So
this month I have been pretty busy on the cake scene. I recently had an order
for a 10-year old’s birthday party. What was the theme? Spongebob Squarepants.
When the mother throwing the party added in this fact, I internally groaned.
The thought of shaping 35 Spongebob cupcakes made my insides twist and, because
I am a full-time student with two part-time jobs, I knew this would be a
challenge in the sense of time management. Because of the time constraints and
the complexity of the layers of Spongebob’s face (it took extreme attention to
detail), I began this project two days before the due date.
The
cupcakes were simple; 17 chocolate and 18 vanilla. Baked in neon blue and green wrappers, I covered each cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream frosting
before placing them in the refrigerator to allow them to harden up a bit before
adding the first layer of bright yellow fondant (Recommended product: Duff
2-lb. Fondant Tub; available for purchase at nationwide retailers including
Michaels and Party City for $19.99).
Using
a circular cookie cutter, I cut 35 yellow faces, placing them upon the layer of
buttercream. Moving on, 35 mouths, hand-cut using simply a sharp knife and
self-colored black fondant, made their way onto the blank Spongebob faces,
adhering to the yellow with only a small dab of water brushed onto the backs.
Next came the formation of the eyes, a very important characteristic of
Spongebob’s face. With large, piercing blue eyes, the cupcakes were adorned
with 70 eyes, each having three layers; white, blue and black. This took the
longest of all, cutting out 70 of each color. To do so, simply use circular
decorating tips, each being a different size. White, of course, would be the
largest tip, followed by blue and finally black. Falling backward, I returned
to the mouths, as Spongebob cannot be Spongebob without his famous two buckteeth.
Once again, cut out 70 small white squares, proportioned correctly to the size
of the black mouths. Attach them using water, as well.
Now
that the hard tedious part is over and done with, using black decorator’s icing
and Wilton decorating tip #3, apply three long black eyelashes to each of
Spongebob’s eyes. Continue on to add a half-moon nose to overlap the bottoms of
both eyes. Using the same tip but pink icing, draw on two bubbly cheeks and
your Spongebobs are complete!
These
cupcakes, while time consuming and tedious, were, overall, easy to make a
complete hit at any kid’s birthday party. Whether used as the treats to sing ‘happy
birthday’ with or a thank-you-for-coming party favor, these cupcakes’
infectious smiles are sure to be contagious.
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