Instructions

• Prepare the 3D fondant or gum paste lion, elephant, monkeys, and giraffe. (If using fondant, it is helpful to knead in gum paste as it dries more quickly and firmer.)For the 3D, stand-alone animals, we prefer to mold the heads, bodies, etc. separately and allow to dry for at least 24 hours before piecing them together. This prevents sagging.
• Create other fondant decorations as well- including the number, leaves, balloons on floral wire, etc.
• Bake 6 inch cake layers and 8 inch cake layers per instructions for your recipe of choice. (See Notes). Allow to cool.
• Next, assemble your 8 inch tier and 6 inch tiers, each on their own cake cardboard cut down to size. Fill and frost with a crumb coat of buttercream or ganache. If using buttercream, we like Classic Vanilla Buttercream because it contains no shortening (only butter), which gets firmer when chilled.
• Chill the filled and crumb coated 8 inch and 6 inch tiers in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove, and then cover with rolled fondant. *Note that if you prefer not to use fondant to cover the cake tiers, you can use an all-buttercream design with fondant decorative accents.
• Place dowels of choice (we use bubble tea straw supports) into the bottom tier, beneath where the 6 inch tier will sit. The bubble tea straws should be equal in length, cut to the height of the bottom tier. Place 4-5 straws.
• Smear a bit of buttercream on top of the bottom tier and apply the 6 inch, fondant covered tier on top.
• Extrude green fondant vines and place onto the cake. You can adhere with dots of buttercream, tylose glue, etc. Layer on the other decorations, applying with buttercream or tylose glue. Add the jungle animals.