Stepford Wife Bachelorette {Cyborg Cake}

My friend Diana and I recently threw a Stepford themed bachelorette for our friend Rachele. She's the kind of girl who loves a good theme and goes all out when she puts on a party, so the pressure to think of something bridal-related yet unique was on.

Initially, during our wine-fueled party planning sessions we'd been leaning towards a 1950's theme. It seemed fun to bust out retro dresses, decorations, and (of course) cocktails. But we sort of felt it was a little bit predictable, not exactly what we were looking for. We kept on brainstorming until we had a stroke of genius and came up with the Stepford Wife themed bachelorette. It was so perfect, we'd still have the dresses, the drinks, the decorations, but there was that extra element: the Stepford Secret.

If you've seen either version of the movie, then you know what the secret is..

..On the outside the Stepford wives seem perfect, eerily perfect...

..because on the inside, they're all robots. This meant we had a cyborg secret to reveal to the guests once the party got started. Hello ladies, you are not just 1950-style party goers, you are also robots. Cyborgs in pretty party dresses.

It also meant I got to design and make this sweet cyborg cake. My favorite part of planning any party is designing the cake, and this is the best one yet (breakfast themed cake is a close second though). I doodled up a couple of versions and decided on a tall, mint green cake with a bouquet of sugar flowers arranged on top.

I was a little torn on how to incorporate the cyboryg aspect, and Googling revealed that cyborg cakes are not a popular party item. Cakes shaped like robots? Check. Cakes that are secretly robots? Nope. Eventually, I came across some photos of computer chips and circuit boards and decided that one part of the fondant would be ripped away to reveal the "robot secret" underneath.

(my apologies in advance for all the poorly lit cell-phone photos to follow.. But cake decorating is best when done in the evening under poor lighting while watching vlogs on Youtube).

Cake progress!

1.Sugar flowers were made out of gumpaste a week or so in advance. I'd been practicing peonies for my sister's upcoming wedding cupcakes so I decided to go with a trio of peonies and a scattering of smaller, easier flowers.

2. Two days before the party I baked four layers of ultra moist chocolate cake (my go-to cake recipe for every birthday/special occasion cake ever) and whipped up a huuuuge batch of mocha rum icing. Once all the layers were stacked and chilled I pressed a piece of green Wilton sugar sheet cut into the shape of a cake slice onto the icing to be the base of the circuit board.

3. Covered the cake in mint coloured marshmallow fondant (so much better than store bought fondant!)

4.. Arranged the flowers on top and secured them with dabs of royal icing.

Then I went to bed and literally tossed and turned all night worrying about piping the circuit board. I usually avoid piping freehand onto cakes, and had never tried piping on the side of a cake before. It seems silly to worry that much about a detail on a cake, but I felt like the whole concept of the cake relied on the green part looking like a circuit board. Plus, If i smudged it I didn't have any extra sugar sheets cover up the mistake. So. Much. Pressure.

Turns out that I needn't have worried so much. It ended up being really simple to pipe out the circuit board lines freehand, and now I'm all filled with piping-related confidence for future cakes.

With the cake successfully completed and our cars packed with bachelorette supplies, we drove out to condo in the mountains where we were spending the weekend. After the bridal shower portion of the day we started the bachelorette party by revealing the cyborg secrets to our guests. After playing robot themed games, a cocktail contest, and a 1950's style roast dinner the lovely robot bride-to-be sliced up the cake for everyone.

The whole party was a blast. What girl doesn't dream of putting on a pretty dress and pretending to be a cocktail fueled cyborg for the rest of the evening?

So if you're on the hunt for a party theme, I highly, highly suggest going the Stepford/Cyborg route. Here's hoping it catches on.

Comments

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You did an amazing job on the cake! Way to go!

Posted by: Kait | 03/17/2014 at 08:57 PM

You are a cake ninja! Thanks again so much for all of the work you put into this! It's the best thing to ever happen to flour, cocoa AND marshmallows. YEAH.

Posted by: Rachele | 03/17/2014 at 09:28 PM

That looks amazing! You are my heroine.

Posted by: Vincci | 03/17/2014 at 10:06 PM

You are so talented! The cake looks fabulous (and delicious too)!

Posted by: Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe | 03/18/2014 at 10:41 AM

Thanks Kait, Vincci and Amanda!

And thanks Rachele, you deserve the prettiest cyborg cakes forever.

Posted by: Stephanie | 03/19/2014 at 04:47 PM

Wow -- that is such a good idea! The more I read your blog, the more I am inspired to try making fondant . . . because it appears I can't make a Stepford cyborg cake without it! Such a fantastic theme.

Posted by: Stephanie | 03/19/2014 at 07:12 PM