Cakes I did for the State Fair

I forgot to take pictures of my non-decorated cakes before leaving the house this morning, and once at the Fairgrounds I really didn't have the time or space to take them out of their plastic domes. I also forgot my camera. I took these pictures with my cell phone, so apologies for the inferior photo quality.

Mmmmmm, chocolate... This is the same sour cream chocolate cake I previously raved about, only I finally found some dark dutch-process cocoa powder to use in it this time. It definitely makes it better! The layers are filled with ganache, and it's covered with sour cream chocolate icing. 

Pictured below is my white cake with mousseline buttercream icing and seedless raspberry jam filling. The cake has a bonus raspberry kick thanks to the addition of Chambord to the icing and the simple syrup used to keep the cake moist.

Determined to redeem myself for the forgot-to-add-vanilla-extract debacle that was my County Fair entry, I also made this buttermilk pound cake with hot buttermilk glaze and made  a point to remember the vanilla extract this time. :)

The theme for the decorated cake competition is "Election 2008." I had a hard time coming up with a creative idea for this one. I decided to go with the "Road to the White House" idea. My final cake doesn't really match my vision, but some elements I wanted to include either didn't work, didn't hold up, or didn't get done. For example, I really wanted to put red, white, and blue blankets on the elephant and donkey so they would look more like the political party mascots (and also to cover up a few flaws). I also had a bigger platform planned for the white house which would have added height and 2 more steps, but I broke it and didn't have time to make another one. Basically, I procrastinated for too long and ran out of time, as well as fondant.

Back view of the cake:

I wasn't 100% happy with my elephant. His ears don't look quite right, and one of the tusks broke and I had to use one of the spares I made which didn't match the other one in length or thickness. I also forgot to add the little tassel on the bottom of his tail.

I think the donkey turned out a little better, despite the fact that I forgot to finish his tail and I had to make his legs too thick in order to support the weight of his body and head. He also lacks a neck, and therefore a mane.

The white house is a color flow piece which I attached to a fondant-covered slab of styrofoam. I made made the sky with a combination of blue and super pearl lustre dust. I sprinkled clear cake sparkles on the fountain right after filling it in while the color flow icing was still wet. I went ahead and put my spare piece on the back of the cake even though the other side of the white house has a rounded front. This was again due to my time crunch and the fact that I couldn't find a coloring book page of that side of the white house the correct size or aspect. 

Here is a close-up of my sentry. It's adapted from a vintage Vargas pin-up. I thought it was appropriate to have a tenacious, dominate female clad in federalist garb guarding the road to the white house and blocking the path of the elephant and donkey.