Campfire Fun...

A couple of years ago I told my neighbors that I would make a cake for her son, if she would let me pick the cake. I can't quite remember if the theme of the party was born from the cake or vise-versa. Regardless, the party had a "camping" out theme, and everyone knows camping is no fun with out a campfire. This cake was so much fun to make, and it was kinda at the beginning of
my cake "career," so it was definitely a learning process. The cakes were baked in bread pans and then carved into log shapes. I carefully placed the cake logs on a bed of chocolate doughnut holes coated in confectioners' sugar. Personally, I think the detail that just makes this cake awesome is the flames. I found a recipe for suckers (lollipops) and instead of pouring the mixture in to molds I free formed the flames on parchment paper. I did several different sizes and thicknesses because I wasn't sure which (if any) would work. While the sugar mixture was still gooey (for lack of a better word) I mixed in yellow and orange food coloring to give the flames some life. Last, but not least, I covered the cake board in green grass and Rita (the neighbor) added the bugs. This cake was simple to make, but it is still one of my favorites.