Cake with Antiqued Bas Relief

Have you seen the beautiful bas relief cakes on Pinterest or other cake designing websites? I adore them. This approach may be used for a variety of purposes. You may experiment with different shapes and colors of fondant.

You may make it very light and feminine, or you can give it an old, patinated effect. I chose to attempt an aged bas relief cake approach with this one.

That seems to be queenly, doesn’t it? What I mean is that I believe it looks old and elegant enough for a queen.

Okay, let’s get this bas relief thing out of the way. Prepare yourselves, because I’m going to get out the dictionary.

Therefore, according to Webster’s, sculpture relief is defined as “sculptural relief in which the protrusion from the surrounding surface is small and no element of the modeled form is undercut.” Well, I realize that doesn’t help much. Essentially, it is a kind of sculpting in which forms are carved from stone but not deeply.

You’ll have to search for some instances. Individuals are really skilled, and there are some incredible artists out there. Maggie Austin, I believe, is the queen of bas relief cakes. If you have the time, look up her cakes; they are truly stunning.

So I wanted to make my own version, but I didn’t want to go overboard and make a three-tiered cake. Of course, you could always do this as a massive cake. Just repeat for as many levels as you like, however I only wanted to teach you my way in this video.

I’ve previously made this style of cake for a wedding. Another one was a little different since it was a square cake with various scrolls on it, but I used the same process.

We will not be carving anything in this lesson. To get the effect of bas relief, we will be applying molded fondant on the cake. It’s such an exquisite aesthetic, and you don’t have to be exact—change up your fondant forms to suit your requirements.

One quick note: you don’t want your fondant bits to dry out on you as you’re sculpting them. You may create them as you go (when adding them to the cake), but if you need to prepare them ahead of time but want them to remain malleable, I have a post that shows you how I did it for the cake above. The article may be found here: How to Maintain Fondant Decor Soft and Pliable.

I’ve included many screen photos with comprehensive instructions below, but you can also watch the video at the conclusion of the page.

Now, let’s go to the materials.

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Supplies for the Antiqued Bas Relief Cake:

• Fondant
• Cake that has been baked (I like to use three layers of cake)
• Molds for scrolls (Im calling these scrolls because I dont know what else to call them) Here are several possibilities: Scroll molds comparable to mine, scroll mold option 2
• Mold for roses
• Knife for pallets
• A cornstarch shaker with cornstarch
• Only small, medium, and big brushes are used for caking.
• Sprinkle of Vintage Silk Edible Luster
• Lemon Juice (or vodka)
• Similar to this Dark Gold Edible Luster Dust
• Chocolate Powder
• Dust of Black Petal

Steps for Making the Antiqued Bas Relief Cake:

The first step will be to cover your cake with fondant. If you want to see all of my finest suggestions for achieving that, check out this post: Fondant Cake Coating Techniques

After your cake is coated, lay it aside while you work on your fondant molds.

You may either form a large amount of fondant at once and then add it to your cake, or you can mold it as you go. It is all up to you. But, you do not want to form the fondant pieces and then let them to set. To add them to the cake, they must be malleable.

This scroll mold was used by myself. (I’ve included a few of Amazon links to comparable ones in the supplies portion of this piece.)

This is the rose mold that I used. (I’ve included a link to this mold in the supplies section as well.)

Just take your fondant and press it into your molds.

The flowers are simple to make. I used the little rose mold first, followed by the larger sized mold.

Next you need manufacture some scroll molds. Just press your fondant into the molds. To protect your fingers from adhering to the fondant, sprinkle with cornstarch.

The key to making these is to use your pallet knife to cut off the fondant to make it level with the mold.

Next simply bend your mold and take out the fondant scrolls (or whatever those shapes are called).

If you have difficulties pulling the fondant out of the mold, place it in the freezer for about five minutes and it will pop right out.

You may start putting them to your cake after you’ve prepared a few.

Only a tiny brush dipped in water would enough. You don’t require much water.

Just adhere the scrolls on the cake. I alternated mine with a medium-sized rose in between.

Do this all the way around the bottom border of the cake.

Attach the scrolls and roses to the top, but with the scrolls pointing down—do the reversal of what you did on the bottom of the cake.

You should also place the scrolls and medium-sized flowers around the top of the cake, with the scrolls pointing in.

Now you’ll fill up any barren patches with some small flowers.

Next, add some medium-sized roses. You’ll place them around the other medium-sized flowers that are already on the cake. Do the same for the top and bottom.

After you’ve applied all of your fondant pieces, it should look something like this:

Now, in a bowl, combine a large amount of the antique silk luster dust with a little amount of the dark gold. Mix in the lemon essence or vodka well.

Now all you have to do is paint the mixture onto your cake. You may need to add lemon essence to your mixture on a regular basis.

Let it to dry (it should only take around 10 minutes) before adding another coat. You may add a bit more gold to the following layer.

You want this layer to dry completely, so leave it for around 15 minutes.

Fill a dish halfway with gold luster dust. You will let this to dry since you will be buffing it all over your cake. This is what will make the sheen sparkle. Use a big brush (I simply use a huge blush brush) on your cake.

You’ll antique it a little when it’s all glossy and gorgeous.

In a small dish, combine cocoa powder and a pinch of black petal dust. You won’t need any extract since you’ll be adding it to the cake dry.

Brush this mixture into all of the crevices and corners of the fondant pieces with a tiny brush.

Just brush off all of the extra cocoa powder combination with your huge brush, the one you used to rub on the gold.

A damp paper towel will most likely be required to wipe off your cake board. In theory, you should put your cake to your bottom cake foundation once you’ve antiqued it.

You may also add a bit additional gold dust if necessary.

Now, after you’ve buffed it all out, that’s it! You now have a lovely antiqued bas relief cake!

And here’s a video to demonstrate how it’s done:

Don’t forget to read this article on keeping your fondant décor smooth and pliable: Maintain Fondant Decor Soft and Pliable

I also have a video on Tips for Fondant Coating Cakes. This may be seen here: Fondant Cake Coating Techniques

So, what were your thoughts? I can think of a hundred various ways I’d want to do this. I believe it would look stunning in a dark navy blue with some luster dust and antiquing.

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