Happy Bastille Day!  That means it’s time to eat cake!

(Ok, I know that’s not the kind of cake Marie Antoinette was talking about)

July 14 is not only France’s Independence Day, but also my youngest sister’s birthday.  In celebration of her birthday, I made her the above Adventure Time themed cake.

Here’s how to make your very own:

1. Bake cakes

The heart shape was Kayla’s request.  The circular was made with the left over batter.  Why make a 2-layer cake when you can add a third layer?  That’s more chocolate per slice.

2. Gather the supplies.

This includes: gummy worms, gummy bears, colored tootsie rolls (Starbursts can work too), chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, and a laptop.

3. Make a home for the cake.

Cakes are often afraid of large, exposed places, and may dry out from fear.  They prefer cave-like structures which provide greater security and cool shade.

To provide this safe environment, I took a big cardboard box  cut it down to make a platform.  This is actually the side of the box, and required my “pirate knife cutting through a sail” skills.

Here is the completed cave, with a bedding of wax-paper to both provide a more sanitary platter, and also make for easy clean up and removal of excess frosting.

4. Prepare Work Station

Now is the time to make sure you have a clear area, all decoration supplies and tools, including butter knives and spatulas, and, most importantly, select which Star Trek episode to watch while working.

It took 2 episodes to complete the cake (Day of the Dove, and For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky – both amazing.)

5. Prep and Assemble Decorations

First, I heated up some water in the microwave and made a pseudo-double boiler to warm up the colored Tootsie Rolls to a malleable temperature.

Then, I smashed up the Butterfingers using the ceramic bowl now holding the Tootsie Rolls, just like the Klingon is attempting to smash Chekov.

Now, it’s time to play with Tootsie Rolls like clay.  This nice round ball will soon become…

A horse and its ball!  (The sequel to The Horse and His Boy from The Chronicles of Narnia).

Which becomes…

A magical unicorn, AKA Lady Rainicorn!

Next…

The beginnings of Jake the Dog.  The orange color is derived from mixing together yellow and orange colored Tootsie Rolls.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the various forms Jake took before taking his final form – a snake-like ribbon with a dog head – because Jake can change shapes.

6. Assemble The Cake

Using my best “I’ve watched far too many baking challenges on the Food Network” skills, I cut the top off the cakes to make them flat and ready for layering.

This cake is brought to you by a circle!

On top of the circle, I added the two heart layers.

With the cake assembled it’s time for…

FROSTING!

And what’s better than adding food coloring to white frosting (all health concerns aside… and, really… it’s a chocolate cake covered in candy.  I think all health concerns were disintegrated by a proton torpedo early on in this process.)

Now the top of the cake is a beautiful sky, a blank pallet waiting for great artistry.

The sides are frosted in chocolate, with Butterfinger crumbs tossed on the side.  This heart-shaped asteroid floating in the sky is coming into form.

Now, the most important part:

Adding the candy and decorations.

Originally, the unicorn’s hair was going to be made out of gummy worms, but that was too Medusa-like, hence the beautiful gummy worm frame.

The green alien-looking creature is supposed to be Finn, but, obviously, didn’t quite work.  The orange snake-thing is Jake, and the pink figure is none other than Princess Bubblegum.  There is an entire bag of gummy worms and a bag of gummy bears decorating this cake.

Here’s another view:

And another:

Once again, here is the final cake:

7. Hide The Cake

Here is the enclosed box where we placed the cake, and then placed the box in my brother’s room.

Then, we placed the scraps on the table and told Kayla the cake fell on the floor, the dog ate it, and this was all that was left.

7. Eat The Cake

First, assemble an awesome group to eat the cake with.  Cake is always better when shared.

(The dogs are in the picture just to be hopeful cake scraps will fall on the floor).

Next, find a birthday girl who is really excited.

Then, serve, and eat the cake.

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What are some of your birthday traditions?  What’s the most amazing cake you have made or seen?  If Marie Antoinette could go back in time, what would she have let the people of France eat instead of cake?  Do these questions take the cake?

Side Note 1: I’m still at about 73,000 / 90,000 words.  This past weekend was spent making the above cake, and other birthday festivities.  Also, I’m getting towards the end of the book, and so have not gone over it as much as other parts – meaning there are more holes to spackle over and re-sand before moving on.

Side Note 2: In case you missed it, here’s an article with some awesome fake trailers for reality shows, all in support of public television.