How to Make Dinosaur Cake

Dinosaurs are always popular, and when dinosaur-mania occurs at birthday time, nothing but a dinosaur cake will do. You can buy a dinosaur cake pan, for $12 or more dollars, but you may never use it again. Cakes bought at the store are guaranteed to cost a lot more. Instead, save money and make a unique cake with your child's help. Just bake a cake, cut it up and assemble a dinosaur. You can choose the color and size of this dinosaur. You'll save money and you won't have to store a dinosaur-shaped cake pan in your cupboards.

Things You'll Need

• Batter for a 2-layer cake (from your favorite cake mix or from scratch)
• Round 8 inch pan
• Square 8 inch pan
• Large sharp knife
• Frosting
• Candies for decorating cake

Instructions

Bake the cake

1. Divide cake batter into the round and square cake pans.

2. Bake according to directions.

3. Cool cake about 5 minutes, remove from pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

4. 

   Cut round cake straight across 2 inches from the bottom.

Cut the Square Cake

1. 

   Cut into four strips 2 inches wide (The last strip will be a little narrower).

2. Cut first strip into four legs, about 1 ½ inches wide. (There will be a bit left over).

3. Cut the second strip into (seven) triangles for spikes.

4. Cut off a triangle from each end of the third strip to make a trapezoid for the neck. Use the triangles as extra spikes.

5. Use the last, thinner strip to make the tail.

Assemble the Dinosaur

1. 

   Put large part of circle on serving platter with flat side down. Place the four legs under the flat side of the body.

2. Place the neck on the side of the body stretching up or out (depending on your dinosaur). Adjust the edges of the neck to make it meet the side of the body.

3. Place the smaller part of the circle at the end of the neck, with the flat side against the angled end of the neck.

4. Place the tail at the other end of the dinosaur's body. Add spikes to the body, neck and tail. Adjust neck and tail length as needed to fit your serving plate.

5. Frost your dinosaur, using any color or flavored frosting you want. Decorate you dinosaur with candies for eyes, mouth, scales, spots.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the cake is cool before cutting with a sharp knife. Brush off crumbs before frosting. Cover a large cutting board with aluminum foil or parchment paper to make a large serving platter that allows the dinosaur to have a longer neck and tail. Put a little bit of frosting between the pieces of the dinosaur to keep them in place while arranging pieces. A "skim coat" of thin frosting can decrease the crumbs when frosting the cake. No one knows what colors dinosaurs really were, so choose your favorite color combinations for frosting and candies when decorating your cake.

References

• Coolest-Birthday-Cakes.com