4 Cool Gary the Snail Birthday Cakes

This cake was at the request of my youngest daughter who was turning three and is a big fan of Gary the Snail from Sponge bob. I copied a Spongebob photo.

I made four 8X8 cakes, filled them with basic butter cream then stacked them to make a big block of cake. I then carved Gary’s shell and applied a thin layer of buttercream to crumb-coat it.

Next I sharpened four wooden dowels and inserted them through the cake directly into the cake board for stability. I chilled the cake overnight. Meanwhile I colored some fondant and got that ready for the next morning. I rolled out the fondant using cornstarch then covered the shell.

I cut out the swirls and the spots and applied with water. Next I built the body around the shell out of fondant. The eye stems were dowels covered in fondant and the eyeballs were fondant as well. Then I covered the cake board with raw sugar and colored sugars and added the seaweed and flower things I had made out of gum paste earlier that week.

More Gary the Snail Cakes

Spongebob photo by Gaynor F., England.

A few days before my daughters 5th birthday she informed me that she wanted a Gary the snail cake from sponge bob. I used a spongebob photo trying everything possible to get it right.

I baked 2 round sponge cakes. Once cooled I placed them on top of each other and sliced a quarter of the bottom off so it was flat and would stand up. I put butter cream (6oz icing sugar2oz butter) and jam in the inside, closed it then stood it up. I then iced them with super cook ready icing but colored it pink. I used the same icing with everything else e.g. spots but choose different colors to match Gary. Once iced I stuck the spots on him.

For the eyes I used straws wrapped in green icing and for the eye balls I used balls of white icing. Then once finished I colored some icing sugar in 2 pots, 1 green and 1 blue, added a bit if water and using a brush just placed the slime around the bottom of Gary. My daughter was so excited she just couldn’t believe she had a Gary cake…

Spongebob photo by Thanita G., Ashburn, VA

My daughter wanted a Spongebob theme for her 3rd birthday party. I bought all the Spongebob party supplies but I wanted something different for the cake. I stumbled across this site and loved the idea Spongebob photo of Gary the Snail cake. My daughter loves the new episode where Spongebob loses Gary so this was a perfect fit.

The Shell: I used two 9-inch cake pans and one box of store bought cake. I used yellow cake because everyone likes it. Once they were cooled, I sandwiched the bottoms of the cake together for symmetry and cut about 1/3 off the bottom (save that portion for the mouth). I then separated the two halves and used tinted icing to “glue” the two together then assembled the “shell” of Gary.

The Mouth: I used one side from the (1/3) portion I cut off. It was too long so I cut about an inch off the center and “glued” the two together to make one whole piece again. I used tinted icing again to make the mouth and his slimy body on the bottom. I basically just spread a bunch of icing on the serving plate and wiped off the excess with a wet paper towel. The teeth are mini marshmallows.

The Eyes: for the stem, I used two sticks of Crème Filled Pirouettes (I think Pepperidge Farm makes them but you can use any brand). I covered it with icing. The eyes are made from doughnut wholes. I couldn’t find the powdered ones (more convenient to use) so I used glazed ones and covered with icing.

It was a lot of fun making it. Be sure you have symmetry and a sturdy base because my poor Gary almost toppled over!

Spongebob photo by Jane D., Fergus, Ontario Canada

My daughter’s favorite character from Sponge Bob is Gary the snail so I was charged with rendering him in 3-D for her Birthday – I could have made it a flat cake but prefer to do things more “realistically”.

All I used were some pictures of Gary as a reference for colors. The Body of ” Gary ” is made from two round cakes trimmed to a flat edge on one side and upended. I chose 7″ pans to make a shorter, deeper snail body.

Gary ‘s mouth is one of the trimmed ends from the round cake. The two layers are held together with icing. I placed the mouthpiece in front, leaving enough room for the eyeball stems.

I used regular butter cream frosting (as requested by the Birthday girl) for the body – tinted to match Gary ‘s colors.

The “snail trail” was created by tinting two batches of frozen whip topping two colors – smoother than using frosting, this also covers the mouth. The teeth are marshmallow pieces cut to size outlined in Black icing gel in a tube.

To create Gary ‘s eyeballs and stems is a two/three part process. I melted white chocolate pieces, tinted it blue and spread it out on parchment paper in the approximate length and shape of the eyeball “stems” – put in the fridge to harden. The eyeballs are White Chocolate truffle’s split (along their natural seam) and then stuck on either side of the eyeball stem. Any cracks or gaps I filled in with more melted white chocolate. The detail was then painted on using icing scribblers and icing gel in a tube.

My daughter and her friends were all quite impressed and pleased – me most of all as very little of the cake went to waste! I hope you enjoy this Spongebob photo.

More Gary the Snail Cakes

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