How to make this toilet paper cake

(FOX 2) - This week, Jill Washburn, our Jill of All Trades, has a little fun with cake in the era of COVID-19.  

One of Jill's friends asked her to make some cakes that resembled rolls of toilet paper. Jill did it, and they were a huge hit (and not that hard to make!), so she's showing you how it's done.

First, Jill baked two 6" layers, trimmed them so that they were flat on top, and frosted them into a layer cake with her favorite white frosting. She got the top and sides as smooth as she could. 

Next she measured the height of the finished cake, and used a tape measure to determine the circumference of the cake. That told her how big of a piece of fondant she would need (about 4.5 " high by 22-24" long). She wanted it extra long so that she could drape the end, giving it the look of paper falling off the roll.

Jill rolled out the fondant using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to the counter top. **TIP** Jill used Fondarific Fondant (found at Wal-Mart) and declared it the easiest fondant she ever worked with. 

Once she had it rolled out far enough to allow for the desired dimensions, Jill used a pizza cutter to cut her piece. Next, she lifted it off the counter, taking care not to rip it. Because it was so long, she needed an extra pair of hands to help with this part and the wrapping of it around the cake.  

Before applying to the cake, Jill dampened the frosting surface with a damp paper towel. That helped the fondant adhere to the cake better. Then she quickly wrapped the fondant around the sides of the cake. When she got all the way around and started the overlap, she wet the under layer of the fondant, so that it would stick together.  Next, she tore the hanging end of the fondant and let it drape like paper would.  

Next step, making the "perforated" lines that toilet paper would have. Jill used a large serrated knife to do that. She gently pressed the edge of it into the sides of the cake every few inches, to give the look of toilet paper squares.

With the sides of the cake now done, Jill turned her attention to the top (which is actually the side of the "roll"). First, Jill took a small round cookie cutter and cut out a circle of the frosting right in the center of the top. Then she placed a circle of black sugar "paper" down at the bottom of the "hole" that she has now created. Next, she painted on some light brown frosting around the inside of the hole to mimic the cardboard tube from a toilet paper roll. Jill watered down her frosting a bit and used a clean artist's brush for this task.

Last step… to give the roll the look of many layers of paper. Jill added a bit of water to her white frosting, so that it spread easily, and she covered the top of the cake with it, leaving the "hole" in the center intact. Then, Jill took a clean 2" paint brush and dragged the tip of it in a circle around the cake, so that it gave the look of many paper layers to the top.

Ta-daahhh! You're done! Your cake should look like a roll of toilet paper.  It unconventional, but it's fun in the Age of Covid-19, and who doesn't love cake at any point?

PROJECT RATING: Medium (It helps to have some kitchen skills)

To watch Jill take you through the process, click on the video player above.