Birthday Safari

by Jeanne Wade
(Connelly Springs, NC)

The cake was a vanilla pound cake baked in a 12x12 pan reserving a small amount of batter which was baked in an oven proof bowl. I used the small cake for the mountain that the monkey was sitting on. I froze the cake for a few days before decorating because I find it makes the cake a little more stable and less likely to crumble. The whole cake was covered in light brown buttercream with crushed chocolate cookies sprinkled over it to resembles dirt. All of the animals were made from fondant a few days before decorating to let them dry. The palm trees were made from pretzel sticks with royal icing leaves. The river was piping gel tinted bluish green. This cake was for my grandson's 1st birthday.