This post is part of a series for a Dino themed birthday party.  To view the rest of the series head on over to the Dino Birthday Party post.

This was the most important aspect of the party to me. If I got nothing else done I knew I just had to make this dinosaur cake because it was what Max was the most excited about. Anytime anyone would ask him about his birthday his first response was to tell them about his “red dinosaur cake”!

He knew from the very beginning that he wanted a red dinosaur cake. So one day, we went online to Cake Central to look for some inspiration. He would say, “no, don”t like it” to every one, until he saw this one. The moment he saw it, it was decided – it had to be that cake. I did my best to recreate it and he would come over to check up on me and make sure I was making it “zactly the same” (so cute!). Of course you can never make something exactly the same, nor would I want to. That”s the beauty of making it your own.

Here”s how I made mine.

Baking

I split the batter between all of the pans – 2 cups for each half of the ball pan, the remainder in the 9×13 pan. Bake at 350ºF until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire wracks to cool completely. Wrap one half of the ball cake in plastic wrap and freeze.

Preparing

Prepare a double batch of Whipped Vanilla Frosting; tint green.

Color fondant to desired colours by kneading gel colourings into the prepared fondant. I made my own using this recipe, but you could also buy it pre-made.

Take the frozen half-ball cake and gently carve it into a dino head shape by taking it in slightly at the top and sides to form a nose. Working with a frozen cake helps it to not fall apart while you carve it. Once you get the look you want, let it thaw.

Cut two cardboard cutouts to match the bottom of the half-ball cakes; wrap them in plastic wrap. Use a small bit of frosting to stick the cake to the appropriate board. This will help later when you want to cut the cake into servings. It also makes transferring the cakes much easier.

Frosting

Lightly coat the half-ball cakes in Whipped Vanilla Frosting. Roll out the desired colour of fondant and drape over. Smooth and trim to fit the cake perfectly.

Frost the 9×13 pan with Whipped Vanilla Frosting. Place the half-ball cakes on top in desired placement. If at any time the frosting seems to be getting too soft or starts to melt, refrigerate before continuing.

Decorating the Dinosaur

I used this wilton kit to help me with the decorating

  • I flattened two white pieces of oval fondant for the eyes. Shaped and flattened some red fondant to cover part of the eyes, for the eyelids. Shaped and flattened two half circles out of black fondant for the pupils.

  • I rolled one large piece of fondant to make the neck and connect the back to the head

  • I rolled another larger piece of fondant, rolling it thinner on one end, to make the tail. I attached it to the end of the dinosaur and curled it to fit on the base cake.

  • I rolled out some blue fondant and cut out triangles to make the spikes on his back. I drug lines through, to add dimension. I made them differing sizes and shapes. They stuck on easy on their own but you could also use a bit of water, if needed.

  • I put lines along the nose to look like it”s crinkling

  • I made indents with a ball tool to look like nostrils

  • I rolled out the blue fondant and cut out circles to add to the body and head

Decorating the Base

  • I rolled thin strings of brown fondant and placed them in a vine-like fashion around the cake.

  • I rolled out green fondant and cut out leaf-like shapes in differing sizes and shapes. I drug lines to make the veins and placed them around the vines and the dinosaur.

  • I rolled small thin pieces of fondant into grass-like shapes and used them to fill up any empty spaces.

And, that”s it. I didn”t use many special tools, I personally like to form most of it myself with my own hands just using a paring knife to cut unique shapes. Hopefully my description is actually helpful and not confusing. I may not be the best instructor via writing, but hopefully you get the gist. :)