How to Decorate a Birthday Cake Like an iPod

Make an iPod cake for a girl who cannot live without her techno-gadgets.

Some teenagers will not go anywhere without their special gadgets, and spending an entire party without their iPod may be just too much for them to bear. Relieve them of their suffering and make a birthday cake that looks just like an iPod for that technology-lover's birthday celebration; the cake may just end up looking too great to eat. Make a smooth-and-sleek-looking edible iPod by decorating the cake with layers of fondant and embellishing it with miniature fondant squares for the iPod's buttons.

Things You'll Need

• White fondant
• Rolling pin
• Fondant smoother
• Black fondant
• Gray fondant
• Colored fondant, such as blue, yellow, brown

Instructions

1. Use a rolling pin to roll white fondant until it reaches about 1/16 inch in thickness. Place the fondant sheet over the rectangular cake and smooth the fondant over the top and sides of the cake. Trim off any excess fondant at the bottom of the cake.

2. Roll black fondant with a rolling pin until it is about 1/16 inch thick. Measure the length and width of the cake and cut a rectangle from the fondant that measures about 1/4 inch smaller than the top of the cake.

3. Make four long, thin strands of fondant from gray fondant. Make two strands 2 inches shorter than the length, and make two of the strands 1 inch shorter than the width of the cake. Make a rectangle from the strands on the top of the cake.

4. Roll out a piece of gray fondant to a 1/16-inch thickness and cut out a rectangle 1-inch high that will fit within the gray box on the cake. Place the gray box within the gray rectangle, against one short edge of the rectangle.

5. Roll out small pieces of different-colored fondant such as light and dark blue, yellow and brown. Cut out small, 1/2-inch squares from the fondant. Arrange four of the squares across the small gray rectangle on the cake. Arrange about 10 to 12 more small squares within the gray strand rectangle to make the buttons and applications for the iPod.

Tips & Warnings

• For a teenager who loves her pink, blue or yellow iPod, replace the black and gray fondant with her favorite color.

References

• "Celebrate with Fondant"; Jeff Shankman; 2004
• "The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Cake Decorating"; Carol Deacon; 2003