Kayden's 3d Bear Cake

by Annette Turley
(Orting, WA)

3d Bear Tier Cake

Using pound cake, bake a 3d bear (Wilton's cake pan), a 3 layer 10" cake, and a 3 layer 6" cake. I used butter flavored butter cream for the filing in one cake, and raspberry cream cheese filing for the other cake.

The bear is the easiest part, there are direction in the cake pan kit. Before applying the frosting trace the outline of the bottom of the bear onto a cardboard cake circle and cut out 2 of this shape. Leave the bear on this piece when you stack it. Place bear and cut out on a larger cake circle. You need a number 18 star tip to apply the frosting. I used fondant pieces for the inside of the ears, the feet and eyes. Keep refrigerated until ready to stack.

Make 3 batches homemade marshmellow fondant. Cover both cakes in fondant, make fondant cut out hand and foot prints, circles, or oter baby cut out shapes - when you are ready to place them on the cake, if you make them ahead of time they won't mold to the cake, you want to apply them when they are soft and pliable. I put the hand prints on the 6" tier and the foot prints on the 10" tier.

It helps to make the fondant blocks ahead of time so they dry and are firm when you stack the cakes. The blocks are used as covers for the pillars. The directions for these are in a Wilton's tiered cake book. Use metal square fondant cut outs, I tried making my own template and they weren't exactly square and I had to make them over.

Use plastic cake plates, pound cake is very heavy and the cardboard cake plates won't hold up to the weight of this cake! Place 8 pegs and 4 pillars into the 10" cake, place the fondant baby blocks over the pillars. When you cut the pillars, measure the height of the cake plus the height of the blocks combined and then add 1/4". Make sure your pillars are exactly level and the same height - they are going to support a lot of weight. If the pillars are too short the 6" tier and bear weight combined will press the baby bocks into the bottom tier, making the whole cake not level! Stack the 6" cake. Using the second cake circle cut out into the shape of the bottom of the bear, lightly press onto the top of the 6" layer and remove, place wooden pegs dowels evenly inside the area - make sure they evely spaced and exactly the same height.

Using toothpicks and someone to help, place bear onto the top of the 6" cake. This cake weighs a ton!!! If you are taking it to a party don't stack it before it's moved, and take extra frosting for repairs.