Ruffle Birthday Cake

This ruffle birthday cake is for a 21st birthday. There were a couple of firsts on this cake. This is my first attempt at a ruffle ball and luster technique.

I couldn't figure out the proper way to do the ruffle ball without having the bottom getting flat. Mysolution was to roll a rice krispy treats in a ball, cover it in fondant and stick a skewer in the middle making sure the ball is not too close to the work surface. I used royal icing to attach the ruffles onto the ball as it dries quickly. Now for the luster technique I was a little disappointed at the results. The vodka

didn't dry quickly enough for me to buff the luster dust. In Australia, a cake decorator's alcohol is used for this technique that allows them to achieve beautiful luster on the cakes. Unfortunately, there's no way I can do this without Everclear or clear liquor that has at least 90% alcohol content. I will do more research and see what else is available. But nonetheless, the cake still came out really beautiful!