I made this giraffe cake for my son’s 1st birthday. It was my first attempt at a cake this large. It turned out to be 3 1/2 feet tall. I used my son’s giraffe toy as a guide. I took the toy measurements and multiplied them by 4 to get the size that I wanted.
Next we got plywood and cut the base and the body and cut 5 dowels (4 for the legs, 1 for the neck). We then screwed the dowels to the base and the body. Next I made rice krispy treats to shape the legs, neck and head. I made three 12 inch square cakes and carved them for the body.
Next everything got covered in buttercream and then the fondant. I put fondant on the legs and body first and did the neck separately.
TIP: Make sure the rice krispy treats have time to cool and harden before putting on the fondant or attaching the neck. When attaching the neck, make sure to place dowels in the body to support the neck. The tail, ears and things that come out of it’s head are made from gum paste.
I have never taken a cake class. It’s pretty much trial and error. It is very important to use a pliable fondant. I used satin ice. This cake was so fun make. I’m not sure how I’ll out do it next year.
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that is the coolest cake ever…you have given so much inspiration to our very own giraffe cake.
However, ours so far has not turned out so good……. we will see!
I love your cake. Very creative ! My daughter-in-law loves giraffes and I have been looking for a really neat cake to try to make for her. I don’t know if mine will turn out like yours, but I just might give it a shot.
I just made this cake and it turned out so great. We are doing a jungle theme party today for my son’s 1st birthday! I just love this cake so much and it was so fun to make! I love how it turned out! Thanks for the idea. My son also has that toy and I would have never thought to turn it into a cake!
wow this is seriously the coolest cake I’ve ever seen! My son is a HUGE giraffe lover and actually has that little giraffe that you modeled this cake after (he’s named him spotty)
His 3rd birthday is coming up and I think he would pop from excitement if we made this cake for him!
Thank you for the tutorial!!
I want to make this cake for my son’s first birthday and am trying to get a rough guesstimate of how much we’re going to spend on his party. how much did it cost to make this?
I have been trying to figure out how to make a 3D giraffe cake for a few years. Each year, my daughter asks, and I get her to pick something else. This year, I think I will be able to try this and see how excited she is. Thanks for sharing your cake idea!
Amazing. I wish that you had included pictures of the neck and head. I too was asked to make a giraffe cake.