Monkey in the Jungle Cake

Themed cakes are probably my favorite to make.  I think I say that about every cake though, I really love designing cakes!  For this birthday cake I was given the birthday party invitation as inspiration.  It was shades of green and yellow with a cute monkey on it, so that’s exactly what I created.  Owen’s mom wanted a really cute monkey cake, but nothing with polka dots or anything too childish.  She loved the idea of palm trees and grass and I love how those features came out.  I gave the grass and tree trunks some texture with a special textured rolling pin that is meant to look like fabric.

Here is a closer look at the hand cut gum paste monkey topper.  I also hand cut the number one and the light green “Owen” sign.  I used white gel food coloring to paint a graphic stitch mark around the edges, but it’s a little hard to see it in the picture.  Happy first birthday Owen!