11/25/2024
Dinosaur Adventure Two-Tier Cake
Full Recipe:
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 (18.25 ounce) boxes white cake mix
4 large eggs
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups water
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Blue food coloring
For the frosting:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Blue food coloring
For the decorations:
Fondant (brown, green, orange, yellow)
Rolling pin
Cookie cutters (dinosaur, palm leaf, rock)
Edible food markers
Gold luster dust
Instructions:
Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, pudding mix, water, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Tint the batter with blue food coloring.
Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
In a large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in milk and vanilla extract until combined.
Tint the frosting with blue food coloring.
Assemble the cake:
Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Frost the top with a thin layer of blue frosting.
Place the second cake layer on top and frost the sides and top with blue frosting.
Using a piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe blue frosting around the bottom edge of the cake to create grass.
Decorate the cake:
Roll out brown, green, orange, and yellow fondant to a thickness of about 1/8 inch.
Cut out dinosaurs, palm leaves, and rocks using cookie cutters.
Attach the decorations to the top and sides of the cake using a small amount of frosting.
Use edible food markers to write "Happy Birthday!" on the front of the cake.
Dust the decorations with gold luster dust for a shimmery effect.
Tips:
You can use store-bought fondant or make your own.
To make your own fondant, combine 1 cup (2 sticks) powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons shortening, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1-2 tablespoons water. Knead until smooth.
If you don't have cookie cutters, you can cut out shapes using a knife.
To make the frosting smoother, chill the cake for 30 minutes before frosting.