Happy Birthday Honey! - The N7 Cake!

So, since it is May it is the month of anniversaries and birthdays. 

For Tom's Birthday I decided to make a nerdy birthday cake for him.

Now, this is nothing new to me. I've made several nerdy cakes in the past (some looked better than others) such as:

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• The "V for Vendetta" cake that I made with a team for a college cake decorating contest. 

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•  The "Star Trek Badge" cake for a friend's birthday.

 

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•  and the "Death Star" Cake for one of Tom's earlier birthdays

All of the past cakes were good for when I made them, The Death Star was one I was particularly proud of at the time, but now my skills have grown up a little more, and thanks to quite a bit of practice and several Food Network program I felt ready to try something new.

So, I decided  I'd make a cake that represented one of Tom's favorite video games: Mass Effect. 

My goal was to make a two tier french vanilla cherry N7 cake (which I will now walk you through).

N7 Cake

1. First, I bought two boxes Betty Crocker French Vanilla cake and made them in a 13x9 cake pan  as the box directed (That's right, I cheat and don't make cakes from scratch, sorry honey!).
   
   One helpful hint: Get Pam Baking spray, not just regular Pam. Pam Baking spay has a bit of flour in it which made it super, super easy (After waiting 5 minutes to let them cook a little) to get the cakes out of the pan.
   
   

   

   Bottom tier trimmed and dirty iced, scraps on right,
   second tier trimmed and cooling

2. I put the bottom tier on a cardboard base (Which you can get at almost any grocery store's bakery for a few dollars. Kroger sold me a plastic cake box and a cardboard base for $3.) trimmed it down and "dirty iced" it.
   
   (I took a sharp serrated kitchen knife and leveled the cake, you can see the scraps in a bowl on the right, don't toss them, I'll tell you why later so check out the very bottom of this post.)
   
   Dirty icing doesn't have to be perfect, there can be crumbs in it. Just smack some icing on there.
   
   An additional hint, when leveling the bottom tier of a cake you intend to fill, dip the center a little bit to make a shallow bowl for the filling. I only dip the cake about 1/4th of an inch but it makes a difference.



Bottom tier filled, top tier leveled

3. I trimmed the second tier and let it continue to cool
4. I put the cherry filling on the bottom layer and spread them evenly, leaving a small boarder  around the sides so the filling wouldn't squish out.

   

   Bottom tier filled, second tier iced on the trimmed side

5. I dirty Iced the second tier on what would become the bottom (which was the leveled side of the cake. That way you have a nice smooth surface for the top of the cake {which was originally the bottom of the sheet cake}).
6. This step is a bit difficult. It's time to flip the top tier, icing down, onto the bottom tier.
   
   I used the cake box, flattened, to slide under the top tier and very carefully and quickly flipped it onto the bottom tier, adjusting it as needed.
   
   For this step I have but one thing to say, GOOD LUCK!
   
   

   

   Top tier miraculously flipped onto the bottom tier, Thank God!

7. Next, ice the top tier so that all exposed parts of the cake have a thin layer of icing.
8. Next put a small amount of powdered sugar on the counter to prevent the fondant from sticking. Heat the fondant in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. It should NOT be warm, It just softens it a tiny bit.
   Roll out the fondant into a wide rectangle. You may have to put more powdered sugar on the counter or the rolling pin to prevent sticking. To put it on the cake, roll the fondant around the pin, then over the cake like a sheet over a bed. Smooth it down and trim the edges.
9. I then rolled out the white and trimmed it into the letter "N" and a "7" using a sharp knife and straight edge (I used a piece of paper but a ruler will work just as well). I used the right side of the "7"  to trace the line on the red "triangle" so it would mirror the slant of the 7 as it does on the true emblem.
10. Using a small bit of the white icing on the back side of the N, 7, and triangle, I secured the pattern to the cake (much like using glue for craft paper, a little bit goes a long way)
11. The final touch ups include smoothing edges of the numbers and using a paper towel with the smallest amount of water on it, to clean away any excess powdered sugar. (The cleaning step can also be done before step 10 so you have a clean surface).

The final product, which was then put in the cake saver
shown in the upper left hand corner.

And that's how it's done. The cake is not a lie and now you can make one too!

As to the cake scraps, crumble them up with a fork, add a lump of icing, mix with the fork and then roll into balls and refrigerate. Honestly, they're great.