Bear Cake

This cake looks pretty simple, but I got to try out a few new things, and it was a good learning experience. First of all, I made a white cake that turned out really moist from AllRecipes. I listened to the reviews and found the key to making sure the cake is moist is to really ensure the butter and sugar are creamed well and each egg is mixed thuroughly in the cake one at a time. I also made sure to sift the flour and added and extra 1/4 cup of milk. Definitely a winner!
This was also my first time working with chocolate fondant. It's pretty easy to make, just have to add some chocolate chips while melting the marshmallow. However this fondant did give me a bit of trouble. I've never had an issue with air bubbles under my fondant, but I did this time. Fortunately I was able to correct this problem by poking a small hole in the top and push the air out. I also had more of a problem with smoothness than normal (I seriously need to by a smooter next time I'm in Maine!). I'm not sure if it was due to the change in chemistry from the fat in the chocolate, or if I didn't let it sit in the fridge long enough after making it (I think it sat for about 45 minutes, but I guess two hours is really best). I still have some extra chocolate fondant so I will try it once more and see what the problem was.

The teddy bear was my first time working with gumpaste (I used Wilton's mix). There was some cracking in the face region, but otherwise it's really smooth. I'm going to practice making some more gumpaste figures this week and then go into more detail about what I think about it when I talk about it then.
Also wasn't really sure on the design I wanted for the cake. As you can see in the second pic, it went through some changes, but I think I like the final outcome best. It was worth the extra effort to add the dots on the side.
Well it was a busy weekend full of cakes, but now it's time to take a break and do some school work. Have a real interesting paper to write on the enzyme invertase...bleh. Just two and a half weeks of classes left!