My littlest guy just had a birthday. The custom in our home is to let my kids pick what kind of birthday cake they want to celebrate their big day.  My son is obsessed with sharks.  A few weeks ago we watched Soul Surfer, which is an excellent movie by the way, and he has been obsessed...not only with sharks, but with Bethany Hamilton and her lack of an arm due to a very hungry shark.  When my boy saw this shark cake, he HAD to have it.

• 1 pound cake baked in a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan
• 1 large (5-inch round) sugar cookie, from bakery
• 1 large gumdrop, any flavor
• Black food coloring
• 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting (note- I used two cans...for icing the cake and the waves)
• 1 roll red fruit leather (Fruit Roll-Ups)
• ¼ cup mini-marshmallows
• 2 Junior Mints
• 1 tube black decorating icing (I used my AmeriColor food coloring mixed with vanilla frosting)
• Blue food coloring

What you'll need:

• A bread knife
• A serving platter
• A serrated knife
• Kitchen shears or scissors
• A resealable sandwich-size plastic bag (Ziploc)

Trimming the cake:

1. Place the cake loaf on its side on a clean work surface. Using the bread knife, make a 3-inch, wedge-shaped diagonal cut from one short end of the pound cake (see template).
2. Arrange the cut cake, diagonal cut side down, on a serving platter to create the appearance of the shark coming out of the water. Wedge the trimmed piece of cake under the front of the shark's body for support. 

For the fin:

1. Use a serrated knife to cut a 1 ½-inch piece from one side of the cookie.
2. Make a vertical slit in the base of the back side of the cake and insert cookie, cut side down, into the opening as the fin. Place the gumdrop under the cookie fin for support.

For the gray frosting:

1. Using a tiny amount of black food coloring, tint 1 cup of the vanilla frosting a light gray. Spread the gray frosting over the cake and cookie fin and make smooth.

For the shark's mouth:

1. Cut the shark's mouth out of the red fruit leather. Press the fruit-leather mouth onto the front end of the cake and press lightly to secure.
2. Using kitchen shears or clean scissors, cut the mini-marshmallows in half on the diagonal to make the teeth. Press the cut side of mini-marshmallows onto the edge of the fruit leather to make the shark's teeth.

For the eyes and gills:

1. Press the Junior Mints into the sides of the cake for the shark's eyes.
2. Pipe 3 gills under each eye using the black decorating icing.

For the waves:

1. To make the swirly blue frosting, add a little blue food coloring to the remaining vanilla frosting, but don't mix completely. Spoon the swirly blue frosting into a resealable plastic bag.
2. Snip a ¼-inch corner from the bag with the blue frosting. Pipe waves and swirls to cover the base of the cake and some of the shark. Dab with the back of a small spoon to make swirls in the frosting.

The finished product.  1. Please note there is a diagram with exact specifications for the shark cake here. It is at the bottom of the page so scroll down until you see it.  2.  I didn't buy my pound cake at the store.  I made this recipe.  It turned out great.  I'm curious what my guy's cake will be next year...

Labels: birthday cake

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