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Zoological
Well another themed cake, this was just a quick one made as a laugh for my eldest daughter to take to her friends at the RSPCA, where she had been a volunteer for quite a few years previously. It's simply a sponge cake made into a mound, making sure you have 3 mounds at the back to hold in the mud for the hippo's, covered with sugarpaste and coloured a sandy/gold, using a mixture of vodka, gold lustre dust. Painted all over. Next make the animals using coloured sugarpaste for the hippo's make a half oval, then shape a piece into its head. Roll a tiny piece of sugarpaste into a ball, press a baller into the centre, thus producing their ears. Attach all 3 pieces together and set aside to dry. To make the elephants, take a piece of grey paste and roll into a ball, flatten the base slightly. Next make four flattish rounds for his feet, making indents for his toes. Roll a ball of paste and elongate one side gently teasing out with your fingers, to make his head and trunk. Curl up his trunk (they should always have upturned trunks, as it's a sign of good luck) Gently with a line marker or the back of a knife mark 3 indentations across his trunk at the curve, make two indents at the end of his trunk for his nostrils. Take a small white paste, roll into a ball and place on his head using edible glue. Finally mark in his eyebrows and the dot for his eyes on the white paste, glue all together and set aside. Next make the monkeys, using a mottled brown sugarpaste. They are simply an oval body, oval head, roll two tiny pieces of paste into a ball. Using a baller pressed into the centre to produce his ears, as with the hippos. Next roll a small piece of paste into a sausage and flatten one end, marking out his fingers. Attach all the pieces together with the glue. Next make some green palm leaves marking in the veins, roll out a sausage of brown paste for the trunk of the tree. Place the trunk of the tree and the leaves round the back of the cake. At the front and sides, make green vines, brown stones and little flowers. Place randomly at the front and sides to create desired affect. Next glue a monkey on the top, one at the front and one either side. Glue the hippo's into place near the centre back. Next make quite a few small round balls of paste flattened slightly to create the stones for the edge of your watering pool. Place them into a ring, ensuring there are no gaps for the gel to escape. Mix some edible gel with a tiny amount of blue colouring to tint it. Then place into the watering ring, making sure you have no leaks. Next place your elephants next to the watering pool, placing one with his trunk in the water taking a drink. Finally melt some chocolate and place around the hippo's making a muddy pool. Place a little up their backs or on their heads to make it look like they are having fun. Hey presto a fun cake.
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