Texas A&M Rings Cake and Hydrangea Wedding Cake

Last weekend we made a Texas A&M rings cake based on the artwork of Benjamin Knox, whose illustration is shown above. The bride and her fiancé went to A&M and wanted to recreate the art in 3-d form. It all seems so simple until I realized that somehow I had to defy gravity with the upright ring! Despite a steep hill and gravel roads, it arrived intact to the venue.
I ended up using a floral styro ring as the base structure, and then using rice cereal treats and modeling chocolate to build up the shape. After I achieved the shape, I covered it with fondant and added the ring details. Finally, I painted them with a thick layer of edible gold.

 

Here is a photo of the wedding cake. I wrapped the tiers in a mix of white modeling chocolate and ivory fondant so I could achieve a ruffled edge on each band. We also made the lavender hydrangeas. It's amazing how many hydrangea petals you need to make just one cluster! Thanks so much the Heather and Suzanne for helping out with them!

I'm looking forward to a break from cakes this week. I'm heading to the beach with the husband and kids for a little much-needed vacation!