Eeyore Cake

We have a party coming up to welcome Mini Manley into the world. I wanted to design an impressive cake for her and what better to base it on than my favourite character Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. 

I was torn whether to do a 3D cake or make a cake with characters on top, in the end I decided to do a 3D cake. I look on google for some inspiration and came up with the following idea. This is the first practice cake. 

I designed 2 templates for the head and the body. These are to be cut from 2 rectangular cakes. It was important that these were well proportioned and the head size matched the body. The head was going to rest on the body at an angle therefore I needed a straight edge to rest it on. 

Templates, head at the top and body at the bottom. 

I made 2 chocolate and orange cakes in rectangular tins that I lined with greaseproof paper. 

Once the cakes had cooled, I used the templates to carefully cut out the shapes. I then rested them together to recheck my design. I realised that the head needed to be propped up so used some of the sponge cut offs to hold it in place. 

Checking the sponge is designed right.

I made some butter icing and spread this over the cake. Then put it in the fridge to set a little. I used flora this time so it was too running, for the real cake I'll use butter which will be more solid. 

I coloured some fondant icing and covered the cake in 2 parts. Head first and then the body. I careful placed the seam in a place that would be covered later on. 

Covered cake. 

I dyed some fondant pink and used this to make the nose, I'd already drawn the size on the template so I cut it according to that. I then dyed some more fondant the colour of the body and used this to make the legs. 

Added nose and legs.

Using more fondant I shaped some ears, sticking pink on top and folding them over. I dyed some fondant black and rolled this in "sausages" to create the hair. 

Hair and ears.

I then finished off the cake using some white and black fondant for the eyes. I wanted eeyore to be celebrated up so I used some fondant to make ribbons which were drapped over his back. I made these really bright colours and I think this adds some great colour to him.

The finished cake

I based this cake on an eeyore soft toy I had, so have photographed the 2 together. 

Front view of the cake. 

Close up of the back and the ribbons. 

Next to my inspiration