Zoe, Dan and I decided that Simon should have an elephant cake for his birthday. Simon has a stuffed Ty elephant that Zoe affectionately named "Lumpy" (after the Heffalump from Winnie the Pooh), so while I thought at first that I would model the cake after Simon's stuffed toy, it was infinitely easier to use the Heffalump from Winnie the Pooh. Here was my inspiration:
I printed this picture of the Internet and took a picture of it.Then I traced the cake pan, and sketched the picture onto the paper. I had some help because I copied and pasted the picture from the Internet into my Paint program and drew a rectangle around the main part of the body, so I knew about how much to sketch onto the main part and how to make the leftovers work for the rest of the pieces.
The taped-on pieces are "leftovers" from the rest of the shape being cut out. I placed this image on the cake and cut the cake around it.
I decided to use the rounded top of the cake (that I had cut off to level the cake) to shape a 3D nose for Lumpy because the cake just didn't seem challenging enough (ha ha ha). Here is a picture with all the pieces pasted together before icing. Just about every edge was raw (a cake decorator's nightmare).
Then, I iced the cake. I used a buttercream icing flavoured with peppermint extract instead of vanilla (mint chocolate cake...mmmmm...) and coloured it light blue (like Simon's stuffie instead of light purple like the Heffalump).
Not too bad. It's hard to get a smooth finish on a "Lumpy" surface (pun intended)
And here we are posing with the cake, before or after singing to Simon at the park.
That's my sister holding Simon.
My son, enjoying his 1st birthday cake.
I decided to use the rounded top of the cake (that I had cut off to level the cake) to shape a 3D nose for Lumpy because the cake just didn't seem challenging enough (ha ha ha). Here is a picture with all the pieces pasted together before icing. Just about every edge was raw (a cake decorator's nightmare).
Then, I iced the cake. I used a buttercream icing flavoured with peppermint extract instead of vanilla (mint chocolate cake...mmmmm...) and coloured it light blue (like Simon's stuffie instead of light purple like the Heffalump).
Not too bad. It's hard to get a smooth finish on a "Lumpy" surface (pun intended)After putting the main coat of icing on, it was time for finishing.
So, here he is all drawn on and outlined.
And here he is with Simon's name and age on his trunk (in case we forget, I guess).
So, here he is all drawn on and outlined.
And here he is with Simon's name and age on his trunk (in case we forget, I guess).
And here we are posing with the cake, before or after singing to Simon at the park.That's my sister holding Simon.
My son, enjoying his 1st birthday cake.
awesome cake dear
ReplyDeleteYou never cease to amaze me, Teddi. If you're still job searching, you could always use your blog as a protfolio to apply at a bakery. You'd be a shoe in! Good to see you blogging again.
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous, Teddi! You're very talented.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone. Cakes are a pretty fun creative outlet I've been enjoying, especially children's cakes, which I get to do a lot of. I have a secret ambition (not so secret anymore) to do a wedding cake, so if you know of an easy-going bride who needs a cake, let me know!
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