The Seven Sleeping Dwarfs Cake

This is a cake I made for one of my sons' seventh birthday. Years ago. I saw it in a book borrowed from a library. I think it was a book by Jane Asher. It was my first attempt at making and using fondant. The one thing I remember was that it was easy to construct and it was so much fun. The bottom headboard broke into two so I just stuck them back together with royal icing.

The heads : Just round pink balls and smaller round pink balls for the noses except for sneezy who has a larger red nose. Stick the noses on with royal icing.

Nightcaps : Triangle pieces of fondant in various colours and wrap them around each little head stuck on with a bit of water or royal icing.

Faces : Just draw them on with a fine paint brush dipped in brown food colouring : the eyes and mouths.

Feet : You can't see them in the photo but there are seven pairs of little feet sticking out from under the blanket. Just shape pink pieces of fondant to look like feet!

Hands : Shape pink fondant into hands that curve over the blanket. Use a blade of a knife to mark the fingers. Seven pairs of them.

Slippers : Just shape pieces of fondant to look like slippers!

Bodies : They are just chocolate wafers under the blanket! Seven of them.

Head boards : Roll out the fondant in desired colour and cut out to size and allow to dry until hardened.

Blanket : The easiest part. Just roll out fondant into a rectangle large enough and drape over the 'bodies'.

Sneezy's white hanky : Easy as A B C. Just roll out fondant to size and stick to blanket.

Pillow : A long white rectangular piece just enough to fit the seven heads.


Construction :

Cover a cake board with fondant that is large enough for a cake and with at least 2 inches of extra space all around.
Use a cookie cutter to make attractive markings on the 'carpet' if you like.
Place a rectangular cake that's wide enough for seven chocolate wafers.
Cover with a 'bedsheet' of desired colour (preferably white)
Place the pillow on the top edge of cake.
Place all heads on the pillow.
Place chocolate wafers on cake to represent the bodies.
Cover with blanket so that it covers the wafers and the bottom edge of cake but leave a narrow space for feet.
Glue feet to bottom edge of blanket with royal icing.
Glue boards to both ends with royal icing.
Place slippers at bottom of bed.
Glue Sneezy's hanky to the blanket with royal icing.
Glue hands to the blanket arrangingy them suitably.
Pipe white beards for one or two of the dwarfs under their faces and over the blanket in curly wurly lines.

TIP : Only the heads, feet,little hands, slippers and headboards should be constructed ahead of time. The rest of the items are to be rolled out and constructed as you build up the bed.

There is no need to wait for the 'bedsheet' to dry or harden as it is just used to cover the cake and to not let the cake be visible from under the blanket. So it can just be thinly rolled fondant.