This Should Be Interesting

Only a few more days until my baby's 1st birthday!  We are not having a big party, but we are having a little, intimate, family party, so I have been busy this week purchasing supplies.  We are going with a Paul Frank theme this year.  The baby does not watch tv or have an attachment to any sort of character, so I went to target to see what they had.  I decided that our options were generic birthday theme (balloons) or Paul Frank monkey theme.  So I went with monkey.

Then I decided that I am going to make a cake.  Not just any cake.... a fondant cake with a monkey on top.  This should be interesting.  I rarely make cakes and have never made fondant so I am really hoping it does not turn into a disaster, which is entirely possible!  This will be my first layer cake, so I purchased a couple 9" cake pans as well as a couple supplies for making the fondant.  I also purchased a little 3" cake pan that I will use for the baby's special cake.  I looked online to see what others had done in terms of making a paul frank cake and wasn't terribly inspired by any of them, so I have been racking my brain to come up with exactly what I want to do.  Decision number one:  What color should I make the base of the cake?  All of the supplies are in a blue, red, yellow color scheme, however I am not sure that I want to make the base any of these colors.  I may go with orange or green.  Decision number two:  Should I simply put a paul frank head on top of the cake or should I add other decoration such as stripes or polka dots?  I may need to get the fondant made prior to making this decision.  Decision number three:  What paul frank depiction should I create? Ice Cream on his head? Head phones?  Sun Glasses?  Traditional?  Again, this decision may be made once I am into it and see how I am liking the process or not.

I have the basics figured out.  I am making marble layers with chocolate buttercream frosting under the fondant.  I consulted my Joy Of Cooking cook book to get a cake recipe and I found the perfect frosting recipe on a blog that I enjoy Savory Sweet Life.  I went on YouTube and researched how to make fondant as well as how to apply it.  After reviewing a number of videos, I think I have a recipe that will work and am praying that it is not way too much or too little fondant.  At this point, the cake seems like a fairly large task, but a fun task that is completely doable.  I don't feel that it is too much to take on, I just want to time it right so that everything is fresh and I am not rushed to finish it.  Now that I have my recipes, its time to go shopping!