Sweet 16 Dot explosion cake - fun tutorial

Todays fun post comes from my American friend Autumn Carpenter. Autumn designs and manufacturers a broad range of cake decorating supplies, which I'm proud to stock at Kiwicakes.

This cake would look great for any age birthday and could easily be customised to other colours.

Tools and Ingredients

4", 6" and 9" cakes

purple, blue and green candy melts

purple, blue and green chocolate modelling paste

yellow rolled fondant

buttercream icing

perfection strips

Ice cakes with thin layer of buttercream. Cut dot explosion texture mat in strip to fit around 4" and 9" tiers and wavy dots texture mat to fit around 6". 

Melt desired colours of candy melts (blend colours to match colours in picture). 

The strips should be cut to the height of the cake. Place the cut strip, raised side down, on top of a silicone mat, or parchment paper. 

Place the medium size perfection strips on both sides of the texture sheet. With a brush, coat the strip with a thin layer of melted candy melts, brushing all the details, to avoid air bubbles. Pour melted candy melts over the texture sheet, spreading it to nearly the edge. Use a cookie sheet with a straight edge and drag over the perfection strips: these strips allow for (consistent thickness). 

Pick up and move to clean space. Allow chocolate on the strip to cool until it is almost set (generally 5-10 minutes). Don't let it set too long, or it will crack when you try to put it around the cake. While it is setting, pipe buttercream on the side for the strip to attach. 

Place strip around the cake. Place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Remove texture sheet. Cut 6" circle out of the texture sheet and repeat same process attaching to top of cake for middle tier. 

Roll out yellow fondant, cut wavy edge and cover top of 4" tier allowing fondant to hang over the edge, repeat with 9" tier. 

Use the purple, blue and green chocolate modelling paste to make various size balls. Attach balls to top and bottom edge of middle tier and randomly around base of bottom tier. 

Cut 5" strips from both texture mats about 3/4" wide and using green candy coating repeat same process as above for covering strips with coating. 

When almost set press ends together to form bow loop, clip if necessary while candy coating is setting and then remove texture mat. Assemble bow on top of cake by attaching loops with warm candy melts. Mould "16" from purple chocolate modelling paste and attach to cake with warm candy melts. Roll yellow fondant out and cut out "SWEET", attach to cake with buttercream.