Everything is growing great! This year for my daughter’s birthday she requested a garden.
My daughter’s green thumb did not come from me. I think she inherited it from her great-grandmother (that gene definitely skipped a few generations). She has a passion for anything green. So when she requested a garden cake, I was happy to oblige. This is the closest I will ever get to a weed-free garden full of goodies.
The cake was a basic chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Most of the work was done ahead of time. I am particularly pleased with the lettuce and the watermelon.
The lettuce was made from a fondant/ gumpaste mix (3:1 ratio). The gumpaste allowed the leaves to be a little thinner and more elastic for the ruffling of the petals. To create the petals I used 2 different size 5-petal flower cutters. Each petal was then ruffled with a ball tool before being added to a ball of green fondant/gumpaste.
To prevent the watermelon from looking like green jelly beans, I added striping. To create the stripping I mixed lemon extract with liquid green food coloring. Using a paint brush, I painted stripes. The little details make all the difference.
The carrots and flowers were not too difficult to create either. The carrot bases were simple orange cones with piped leaves on top. The guests were very surprised that the carrot went into the cake and did not sit on top.
The “dirt” was super easy and was more realistic than the traditional Oreo mixture. Chocolate graham crackers did the trick.
It has been a long time since I have used my cake decorating toys, and I am inspired to create more. Now just to find a reason to bake.
