you like best.
Finally, it is time to stack the tiers! Cut several wooden dowels the same height as your bottom and middle tier. These will provide support so that the weight of the Then, carefully insert them into the center of your bottom tier and middle tier. I like to place four around the edges of where the next tier will sit, and another one in the middle. Finally, center your higher tiers and stack!
Make sure each of your three tiers is on a cardboard disc (found in the cake decorating section of your favorite store) - this would be a very bad thing to forget!!
The bottom tier is covered in black fondant. It is VERY hard to turn white fondant to deep black with food coloring - it is much easier to buy black fondant if you don't want to use about three jars of food coloring... Line the bottom of the bottom tier with white pearls - you can use a strand of plastic pearls if you want, or you can roll your own out of fondant or gum paste.
Roll out white fondant and cut a circle big enough to drape however much you want draped over the bottom tier (this will depend on what size cake pans you use for your three tiers).
Cover the middle tier in white fondant, and line the bottom with black ribbon. You can use storebought ribbon, or you can cut your own out of black fondant. We used a small flower-shaped fondant cutter to cut out many (the number will vary depending on how big your cake is and how close together you want your flowers) little black flowers out of fondant. You can choose to have flat flowers that lay flat against the cake, or curve the petals out for a 3-D effect (as seen below). Either way, shape your flowers and let them dry to harden. Attach them to the middle tear with a drop of royal icing, and add an edible pearl (found in the sprinkle section) with another drop of royal icing.
Cover the top tier with white fondant, and line the bottom with black ribbon like you did with the second tier. Line the top with the same sized pearls (plastic or fondant) that you used to line the bottom tier. Then, use that same size pearls to create a draped effect around the top tier. If you are using a strand of plastic pearls, the draping will be very simple - simply attach with royal icing. If you are using fondant pearls, make sure you outline where you want them to go before you attach them - this will ensure you don't have lopsided drapes! Finish the top tier with some black accents - we used black jewels that you can find in the jewelry making section of craft stores. You could also make more black fondant flowers, or a few black fondant pearls - whatever you like best.
Finally, it is time to stack the tiers! Cut several wooden dowels the same height as your bottom and middle tier. These will provide support so that the weight of the Then, carefully insert them into the center of your bottom tier and middle tier. I like to place four around the edges of where the next tier will sit, and another one in the middle. Finally, center your higher tiers and stack!