Bon Appegeek
A Transformers groom’s cake: more than meets the eye.
This is a conversation with my brother half a year ago, shortly after he and his fiancée asked me to bake their wedding cake. Keep in mind that I am not artistic, had never baked professionally, or really decorated a cake. My cake specialty up until then had been pound cakes baked in bundt pans and dusted with powdered sugar. Sometimes I made carrot cake. They were tasty cakes, but unlikely to impress wedding guests.
Brother: Did you know that there’s also a groom’s cake?
Me: I’ve heard of it.
Brother: Can you make an Optimus Prime groom’s cake?
Me: Um. Well. I could make an abstraction of an Optimus Prime cake.
Brother: You mean…like a bunch of circles and squares?
Me: Yeah.
Brother: I’ll pass.
I thought about it. Then I thought about it some more. As long as I stuck with the chest up, the only problem with Optimus Prime was the elaborate head. The rest of him really wasn’t that far off from a bunch of circles and squares. So I ordered the Playskool Mr. Potato Head Opti-Mash Prime (”More than meets the fry”) and planned a cake around the helmet. This was the result.
The base, helmet, ribbon, exhaust pipes, and nail polish-painted lights were not edible. Everything else, including the fondant and pastillage head, windows, and chest, were. They wouldn’t be tasty, but you could technically snack on them with your afternoon tea. I had originally hoped to make Optimus Prime’s head out of cake so that my brother could eat it with a spoon, but time constraints and the crazy decision to make this a secret groom’s cake made that too difficult. The secret was a success. He was surprised. Or at least he was once it sank in there was an Optimus Prime groom’s cake. It took time for the denial to pass.
Not everything came out well. Red food color changed the fondant’s texture, making it hard to work with, and square cakes are notoriously difficult to cover to begin with. I had hoped to make the cakes tall enough so that the logos and windows wouldn’t jut into the ribbon, but the cakes ended up larger than I expected, and the foam core base boards I’d cut out in advance were too small. I had neither enough time nor privacy to make new ones because my brother was staying in the house.
Still, Optimus Prime kept the Decepticons from crashing the reception. He gazed upon the proceedings with stately calm, even when two different people (one drunk) gave the bride a piggyback ride on the dance floor. His lights glowed well into the night and protected us all.
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October 25th, 2007 at 1:56 am
I miss the idea of a groom’s cake. Here in Italy they don’t use that concept. I like that you can get creative (and have chocolate, too!)
October 26th, 2007 at 1:34 am
the whole transformers thing totally passed me by (i think i was a goth when that was happening…or something), but this is awesome. very stoic, in the face of all that pink and rose petal action, too :)
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Hey there,
What a great cake, what a great writer, what a great blog! I’ll be back for more.
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Sara: It’s not common here either, but I hear they make them more often in the south.
santos: Thanks! I was too old to enjoy the Transformers (and a girl), but I remember my brother’s fondness for them.
Moira: I’m glad you enjoy the blog!
November 5th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
What a kick ass cake!
You are such a good sister:) We didn’t have a groom cake at our wedding, but we did have matching Smurf and Smurfette wedding cake toppers:) Gotta love pop culture in weddings!
November 12th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
You should submit this to Wilton’s annual cake decorating contest. I am not joking. http://www.wilton.com
November 15th, 2007 at 10:01 am
This is quite possibly the most awesome cake that I’ve ever seen! Puts my recent effort to shame…
November 15th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Great cake! And you said you weren’t that creative - the cake looks amazing. Usually the bride is the center of attention at the wedding, it’s nice to see the groom getting a little extra too. Here’s to a groom cake comeback.
November 25th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
now that is a COOL cake! My son wants one for his bday.
November 25th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
leena: Thanks! The Smurfs are awesome. I hope they were three apples high.
clevergrete: Great idea, but some of the cake wasn’t edible, so I’m not sure I’d qualify, but maybe I’ll look into it.
Angela, chefgreypoupon, steamy kitchen: Thanks so much!
November 29th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
That is amazing. Totally professional looking and HILARIOUS!!!!
January 10th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Just wondering what you used for the little lights…did they really work?
January 13th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Julie: I used something called “party lights” which came 12 to a pack. I couldn’t find them on the web, but in the store they’re usually in the wedding or party section of crafts. Fabric stores, party stores, and craft stores probably carry them. They did work—you twist the bottom and they light up. The box says 8 hours but these stay lit for at least 24 hours. They’re frosty white, but I painted them with orange nail polish for the cake.