Larry the Cucumber Birthday Cake

The Larry the Pirate cake I made

   If you are not familiar with Veggie Tales, than that armless, green pirate guy is probably very strange to you. But to my son who turned 9 this summer, it was perfect!
   My son has Autism, and can get pretty hooked on movies, subjects, foods, colours, anything! The "need for sameness" is a very common thing among children and adults with autism, and "sameness" can often read as "never ending......." My son has loved Veggie Tales for years.....and years.....
   So, to all those Veggie Tale virgins out there, it is a series of movies and short shows that deal with life issues (listening to your parents, being your self, facing hardship, etc.) in a fun way, using vegetables (and a few fruits) as the characters. 
   Without further ado, meet Larry the cucumber as one of his many characters, Larry, "The Pirate Who Doesn't do Anything!"

   I don't have a step-by-step on how I made him, but I will give you my tips from the experience:

Tip #1

I used this fondant to decorate him: 
http://cakejournal.com/tutorials/how-to-make-marshmallow-fondant/
I find this fondant to be very forgiving, and simple to make (two of my favourite things!)

Tip #2

To make brown fondant....add cocoa. I know, so simple. When the recipe says to add icing sugar, do it, but also add cocoa as the dry ingredient to make different shades of brown. Ta daa!

Tip#3
To make black fondant.....start with brown!!! This is the best tip anyone ever gave me! 

Tip#4
To make that perfect Larry green....have patience!
I just kept adding and tweaking until it was just right (green, yellow, a tiny drop of black). Add each colour in small amounts-trust me! 

The fondant all ready to go. See the link above for an easy fondant recipe

Tip#5
Give yourself lots-o-time to do this! It took me 3 hours to make all the fondant, and then to decorate him.

The "cake" itself was actually a big Rice Crispie square that I made 4 days earlier and shaped as Larry, put on a cookie sheet, wrapped up really well, and froze until I started working with it to decorate. I figured it would be easier to use a giant Rice Crispie square to get the shape I wanted.

Tip#6
You can freeze a Rice Crispie square!
It's one less thing to do the day of the party.

   Have you made a cake that not only your child or loved one thought was great, and you also thought, "well, that turned out just as I wanted it to!" (truthfully, a rare thing for me!)? Share your pictures of stories with me!


Amy-Lyn