Make a 3D Dinosaur Birthday Cake

Birthday parties don't have to be as simple as going out and buying a cake, adding a few candles and singing Happy Birthday. With all the hype about dinosaurs, many kids would love to have their birthday cake resemble a colorful and friendly dinosaur. Make your own to save costs, and also to please the birthday child and astound the guests.

Steps

 * 1) [[Image:FGBRO1KFEVQETW4.MEDIUM_81.jpg|right|85px]][[Image:FY3IWATFEVQETW5.MEDIUM_449.jpg|right|100px]]Make two paper templates based on these images (click to enlarge). You can either print them, or look at the pictures on the screen and replicate them on a piece of paper by hand. Either way, make sure they'll fit on a 9-inch cake.
 * 2)  Bake two nine-inch cakes and cool completely. Take them out of the pans.
 * 3) *Cakes made from scratch will be denser and stronger than a cake mix. It might take more time in the beginning, but it'll make for a neater, easier decorating job later.
 * 4) [[Image:The_body_87.jpg|250px|right]]Find the center of one cake. Cut the cake in half with a bread knife. Put the two halves together with cuts edges aligned, and place on a work surface as pictured. This is the body of the dinosaur. Set aside.
 * 5) [[Image:Appendages_placed_on_cake_144.jpg|250px|right]]Cut the paper templates and arrange them on top of the second cake (in the same way they were arranged before you cut them, so they'll all fit). Cut the pieces from the cake.
 * 6) *[[Image:Cake_split_paper_153.jpg|250px|right]]Before you actually cut the cake, you can arrange the paper pieces on your body segment to see how they look. If there are any cuts or adjustments you'd like to make, do so on the paper before you cut the actual cake pieces.
 * 7) [[Image:FCSRKHANJVEUR4TR9G.MEDIUM2_699.jpg|250px|right]]Assemble the dinosaur. Use white frosting to join the body halves together, then join the appendages to the body. Fix the head to the body with some toothpicks.  Trim the corners and square edges off the feet and shoulders if you like.
 * 8) [[Image:The_skin_368.jpg|250px|right]]Spread a thin layer of green frosting over the cake. This is called the crumb coat -- and for good reason, as much of the crumbs pull away and get mixed up in the frosting. Use a very light hand on the cut surfaces of cake. This is where having made the cake from scratch will be of most help, as cake mixes are far more crumbly and difficult to work with.
 * 9) [[Image:Green_895.jpg|250px|right]]Use a star tip to pipe on green frosting, then blend in blue for an accent. Stick fondant diamond plates into the back. If the frosting does not hold the plates well, stick a toothpick into the plate then stick it into the cake.
 * 10) *To make the plates, roll the fondant out 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. Hand cut the fondant with a small knife to create diamond shapes for the plates on the dinosaur's back. Detail the plates with a toothpick to give them a ribbed texture. Make as many or as few as you'd like to put on the dinosaur's back.
 * 11) [[Image:Final_touch_end_454.jpg|250px|right]]Spread a layer of white frosting on your cake board surrounding the dinosaur and toss some toasted coconut around. Add any other finishing touches you like--candy corn for spikes on the tail, cinnamon candies for the eyes, and chocolate chips for the toes.

Tips

 * You can make palm trees for decoration using tube cookies with fronds of parsley but be warned--this may be the first thing every kid wants so make a small forest if you do it.
 * Freezing the cakes before cutting will eliminate some of the crumb problem.

Things You'll Need

 * Two nine-inch round cakes.
 * Two batches of frosting. E.g. a butter cream with 50/50 butter/vegetable shortening.
 * Batch 1: Dye green
 * Batch 2: One half white, one half dyed blue
 * Rolled fondant. Look for multi-colored fondant at a craft store, or make your own.
 * Cinnamon red hot candies for the eyes.
 * Candy corn for the tail spikes.
 * Chocolate chips for toenails.
 * Toasted coconut for the prehistoric grass.
 * One cardboard cake board, half-sheet size.
 * Frosting pipe tips and bags. Use a star tip.
 * Non-stick mini rolling pin.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make a Fire Breathing Dragon Cake
 * How to Make an Anatomically Correct Brain Cake
 * How to Make Kitty Litter Cake
 * How to Make Sticky Toffee Pudding
 * How to Bake a Cake

Sources and Citations
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 * Instructables Article by User:msimon3. Source of original information and selected images. Shared with permission.