Hi Guys,
I haven’t been creating or sharing recipes with you guys recently. So I thought I would check in with some cake decorating how to’s. I’ve been learning a lot as I’ve been creating more and more custom cakes for folks. So I’ll share some of my insights in case it’s helpful for someone out there who may be tasked with a similar project.

My task was to create a Lion King themed cake, using buttercream. Most of the Lion King themed cake Pins and Google search results display fondant cakes with hand molded Lion King figurines. So I had to be creative. The sunset part, easy. Orange, yellow buttercreams, mix them together a little bit for a transition between colors. Smooth finish, done. The only trick I’d suggest is this: when you’re running your straight edge around the cake for the smooth finish, gradually pull the straight edge up a little bit. Otherwise you end up with strict bands of color, as opposed to nice gradation that you would see in a sunset.

But what about the tree silhoutte? And the remaining figures? Should I use a crusting buttercream and paint it on using food color? Should I tint some buttercream black and pipe it on? I went with the latter since I opted for a swiss meringue buttercream, which doesn’t develop a crust like an American buttercream would. I pulled up a picture on my phone and tried to imitate the image as best as I could. It wasn’t too bad – apparently trees are quite forgiving.

Hope you enjoy the video below. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments below.