Panda Cake

A coworker of mine ordered this panda birthday cake for her friend "Panda". An orange baseball hat and a baseball were added when I learned that he is a baseball coach and a San Francisco Giants fan. The panda is the emphasis on this cake so it was great to acknowledge baseball without it being too sporty. The cake board is orange and black to represent the SF Giants colors.

The panda is made entirely of gumpaste. I honestly wanted to have the panda standing rather than sitting but my lack of experience made it impossible. I tried to use rice krispy treats for the body but it still somehow flattened the panda's legs. And yes, even with reinforcements! The bamboo sticks were difficult than I thought to make. I had to figure out how to make them stick on the cake without breaking. After numerous failed attempts, inserting a 30 gauge wire inside the bamboo sticks solved the problem!

It is so frustrating making gumpaste figures. But practice makes perfect and I will continue learning until I master it.