I was recently asked to make a Pug cake for a client last week and although I've made hundreds of cakes, I've never made a cake in the shape of a dog. I love dogs so I was very excited to get started. Got to be honest, dog cakes are very daunting, getting the details correct on a dog can be just as hard as carving a human face out of cake....which I haven't done yet either. So, I decided to take some pics to take you along on my dog cake making journey. My first step was finding a picture of a pug that was detailed enough to carve out of cake. By the way, I've never really seen a Pug up close except at the park or in passing. As you can see alot of my pics have a computer in the background mainly, because I needed a couple of pics of a Pug close by to refer to back and forth. I baked a couple of layers of chocolate cake , filled and stacked them. Once the cake was prepared, I carved away... As I finished carving, I stepped back and was happy to see the shape started to resemble a pug.
Next, I crumb coated the pup with some buttercream.
After chilling the cake overnight, adding a second layer of buttercream and chilling again, I was ready to work on the face. A pugs strongest features are in it's face. Also, added some wrinkles around the body to simulate the dogs movement and position while lying in this particular position.
Next, I covered the cake in fondant. This can be pretty tricky but if you've had as much experience with fondant as I have, you just have to be very patient and precise.
Once it was covered and shaped, I added a couple of details.
Then of course I did a little airbrushing. You need to be extra careful while airbrushing because one false move and your dog can be ruined.
Added a piped Happy Birthday and added some accents like a ball, bone and a personalized dog tag...not to mention his little tongue.
Loved the finished product. Although, I really loved making this dog cake, please know this cake took alot of time to make. Hope you liked my little tutorial. Alot of people ask me how it is I make my cakes and here is one I just had to share with you all.
~Bea~
