Death Star - Medium to Difficult

The Death Star cake is really 2 separate cakes.  The Death Star itself, plus a plain sheet cake (using the Wilton large paisley pan) upon which X-wings and TIE fighters wage a battle.  The Death Star looked great, but before we could photograph it, the board got bumped and the ball rolled off the stand and hit the floor.  Minutes before the party!  I touched it up, but you can see the damage.  C'est la vie.

In advance, make x-wing and TIE fighters out of fondant. I snagged some clear plastic skewers from the floral dept at my grocery store, and let the figures set in a block of Styrofoam.  (These are the skewers that hold little cards in a bouquet of flowers or a plant, just break off the prongs at the top.)  The TIE fighter wings are held on with toothpicks.  Break off bits of toothpick to get the right size.   

1.  Make a round cake using the Wilton Sports Ball pan.   Using 2 box mixes (same brand/flavor) make the large sheet cake using the Wilton Paisley pan.

2.  For the Death Star - frost smooth with gray buttercream.  Add rolled fondant panels on the sides, leaving a space open for the weapons crater.  When the icing is dry, depress the crater using a ping-pong size ball.  I used the ball from my track-ball style mouse.)  Use a Wilton No. 2 tip to add lines/detail to the crater.

Note:  I covered a tall plastic drinking glass with black fondant to serve as the stand for the Death Star.  I placed the Death Star on the stand, but did not "glue" it down with buttercream.  20-20 hindsight puts a big dollop of icing on that glass before I set the ball on it!

3.  For the other cake, to make as pictured, cover the cake with high-quality rolled fondant, tinted dark gray.  See my page on Rolled Fondant.  Alternative, frost smooth with dark gray buttercream.  Position the vehicles as shown (or as you like).  Finish with a row of small fondant balls (or buttercream open stars) around the base.