Creating a Coke® Cake and a Huge Birthday Smile

This year, like last year, we knew that some reference to Japan had to be included in our daughter’s birthday cake. That was a given. She’s a big fan of everything Japanese, from video game characters to room decor. If it’s Japanese she’s interested in it. What was new for this year was an added fascination with Coca-Cola® collectibles. With apologizes to my friends, Kirby and Jimmy, I have to admit that she’s taking after her dad with this latest set of dust-collectors. I’ve had a pretty extensive collection of Coke® items from salesman’s samples to Olympic pins over the years; I’m assuming they’re all in boxes somewhere around here. In thinking of what would work well for a cake, however, the decision seemed simple: a button sign. But a Japanese-style button sign? Turns out — yes!

A quick search of the interwebs turned up a photograph of one that seemed to fit the bill perfectly. With photo in-hand (or at least bookmarked), I contacted our friend Jackie Mason Travis over at Let Them Eat Cake! Jackie’s enthusiasm for the project was equal to mine so I knew that boded well for the result. We agreed on the price and the delivery date/time. She made it quick and easy for us, but one hurdle still needed to be cleared. Permission from Atlanta.

A day or so later I received an email from Jackie with the good news. After contacting Coca-Cola® directly (really), she received permission to use their ubiquitous “Dynamic Ribbon Device” logo for our cake project and was able to set to work on her latest confectionary masterpiece. We were getting an officially licensed product. Now, how cool is that? Never missing an opportunity to share our area regional food culture, I suggested that she photograph the various steps in her process so that I could share them here on the blog. She happily obliged.

So … if you’ve ever wondered what goes into making a Japanese-style Coca-Cola® Button Sign Cake, then you’re in luck! Here are those steps and her photos. Enjoy!

#2:  Filling the cake.  We “dam” the edges to keep the yummy filling from leaching out of the sides.  In this case, we are filling the cake with cookies & cream.

#3:  Carving the cake.  Once the cake settles (the laws of gravity apply to cake too), we carve the cake into the desired shape, in this case, a button on a coke machine.

#4:  Icing the cake.  Upon completion of the carving stage, we generously cover the entire surface with chocolate ganache.  The cake is then chilled.  Once the ganache is set, we cover the cake with our coffee infused chocolate buttercream icing.  And that is BUTTERcream…made with real butter!

#5:  After sheeting the fondant (a sheeter is a “mechanical rolling pin” which compresses the fondant to a thin and even layer), we apply it over the buttercream cake.  The cake is then secured to the fondant covered cake board.  Our cake boards are always covered and/or decorated to match the main cake.  After all, it is also part of the finished product.

#6:  Adding the details.  After getting the permission from the Coca Cola Company, we hand cut their logo to go onto the cake.

#7:  Profile of the cake.  Where the cake meets the board is a border, the final step in sealing in the freshness of the cake.

We were thrilled with the finished cake and can highly recommend Let Them Eat Cake! for your next special occasion or event. Jackie not only created a very special Coke for our very special event. She created a surprise that added a huge birthday smile to our daughter’s face. We thank her for both.

You can get more information about Jackie and her team, as well as view many more custom-designed specialty cakes online at http://letthemeatcakeflorence.com/.