Michael Jackson Sequin Glove Cake and Cookies and a Giveaway

Apparently there's a Michael Jackson revival going on and among an audience who definitely caught me off guard.  I'm finding, quite by surprise, that kids born in the early to mid-2000s have rediscovered the King of Pop.   My friend Grace says it's because of the documentary "This Is It."   Who would have thought?  Despite all the strangeness surrounding MJ and his life you've got to admit the man was one hell of an entertainer. 

A co-worker commissioned a Michael Jackson-themed birthday cake and cookie favors for her 5-year old daughter's birthday party.   She had a few ideas and suggested MJ's most famous icon, the sequin glove....love it! 

For the cookies I took white sanding sugar and colored it with silver luster dust before sprinkling on wet royal icing.  The sugar was very simple to make - put it in a Ziploc bag,  add some of the luster dust and shake until the color is evenly distributed.

 The cake is four layers of high ratio chocolate butter cake filled with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream then covered in fondant.  This is the second cake I've made with fondant and I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.  For the large sequin glove I sprinkled silver disco dust on to a white fondant hand.

I had such a fun time making the cake and cookies.  Happy Birthday Fiona!     

Now to the giveaway...

From the friendly folks at CSN Stores I have a $35 gift certificate that's up for grabs.  Your certificate will definitely go far.   Looking for a bar stool, a gas grill or new bathroom towels?  They've got it! 

To enter just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post by 12pm PST  January 11th.    The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on January 12th.   

What's your favorite Michael Jackson song?

RULES: Only one comment per person allowed and you MUST include your email address  in the comment to be eligible.  Sorry, but that's the only way the winner can be notified to claim the gift certificate.  CSN only ships to addresses in the US and Canada.   There may be international shipping charges for Canadian addresses.

High Ratio Chocolate Butter Cake (from Not So Humble Pie's blog)

Basic Vanilla Sugar Cookie 
 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla extract and combine until egg is completely incorporated.  Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until no trace of dry ingredients remain. 

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4" thickness and cut out shapes using cookie cutters.

Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Royal Icing

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup meringue powder

water

gel food coloring

Mix powdered sugar and meringue powder in bowl of stand mixer until well combined.  Slowly add water and mix until you get the consistency you want*.  Add food coloring to achieve your desired color.

For outlining: consistency should be like glue paste

For flooding: add enough water so that the consistency is pretty runny

* Note: Royal Icing is extremely forgiving.  If you find you've added too much water and the icing is too runny, just add more powdered sugar.  Vice versa if your icing is too thick.