peachy keen

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This cake showcases painted gold details along with sculpted marzipan peaches and sugar paste blossoms and leaves. I painted the ornate gold patterns using a stencil first and then embellished them freehand; you may use any color that fits your design. For this technique, I’ve found that mixing powder dyes with vodka works best because you can control the consistency of the liquid.

Fondant cakes usually work best for painting. If you are working on an iced cake, make sure your final coat of icing is smooth and the cake is chilled before painting. Commonly, cake stencils come in the width and height of a large cake tier. To avoid the obstacle of applying such a large stencil, and also to have a say in the design, I generally trim out my favorite parts of the stencil to use separately.

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To make marzipan peaches, knead orange liquid dye into Marzipan (page 63) to produce a subtle orange color. Roll the marzipan into uniform balls in various sizes from small to large, with the largest being the size of an actual peach. Gently shape them into peaches, allowing some fingerprints to stay on the surface for a natural texture. Use a skewer to poke a hole from the top center and another from the bottom. This will give each peach a natural concave shape at both ends, help it dry, and provide a place to insert the flowering branch. Create a crease from the top of the peach down the center using a boning tool or knife. Once the peaches have dried, dry-dust them using a paintbrush and powder dye in darker hues of orange and coral to create natural-looking coloration, then finish off with a light dusting of cornstarch.

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To make the peach blossoms, follow the Mexican Hat how-to on page 138. Group sprigs of blossoms and leaves (see page 152) and wrap them with brown floral tape to create stems for the peaches. Insert the end of the arrangement into the top hole of a marzipan peach until secure. Insert toothpicks into the bottom of the peaches to secure them on the cake.