Noah’s Ark

My dad asked me to make a Noah’s Ark cake for my mom’s 60th birthday. I had a lot of fun coming up with the design for this one. The bottom layer was made with a standard 8 inch pan and I just frosted it blue to represent the water. I used M&Ms for the rainbow because what’s a Noah’s Ark cake without a rainbow?

The next layer was a two layer 6 inch cake. I frosted and filled it with a chocolate frosting that my family loves. I believe my mom invented this recipe, which involves melting semi-sweet chocolate chips with butter before blending with powdered sugar and milk. This is definitely a family favorite!

The little structure on top is made from graham crackers and held together with the chocolate frosting. Royal icing would have been much sturdier, but I assembled this at my parents’ house and did not transport it anywhere else. So, I didn’t want to make new icing for such a small task.

I covered the chocolate cake and graham crackers with fondant strips that I had prepared ahead of time. I made them a day ahead and poked the edges with a toothpick, so they would look like they were nailed to the cake. I would recommend making them ahead of time, so they are not sticky when it’s time to assemble. I stuck them to the cake with a very small amount of water applied to the back with a pastry brush. I had trouble cutting them straight, but I think they looked okay on the cake.

The little animal heads peeking out of the ark are definitely my favorite part. I made them out of marshmallow fondant. I sculpted them a few days in advance and let them dry on plates before they were transferred to the ark. I love the way they turned out!