Hurry Up, Cakes! » Animal Cakes

Turtle Cake

Pix — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:26:53 +0000

Turtle Shaped Cake

This shell-shocked turtle cake was created for my nephew’s birthday. I wanted to make him a turtle cake, but I wanted it to be different than others I’ve seen. I decided to have my turtle hiding in his shell, with only his eyes peeking outward. It’s unique as well as simpler to make since you don’t have to fuss with a head or legs. It also reminds me a bit of those old Mario Nintendo games, which he’s just starting to appreciate and which most of us are nostalgic for. King Koopa, eat your heart out.

Nine Inch Round Cake and Dome Shaped Cake

The first step is to bake two pound cake mixes in one nine inch round pan and one dome shaped cake pan. Let them cool completely (putting them in the freezer for an hour or so isn’t even a bad idea) before beginning cake work. Whip up a batch of buttercream frosting while you wait. I used buttercream as a base for marshmallow fondant, but you can decorate your cake with only buttercream if you don’t wish to use fondant at all.

Trimming the Turtle Carapace

My next step was to trim the round cake, which serves as the turtle carapace, at an angle to simulate a turtle’s underbelly. I then covered it in buttercream and applied a light green fondant all over it.

For the turtle shell, I colored my fondant a dark green, applied buttercream to the dome-shaped cake, and covered it in the marshmallow fondant. I tried to shape the outer edges to look more like a turtle shell by pinching them together (similar to pie crust edges). I then placed the dome on top of the carapace piece.

Turtle Shell Cake

I created the plates in his shell by lightly cutting into the fondant with a cutting tool. You can use a knife (gently) if you don’t have fondant-specific tools.

I lifted some of the fondant on the dome cake to create a place for the turtle’s “face”. Next I used black fondant to create the inside of the turtle shell, along with white fondant eyes and black centers. I then gave him a light green tail as a finishing touch.

Shell-Shocked Turtle Shaped Cake

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Another Easter Bunny Cake

Pfoinkle — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:24:00 +0000

Easter Bunny Cake

There’s the super easy Classic Bunny Rabbit Cake and then there’s this “a little bit more work, but isn’t he a charmer?” Easter Bunny Cake.

You can tell he’s an Easter Bunny because he’s so darn colorful — of course, if you prefer another color (even something bizarre like “brown” or “white”), all you have to do is select the appropriate color frosting. He doesn’t even have to be an Easter Bunny Cake, he’s equally happy to serve as the “pet rabbit cake.” Although, you might want to skip the bow tie — as pet rabbit cakes don’t usually enjoy dress up as much as Easter Bunny cakes.

Download the Bunny Rabbit Pattern

Creating the Bunny Rabbit Cake

Whip up your favorite cake batter (I made this white cake) and evenly divide the batter between one 9″ square cake pan and one 9″ round cake pan. Bake and cool cakes as your recipe requires. Remove cakes from pans.
Download the Bunny Rabbit Cake Pattern (the pattern is a .PDF file which requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader). Print out and cut out each pattern piece.
Place the cut out pattern pieces on top of the 9″ square layer. Use a sharp knife to cut out the cake pieces.
NOTE: The small piece marked “hair” is a fussy bit. I love the rakish charm it adds to the rabbit cake, but if you’re short on time or don’t like fiddly bits, you can omit this piece and still have a wonderful bunny rabbit cake.
Frost the round cake with frosting of your choice (I used the Butteriest Buttercream Frosting) tinted in the color of your choice.
Frost the hair, ears, and body pieces. Do not frost the edges that will be placed against the round (already frosted).
Place the hair, ears, and body pieces in position with the head. Add frosting to mask where parts are joined to the round.
Smooth the buttercream frosting by using the “paper towel” method demonstrated in this video.
Decorate with your choice of candies, different colored frostings, or, as I did, you can make pressed sugar decorations.

Now enjoy your utterly charming rabbit cake which can grace your bunny rabbit party or your Easter egg hunting party.

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How to Make a Bunny Rabbit Cake

Pfoinkle — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:49:42 +0000

Classic Bunny Rabbit Cake

Here we have the classic bunny rabbit cake that Grandma first whipped up a long time ago — and even more Grandmas got into the act in 1973 with a copy of the Baker’s Coconut Cut Up Cakes (see the second “Easter Bunny Cake”).

Classic Bunny Rabbit Cutting Pattern

It’s a fabulous cake for anyone who loves cake-retro or who wants an easy and extremely forgiving (coconut covers a multitude of sins) bunny rabbit cake.

The instructions are super simple:

Bake any cake recipe in two round pans.
Cut one cake round as shown in the diagram to the right. Leave second cake round whole.
Place two “A” pieces (see diagram) as the bunny rabbit’s ears and place the “B” piece as the bunny rabbit’s smart and fancy bow tie.
Frost entire cake. You may frost the bow tie in a contrasting color.
Sprinkle coconut over rabbit.
Use decorator tubes, colored candies, or pressed sugar decorations to create the bunny rabbit’s face.

I told you it was simple. He’s the perfect cake for anyone who loves bunny rabbits or as the featured guest at this year’s Easter Egg Hunt.

Easter Bunny Cake

Another Easter Bunny Cake

And if you’d like a slightly more difficult and contemporary cake, check out this Easter Bunny Cake.

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