Kung Fu Panda Cake

Three weeks ago I was asked to make a cake for one of Tom's co-worker's son. He was turning 4 and loved Kung Fu Panda. I thought of the perfect cake, but sometimes things don't go according to plan.

I rushed home from cake class Monday night to bake the cakes. After 2 failed pandas, 1 burned cake, a frosted panda that toppled over onto the frosted cake (all of which had to be re-iced), soupy frosting, a day to create, and many instances where the cake almost got thrown onto the wall, I finally had something to present. And it wasn't anything like I had pictured....

I definitely need to plan in advance for something like this. My kitchen was a mess after - pans all over, bags full of frosting, discolored counter tops, and sugar strewn about. I felt so relieved to finally have it finished.

The boulders were Tom's addition. You can see the discoloration in the orange cake and the soupy frosting in the letters..... Oh well.

Lessons learned:

1. Make & color frosting days in advance (for me at least...or I may start to stress out)

2. Add more confectioner's sugar to soupy frosting - don't just assume it'll do.

3. Take time to smooth out the base frosting (orange on this cake)

4. Decorate the panda once it has been placed on the cake. Do not decorate it first

5. Perhaps sketch the cake ahead of time

6. Wilton's Chocolate Buttercream frosting recipe is delicious!

7. Do not turn the oven off until all cakes have been baked....I put a cake in, let it "bake" for 30 minutes, took it out and it looked exactly like it had when I put it in.

8. Don't let cake batter sit in a greased/floured pan for more than 1 minute before putting it into the often. Did it 3 times and each of those cakes ripped when coming out of the pan or they burned.... Apparently the grease and flour is soaked up by the batter. Who would of thought...