Roger found me through my future MIL, Robin's, blog. His youngest son was having a Kung Fu Panda party and they were in need of a cake. I jumped at the opportunity (I haven't done many cakes for kids), and started scheming. I wanted it to be quite different from the cakes you see in a store's bakery case. Otherwise, what's the point in having a custom-made cake?!
While I began sketching out design ideas, Roger and his wife Shelly set out to find the perfect Kung Fu Panda cake topper/action figure. Surprisingly, THAT was the most difficult part of the whole process! In the end, Shelly triumphed and found the most perfect Panda!
I wanted to experiment with Candy Melts, as I had read they are quite versatile (and taste good, too!). I got the idea to make 'bamboo' out of pretzel rods and Candy Melts and then add fondant leaves. Whenever I make a cake, I do everything I can to make sure that it's nearly 100% edible.
The near-final result:
I used the candy-covered pretzels to make different lengths of "bamboo", piped some jungle grass around the bottom perimeter and added fondant leaves here and there.
Their son loved his cake (I have seen him once since his birthday, and he greeted me with, "Hey, you made my birthday cake!!") and Shelly snapped the following three photos (Thanks, Shelly!)
Doesn't the Kung Fu Panda figurine just make the cake?!
Shelly and Roger, thanks again for the opportunity! Your son's cake is one of the most fun cakes I have made this year! :)