Sunday, May 5, 2013

Cactus Cake

Happy Cinco de Mayo/birthday to me!


What better way to celebrate a Cinco de Mayo birthday than with a cactus cake? I've always thought cactuses (cacti?) are cool. I saw these cactus cakes all over the internet, so naturally I really wanted to make one. I saved it to make for my birthday cake. :)


The flower and cactus spikes need to be made ahead of time so the royal icing can dry. I made mine several weeks ahead of time because I needed to use up some royal icing that I had left from other projects, also because I was anxious to get a start on this cake.
I didn't really know how to make a proper cactus flower out of royal icing, so I just improvised and did more of a lily type flower. Although it has its flaws, it still looked good on the cactus.


The soil is crumbled cake from what I had to cut off to level the cake. I added some broken royal icing spikes to make it look more like potting soil. For the actual cactus I used a Wilton tip 32.

So far I have had a wonderful birthday. Almost as soon as I woke up my parents and sister came down the stairs singing happy birthday. They all gave me a present that I had been wanting for quite some time (the Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary performance at Royal Albert Hall on DVD :D). I have had happy birthday sung to me three different times by different groups of people and numerous birthday wishes. :) I definitely feel special.


Thanks everyone for all of the birthday wishes! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

27 comments:

  1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNALEE!!!! I hope you do feel special today of all days :D. I really liked the cake, its extremely realistic and reminds me of bygone New Mexico days...

    But why did you not include a picture of the cake's overnight home, aka the clear upside down storage tub called the terrarium??? ;) It looked really neat!

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    1. Thanks, Rachel! :D The terrarium pictures didn't really turn out. Boo.

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  2. Happy Birthday!!! :) Your photos are great and the cake was delicious!

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  3. Ah! I love the cactus cake, this might be my new favorite =) And Happy Birthday too! Sounds like a really nice day =)

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  4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! This cake looks delicious! So cute. I love the flower! Happy Cinco de Mayo.

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    1. Thank you, Taylor! I'm glad you like it!

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  5. LOL my cake didn't come out well. Oh well, hope you have a great birthday!

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  6. Happy birthday!!! lOvE the cake!!!

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  7. Happy Birthday!! What a great cake! The flower on it is a great touch!

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  8. This is so adorable! My friends in AZ would love it.

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    1. Thanks! I used to go out to New Mexico every summer..I think that's where my fondness for cacti came about.

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  9. Happy Birthday! It must be fun to make such a lovely cake for your own birthday! You are SO talented and while I have *dabbled slightly* :) in decorating cakes, you are motivating me to do it more often! I've enjoyed exploring your blog and think you do an awesome job. Keep it up!

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    1. Thank you!! And thank you for leaving such a kind comment! :)

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  10. Happy birthday, Jenn! The cactus cake looks great! (looks too good to cut into!) I LOVE the Phantom of the Opera, especially when Sarah Brightman plays the part of Christine.

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    1. Thanks, Maryanne! I haven't seen Sarah Brightman play Christine yet..now I have another version added to my list! :)

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  11. I'm a little late, but I hope it's ok to wish you a belated great day! :)

    I love what you make.. each post puts a big smile on my face!

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    1. Oh Pamela, you just made my week! Thank you so much for your wonderfully kind comment! It means a lot to me!

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  12. Your cactus cake is so cute and real looking! Love it

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  13. All of your cakes are so amazing jen a true work of art and i bet they taste alot better than fish sticks;) i hope your doing great and i hope your happy

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    1. Thank you so much. They do taste better than fish sticks, if I say so myself. ;) Definitely better than fish sticks with mayo, if I am remembering correctly. I am doing great and I am happy. Thanks so much for leaving me a comment..it really means a lot to me... :)

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  14. Im surprised you remembered

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    1. How could I forget? I was surprised YOU remembered. :)

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