This is actually something I have been planning for a very long time and just never got around to making for the dolls. Not this version exactly, but snack cakes in general. I love how they look, and there are so much variety on the market in real food. For those that don’t know what I am referring to by snack cake I mean those little baked desserts that are usually packaged either individually or in pairs and are so perfect to grab and take to eat. In the US there are several companies that make these and they come in lots of flavors and shapes. And if the standard ones that are always available aren’t enough there are some that come out seasonally that are themed in some way to either the season or a holiday.
The ones we are making today are inspired by the Red, White, and Blue Snack Cakes that the Little Debbie company has out for summer. I know as a general rule I try to stay away from country specific projects on my tutorials. However, these are just so cute I decided to make an exception. Also you can very easily make these with different colors to make them suit anytime/anyplace you wish.
The idea for the snack cake projects that I have had in my mind for a long time is to make one every month or so at least for a while. So if you have a favorite you want to see let me know.
To make the whole snack cakes I am using original Sculpey, when w get to the ones that have the inside exposed we will use other clay colors. Of course you could use the other colors of clay for these also I just prefer to save my more expensive clays for times when they will actually show and not be covered up.
I am working on top of some 4 square to the inch graph paper so make cutting to size really easy. I am also using the spacers we made in our clay tools video (you can find that here) to help me in getting the correct thickness of clay when I roll it.
After rolling out the conditioned clay using the spacers to make the correct thickness I cut as many ¾” squares of the clay as I could. Carefully move the cut squares to a baking surface and make as many of the squares as you want. Remember you will need 2 squares for each snack cake you want to make. These will then get baked at the temperature recommended for the clay you are using for about 10 minutes. Allow the clay to cool to room temperature before going on the assembly of the whole cakes.
The the snack cakes that are showing the inside (either bitten or cut open) we will need to use clay in colors to represent the real cake colors. I used my “dough” or “bread” clay mix for the white cakes (white clay with a just enough tan clay to give it a slightly off white color) and for the chocolate ones I used some Suede Brown from Sculpey III. You can use any clays of similar color that you have in your clay collection. To start these we do exactly the same steps- roll out using the spacers and cut into ¾” squares.
Now we can cut our cakes, since I want my top and bottom layers to match I am stacking the pieces together and cutting them at the same time. To make sure they don’t stick I used some cornstarch on the top surface of the bottom one. Then be sure to keep the pairs together.
Now we need to texture that cut edge to make it look like cake instead of clay. Start with a bit of crumpled aluminum foil and follow up by teasing the surface of the clay with a pointed tool of some kind. You only need to texture the cut in the center of the cake not the outside edges this time.
Once the texturing is done you can add just a bit of a baked look to the top surface of the piece that will be the top layer of the white snack cakes. I have noticed that only the top of the top layer has any color from baking on the real snack cakes and this step is totally optional. Just brush a thin layer of artist chalk in out normal baked goods colors (yellow ocher and rust) on the top surface.
Now the clay pieces can be baked at the recommended temperature for 10 minutes and allowed to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled we can use some caulk (the stuff from the hardware store) to act as our filling. Simply add a glob of it to the bottom cake piece and add the top piece. On the whole cakes I just put them together and that is it. For the cut ones I do use a toothpick to try to tease the layer to the edges. On the cut edge tease out a few bits to replicate how the filling oozes a bit when you bite or cut the cakes. Try to get all the cakes filled the same amount and let this dry completely. I tend to let this step sit overnight at least.
Now we can ice the cakes. To make the icing I had several choices this time I decided to go with a thickened craft paint. In other videos I will show other methods to coat the different snack cakes. To thicken the paint simply mix in enough corn starch to make it the texture you want. It should spread like real icing, just a bit thinner than the real stuff that comes from the tubs in the grocery store.
To hold the snack cakes I use some of that removable poster tack stuff to temporarily attach them to craft sticks. This makes working on them so much easier.
Use a craft stick to spread the icing onto the snack cakes and allow it to dry. This paint will take a bit longer to dry than normal paint.
While the paint dries we can color our “sugar” that will be sprinkled on the tops.
For this you will need a small container, a blue alcohol marker, Isopropyl alcohol, and some white sand. If you have sand that is already blue you can skip this step. Simply color the bottom of the plastic container with the pen, add some of the alcohol and stir it together. When you have a colored liquid add the white sand and stir. Allow it to dry and you have colored sand to use on to decorate your doll foods.
One of the most noticeable parts of the decoration on the top of this particular snack cake are the red lines. To add these to our doll size cakes we are going to use some 3D fabric paint. This is pretty easy to find at craft and fabric stores. With the paint draw on some thin lines diagonally on each snack cake. Allow this paint to dry completely.
Now onto the sprinkles. On the real cakes these are star shaped. I couldn’t find any stars that were small enough so I went with a more “sugar” sprinkle look. For this simply swipe on a thin coat of satin Mod Podge and then sprinkle on the blue sand. I like to use the soft brush method of adding the sand because it spreads so nicely that way.
Allow the Mod Podge to dry and your snack cakes are ready for the dolls to enjoy.
As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.
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