You will need:
- Round Cake Board 18cm
- Cake Dummy
- Template Flamingo 20cm
- Modelling Tools and brushes
- Knife
- Hot Glue
- Pliers
- Saracino Cake Gel
- Saracino Pasta top – 200g white
- Gel Colours – turquoise, green metallic and blue metallic
For each flamingo:
- Saracino Modelling Chocolate – 100g white
- Saracino Modelling Paste – 5g white and 5g black
- Styrofoam Egg 4.5cm long
- 2x 15cm long Lollipop stick 20cm
- Aluminium wire 2mm thick
- White flower tape or paper tape
- 2 x black small sugar balls for eyes
- Gel Colour – pink
- Dust Colours – pink, red, white, black
- Lemon extract/ clear alcohol
Step 1
Assemble the inner structure using the template. If you use paper lollipop stick you will be able to bend the knee. Use hot glue to attach the legs, neck and tail to the egg/flamingo body.
Step 2
Measure the leg length and draw a line with a pencil. Insert the flamingo structure in a dummy up to this line for easier working. Wrap the neck and the body with paper tape so it is not too smooth and the modelling chocolate can stick better to it.
Step 3
Colour all your modelling chocolate with a pink gel colour to achieve light pink. Take 60g of paste and roll into a ball. Press the ball flat between your hands or use a rolling pin until it is about 8cm diameter.
Step 4
Wrap the modelling chocolate around the body and tail. Press firm to join the seams. Using gloves helps you to smooth the modelling chocolate without sticking to your hands. You can also use plastic or wooden tools to join and smooth. Keeping in mind the body shape from the template form the body in this shape. Smooth well once the shape is ready.
Step 5
Using plastic modelling knife and your fingers cut and form the tail as in the picture.
Step 6
Roll 15g pink Modelling Chocolate into a sausage. Cut in the middle as in the pictures.
Step 7
Put it over the neck wire and press seams together.
Step 8
Smooth and form with your fingers and modelling tools.
Step 9
Using the template as reference make sure the neck and head are the right size.
Step 10
Using the template form the beak out of 2.5g white Modelling Paste Saracino.
Step 11
Roll out small amount of black modelling paste and wrap it around the half of the beak.
Step 12
Cut the excess and add one small triangle each side as on the template. Put two black sugar balls for eyes and make a small hole for nostrils on each side of the beak.
Step 13
If needed cut a small part of the forehead away so the beak fits better.
Step 14
Make hole in the beak and join it with the head. Use Saracino glue or water to glue both parts together.
Step 15
For each wing form 10g modelling chocolate into a tear shape. Press it flat and draw a few curved lines with a plastic knife.
Step 16
Attach the wings on each side and smooth the joins with your fingers.
Step 17
For the foot form a small tear, press it flat and cut out two triangles.
Step 18
Attach the foot on the bent leg. If your flamingo is going to stand on the sand, you will need a second claw. Wrap tiny amounts of modelling chocolate on the knees.
Step 19
Make as many flamingos as you like using the same template and changing the position of the legs and the neck. If you want to put your flamingos directly into the cake skip Steps 20 and 21 and go directly to step 22 to paint your flamingos.
Step 20
If you want to make a cake topper with it own stand, use a cake board, mark the spots where your flamingos legs will go into the board. Use a knife to make small holes as big as the legs are thick.
Step 21
Cut the legs 1cm after the pencil line that you drawn in step 2. Inject hot glue into each hole. Insert the leg into it and hold for a minute allowing the glue to cool down and hold the flamingo in place.
Step 22
Use brush and pink powder to dust the leg.
Step 23
Dust the cheek with pink powder too. Dusting with powder colours gives you softer look than painting.
Step 24
Mix different shades of pink using red and white powder. Use lemon extract or clear alcohol to make the powder into fluid.
Step 25
Start painting the flamingos pink with a small brush. Don’t forget to apply black paint into the nostrils.
Step 26
The neck and the tails are darker pink, the wings are brighter except for a few lines, which gives you the illusion of depth. On this picture you can also see the difference that a little bit of painting makes. The finish of the painted flamingo is so much more realistic.
Step 27
Colour the sugar paste with turquoise and roll it out about 3-5mm thick. Apply cake gel on the cake board so the paste will stick on the board.
Step 28
Cover the board. Trim the paste around the legs. Press the seams together and smooth. Use a modelling tool to draw some circles around the legs. Cut out the excess on the edge of the cake board.
Step 29
Mix loosely green and blue metallic gel and using a wide brush apply on the cake board. Try to have different shades of the mixture on the board, so it looks realistic like a tropical sea.
Step 30
Your cake topper is now ready to go on top of the cake.
