Fondant Carrot Patch Cake

For my son’s 1st birthday I made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I have wanted to make a cake that looked like a veggie garden for years, ever since I saw it in Martha Stewart Living.  She made a spring garden cake with marzipan veggies and a fondant picket fence.  I took the idea and made it my own by creating the carrots and fence out of fondant.  Here is a link to an easy marshmallow fondant recipe: http://candy.about.com/od/fondantcandyrecipes/r/mm_fondant.htm

To color the fondant, simply make a well in the center of the fondant and squeeze in a few drops of food coloring.  Pinch the fondant together and slowly knead it until the color is all incorporated.

       

I used a garlic press to make the carrot tops.

     

We brushed on cocoa powder for an earthy look.

To assemble the cake I frosted it with cream cheese frosting that I tinted green.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/perfect-cream-cheese-frosting

Then I sprinkled green tinted coconut around the base for grass.  To tint the coconut I simply put it in a plastic bag with a couple drops of food coloring and shook it until it was a uniform green color.

Next I used paper strips as guidelines for my chocolate cookie crumb “dirt”.

  

Then we removed the strips and “planted” the carrots.

  

The final touch was the picket fence that I made by rolling out untinted fondant and cutting it with a pizza cutter.

The cake was a big hit!

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