Wedding of the Living Dead
October 26, 2009 2:40 PM
Help me make a zombie wedding cake.
The people that I work with are CRAZY about halloween. This year's theme is Zombie Vegas, and I have been assigned the task of making a wedding cake for the Zombie wedding chapel. I am not a big fan of halloween, but this is my small contribution.
I am a pretty good baker and have lots of equipment (different size & shape pans, stand mixer, icing bag and multiple tip sizes, etc). I am planning on using cake mix from a box and homemade French buttercream icing. I can make things pretty, but I'm helpless as far as making things scary.
Right now the best idea I have is making some kind of strawberry/raspberry filling to look bloody. Any suggestions to make the cake look gross/scary and any help from experienced wedding cake bakers is welcome.
The people that I work with are CRAZY about halloween. This year's theme is Zombie Vegas, and I have been assigned the task of making a wedding cake for the Zombie wedding chapel. I am not a big fan of halloween, but this is my small contribution.
I am a pretty good baker and have lots of equipment (different size & shape pans, stand mixer, icing bag and multiple tip sizes, etc). I am planning on using cake mix from a box and homemade French buttercream icing. I can make things pretty, but I'm helpless as far as making things scary.
Right now the best idea I have is making some kind of strawberry/raspberry filling to look bloody. Any suggestions to make the cake look gross/scary and any help from experienced wedding cake bakers is welcome.
I think you should do 3 circle cakes, stacked, and then carved to be hemi-spherical like BRAIIINNNSSSS.
The filling you're planning would work well, and you can use a piping tip to make the brain fold decorations on top. Maybe you could also make some gum paste zombies on the side walking towards/devouring the giant brain.
posted by rmless at 2:45 PM on October 26, 2009
The filling you're planning would work well, and you can use a piping tip to make the brain fold decorations on top. Maybe you could also make some gum paste zombies on the side walking towards/devouring the giant brain.
posted by rmless at 2:45 PM on October 26, 2009
I'd just make a regular tiered cake (with oozy filling, if you want) and drape the cake in spun sugar (to look like cobwebs) and top it with a wedding topper that I had repainted to look like zombies.
posted by crush-onastick at 2:50 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by crush-onastick at 2:50 PM on October 26, 2009
I like crush-onastick's idea. I would also have the bride topper carrying her own decapitated head, and maybe the words "death can't kill our love" or something piped on the cake.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 3:08 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by BitterOldPunk at 3:08 PM on October 26, 2009
Alternatively, if you don't mind making the figures, you could have a multiple tiered cake with the miniature bride and groom holding the high ground on top with shotguns, and have a pile of tiny zombie bodies on the second tier, along with a bunch of "live" ones on the middle and bottom trying to get the survivors up top.
Like a gruesome little battle scene spread out over a three leveled baked good.
posted by quin at 3:22 PM on October 26, 2009
Like a gruesome little battle scene spread out over a three leveled baked good.
posted by quin at 3:22 PM on October 26, 2009
Multi-tiered cake, gray frosting, dripping blood (red gel icing). Red velvet cake would appeal to zombies, I think. Zombie bride and groom topper would be most wedding cake-like, or the crawling torso. I think a traditional approach to frosting, with wrecked areas, would look most zombie-ish. Seedless raspberry jam would be nice for "blood."
Have you seen Zombieland? You could add Rule 19: Sugar Up or something.
I think this cake will be awesome.
posted by theora55 at 4:10 PM on October 26, 2009
Have you seen Zombieland? You could add Rule 19: Sugar Up or something.
I think this cake will be awesome.
posted by theora55 at 4:10 PM on October 26, 2009
My zombie wedding cake was a graveyard with the zombie couple on top. The cake itself was two tiered (maybe 3), with stone-patterned fondant around the sides and an earthy-looking dark cookie/chocolate crumble on top, complete with headstones and a dead tree. Less gory, more atmospheric. Add in some containers for dry ice (maybe some open graves?) or hidden in the base with holes throughout the cake to emit rolling fog?
posted by filthy light thief at 4:32 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by filthy light thief at 4:32 PM on October 26, 2009
I like filthy light thief's ideas. But I think trying to put holes in the cake and getting fog to go through it (which might make the cake too moist or affect the flavor) is really better left to the professionals another time.
So, just keep it simple, with a zombie couple on top, figures trying to climb up the cake if you are up to that, and if not, just red glaze "dripping" down the sides artistically like blood. I really do like the red velvet cake with white icing idea.
You can always get an inexpensive fog machine (or someone else might have one or supply one) for the wedding site, to add atmosphere.
Have you thought of maybe using a big cleaver instead of the traditional dainty knife to cut the cake?
posted by misha at 5:02 PM on October 26, 2009
So, just keep it simple, with a zombie couple on top, figures trying to climb up the cake if you are up to that, and if not, just red glaze "dripping" down the sides artistically like blood. I really do like the red velvet cake with white icing idea.
You can always get an inexpensive fog machine (or someone else might have one or supply one) for the wedding site, to add atmosphere.
Have you thought of maybe using a big cleaver instead of the traditional dainty knife to cut the cake?
posted by misha at 5:02 PM on October 26, 2009
Please post pictures of it, so we can admire your awesomeness.
posted by theora55 at 7:17 PM on October 26, 2009
posted by theora55 at 7:17 PM on October 26, 2009
Have you made a tiered cake before? I only ask because I think a typical tiered wedding cake with three or more layers might not work with cake from a cake mix. I think it might be too moist to hold up but I'm a hobbyist not a professional so if you've had good luck with this in the past, ignore this part. Many professional bakers use a high-ratio cake with liquid shortening for tiered cakes. You can find liquid shortening at a baking supply store- there is a sample recipe about halfway down on this page. These cakes tend to be durable enough to stack and decorate, and you can make them a day or two ahead as they don't get stale super fast. This site shows you how to support the layers with the standard cardboard rounds and wooden dowels.
As for the scary part, first get some gel food coloring so you can get a REALLY dark red (and whatever other colors you want). If you use the liquid drops, your frosting will get too watered down and the color will leach all over the frosting around it. You could also throw some in with your raspberry filling to bump up the color. If you're using a white cake you can also brush red simple syrup (or other flavored syrup) on the top of the cakes- if you play around with the viscosity of it you can get it to drip down into the cake, making it look bloody. As far as designs go I'm partial to this one and this one. Both could be simplified and adapted to use buttercream instead of fondant.
Again, sorry if you already know this stuff and I agree, you should post pictures!
posted by Thin Lizzy at 9:58 PM on October 26, 2009
As for the scary part, first get some gel food coloring so you can get a REALLY dark red (and whatever other colors you want). If you use the liquid drops, your frosting will get too watered down and the color will leach all over the frosting around it. You could also throw some in with your raspberry filling to bump up the color. If you're using a white cake you can also brush red simple syrup (or other flavored syrup) on the top of the cakes- if you play around with the viscosity of it you can get it to drip down into the cake, making it look bloody. As far as designs go I'm partial to this one and this one. Both could be simplified and adapted to use buttercream instead of fondant.
Again, sorry if you already know this stuff and I agree, you should post pictures!
posted by Thin Lizzy at 9:58 PM on October 26, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Think_Long at 2:41 PM on October 26, 2009