Of Knights & Dragons

Welcome back, faithful readers!

Ok, I've been trying to publish this post for the past two weeks, mainly due to the number of pics and slow Internet connections... But at last I have succeeded! 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Anywho...

I was very pleased to make a cake for our little cousin, Sir Kel, who specifically asked for a knight and dragon cake.  Our aunt requested of us girls if we could come up with a cake that would fit with this desire.  Originally, we tried to think of a way to draw the knight and dragon on a cake, but decided to go all out.  So, I "researched" some pics for ideas and came up with the one you will see below.  I admit I was very happy with the result.  And I believe he was, too!  We videoed his reaction as he walked through the door and froze, unfortunately it wouldn't load...

But I have plenty of pics to share with you!

Knight's Castle Cake

Below, cake batter.

It was a given request that the cake be chocolate with chocolate icing.

The cakes are cooking!  The layout I designed called for one 10x10 pan and two 6x6 pans.

While the cakes were cooking, I set to work on my makeshift cake board.  Believe it or not, this piece of wood was actually a former cabinet door, that I found in our basement...

For the first layer, I covered the heavy board with freezer paper, to protect against any punctures, and used the amazing product called duct tap to make it pretty.

Next, I used blue tablecloth from the Dollar Tree for the second layer.

And there you have it!

Once the cakes were cooled, I proceeded to cut and place into the basic shape.

Hint: It's supposed to look like a castle in the end...

Next on the list was to "glue" the pieces together.  This was done with icing, extra icing thanks to our grandmother (Dad's mother), who is an expert in all things cake, that includes baking and decorating.  She had extra icing stored for future use from a wedding cake she had recently done, and let me use it.  Also thanks to her for the cake pans!

Here is the unfinished product, the basic layout.

And now for the icing!

Here's a pic of me...

*who took that picture??*

I promise you I really enjoyed this challenge!  That is a look of concentration.

Green icing (for grass).

Pretzel sticks for a "dirt" path.

Another pic of me, working hard.

I love the little Pampered Chef gun that you see me wielding down there.  

^ _ ^  

We use it in making deviled eggs and, of course, the decorative touches on cakes.

Now for the shield.  I found the Easy Squeeze icing packets by Cake Mate® super easy for this part.

Getting closer to the finish line! 

Pardon me, the Olympics must be getting to me...

For the smaller details, I made little flags to top the cones.

With the extra cake batter, I made cupcakes.

Oo, and this was the best part!  Chocolate covered pretzels (for the castle door).  Sister Rhen was kind enough to make her yummy chocolate glaze (used on her famous chocolate cake) to cover these babies and the ice cream cones with.  I stuck them in the fridge so they wouldn't melt while finishing other details.

Yes!

It is completed!!

The mighty dragon.

The valiant knight.

Here's the pretzel sticks.

And don't forget the Hershey bar drawbridge.

Happy Birthday, Sir Kel!

Happy birthday boy! 

Yum, yum, yummy!

What have we here?  Dragon tracks!  They must be millions of years old! *please note: this last statement was purely sarcastic!*

And last of my pics is a beautiful painting by none other than Catlia, painted especially for the little knight's birthday, and specifically resembling the knight and dragon from his cake.  He got to keep those figurines, by the way, they were part of his gift.

Supper was hamburgers, garden vegetables, and of course, cake!

For the rest of the evening we were given the treat of hearing Uncle K play his euphonium (pretty much a baby tuba).  Several got the chance to blow into it and attempt to make a decent sound come from the instrument, even our grandmother (the other one) did it!  We played games and goofed off.  All in all it was a great day, I believe everyone had a good time.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Elisera