Coolest Tank the Triceratops Cake from Dinosaur Train

I had asked my boy about a month ago what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and his prompt response was Tank the Triceratops from the PBS show Dinosaur Train. I will admit that, since the cake itself was such a workout, I cheated and used funfetti cake mix and canned icing.

I baked the cakes the night before, wrapped and frozen to preserve freshness, and then packed them up and drove to my parents house the next morning to cut and assemble. I baked two 9″ round cakes, one I cut in half and stood on their sides for the body. I then cut one half of the other round cake into the tail shape and 4 legs, and the other half I carved to pad the sides of the body.

I also baked a small loaf cake that I carved the head out of. I ended up with some extra cake so I made some quick cake balls and called them dinosaur eggs. The frill of the dinosaur is actually a sugar cookie that I baked in one of my oven safe salad bowls to give it a round shape. I cut the tips of some ice cream cones for the horns and white chocolate chips on the frill, then iced it all down in blue icing with purple diamonds on the back.

Last touches were to add some green tinted coconut for grass and I used the other part of the ice cream cones as trees. It took me about 2 hours to assemble everything that morning, but it was worth to see the excited face of my boy.