Butterfly Cake Decorating

by Rachel Lampron
(Colebrook, NH)

To make this butterfly cake I made 2 10"x2" round and 2 6"x2" round french vanilla cakes. I cut a small layer of cake out of one of the 10" cakes, but not cutting to the edges, leaving a "dam" so the filling wouldn't ooze out. I lightly frosted this layer, then filled it with apple pie filling. I set the other 10" cake on top. More frosting.

The top tier was really simple, just frosting and a small layer in the middle of raspberry filling I made. I used a really sturdy cake, so I didn't even need to dowell it.

I made the butterflies and monogram a few days in advance, to give them adequate time to dry. I printed off some butterfly pictures I found on the internet and laid a piece of wax paper on top of them. I made a batch of royal icing and separated it into several cups for coloring. (The black batch I made extra stiff, since it was for the outlining and I wanted it to hold it's shape extra well.) I traced the butterfly onto the wax paper, piping it using the black icing. I let it dry, then I piped in colors to fill it in. I let it set to dry thoroughly. (I brushed a dab of water before adding the edible glitter so it would stick well.)

When dry, I gently peeled it off the wax paper and assembled it on the cake!