Beside the seaside cake - part 2

If you're following on from the last tutorial, well done you! There are a lot of steps to this beautiful design, but we promise it's worth it!

Modelling the sea creatures

1. You can either make these with modelling chocolate, modelling paste or a combination of both. I used modelling chocolate. Take 100g (3½oz) of the modelling paste/chocolate and colour to a pale pink using a drop of red gel. Roll a ball approximately 85g (3oz) and flatten it slightly with the palm of your hand. Pinch one side with your fingers, then pinch a ridge up the centre of the shell and use your thumb to push two indentations for the eyes on the other side. This is the basic shell shape.
2. Use a small ball tool to push in two eye sockets, and a blade tool to form a little mouth. Then, with your fingers, pinch all the way around the back of the shell to thin the edges. Use a pair of scissors to cut into those edges to create a spiky effect.
3. For the front claws, roll a small ball of pink paste into a tapered log as shown. Then use the tri-tip chisel or blade tool to make two line indentations around the claw. Use your thumb to flatten the last biggest section to form the claw, and make a cut using a scalpel.
4. Now shape the claw and use your fingers to slightly curl the claw tips in towards each other. Repeat for the other claw and leave to one side.
5. For the other legs, take a very small amount of paste (approx 3g), roll into a ball, then a tapered log as before. Make three indentations with the blade tool and shape the leg. Repeat this process so that you have 6 legs in total.
6. Before the pieces are completely dry, assemble them together in the position you would like them, as shown.
7. Use melted candy melts to join the pieces together.
8. Arrange the crab in the position you would like him in your bucket, but on a dummy block. Allow to dry in this position. Roll two tiny bullets of black paste and insert for eyes.
9. To colour the crab, mix up some orange and red gel pastes with some alcohol and paint, building up the colour gradually, so that he is multi layered.
10. Use a little brown gel paste mixed with alcohol to paint the tips of the claws. Now leave the whole crab to fully dry and harden, preferably overnight if you are using modelling paste, or if using modelling chocolate you can put it in the fridge for 5 minutes to speed up the hardening process.
11. For the starfish, colour approximately 100g (3½oz) of modelling paste or chocolate with orange gel, but keep the base colour pale if you intend to paint on top. Roll out to 2.5cm (1in) thickness, then cut out a star shape with the cookie cutter.
12. Using a scalpel, cut a small incision in between each triangle of the star.
13. Turn the star over, then pinch together each triangle to close into a leg shape. Repeat with all 5 triangles. Use your fingers to blend the seams.
14. Roll a small ball of orange paste or chocolate, about the size of a walnut and place it into the middle of the starfish. This should self stick, but will depend on the product you are using.
15. Gently turn the starfish over and smooth any visible joins with your fingers. Take the piping nozzle and press down the arms in rows to create a bobble texture. Repeat for the whole of the starfish.
16. To add further texture, roll tiny little balls of chocolate and place them intermittently down the arms.
17. To colour the starfish, mix some brown and orange gels with alcohol to form a watercolour paint and begin to layer the colour. Concentrate the darker colour towards the bottom and in between the arms of the starfish. Leave to dry.
18. For the seashells, take a little white, pink and pale brown sugarpaste ( I used the scraps from what I had), then roll into a log.
19. Roll and twist the colours continually so that they marble together.
20. Once you are happy with the marbling, roll out the paste and cut out a circle with a small circle cutter. I used something approx 4cm (1½in) diameter.
21. Use your fingers to pinch one side of the circle to create a fan shape, then smooth out the edges with your fingers.
22. Use the blade tool to create fanned out lines across the shell and help develop the scallop shape. Repeat this process to make 3 or 4 shells, depending on how many you want in the scene.

Putting it all together:

1. Place your bucket cake onto the prepared board, fixing in place with a little royal icing. Next, insert the spade handle, then gently lift the crab off the polystyrene dummy and onto the cake. Secure in place with a little of the melted candy melts.
2. Take the windmill and insert a wooden skewer inside the straw, trimming as necessary. Insert this into the cake.
3. Now paint the top of the cake with edible glue or piping gel, take the crushed biscuits and spoon carefully on top of the cake, around the crab and other pieces. Repeat this process on the cake board and arrange the starfish and shells as you wish in the sand.

To go back to part 1, click here. 

For more designs by Zoe Burmester, visit the Sugar Street Studios website, or follow them on Facebook.