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Talk about a new and really exciting design challenge...I have been waiting to do something like this since I started making cookies and looking to push my boundaries!
I was so glad when my friend from college, who I don't get to see very often, contacted me to make a cookie for her wedding. Yes, her wedding, not for a shower before or a brunch after, but for the actual wedding!! That's quite a big step for me and I was happy to oblige, and they she dropped the bomb...she wanted it to be a pizza and a Monster can for her husband's 'groom's cookie'...his 2 favorite things apparently :) I'm pretty familiar with a groom's cake at a wedding, something that is a bit more in the groom's taste since a lot of the wedding design is done for the bride. My brother's wife had a rugby ball made out of cake for him and I have seen the Purdue train, a cubs cake...you get the idea. She mentioned that Nate wasn't a huge cake fan so she really wanted something special for him for the ceremony and I couldn't have been happier when I hung up the phone ready to get to work on this.
Design wise, this is a whole different approach than I usually take, making the entire cookie one thing, and since I know exactly what to make per her suggestions, the actual design wasn't that difficult. It didn't require a lot of sketching out and fitting elements here and there like I usually do, but it was the execution and detail that I had to absolutely nail to make sure it was perfect for the occasion.
The pizza is pretty straight forward, but took a lot of time and detailing to make it look realistic. I did break one of my little rules which is to avoid using fondant if possible, but in the end I found it necessary to help create the pepperoni and crust. It's quick application and ability take colored food powder for the shading was an important factor and helped me be able to get both of these done and to Ohio while they were still fresh. The detail I was able to obtain in the crust and the pepperoni and sausage really brought home the realistic look I was aiming for and the addition of the icing as the sauce and cheese brought the look together. It was a tedious process to complete after I made the decision to create each piece of cheese individually with icing, but looking back I wouldn't have done anything different to compromise the look I achieved here.
Now the can is a whole different beast!!! This Monster can is 100% made of cookie and icing and is an exact replica of the can height, circumference, and all. It took 1 whole baked cookie, cut into 16 smaller circles the diameter of the can stacked and held together with icing and then iced the way I would any other cookie, but with 200x's the difficulty :) I do need to correct myself...There is a dowel through the bottom 3 cookies to hold it onto the base and assure its stability...which turned out to work incredibly well. The cookie was not delicate at all..once I got it together and started working on it that process went very smoothly and I was able to create all the various elements of the can with total focus on re-creating the design and not with any concern for durability. Trying to re-create the design perfectly didn't progress as smoothly though as mistakes took twice as long to correct, but overall for the level of difficulty in designing and constructing this can I was beyond thrilled with how it came out. Also...I just made a Monster can out of cookie, lol how crazy is that!
Well, the pizza and the Monster can made it to Ohio and to the wedding reception where they had a pizza box set up from where Nate used to work and a whole table to display the cookies. It looked fantastic!! And he loved it!! I have some pretty great video on my phone of the groom taking a huge bite out of the cookie! It was a beautiful night in a beautiful space spent with old friends and I was so happy to be there and have even a small part in making the night special for the bride and groom.
