Jeep Practice Cake

Yesterday I finally got around the making a practice Jeep cake for James' birthday party which is coming up this Saturday.  I have never made a shape cake before...one that you shape yourself.  First I found a chocolate cake recipe I wanted to try: Moist Chocolate Cake.  So I started by whipping together a batch of cake mix and filling my mini bundt pan with the batter.  The mini bundt pan makes six cakes, so I knew we would be able to sample a couple of them to make sure the cake was good before I made the whole cake based on that recipe.  I was happy with how the bundt cakes turned out...they will make perfect wheels.  Also my husband, James and I agreed the chocolate cake was yummy!

Once we determined the cake batter was a hit, I went ahead and whipped together a few more batches, making two 13x9 cakes and one 8x8 cake.  Fortunately, I baked the cakes in the afternoon and then waited until the boys were asleep to assemble the cake.  That gave plenty of time for everything to cool off and allowed me to focus only on the cake.  First I put together a base for the cake.  I ended up wrapping a book in foil and using some frosting to glue it to my cake holder.  Then I wrapped a piece of cardboard in foil as well for the cake body to rest on.  Next time I will using a thicker base, so the wheels can be set more accurately.  The wheels are just glued to the cake with a decent dab of butter cream frosting.

For the filling between the layers I created a whipped ganache.  I have read the idea somewhere before, and I have been wanting to try it, so I figured why not try it out on my practice cake.  I carved a little of the 13x9 cake off using a serrated bread knife to make the form of the Jeep.

 

Next I took the butter cream frosting I had made and did a crumb type coat over the Jeep.  I left the wheels alone though.

 

I had to make an additional batch of butter cream frosting in order to color it for decorating the cake.  When I have asked James what color he wants his Jeep cake to be he has gone between green and blue, so for the practice cake I decided I would make a green Jeep.  I dyed some of the frosting tan first and started by doing the top (although I goofed up and forgot to factor the doors in...the practice Jeep just doesn't have any doors).  Then I used the green coloring to get the frosting ready for the body.

 

 

After the initial frosting application, I need to go through and start adding some details.  I used some of the white frosting to create the headlights and windows.  I also used some of my leftover whipped gananche (but softened) to cover the wheels including the middle section. 

Of course at this point in time the cake is still missing some vital details.  I used black coloring and filled a decorators bag in order to pipe out the finer details.  For the actual birthday cake, I will make sure to include the doors, more lights and perhaps even a spare tire.  My husband and I also decided I should cut the 13x9 cakes to make them just slightly more narrow, so it looks more Jeep-like.  Between that and adding an extra layer of 8x8 cake on top, it should work out well.

 

The true test was how the cake in its entirety turned out, and since I couldn't just cut a wedge off to sample before sending it into my husband's work, I had to just sit back and wait to hear how it was.  The verdict is...everyone LOVES it!  The cake is really moist, and the filling and frosting work perfectly.  My husband says to make it the exact same...except in regards to the areas we already mentioned we wanted to change.  I am happy I don't have to alter a crucial component (frosting, filling) before the party.