Creating A Sand Castle Wedding Cake

A sand castle wedding cake is a unique and fun idea for a beach-themed wedding. It is a cake that looks more difficult to make than it actually is. The sand can be made from ground graham crackers, toasted coconut, vanilla wafers, or chocolate cheerios. The cake itself can be made from chocolate or any other flavour. The trick is to get the timing right and have all the ingredients at room temperature. The sand should be added to the cake right after the final layer of icing, otherwise, it won't stick as well.

Making the Sand

Ingredients and Tools:

Firstly, gather your ingredients and tools. You will need:

• Vanilla wafers, or graham crackers, or chocolate Cheerios (a box of each if separating the darkest O's)
• Gold sugar
• A food processor
• A rolling pin (optional)

Crushing the Cookies:

The first step is to crush your chosen cookies into fine crumbs. This can be done with a food processor or a rolling pin. If you opt for a rolling pin, place the cookies in a sealed bag and crush them until they resemble fine sand. Set the cookie crumbs aside until you are ready to assemble your cake.

Mixing the Sand:

For a simple sand effect, you can use the cookie crumbs as they are. However, if you want to add some depth and variation in colour, mix in some gold sugar. This will give your sand a shimmer, making it look like sunlight reflecting off real sand. You can adjust the amount of gold sugar to your preference, but a small amount will go a long way.

Coloring the Sand:

If you want to achieve a specific sand colour, you can add food colouring to your cookie crumbs. For a sand-like colour, combine brown, copper, yellow, and a small amount of teal. Add the colouring a little at a time, mixing it into the crumbs until you achieve the desired shade. Remember, you can always add more, but it's difficult to reverse if you add too much.

Storing the Sand:

It is best to make the sand ahead of time and store it in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag. That way, it will be ready when you need to assemble your cake, and you can focus on the other components. The sand will last for a couple of days, so plan accordingly.

Applying the Sand:

When your cake is ready, apply a thin layer of buttercream icing to act as a "crumb coat." This will help smooth out any crumbs and create a base for your sand. Place the cake in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to set the icing. Then, take it out and apply another layer of icing. Use an offset spatula for the best results.

Finally, use your hands to gently press the sand into the freshly iced sides and top of the cake. Make sure to get as much sand to stick as possible. The butter in the icing will darken the crumbs slightly. If you are adding any additional decorations, such as fondant shapes or white chocolate shells, do so before adding the sand to ensure they stick to the cake.

Making Fondant

Fondant is a great way to add decorative elements to your sandcastle cake. You can make marshmallow fondant, which is fun and easy, and can be used to make cones for the tops of the towers, the crenellations of the castle, shell adornments, and the castle door.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces of marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons (or more) of butter or shortening

Steps:

• Microwave the marshmallows for 1 minute to start melting them.
• Stir in the water and vanilla extract while the marshmallows are hot.
• Transfer the hot mixture to a stand mixer and gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Save some of the sugar for kneading in the next step.
• Place the sticky fondant "dough" onto a surface dusted with powdered sugar.
• Coat your hands with butter or shortening to prevent sticking.
• Knead the fondant "dough" until it is barely sticky, adding powdered sugar if needed.
• Add food colouring and knead it into the dough to get the desired colour. You may need to experiment to get the correct colour. A combination of brown, copper, yellow, and teal colours can create a sand-like colour.
• Place the finished fondant in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for at least one day. Before rolling out the fondant to make your decorations, allow it to come to room temperature.

You can use fondant moulds to create different shapes for your cake decorations. For example, you can use a silicone fondant mould to make shell shapes. Simply press pieces of fondant into the crevices of the mould, trim away the excess, and place the mould in the freezer to set the shape.

When creating your sandcastle cake, you can use fondant to cover ice-cream cones, which can then be placed on top of the cake to resemble towers. You can also cut out fondant strips to create crenellations for the castle walls. These fondant pieces can be attached to the cake using buttercream frosting.

Prepping the Layer Cakes

I made my cakes a week before the party and popped them in the freezer until the day before the party. To save time, I used a Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix. I swapped melted butter for oil, which might be the trick that made everyone rave about how delicious the cake was!

The entire sandcastle cake used three boxes of cake mix, and I used two 8" round cake pans and two 6" round cake pans. I greased and dusted the pans with flour before filling them with batter.

While the cakes were cooling, I made a double batch of buttercream frosting, which I coloured the same way I coloured the fondant. Then, I cut off the rounded tops of the cakes and stacked them with buttercream between each layer.

After stacking, I covered the cakes in a thin layer of frosting to act as a crumb coat. Crumb coats seal in the crumbs so that they don't ruin the look of the final coat of frosting. I placed the cakes in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, then covered them with wrapping and foil, and placed them in the freezer until I was ready to decorate the day before the party.

Assembling the Cake

Firstly, cover the crumb-coated cakes with an even layer of sand-coloured buttercream frosting. It doesn't need to be perfect, as it will be covered with crumbs.

Next, gently press the crumbs into the freshly frosted sides and tops of the cake. Try to get as many crumbs to stick as possible. They will darken slightly as they absorb the butter from the frosting. Place the cake in the refrigerator to stay cool and firm until you are ready to stack the tiers.

For the top tier, place the cake onto a cardboard base to support it while stacking. Be sure to add the cardboard before frosting.

Now, make the towers for each corner of the cake. You can use cardboard from paper towel rolls covered in fondant or even wrapped PVC pipes. Cover your chosen material with buttercream and roll them into crumbs to make non-edible castle towers.

Place four dowels into the bottom tier and carefully lift the top tier to rest on top of the dowels. The cardboard base will protect the cake from being pierced by the dowels, while also preventing the top tier from sinking into the bottom tier.

Adding Fondant Decorations

Now it's time to add your fondant decorations! It is recommended that you prepare all of your fondant decorations at least a day before you plan to decorate the cake. This will make the process much faster and less stressful. However, if you have ample time, you may opt to do it all in one day.

Step One: Print two small cone templates and one of each half of a large cone template (half and half) onto card stock. Roll out the fondant into 1/8" thick sheets and cut out the five pieces for the cone shapes. Keep these stored in an airtight container until step three. Place parchment paper between the pieces so they don't stick together.

Step Two: Roll out more fondant into 1/8" thick strips and cut into 1" strips using a fondant ribbon cutter or a clean ruler and a blade. You can use any clean, sharp blade for this step. Cut crenelations into the strips. Store these strips in an airtight container or covered pan until you're ready to add them to the cake.

Step Three: Tape together the card stock cone templates to act as a platform for the fondant cones. Use your fingers to blend the seams. The seams do not need to be perfect, as they will be covered in crumbs.

Step Four: Brush all of your fondant elements with alcohol (such as vodka) to moisten them for crumb application. Alcohol evaporates faster than water, preventing the fondant from becoming too soft. If you don't want to use alcohol, you can use a minimal amount of water, although this is not ideal.

Step Five: Take one moistened strip at a time and gently press cookie crumbs onto its surface.

Step Six: Pipe leftover buttercream frosting onto the areas where you will attach the fondant decorations.

Step Seven: Trim the crenelation strips to fit, then press them onto the buttercream. Be sure to use enough buttercream, or the weight of the fondant will cause the pieces to fall off the cake.

Step Eight: Finish decorating your castle cake by adding the fondant shells and a front door.

Frequently asked questions