The Cake

I had a horrible time figuring out what to make Erica's cake look like. She likes everything and doesn't seem to have a favorite animal. I finally decided on doing a lion.

For anyone who is interested ... I made a 9x13 cake (from a cake mix). I sliced it into 2 layers. I used the top layer (that was oddly shaped due to the domed top) to cut out the face, ears and nose. I shaped the bottom layer into an oval with triangular scraps to support the ears. Then, I covered the bottom layer with a thin layer of butter cream frosting and attached the ears and face. I covered them with frosting and attached the nose. Then, I laid some tan colored fondant over the whole thing. (Homemade fondant. If you haven't ever tried it, it is FUN. Check out the recipe at: http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm ... I also use her buttercream frosting recipe) I thought the frosting would be a lot darker and wanted a textural and color contrast between the mane and the facial features. However, in the end, they were almost the same color. So, I used a trick I learned in the Wilton class and used a paint brush to put three stripes of brown frosting color in the bag before I filled it with frosting. This gave me the contrast I needed and resulted in it looking more like fur. I know how hard it is to make black frosting, so I just bought the pre-made black tube to make the eyes/mouth. By the time I got to the face, it was 4am and I didn't bother with a tongue and whiskers.