Thursday, June 2, 2016

White Velvet Cake for Marilyn's 90th Birthday



On Wednesday, 1 June, it was screen goddess Marilyn Monroe's 90th birthday.  Can you imagine the timeless Marilyn at 90? 

Unfortunately I did not have time to make something for the day, but I did get around to my Marilyn tribute cake a day later.  While the likeness is not perfect, you can see the resemblance, I think:



Her lips are a little bigger than I'd like, but I was constrained by my candy mould, which produced a very voluptuous pair of closed lips.

I used Rose Levy-Berenbaum's recipe for White Velvet Cake from Heavenly Cakes - you  can find the recipe online here.  Why White Velvet?  Well, I had never made a white velvet cake before, and it sounded rather luxe, like Marilyn herself.  Here is the cake before frosting:



My inspiration for the cake design came from these cookies and this wall sticker.  Originally I had been going to cut the black parts of the design out of black fondant, but my black fondant had dried up, so I decided instead to draw a free hand design and transfer it into the fondant, then fill it in with black edible ink.  When I transferred the design, of course it came out as a mirror image of what I had drawn, hence why Marilyn's face is in the reverse orientation to the way she was mainly photographed. 

As mentioned above, I made the lips by pressing red fondant into a lip-shaped candy mould, then putting it in the freezer for a while so I could pop it out.  Even then, it was quite a struggle to get the fondant out of the mould.

I frosted my cake with vanilla buttercream from my faithful Primrose Bakery recipe.  To assemble, I lifted my fondant drawing onto the buttercream, making sure I was happy with the position before smoothing it down.  Next, I wet the back of the fondant lips with a little water and placed them onto the face.  Finally, for Marilyn's beauty spot, I used a little choc coated rice crispy ball from some Coles sprinkles that I had in the cupboard.

Here's a peek inside:




I was pretty happy with my artistic efforts.  Happy birthday to Marilyn.

9 comments:

  1. You can definitely see the resemblance! I had never heard of white velvet cake but it certainly sounds Marilyn-worthy - refined, fancy and decadent :-)

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  2. This is just plain cool!!! Great cake, voluptuous lips and all. Amazing that MM would be that old now, but what a life she had. Bet your cake was delicious, white velvet is new to me too. Thanks!

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  3. Oh my goodness, Gaye, you did such a fabulous job designing that cake! I can hear Marilyn now, lol...

    I've seen recipes for White Velvet Cake in many of my vintage cookbooks but I have never seen one actually baked. It looks moist and delicious Gaye:)

    Thank you so much for sharing...Good job!!!

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  4. wow so impressive - I had not even heard it was her birthday but you really do keep up with these dates in a great culinary way - white velvet sounds like a great cake

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  5. Well done! Both the inside and outside look marvelous. Now I need to check out the white velvet recipe :)

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  6. If Marilyn had eaten this cake she would not be the goddess she was. This looks lovely. I love a good white velvet cake.

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  7. I can definitely see the resemblance and I love the arched eyebrow!! I have never heard of a white chocolate velvet cake. It sounds like something I should definitely eat!! Yum.

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  8. Your Marilyn cake is gorgeous and it looks like her no doubt about it. What else would you have but a white velvet cake for Marilyn? Perfect. And, no, I cannot imagine Marilyn at 90. She will always remain young and beautiful. Lovely tribute and cake, Gaye.

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