My friend’s daughter wanted to have tea party for her 4th birthday, so I decided to make a teapot cake with matching teacup cupcakes. It was good practice for me as I was also planning a tea themed birthday party for my daughter…when she turns 4 or 5 (she will be only 3 this year!).
This was my first time working with fondant. I usually avoid using it because taste-wise, I prefer butter-based frosting. With the help of my wonderful sister-in-law, she showed me how to make marshmallow fondant. It is a little softer than regular fondant that you can buy at a store like Michaels, but from what I hear from people, it tastes a little bit better.
I tinted the marshmallow fondant purple/blue and then made a lid, spout, and handle for the teapot. I actually made 2 sets as back-up since I’ve never worked with fondant before and was worried they might crack or break while putting it on the cake. I also made teacup handles and matching plates. I made these about a day before the party, but now realize that making them 2-3 days ahead would have been better as they were not completely dried out and rock solid. They were firm, but easily broke when not handled too carefully.
The teapot was made from carrot cake and the teacup-cakes were carrot and apple spice cakes. I used the large cupcake molds and made a total of 14 teacup cakes, one for every child going to the party.
The party was fun and interactive as the hosts also included a cookie making, baking, and decorating activity for the kids, which was big hit…even for the parents.
Frazi\'s cakes 
Jenny Said:
on February 2, 2010 at 7:04 am
Hey~
It’s so pretty.
The cake looks like a real teapot.
That’s amazing.
frazi Said:
on February 11, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Thank you! 🙂
jamie Said:
on December 31, 2010 at 2:35 am
your cakes look beautiful! i am having a tea party birthday party for my daughter who is turning 4 and i love what you did with this. i was wondering if you could tell me exactly how you made these. i am new to baking and i think she would love this!
frazi Said:
on January 3, 2011 at 6:51 am
Hi Jamie,
Welcome to the baking world!
To make the teapot, I used a Wilton ball pan. The ball pan consists of 2 hemispheres where you bake the cakes. Once the cakes are done you press the 2 hemispheres together to make the ball. I used frosting in between the 2 hemispheres to attache them together. I can’t quite remember if I sandwiched a 6x2in. round cake in between the 2 hemispheres. From the picture, it looks like I might have done that as the teapot looks a bit more elongated than a typical ball. I would leave that up to you, based on how many guests you will have.
I trimmed the rounded bottom of one of the hemispheres so that it would be flat and sit evenly on the circular cake board. I probably skewered the teapot layers (using bamboo BBQ skewers) to the cake board for stability. Otherwise, icing this will be very difficult. I would refrigerate the teapot (with the icing in between each cake layer) before icing the outside of the teapot. This will make the cake and the frosting in between the layers firmer.
After tinting the frosting to your desired color, ice the teapot. It will be hard to make it look smooth. If you want it to look super smooth, cover the teapot w/ fondant. I did not do this and just iced it as best as I could. Do a crumb coat first (very thin layer of icing to lock in the crumbs) and then refrigerate. Ice again with a second coat to cover the crumbs and make the icing look smoother. Refrigerate again and if the icing is firm enough, you can use wax paper to gently smooth out any rough edges (be careful doing this though because if your icing is too sticky, the wax paper technique will not work and will make it look worse).
For the teapot handle and teapot spout, I used a marshmallow fondant. I did it the day before and regretted it. It takes time to harden, so my handle and spout were very fragile. I made 2 of each just in case it broke while attaching during the party. I don’t have the recipe for the fondant, but you can buy ready made fondant at Michaels or any stores that carry Wilton products. My sister-in-law made the fondant for me since I’m not a real fan. I did a search on marshmallow fondant and this had the most reviewers with the highest rating, so it must be good and easy to work with:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/marshmallow-fondant/Detail.aspx
For the teacups, I made large cupcakes. I frosted them after refrigerating. I used the marshmallow fondant to make the teacup handles. For the teacup plates, I rolled out the fondant then placed on top of my teacup plate set. I pressed it in to get the imprints and the form of the plate.
Let the fondant dry thoroughly. I think my sister-in-law recommended at least 2 days for drying.
Hope this helps! Send me a picture of your finished product as I would like to see it!
Good luck,
Frazi