Coolest Elephant Birthday Cake 10

by Melisa L.
(Seattle, WA)

Homemade Elephant Birthday Cake

My husband and I made this elephant birthday cake for our daughter's "Zoo Theme" 2nd birthday. The base was a piece of plywood that was covered with aluminum foil and then covered with a thin layer of rice krispie treats (as well as coconut clouds and coconut grass!)

The elephant was made from three 9 x 13 cakes (Chocolate, Yellow and Spice). I drew a template on card stock and after we butted the 3 cakes together, I laid the template on the cakes and cut around the shape.

We used some of the scraps to give dimension to the trunk and tusks.

My husband made a basic homemade frosting (buttercream) and we dyed several different batches for all of the colors needed.

We used a very simple decorating tip set that we found at Safeway, and stuck them into Ziploc baggies to hold the frosting. Nothing fancy! We had never attempted piping before and we did not want to invest in any professional tools!

Our daughter loved her cake, so we feel that it was a success!