Bryce's Creeper Cake

Another year, another crazy cake for the boy.  He always has the most interesting ideas.  This year, we did a "Creeper" cake.  Creepers, if you aren't a big Minecraft fan, are these creatures that hang out in the game and come around to destroy the stuff you build.  At least, that's my understanding.  I really have no clue.  I just know what Bryce tells me.

This rendering is admittedly a bit more organic than the pixelated dudes that you see in the game.  He looks like a shiny Creeper plushy or something.  I somehow managed to give my Creeper a club foot, which Louis very much wanted to eat (and did).Still, I think it does capture the essence of Creeper-ness.  And the color palette isn't too far off either.

Happy Birthday, Bryce!

Creeper on Fire!

Club Foot Creeper

What does a superhero do on vacation?

Maybe they would be hanging at the beach?  Lounging in the sun?  Trading stories about world calamity and comparing notes on their respective arch villains?  Do you need sunscreen when wearing one of those super-suits?  Questions one can only ponder when executing the latest in a series of superhero cake dioramas as ordered by a clever little stepson like Bryce.  The kid has very specific ideas about his birthday cake and I'm only too happy to oblige.

This dude is, according to Bryce, "Invisible Man."  He's lounging on a marshmallow fondant beach towel and wearing a flotation gummy ring.  I imagine he does not need any sunscreen.

I think it particularly ironic that The Flash is the only guy laying down in this scene.  He's clearly in need of some serious r&r.

Superman looks really mad about something.  Maybe Captain Yellow Tights splashed him.  You can tell Batman just really wants him to chill.

Notice there are no ladies.  I warned Bryce about this.  He wouldn't let me put Hawkgirl or Supergirl on, so now he has a beach scene that calls his superheroes appreciation of women into question.  He seemed completely unconcerned when I pointed this out and downright jubilant when I relented on the issue of female attendance.  Go figure.

This cake is two 9x13 sheetcake layers, deconstructed to form a rectangular pool off to one side.  (I actually used a ruler to get the proportions right.)  I lined the pool with white marshmallow fondant and then covered the rest of the cake with a huge sheet of fondant.  I used a combination of chocolate liqueur, powdered sugar, yellow food coloring, and water to make a "watercolor" paint which I painted over the whole sheet.  I sprinkled granulated sugar over the still wet paint for a sand effect.  The pool is filled with blueberry jello and the beach ball is actually a gumball that Michael and Louis got from a gumball machine.  The cake is one layer of chocolate and one layer of vanilla.  It was delish.  When the cake is all about appearance and fun, I always use a mix.  Duncan Hines is the best.  And yes, I did wash the action figures thoroughly before applying to the cake!

All in all, Mr. Bryce seemed happy with the results and I had a fun time making it. (Right after my nervous breakdown when both cakes fell apart upon being removed from the pans.)