This is a cake that I made awhile back, but it is still one of my favorites. Probably because it has a very sweet memory tied to it.
All of my kids seem to go through a stage where they are fascinated with Sesame Street. For my oldest son, this was when he was 2 years old. Well, one day we were at a park and there was a metal garbage can tipped over on it's side. My son took off running in that direction at full speed. We followed after him to see what he was up to. When he got to the garbage can and looked inside. Then he turned around and with a look of surprise and great concern asked, "Where is Oscar the Grouch?"
This cake was inspired by this little visit to the park. Whenever I see a picture of this cake, it reminds me of that little story and always brings a smile to my face. You might not have a goofy 2 year old, that goes around looking for Oscar the Grouch in trash cans, to make this fun cake for, but I bet you have someone that would love it!
To make this cake you will need:
Two-6" round by 2" high
Rice Krispy bars (homemade or store bought)
Fondant
gum paste
2 wooden dowels
Cake board
Food coloring- Red, green, brown, black
On the 3" high contoured cake, using a serrated knife, cut off the contoured part. Set this aside to use for the lid. Next stack the three cakes together (the two 6" round by 2 " high and the 6" round by 3" high minus the cut off piece) using buttercream frosting between each layer. Then frost the whole thing with buttercream.
You will need to make your gray fondant. (Make sure you leave enough white fondant to make eyes.) Mix black food coloring with the fondant until you get the shade of gray that you want to use for your garbage can. Now roll the gray fondant into a rectangle about 19" by 7". This should make it big enough to wrap around your cake. (You won't be draping the fondant over the cake and cover it in the traditional way that you would cover a cake with frosting.) Using a fondant tool with a small ball tip, make vertical indentions for the side of the garbage can. Start and stop each "indention line" about an inch from each end. Now wrap your fondant around the cake and pinch the overlapping fondant to seal it together. Roll down the top edge of the fondant towards the inside of the "garbage can".
Then roll out four long "ropes" of fondant. Placed two around the top of the can and the other two around the bottom of the can.
Use gray gumpaste to form the handles. Start by making 2 thin snakes and shaping them into a rectangle. Next make two rectangles that will be used to attach the handles to the garbage can. Roll out 8 small balls to look like screws. (Refer to the picture.) Allow the gumpaste to harden before attaching them to the can.
Now it's time to make a head for Oscar. Use Rice Kripy Treats to form a ball. Make it about the same width as the garbage can (6" diameter). Cut out a wedge from the circle where you want his mouth to be. For support I pushed two wooden dowel rods into the Rice Krispy Treat ball. (These will later be pushed into the cake to hold the head in place.) I covered the entire head in a fairly thick layer of green buttercream. Then i used a small spatula to give the fur texture. To do this place the spatula against the frosting and quickly lift it away. (I have seen other Oscar the Grouches fur made using the "grass" frosting tip. But I prefer my method because it gives the "fur" a messy, matted sort of look.) Oscar's eyes are made out of white fondant using a black edible marker to make his pupils. His eyebrows and mouth are done using buttercream.
Finally, make the lid using the contoured part of the cake that was cut off and set aside in the first step. Cover the entire cake with a layer of buttercream and then a layer of gray fondant. Use a little strip of gumpaste to make a handle. Make another thin rope of fondant to use as the rim of the lid.
Now use some gray/black frosting to frost the top of the garbage can. Then stick Oscars head on top of the garbage can. Use some green frosting and a large tip to pipe Osacar's hands. Place the lid on top of Oscar's head.
Now watch your child's eyes light up when they see the special cake that you made for them!
(For the life of me, I cannot figure out why I didn't take any pictures of Oscar with the lid on top of his head!)
I hope you enjoyed Sitting At My Table as I share with you how to recreate this adorable cake. If I can be of any help please let me know.
Come back again for a visit.
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