I pretend to be tired of Frozen. After endlessly watching the movie, reenacting the scenes, and listening to the soundtrack…after stocking a wardrobe with Frozen attire and filling a playroom with Frozen toys… I realize that another dramatic interpretation of “Let It Go” by our beloved 4 year old should send me screaming in search of sanity. The terrifying truth is… I am not tired of Frozen… or the Little Mermaid, or Tangled, or Beauty and the Beast, or Cinderella.
I do understand how totally crazy and completely inappropriate so many of these princess stories are for our kids. I mean – I am desperate to raise well-rounded, competent, compassionate, intelligent, and independent, young women who are prepared to tackle the complexities of a global society that honors and respects equality and social responsibility. But… I feel the love and really can’t shame the obsession of Disney princesses. I am so thankful for Elsa and Anna who make me feel a little less guilty about our love of princesses.
Turns out this may be the strangest intro to… I made another Frozen cake and learned some new tricks to simplify my cake decorating!
Here are three great cake hacks that helped simplify my cake decorating, so I could get everything done in one night:
- Forget the fondant and frost with buttercream (sometimes)!
I read about the VIVA paper towel method for smoothly icing a cake, but didn’t think it would actually work. Turns out… those soft, white, pillowy paper towels are just perfect for smoothing out your buttercream! This was my first attempt and it still needs work, but I can’t wait to try it again, and again, and again! Frost Me Up has a great video tutorial to get you started! As a wannabe cake decorator, this frosting method saved me a lot of time and money! (check out all those exclamation points!) - Pearl dust! (AKA edible glitter)
Wilton Pearl Dust (available at Michael’s, Jo-Ann’s, Amazon, etc.) is fabulous for adding a little sass and hiding imperfections. As I mentioned this was my first attempt at the VIVA paper towel frosting method, so it was definitely not perfect by any means. - Not everything has to be edible.
I love the challenge of making everything on a cake edible, but I am trying to simplify and let’s be serious – no one is actually going to eat a fondant Elsa, a gumpaste Anna, or an Olaf made out of modeling chocolate. I cleaned our Frozen figurines and topped the cake. I actually got out two bowls, one with soapy water and one with clean water, and had our 3-year-old Samantha give Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven baths, which she thought was pretty much the greatest thing in the world!
Confession of a *wannabe* everything… I’m sure it would be super helpful to see before and after pictures of icing a cake using a VIVA Paper towel, but I blew it! You can see pretty great documentation of the paper towel trick Frost Me Up.