Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Golf cake


Marmish

Recommended Posts

We are having a 1st Annual Golf Scramble on Friday. Afterwards, we are going back to someone's house for food - fried chicken etc. etc. I want to make a golf cake. This is what I would like to do. I'm just not sure how to do it.

I want to make a 9" round two layer cake. On top of that, I want to put a half sphere that looks like a golf ball - smaller than 9" diameter, maybe 5-6". Around the sides, I want to put "golf clubs" in an X pattern.

I am using a cake mix. I have white chocolate, chocolate, mini pretzel rods, a box of premade fondant (Wilton?), lots of butter, shortening and powdered sugar, food coloring, corn syrup, and the usual suspects like eggs, milk etc.

I have learned so much by lurking around here that I think I've got it pretty together, but I have never done anything like this before. So....

Questions:

Will I need supports so the golf ball doesn't squish the whole thing?

I am assuming that the golf ball should be covered in the fondant. Then I can use something (what?) to make the dimples. How thick should the fondant be?

How do I make the edge of fondant look neat where it meets the cake?

I intend to frost the main part of the cake green. Too much fondant is icky.

I thought I could use the pretzels to make the golf clubs. Cover in chocolate? fondant?

Thanks for any suggestions and advice you can offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are having a 1st Annual Golf Scramble on Friday. Afterwards, we are going back to someone's house for food - fried chicken etc. etc.  I want to make a golf cake.  This is what I would like to do. I'm just not sure how to do it.

I want to make a 9" round two layer cake.  On top of that, I want to put a half sphere that looks like a golf ball - smaller than 9" diameter, maybe 5-6".  Around the sides, I want to put "golf clubs" in an X pattern.

I am using a cake mix.  I have white chocolate, chocolate, mini pretzel rods, a box of premade fondant (Wilton?), lots of butter, shortening and powdered sugar, food coloring, corn syrup, and the usual suspects like eggs, milk etc.

I have learned so much by lurking around here that I think I've got it pretty together, but I have never done anything like this before.  So....

Questions:

Will I need supports so the golf ball doesn't squish the whole thing?

I am assuming that the golf ball should be covered in the fondant. Then I can use something (what?) to make the dimples.  How thick should the fondant be?

How do I make the edge of fondant look neat where it meets the cake?

I intend to frost the main part of the cake green.  Too much fondant is icky.

I thought I could use the pretzels to make the golf clubs. Cover in chocolate? fondant?

Thanks for any suggestions and advice you can offer.

I would suggest putting the half ball cake on a cake circle, covering it with fondant, and bringing the fondant under the board for a nice neat edge. You could also finish it off with the grass tip #233 - as a border. I'm not sure if you know this, but it's important that your cake circle be cut to the same size as your cake, best to do after it's baked since it will shrink a bit. I would also suggest a few dowels (4 - 6) under the half ball to support it, although it's not absolutely necessary for the 1/2 ball (it's not THAT heavy).

As a general rule, fondant should be rolled to about 1/8 inch thick. You might want to consider using a different brand if it's available to you (Wilton isn't the best tasting, there are others that are much better).

For the dimples, you can use the end of a small decorators paintbrush - but you'll need to do it right after you put the fondant on your cake. If it starts to harden, the dimples won't take.

For the golf clubs, do you have a clay gun ? You can form the clubs with fondant rather than use the pretzel sticks, although the pretzel sticks will be cute too.

hope some of this helps -

Diane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are having a 1st Annual Golf Scramble on Friday. Afterwards, we are going back to someone's house for food - fried chicken etc. etc.  I want to make a golf cake.  This is what I would like to do. I'm just not sure how to do it.

I want to make a 9" round two layer cake.  On top of that, I want to put a half sphere that looks like a golf ball - smaller than 9" diameter, maybe 5-6".  Around the sides, I want to put "golf clubs" in an X pattern.

I am using a cake mix.  I have white chocolate, chocolate, mini pretzel rods, a box of premade fondant (Wilton?), lots of butter, shortening and powdered sugar, food coloring, corn syrup, and the usual suspects like eggs, milk etc.

I have learned so much by lurking around here that I think I've got it pretty together, but I have never done anything like this before.  So....

Questions:

Will I need supports so the golf ball doesn't squish the whole thing?

I am assuming that the golf ball should be covered in the fondant. Then I can use something (what?) to make the dimples.  How thick should the fondant be?

How do I make the edge of fondant look neat where it meets the cake?

I intend to frost the main part of the cake green.  Too much fondant is icky.

I thought I could use the pretzels to make the golf clubs. Cover in chocolate? fondant?

Thanks for any suggestions and advice you can offer.

I would suggest putting the half ball cake on a cake circle, covering it with fondant, and bringing the fondant under the board for a nice neat edge. You could also finish it off with the grass tip #233 - as a border. I'm not sure if you know this, but it's important that your cake circle be cut to the same size as your cake, best to do after it's baked since it will shrink a bit. I would also suggest a few dowels (4 - 6) under the half ball to support it, although it's not absolutely necessary for the 1/2 ball (it's not THAT heavy).

As a general rule, fondant should be rolled to about 1/8 inch thick. You might want to consider using a different brand if it's available to you (Wilton isn't the best tasting, there are others that are much better).

For the dimples, you can use the end of a small decorators paintbrush - but you'll need to do it right after you put the fondant on your cake. If it starts to harden, the dimples won't take.

For the golf clubs, do you have a clay gun ? You can form the clubs with fondant rather than use the pretzel sticks, although the pretzel sticks will be cute too.

hope some of this helps -

Diane

Diane,

THANK YOU! It all helps! By "never done anything like this before," I meant they're lucky to get a frosted cake, so I really appreciate help with the details. Not sure what a clay gun is? I think I will try to make the clubs out of the fondant by hand first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't give any helpful suggestions on how to make this cake, but I'd love to see the pictures when it's done.

Me, too. I usually don't look in this forum, but the subject line got me! Someone gave me a Wilton golf-ball-cake-pan thingie a few years ago (my husband is addicted; it was kind of a jokey thing). I tried it once but I like your idea better.

"Oh, tuna. Tuna, tuna, tuna." -Andy Bernard, The Office
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some ideas for you.

Umm, on the golf clubs, you might want to consider using uncooked spaghetti or the mini pretzel rods inside the fondant for a teensy bit of strength since they are so long & spindly. As chocolate covered pretzels though that would work too because the choco smooths out the salt nubbies. And you could make the bottom part of the club with the fondant.

Or or or--you could just 'bury' the golf club heads in the 'grass' if you needed to.

Another idea, thinking of the spindly nature of golf clubs again--umm, it's ok to make them in two parts, the long handle & the fat squatty strike plate there on the bottom--because they have the potential to break when you handle them & arrange them on the cake. Or if they do break don't despair, just be prepared to 'glue' them back together when you set them in their place.

Your golf ball sounds very cool--dimension wise--a golf ball cut from a cupcake would also work on a 9"--you would have a lot of green around it--keep all options open-have a couple backup plans going too.

Sounds like a cool cake--oh and you can definitely add some flavoring to the fondant if you want--I used raspberry oil last time. Oils are more concentrated.

Umm, on the dowel, drinking straws would suffice on that cake. Just stick them in and clip them off level or a tid tad higher with scissors.

Here follows is too much information aheh...

Oh yeah, one other thing, fondant tends to be kind of soft--kind of a softy. But it does dry out nicely eventually. So give your pieces plenty of time to dry. But what I'm trying to say is, If I were making golf clubs I would use fondant with added tylose which is a powder that helps the fondant to dry out crisper and so it adds a firmness. But the spaghetti or pretzels wrapped with fondant should do ok without the tylose. Or I would use half gum paste and half fondant commonly referred to as 50/50. Gum paste is an edible substance that no one really ever eats :rolleyes: used to make the fancy flowers & stuff. It's real elastic but dries fast & crisp & more secure than fondant. Because after all fondant is made to slice & serve eventually. So not to confuse you at all--but all that to say you want to shore up your golf clubs a bit with something to help them not to break. Possible choices are, pretzels, spaghetti, tylose powder purchased at cake store, gum paste, long long drying time.

Just some golf club thoughts :biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a golf cake I did that had cookies with it. I used fondant on the cookies and used the larger ball end (you could use a marble) of a decorating tool to dimple the fondant as soon as I put it on. I did this on the side of another smaller golf cake and that was cute as well.... Also, I dimpled all the "golf balls" that surrounded the cake.

I used fondant and gumpaste together to form the clubs so I'm sure you could do the same thing to cross yours on the side.

gallery_22153_506_9424.jpg

Josette

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll definitely take pics when I'm done. Thanks for all the suggestions, esp. re: the clubs. I think I will try them with pretzels and with spaghetti/fondant and see which ones I like.

Can I speed up the fondant drying? It is really humid here this week. 92 today with thunderstorms. Yikes. Low oven? Hair dryer? I'm thinking it would be likely to crack.

I have straws, so I will use those to support the ball.

JSkilling, thanks for the pic of your cake. Very cool.

Trying to look at the other link, but they won't let me in! Still trying though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've put fondant in my oven's warming drawer before to speed up drying with good and not so good results. Like a very low heat like a pilot light type of dry heat--a fan is a good idea too. I doubt the fondant will crack from dryness, spindly weight issues maybe. You do want to avoid melting it.

And let it come to room temp before trying to handle it. It could be squishy in the middle & dry on the outside & when it cools off it'll probably be perfect. And you wanna be sure to put it on something that you can remove the piece from, like waxed paper or a silpat or cornstarch laden plate or something.

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry the link is not working.  Try going to www.cakecentral.com

You may have to register to be able to view pictures but it's free.

Go to galleries and do a search for golf and a bunch of cakes will come up.

Sandra

I was having trouble registering. I think my problem was my home email is first initial dot last name, and my work is first initial last name (no dot) and I screwed it up when I registered. Tried it again today and got in. I think I have a new place to hang out! Wow. Lots of stuff. Some very cool cakes including two that are very similar to what I am trying to do. I have NO patience for piping all that grass on the one! :blink:

I mixed up some buttercream and am trying to finish this up tonight. I have the golf ball lumpily shaped and the base cake put together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's two really quicky golf cakes I've done at work.

This one is out of a 8" round. I used left-over chocolate cake scraps to form the dirt around the sides of the cake. This time I used fondant on top for the green. Other times I've piped out the greens with two shades of green frosting to represent the mower patterns left in the grass.

gallery_8093_1136_65339.jpg

This one is in the cooler, before I placed a gum paste golf flag on it. It's a pretty large cake, it took me about a half hour to whip together for a golfers funeral.

gallery_8093_1136_785251.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wendy, I love that first one!

The cake was a hit today. They all had fun golfing, and were very impressed with the cake, if I do say so myself. :rolleyes:

Here are a few pics as requested:

gallery_8693_1357_67913.jpg

The golf ball being shaped.

gallery_8693_1357_25057.jpg

The ball covered with fondant. I think I should have rolled it thicker so the indentations could have been deeper. (There aren't any indentations yet in this picture.) I folded the fondant underneath.

gallery_8693_1357_15603.jpg

The finished cake frosted in buttercream with a fondant/BC banner and white chocolate words around the back

gallery_8693_1357_49356.jpg

gallery_8693_1357_133257.jpg

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I think it turned out pretty well. Sorry for the blurry pics. New camera.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>>>Wendy, great golf cakes! Nothing 'funner' than building bunkers, greens & traps, waxing eloquent wielding the spatula. I love the one with the ball sitting right outside the hole!

>>>Marmish you did great!!! Whooo hoooo Wow, first time with fondant wasn't it??? I especially love the humor around the sides!! Your golf ball is awesome!!! Great stuff!!!

Edited by K8memphis (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

>>>Marmish you did great!!! Whooo hoooo Wow, first time with fondant wasn't it??? I especially love the humor around the sides!! Your golf ball is awesome!!! Great stuff!!!

Thanks! It was a lot of firsts - fondant, piping words, sculpting something. Most of the golfers were first time golfers, so I thought it appropriate to have some profanity worked in. Two people actually came pretty close to getting hit, so I was also accurate! :raz:

My husband and I are already planning next year's cake.

Wendy, what is the ball on the first cake made of?

Edited by Marmish (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see you nixed your crossed clubs idea! But I think the swear words are way better! That was a great idea!!!

Wendy, I bet you have to do a LOT of golf cakes since you work in a country club. You can probably do them in your sleep! :smile:

When I worked at the cake shop, we were located in the middle of 3 different golf courses. Needless to say I had a lot of golf cake orders myself. The good thing about them is that they're really easy to do, but the bad thing about them is that I got so bored doing them. We had this joke that whenever a golf cake order came in, that one of my assistants would do it. They were happy to, but always teased me about how much I loathed them. One day they came in early and wrote up a bunch of fake golf cake orders and put them on my table....all due within about an hour of each other. So happens there was a big PGA tournament that weekend at a course close to us, so it was completely believable to me. They let me go as far as mixing up a lot of green icing and start making little fondant golf balls that they let me in on the joke. Boy did I laugh! I was so relieved that I wasn't going to spend the day on the fondant "greens"!

They scored a "hole in one", that's for sure! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Edited by chefpeon (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wendy, what is the ball on the first cake made of?

I've managed to collect a couple inexpensive chocolate molds.....thats what I've used for both balls on the cakes.

The first cake photo I posted used to be my 'signature' b-day cake for my b-day cakes at a club. The one time I had the $$ behind the order to do a nice golf cake, I didn't have any free time at all. Usually I get the order in around lunch due for dinner..........where you just squeeze it into whatever else your doing. If you've got any photos of your golf cakes Anne, I'd love to see them?!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pics of golf cakes.....I'll see what I can dig up! I stopped taking pictures of them a LONG time ago, since I got so sick of them.....and in those days I didn't have a digital camera, so I saved my 35mm film for the more showy cakes. I'm sure I can scan a few old photos!

Since I did do so many golf cakes, I had a lot of pre-made fondant greens, flags, balls, clubs, and the like......all I had to do was slap 'em on a cake and pipe some grass.....maybe add a banner and I was good to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marmish, what you came up with is loads of fun! I'm not surprised it went over well. I also really enjoyed looking at your cakes, Wendy.

Edited by Pan (log)

Michael aka "Pan"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marmish, what you came up with is loads of fun! I'm not surprised it went over well. I also really enjoyed looking at your cakes, Wendy.

Thanks everyone for the compliments. I'd also love to see pics of more golf cakes. They are already talking about doing another outing in August before we go back to school.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's beautiful! I love the "grass," and is the pole is made of chocolate with white sugar for the flag? (I'm just guessing; I ain't no pastry chef! I also don't play golf.)

Michael aka "Pan"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...