Two-Sided Grim Reaper Birthday

Shona threw Sue an awesome surprise birthday party and had such great ideas about the birthday cake. Shona wanted a half-paradise, and half-grave birthday cake with the grim reaper on top. She even wanted the grim reaper to have Bermuda shorts on under his robe. I thought the whole idea was hilarious and so I was in from the start!

After a lovely cake tasting with Shona, her son and daughter, they decided on Emerald City Cake (light pistachio flavored cake layered with pistachio cream filling, chopped pistachio nuts, and buttercream), Coconut Cream Pie Cake (coconut cake layered with coconut cream filling, coconut flakes, and buttercream), and White Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Cake (strawberry cake layered with white chocolate ganache). They were so much fun to plan with surprise birthday cake with and loved each new addition to the main cake idea. They were really shooting for a completely unique and fun cake and I think we achieved that together.

This first picture shows the cake with the stark contrasts between the two sides.

This second picture is the graveside shot. First, the marshmallow fondant was marbleized to give it an eerie feel to it. Then, I painted creepy trees and bats onto the cake. I added 3-D gravestones, each with a different names or phrase and some broken fencing.

This side is the tropical ocean side complete with a half-rainbow, birds & clouds, palm trees and flowers, and finally fish and coral at the bottom. This colorful side was so much fun because it really allowed me to keep adding and adding details until my little heart was content. Ah, it finally was :)

Lastly, I wanted to show you an up close shot of the grim reaper, made of fondant. He has little flip flops, flowers on his shorts, and a sickle to boot. This guy was tricky because I had to get his robe to look like it was flowing while still being made of fondant. His sickle also had to stand straight but stay in his hands. It took some messing around but I finally got him to come together.

The night of the delivery, it was pouring down rain. I was so nervous about getting this sucker into the restaurant because it was so heavy and detailed. Luckily, we got it into the room and into place before the birthday girl arrived. I later heard that she absolutely loved the cake and I know Shona did as well. Thank you so much for trusting me with this crazy vision!! :)