Dallas Cowboys Cake

So, I finally got my first paying gig. Actually, I take that back.  I was hired to do a gig at Aidan's birthday party but not until October 15th.  This one came up and I have been paid for it, so I guess it's the first cake I've ever gotten paid to do. :)

A coworker saw some of my work and asked me to do a Dallas Cowboys cake for her son.  She pretty much gave me creative free reign - so I did a bit of research and since she wanted an 8 inch round, I decided simple was best.  

I intended to do the Cowboys actual logo in the font, but in the end, I ran out of time.  I knew getting those cookie cutters would make me lazy, but I don't think it detracted from the cake.  This was also my first time working with floral wire and I must say - it was a breeze.  Basically, I just cut out two star shapes for each decorative element and sandwiched them together with the wire in between.  I used a bit of water on a paintbrush to help them stick together. The football is made of chocolate fondant, which tastes just like tootsie rolls, and white fondant accents.

This was my first full assembly -

At this point I realized that I didn't have enough room to write "Happy Birthday Tyrone" on the cake board in front of the cake.  But then - I noticed that I had six stars and that there are exactly six letters in his name. Poifect!  I also needed to somehow show that he was turning 44.  So, after some additional work -

Here are a few additional views

I must say, this cake caused the least anxiety out of all the cakes I've made.  It's also the smoothest fondant free cake I've ever done.  The secret - I found a stainless steel scraper/dough cutter/food chopper at Ross for 2.99.  It's slightly beveled and works like a charm on smoothing the sides.  I also chilled the cake for about 5 minutes then took it back out, pressed wax paper to the sides and went over it again with the scraper - right on top of the wax paper.  It worked out well.