Circus Cakes

I clearly have a mental block about posting these, seeing as I made them just about 2 years ago. They were for a Diabetes UK fundraiser. Yes, I know, cake for an event about diabetes... The event was for children with Type I diabetes and their families. And what kid, diabetic or not, doesn't want cake?

The challenge was twofold. First, I had to make at least some of the cake gluten free since type I diabetics are more likely to be ceoliac than the rest of the population (also the carbs in flour aren't great for the blood sugar.) Second, the cake had to be circus themed.

Making cake gluten free isn't a big deal, but because I wanted the gluten free cake to be a bit lower in carbs too, I knew I had to make a nut flour based cake rather than substituting a grain based, gluten free flour for the wheat stuff. That posed a problem. They wanted a 2- or 3- tier cake, and the almond based cake that I make isn't sturdy enough to stand up to stacking. So I ended up making two gluten free cakes and one two-tier regular flour cake. (Aside from the necessity of making two types of cake, I liked the idea of three cakes--it worked with the theme, a three ring circus.) As a bonus I had a dietician I know work out the sugars and carbs in one slice of each type of cake (with frosting and fondant), for the kids who were counting those sorts of things to help regulate their insulin.

The circus theme was a fun challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. Thank goodness for Pinterest. I found various circus themed cakes and took the best of each to create my own design. I used bright colors for the circus tent-esque patterns but decided to keep the lines clean and the background white (both because I, personally, prefer that aesthetic and because I figured the adults would appreciate the more conservative use of food coloring.) To top off the cakes I made platforms out of pressed sugar (I'll try to remember to put on a tutorial for that at some point) and circus animals out of fondant. The toppers were, technically, edible...but yuck...

I wasn't given guidance on flavor so I figured white cake because (a) it's popular, (b) it's the easiest to cover with white fondant, and (c) it would be generally the same flavor as the almond based, vanilla-y, gluten free cakes. Both the types of cake were covered in delicious american-style buttercream--the kind made without eggs, just in case--and enrobed in fondant to provide the canvas for my circus patterns

Those patterns were quite something to make. Tons of measuring, calculating, cutting, and "gluing" went into getting that harlequin pattern just right. And those little balls for the bottom borders, yikes there were a lot!

But the effort was worth it! The cakes looked lovely and kids were so sweet! It was great seeing how happy they were, especially the kids with both ceoliac and diabetes (imagine not being able to eat much sugar or any wheat...) And the feedback from the parents was lovely; my friend the dietician‘s work did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Cake and a good cause, what could be better than that?!