How to make a Cow Cake

There are lots of good sites on the web showing various cow cake patterns.  After looking at them, I adapted to make the cake below.  I was in a hurry, as it was for a cast party (we were doing a play called "8 Cow Saint" so a cow themed cake was appropriate!).
I didn't have time to make the base cakes, so just bought 2 round madeira cakes - always good for carving and shaping.

Steps:

1.  Cut the dome off one round cake to level it.

2.  Carve the head of the cow out of the second piece (as shown), and make ears and feet.  The feet are easy - just two triangles, with the tips cut off to abut the body of the cow.  Ears are roughly diamond-shaped.

3.  Use a skewer to attach the ears to the head.

4.  Use frosting to help secure legs, ears and head to the body.  Crumb coat, then frost all over.

I used chocolate frosting for a brown cow, but reserved some white for a white muzzle and blaze on its head, as well as hooves.  Eyes were Rockets (like M&Ms).  For the nostrils, I just pushed the frosting into the right shape.  

Enjoy!

Change of Pace: Triple layer chocolate mousse cake

Sometimes a change of pace is indicated - as when it's time to make a birthday cake for my husband!  Much as he enjoys novelty cakes, he also likes elegant, gourmet taste, and so this year he specifically requested this triple layer chocolate mousse cake.  (It really is a triple layer -- it's just that the bottom layer shrunk away from the pan edge and so the middle layer spilled over and hid it!)  






This is an incredibly rich, bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate mousse, taken from the recipes of the fabulous Cook's Illustrated magazine.  So I can't share the recipe -- you'll have to get it from them!

Incidentally, Cook's Illustrated has a regular magazine, as well as online subscriptions, that is full of marvelous recipes that really work!  My husband has a standing subscription and we love trying out new things, or old things retooled.