Fish Cake

Fish cake. Fishcakes. Two different things. It's important to figure out which one you're going for, unless you're trying to confuse or upset your guests into leaving early (which is more fun for some of us).

You could take a simplified black-and-white approach... the makers also mention that "Just for fun we added lettuce to our serving tray to give the fish natural surroundings!" Please note that rarely is fish actually found in the natural habitat of a salad bar unless something really freaky is going on.

This is a pretty crazy cake of a giant fish tank at the Cake Fairy's site. Imagine getting that lobbed at your head. Or getting your face mushed into it as an assassin tries to drown you, mistaking it for a real aquarium. James Bond wishes his job was that good.

A common mistake is to make the cake look TOO FISHY. Guests will poke and prod and sniff at their piece of cake when you make it look too real. They will get very suspicious and test its flesh for flakiness if you get too clever. "Getting too clever" in this case usually involves the use of that heinous cake decorating invention, lustre dust, which seems to be engineered to make items that may already be questionable in their edibility into items that look like costume jewelry or dustables.

Some examples of borderline realism:
Number one
Number two

On the other hand, go too far in the other direction, and you will become a laughingstock.
Did someone's Lucky Charms marshmallow stash explode, or is that a squashy hotair balloon?! Garrr, those jabby bits (the fish's natural defense mechanism?) on the tail would make a great way to keep guests away from your cake.

Next we turn to our favorites, the Wilton Cake website chat rooms.

Username "Gal" on the Wilton.com chat boards asked "Do anybody have idea how to make rainbow or fish cake ?" I had no idea that fish and rainbows were interchangeable. The next time I see a fish in the sky, I'll make a wish. If I see a rainbow, I'll go get my fishing rod.

Another Wilton.com chat member, KatiesKakes, posted some faboo pictures of one of the most hilariously wonderful fish cakes ever. Witness FISHLIPS!!! KrisCakes, not be be outdone, produced this glum-jawed amazing fishy wonder.

But then again, who knew that fishes like cake?!!

Go forth, my minions, and learn more about fish cake. It's for your own good.

Signed,
The King, a.k.a. Captain Fishypants