Today, we invite you to embark on a delightful journey into the world of creative cake artistry. This special post serves a dual purpose: first, to extend a resounding cheer for a magnificent achievement by some truly gifted figures in the culinary world, and second, to arm you with an exciting new tutorial that promises to transform your kitchen into a hub of edible innovation. Get ready to discover how ordinary ingredients can lead to extraordinary cakes!

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Unleash Your Inner Cake Artist: A Deep Dive into Extreme Cakeovers and the Makeup Bag Cake Tutorial!

For many enthusiasts of intricate and beautiful cakes, the names Rick and Sasha Reichart resonate with excellence and groundbreaking design. As the visionary owners of Cakelava, based in the picturesque Oahu, Hawaii, they have spent decades pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with sugar and flour. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of showcasing numerous masterpieces crafted by Rick, each one a testament to his unparalleled skill and artistic vision. Remember captivating designs like the charming Milk & Cookies Cake or the enchanting Turtle Wedding Cake? These are just a few examples of the magic Rick consistently conjures.

With a remarkable career spanning over two decades, Rick has not only delighted clients with his stunning creations but has also passionately shared his techniques with eager students across the globe. His commitment to teaching and inspiring the next generation of cake artists has always been evident. Therefore, it came as no surprise when exhilarating news broke: Rick and Sasha were preparing to share their expertise on an even grander scale. After two years of dedicated work, meticulous planning, and boundless creativity, their vision has materialized into an incredible resource for all aspiring cake decorators. We can now all benefit from the wisdom contained within the pages of their highly anticipated first book, Extreme Cakeovers!

Introducing “Extreme Cakeovers”: Your Gateway to Effortless Cake Artistry

Extreme Cakeovers is more than just a cookbook; it’s a revolutionary guide designed to empower anyone, regardless of their baking experience or artistic skill level, to create show-stopping cakes. This how-to book is brimming with 40 imaginative DIY projects, each meticulously crafted to be accessible and fun. The central philosophy behind Extreme Cakeovers is simple yet brilliant: you don’t need specialized skills, expensive equipment, or even to bake from scratch. This book democratizes cake decorating, making it achievable and enjoyable for everyone.

The secret lies in its innovative approach: transforming readily available, store-bought ingredients into edible works of art. Imagine walking into your local grocery store, grabbing a frozen pound cake, raiding the candy aisle for your favorite treats, and returning home ready to embark on a creative adventure! Each project within the book provides comprehensive, detailed instructions, guiding you step-by-step through the process of turning everyday supermarket goodies into astonishing cake designs. It’s an ingenious concept that makes high-end cake decorating approachable and incredibly rewarding.

Why “Extreme Cakeovers” is a Must-Have for Every Aspiring Baker

The beauty of Extreme Cakeovers lies in its sheer accessibility and the delightful element of surprise it brings. These projects are not only totally achievable but also incredibly versatile, covering a vast array of occasions, from joyous birthdays to festive holidays. The book demonstrates how humble store-bought donuts, a simple pack of Twizzlers, or a classic Tootsie Roll can be elevated to new, exciting heights, becoming integral components of a stunning cake design. It’s about seeing potential where others might only see a snack, and transforming it into something truly special.

The detailed instructions ensure that even complete novices can follow along with confidence, creating cakes that will impress friends and family. This book is perfect for busy parents looking for engaging activities with their children, for individuals seeking unique gift ideas, or for anyone who wants to add a personal, homemade touch to their celebrations without the stress of complex baking. It’s a testament to the fact that creativity knows no bounds, especially when armed with the right guidance and a playful spirit. Extreme Cakeovers doesn’t just teach you how to decorate a cake; it teaches you how to unleash your inner artist with everyday items.

Master the Art of Illusion: Presenting the Makeup Bag Cake Tutorial

To give you a tantalizing taste of the magic within Extreme Cakeovers, Rick and Sasha have generously shared one of their most popular and captivating tutorials with us today. This project perfectly encapsulates the book’s ethos of transforming ordinary items into extraordinary edible art. So, gather your Tootsie Rolls, prepare your creative spirit, because we’re about to dive into the intricate yet achievable steps of creating this incredible Makeup Bag Cake. This isn’t just a cake; it’s a delightful illusion, a conversation starter, and a testament to clever cake design using readily available ingredients. Let’s get started on bringing this charming, edible accessory to life!

Your Step-by-Step Guide: Crafting the Realistic Makeup Bag Cake

MAKEUP BAG CAKE

a DIY from Extreme Cakeovers, by Rick and Sasha Reichart
Serves 10 to 12

Essential Tools and Ingredients for Your Cake Canvas

To embark on this delightful cake project, you’ll need a combination of standard baking tools and a selection of creative candy ingredients. The beauty of Extreme Cakeovers is how it reimagines common items for unique decorative purposes, making this process both accessible and exciting. The specific choices ensure both structural integrity for the cake and realistic detailing for the makeup elements.

Supplies

1 (9 × 13-inch) cake board: Provides a sturdy base for your cake and makes it easy to move.
Small offset spatula: Essential for applying and smoothing frosting with precision.
½-inch flat-head paintbrush: Ideal for broad strokes when coloring edible elements.
#4 round artist’s paintbrush: Perfect for fine details and applying water for adhesion.
1 (10-inch) wooden skewer: Used for internal support, particularly for the mascara wand.
Wire cutters: Handy for safely trimming the wooden skewer to size.
1 round toothpick: Used for delicate assembly of smaller components.

Ingredients

3 (10.75-ounce) frozen pound cakes (Sara Lee recommended), thawed: The foundation of your cake, chosen for its consistent texture and ease of shaping.
3 cups of vanilla frosting (2 16-ounce cans): The primary binding agent and base for coloring.
Paste or gel paste food coloring: black: For achieving a rich, deep gray and black, essential for the makeup bag’s color scheme.
1 roll Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape, green apple flavor: A surprisingly versatile ingredient for creating zipper-like details.
Liquid food coloring: black: Used for staining the bubble tape and other fine details.
Pure lemon extract: Acts as a solvent for liquid food coloring, aiding in application and drying.
6 sticks Wrigley’s Doublemint gum: Transforms into realistic white stripes on the makeup bag.
1 (1.4-ounce) York Peppermint Pattie: The perfect base for the powder compact.
½ teaspoon chocolate frosting (from 1 16-ounce can): Used to create the “powder” inside the compact.
2 Giant Chewy SweeTarts: 1 green and 1 purple: These become the vibrant eye shadows.
2 large gumdrops: 1 yellow and 1 orange: Adds a contrasting, sugary texture to the eye shadows.
1 large (2.25-ounce) Tootsie Roll (6 inches long): A wonderfully malleable candy, forming various makeup items like lipstick and mascara components.
1 black Twizzler: Used to create the brush part of the mascara wand.
1 chocolate Tootsie Roll Midgee: Part of the makeup brush bristles.
2 vanilla Tootsie Roll Midgees: Also for the makeup brush bristles and nail polish.
2 red Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews: Shaped into realistic lipstick.
6 pink Starburst candies: The foundation for the adorable nail polish bottle.

1. Shaping the Foundation: Building Your Cake Structure

The first step in creating this incredible illusion is to meticulously prepare and shape your cake. Begin by taking two of your thawed pound cakes and carefully trimming their tops to achieve perfectly flat surfaces. This precision is crucial for ensuring a stable and even stack. Next, horizontally stack all three pound cakes, positioning the untrimmed cake on top. Between each layer, apply a thin, even coating of vanilla frosting, which will act as the “glue” to securely bind the layers together. This creates a solid block, ready for transformation.

Now, to achieve the distinctive tapered wedge shape of a makeup bag, you’ll need to make careful cuts. Using a chef’s knife, gently score two lines along the length of the top of the stacked cakes, precisely 1 inch in from both the top and bottom edges. Once scored, stand the cake stack on its short side, with the scored lines facing you. Position your knife on the top surface, aligning it between the start of the right scored line and the top right corner of the same surface. Cut through the cake cleanly, then set aside and discard the cut-off piece. Repeat this exact process on the left side of the cake. This initial step creates the primary angled sides of the bag.

Next, lay the cake stack back down on your work surface with the newly tapered side facing you. At the farthest edge from you, measure 1 inch inward from each side and make a small mark. Line up your knife on the top surface between the bottom right corner of the cake and the right scored mark you just made, and cut through. Discard this corner piece. Repeat this on the left side. With these cuts complete, your cake should now perfectly resemble the elegant, tapered wedge shape of a makeup bag, ready for its cosmetic transformation.

In a medium bowl, tint 1¼ cups of vanilla frosting a light gray using a small amount of black food coloring paste or gel. Scoop out ½ cup of this gray frosting into a separate bowl; this portion will be used for the crucial crumb-coating step. Carefully center your shaped cake on the cake board, ensuring the bottom of the bag is positioned 1 inch from the bottom edge of the board. Secure the cake in place with a small dab of frosting underneath. Using your offset spatula, apply the reserved ½ cup of gray frosting in a thin, even layer all over the cake – this is your crumb coat. The crumb coat traps any loose crumbs, creating a smooth and stable surface for your final frosting layer. Once applied, meticulously clean up any excess frosting from the cake board. Refrigerate the cake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crumb coat is firm to the touch. Finally, retrieve the cake and frost it completely with the remaining gray frosting. For an exceptionally smooth finish, dip your spatula in hot water, shake off the excess, and gently glide it over the frosting surface.

2. Detailing the Design: Bringing Your Makeup Bag to Life

With the base of your makeup bag cake beautifully shaped and frosted, it’s time to add the defining decorative elements that will truly bring it to life. This stage involves clever use of candy and precise piping to mimic the intricate details of a real cosmetic bag.

First, prepare your “zipper” detail. Cut a 20-inch piece of Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape and lay it flat on a piece of wax paper. In a small bowl, combine ½ teaspoon each of liquid black food coloring and pure lemon extract. Using your ½-inch flat-head paintbrush, carefully stain the entire top surface of the Bubble Tape black. The lemon extract helps the color adhere and dry quickly. Allow it to dry completely.

Now, turn your cake board so the top opening of the makeup bag is facing you. This orientation makes it easier to apply the details. To create the white stripes, begin ½ inch above the bottom right corner of the cake, placing one stick of Wrigley’s Doublemint gum at approximately a 45-degree angle. Trim it to fit neatly. Continue by lining up the remaining sticks of gum end-to-end in two parallel rows, spaced ¾ inch apart, adjusting their length to fit the cake’s surface.

Once the white stripes are in place, retrieve your stained black Bubble Tape. Starting from the top left corner of the cake, carefully run the black strip across the white gum stripes, extending it to ½ inch left of the bottom right corner. Trim the excess. Position the next two rows of parallel black strips ¾ inch below the first, cutting them to fit the contour of the cake. To ensure these black strips adhere well where they cross the white gum, use your #4 paintbrush to dab a tiny amount of water underneath them, creating a subtle adhesive effect.

For the piping details, spoon ¼ cup of the remaining gray frosting into a zip-top plastic bag. Snip ¼ inch off the tip of the bag, creating a piping tool. Pipe an angled line 1½ inches above and parallel to the black strips, adding another layer of realistic detail. In a separate small bowl, tint ¼ cup of vanilla frosting black. Transfer this black frosting into another plastic bag and snip ¼ inch off the tip. Carefully pipe a black outline around all the edges of the makeup bag, except for the short ends at the very top, which represent the opening of the bag. At these open corners, pipe a small “V” shape to emphasize the opening.

Finally, pipe a graceful gray line down each side of the bag, starting from the bottom of the black “V” and extending all the way to the bottom edge of the cake. Set the cake aside but **do not refrigerate** at this stage. Refrigeration could cause the coloring on the black strips to run and smudge, compromising your intricate work.

3. Crafting the Illusions: Miniature Makeup Masterpieces

Now for the truly fun part: creating the miniature, edible makeup items that will spill out of your cake! Prepare an 8-inch piece of wax paper to hold your creations as you work. A crucial tip: after handling any black-tinted makeup piece, remember to wash your hands thoroughly before touching any other colored items to prevent accidental smudges.

The Powder Compact

To make the realistic powder compact, squeeze approximately half of the black frosting from its bag into a clean bowl. Using a clean ½-inch flat-head paintbrush, carefully brush the bottom and sides of the York Peppermint Pattie with the black frosting. Set it aside, frosted side up, to dry slightly.

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of vanilla frosting with ½ teaspoon of chocolate frosting to create a subtle brown hue for the “powder.” Spoon this mixture into a zip-top plastic bag and snip a tiny ¹⁄8 inch off the tip. On the frosted side of the Peppermint Pattie, pipe a brown circle about ½ inch from the edge and carefully fill it in. Smooth the frosting gently. Then, use the black frosting bag to pipe a fine black outline around the brown center. To ensure it sits flush against the cake, trim ½ inch from one flat side of the compact. Set it aside, ready for assembly.

Vibrant Eye Shadows

For the eye shadows, use the flat-head paintbrush to brush black frosting onto the tops and sides of both Giant Chewy SweeTarts. These will be the compacts. Next, take the yellow and orange gumdrops and cut off one-third from their flat sides, discarding the rounded parts. Carefully place these cut pieces, sugared side up, onto the centers of the frosted SweeTarts. The contrasting textures and colors will create a wonderfully realistic effect.

The Lipstick Tube

To craft the essential lipstick tube, cut a 4-segment piece from the large Tootsie Roll. Brush this piece entirely with black frosting, mimicking the sleek appearance of a real lipstick casing. Set it aside to dry.

Mascara Wand & Handle

For the mascara, cut a 2-segment piece from the large Tootsie Roll. Roll this piece between your hands until it stretches to about 2 inches long, forming the mascara handle. Set it aside. Next, cut 1¼ inches off the end of the black Twizzler; this will be the mascara brush. Using wire cutters, trim 4 inches off the pointed end of the wooden skewer, discarding the remainder. Insert the pointed end of the skewer into the Twizzler piece, and the other end ½ inch into the Tootsie Roll handle. Finally, brush the Tootsie Roll handle with black frosting, and set it aside to dry.

The Makeup Brush Handle

Take the remaining large Tootsie Roll segments and roll them between your hands until they form a piece approximately 3 inches long with a slight conical shape, perfect for a brush handle. Brush this with black frosting and set it aside.

4. The Grand Finale: Assembling Your Edible Art

With all your miniature makeup pieces meticulously crafted, it’s time for the exciting final step: assembling them on your makeup bag cake to create a dynamic and realistic display. Position your makeup bag cake so the top opening is facing you, ready for the arrangement.

Begin by placing the powder compact flush against the cake, approximately 2 inches from the right side. Next, position the makeup brush handle at a slight angle to the right of the compact. To create the brush bristles, smash together one chocolate Tootsie Roll Midgee and one vanilla Tootsie Roll Midgee. Roll them into a 1-inch piece, tapering one end slightly to fit snugly onto the top of the brush handle. For added realism, press the blade of an offset spatula gently into the piece to create subtle bristle indentations, giving it texture.

Now, place the lipstick tube at an angle between the makeup brush and the powder compact. For the lipstick itself, smash together the two red Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews, forming them into a 1½-inch-long tube. Flatten one side slightly to truly resemble lipstick. Attach this vibrant red piece to the end of the lipstick tube. Using your gray frosting bag, pipe a delicate gray border where the colored red piece meets the handle on both the makeup brush bristles and the lipstick, adding a refined finishing touch.

Next, position the mascara wand at an opposite angle to the makeup brush, approximately 2 inches from the left side of the cake bag. Pipe a fine gray line directly over the skewer on the mascara wand, seamlessly integrating it into the design. Place the orange eye shadow between the mascara and the compact, and the yellow eye shadow snugly against the mascara handle, creating a clustered, authentic look.

Finally, let’s create the adorable nail polish bottle. Smash together the six pink Starburst candies and roll them between your hands to form a 1¼-inch-long log. Shape one end of this log to form the rounded bottom of a nail polish bottle. Cut a toothpick in half. Stick one half into a vanilla Tootsie Roll Midgee (this will be the brush handle) and the other half into the top of your pink Starburst nail polish bottle. Carefully position the nail polish bottle on the cake board, with its top gently resting against the mascara wand. With these final touches, your stunning, edible Makeup Bag Cake is complete, ready to amaze and delight!

This intricate project, a true testament to the creative genius of Rick and Sasha Reichart, exemplifies the magic found within Extreme Cakeovers. It showcases how everyday ingredients, combined with clear instructions and a dash of imagination, can result in truly spectacular and memorable edible art. We hope this tutorial inspires you to explore the boundless possibilities of cake decorating and to unleash your own inner artist. Whether for a birthday, a special gathering, or simply for the joy of creation, this cake is sure to be a showstopper!

CREDITS:

{Reprinted with permission from Extreme Cakeovers (Clarkson Potter, July 2013) by Rick & Sasha Reichart.}