for what it's worth: Owl Cake Inspiration and Execution

Gabrielle wanted an owl cake for her birthday this year. This is always a process, even once you get the idea. I love to see an idea go from inspiration to the finished product. Gabi's cake was no exception. Here is how this idea "took flight"…

I first started by trying to force my opinions on her! "Let's do a cute little whimsical owl-- showing her daily images of trendy owlets in green, blue or orange. She likes crazy colors! They were all so cute-- But no! "I am leaning toward a more realistic looking owl!" Ok, show me what YOU want! She sketched her idea out :

We also got a book at the library with photos of all kinds of owls
(are you sure you still want realistic?) I learned more than I ever wanted to know on the subject!

Once I could wrap my brain around it, I made my own sketch.

The night before I baked one round and one rectangle dark chocolate fudge cake. Into the freezer they went. I also made a couple of batches of fondant. I went to bed dreaming of how this owl would take shape!

I wish I had taken more photos along the way, but my was racing against the clock as it was. I was hoping to finish it before I had to pick the girls up from school. I took out the frozen cakes and split them and filled them with a dark chocolate frosting filling. I carved out the body and log pieces, and used the round cake for the head. I frosted the body as one piece and then did the log separately with white butter cream. It should have actually been called oreo because there were so many crumbs in it! Oh well, it was getting covered with fondant! Which was the next step. Light tan over the whole birdie. Then I did brown fondant for the wings and head accents over. I marbeled in some more brown into the brown to make it look more wood grain-y. I should have done more, but I just went with the first batch. The cake, of course, came alive when the feather accents went on and then the face. I had to put on false eyelashes, realistic or not! And the black ribbon! I thought the feathers on the chest looked too hard edged, so I softened them up by brushing on some cocoa powder. Love the effect! Loved it so much I brushed it over the face and cheeks, as well as the tree branch. I finally pulled it all together by placing the leaves around to make it look like it was in a tree.