Outdoors Madhatter

My nephew JJ turned 2 on the 19th of October. Last year for his first birthday, we planned lovely big party at a park. I made some really cute invitations, I got some edible images printed for some cookies to give the guests, and planned planned an awesome cake fitting for a picnic. A big cupcake tree with bugs and snails and all cute little things suitable for a 1 year old.

One week before the party his paternal grandfather got really sick and we had to cancel the whole thing. :(
He was also sick with gastro, and couldnt even eat the tiny little two tier cake I ended up making him. Poor snookums!!!

This year after attending the course at Planet Cake, I decided that I would make JJ a Madhatter cake for his 2nd birthday regardless if there was a party or not, and regardless if anyone would eat it or not. At the time I booked in two anual leave days just before his birthday in order to get the masterpiece i had planned done.

I sketched and planned. I had seen some outdoors style cakes with lots of details, and I wanted to do something similar in a madhatter.

I baked the cakes a couple of weeks before and froze them. Two white chocolate coconut mudcakes. I wasnt able to take the Thursday off in the end because of work committments, but in the end it didnt matter. I spent all of Friday carving, filling, ganaching and covering the cakes in fondant. On Saturday i did the rest.

I made two sketches of it, but it didnt quite turn out the way I had envisioned. Im still happy with it, especially since the last part of it was done while i was feeling very ill. The last tree next to the pick up truck, doesnt have enough leaves, but I ran out of royal icing and felt too sick to make more, so there it is, half naked. JJ didn't mind, he didn't even realise.
My favourite part of this cake is the number two, it turned out a lot better than i was expecting. 2 days work for something that was completely destroyed in a few hours. It was yummy :)