Call of Duty

This cake was inspired by another online.  This is an 8-inch square cake covered and decorated in marshmallow fondant.  The helmet is carved from cake, the grenade and gun were sculpted out of a cake and icing mixture (sort of like making cake balls) then frosted and covered in true black mmf.  The lettering is hand-cut from mmf.  For more information on how the camo print was made, click below.

I chose to make the camo design from fondant.  I found 2 different tutorials on how to accomplish this online.  One involved breaking off random shaped/sized pieces of camo colored fondant and arranging them randomly together, then rolling them flat... they stick together and form a camo-printed sheet of fondant.  Well, while this worked on a small scale while practicing, when I attempted to do it on a full-scale (making the arrangement about 10"x10" so it would roll out large enough to cover the cake) I found that the pieces dried out before I could roll it and, therefore, would not stick together.  In hindsight, I could have made all my little bits of fondant in advance and kept them in a ziplock bag to prevent drying, or I could have kept my arrangement covered in plastic wrap while I worked... but I didn't think of doing either.  I decided after that failed to use option #2... make a camo pattern on paper, transfer that to wax paper, and cut each piece of fondant out like puzzle pieces, and fit them together on the cake.  I covered my cake in a super-thin layer of fondant and "glued" the camo pieces on with a little water.  I did the top and each side separately, then sealed the edges of the cake with strips of marbled fondant (using the same colors as the camo).  It came together well, but you could still see the seams where the pieces meet.  Tutorial for Option 1 can be found here:  http://www.sweetcreationsbystephanie.com/2010/07/fondant-camo-cupcake-topper-tutorial.html.  Tutorial for Option 2 can be found here:  http://sugaredblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/fondant-camo-hat.html -- and, although I did not make my camo pattern as elaborate as hers, it does take a significant amount of time.  I chose to place the camo "puzzle pieces" directly on a fondant covered cake, while she covered the cake in fondant, then place the camo pieces on another layer of fondant before placing that on the cake.  I think her way would allow you the opportunity to roll the camo sections flat and seal the seams between the pieces before placing them on the cake, and if I get the chance to try again I will follow all of her directions--- actually I think I would attempt Option 1 again, but take precautions to keep the pieces from drying out... it would be a lot faster!  Happy caking!