How to Make a "Backyardigans" Cake

Draw a tree house on the cake with buttercream.

The "Backyardigans" show features five animal friends -- Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, Austin and Uniqua -- who use their imaginations to make-believe wonderful adventures in their backyard. The show, with its fanciful music and dance numbers, is popular with the 2 through 10 age group and makes an excellent party theme. Use store-bought fondant, buttercream frosting and box cake mix to save time.

Things You'll Need

• Pan
• Cake
• Cardboard
• Fondant
• Buttercream frosting

Instructions

1. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter or vegetable oil and sprinkle with a light dusting of flour. The grease and flour will make the cake easier to remove from the pan.

2. Mix the ingredients for the cake, pour the batter into the pan and bake according to your recipe or the box instructions.

3. Allow the cake to cool completely. Gently invert the cake onto a rectangle of cardboard.

4. Spread a thin coating of buttercream on all surfaces of the cake.

5. Mix a few drops of green food coloring into your fondant and knead until the fondant is smooth and pliable. Sprinkle your work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll the green fondant out into a thin sheet. Gently smooth the sheet of fondant over the cake using your fingers to push out any air bubbles.

6. Decorate the top of the cake with colored buttercream. Your design could include a tree house, the "Backyardigan" characters or images from a favorite episode.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also make a tiered cake and decorate with "Backyardigans" characters molded from colored fondant. Dot the green fondant-covered tiers with green buttercream to give the impression of grass.