Birthday Cake - Dinosaurs Eating The Cake

I wanted to find a fun cake to make for my fiance's birthday. Thankfully, Pinterest has a lot of great ideas. This one was really playful and simple! I bought some dinosaur toys and the kids at the party ended up playing with all the extra dinosaurs. I originally wanted to make the frosting a forest green but for reasons still unknown, the frosting separated. Luckily, I had some heavy cream on hand and turned it into whipped cream to frost the cake. It ended up being a big hit with the kids and adults!

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix
food coloring

Buttercream Frosting:
1 stick butter, melted
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
3 to 8 tbs. milk

Directions:
1. Bake cake according to package directions. I like to do three layers so I follow the instructions for two layer cakes and cut down the time a little.

2. Combine melted butter and powered sugar with an electric mixer until it looks like chalky beads. Add vanilla and salt, mix until combined. Add one tablespoon of milk at a time until the mixture is a spreadable, creamy consistency. If it gets too runny, add more sugar. If it gets too stiff, add more milk. Add any food coloring if using and mix in. You can go online and look up what color combinations are needed to make the desired shade you want.

3. Put the first cake layer on a platter. Put a mound of icing in the middle of the cake and spread with a spatula until evenly spread around top of cake. Put the second layer on top and put more frosting in the middle. Add the final layer on top and put the remaining frosting on the top layer. Working from the center, slowly spread it around. You'll want to spread it over the sides and then move the extra frosting around the outside.

4. Once you have a nice smooth layer of frosting around the entire cake you get to do the fun part of the decorating. Figure out how you want to place your dinosaurs. Use the picture above for reference but if your dinosaurs are different shapes get creative and dig out more cake. Once dinosaurs are planned, use a sharp knife to cut into the cake. You want to make sure you take out a good chunk of cake.

5. Touch up the cake, place your dinosaurs and candles, and you're ready to go!! If you plan on taking this cake make sure to place the dinosaurs and cut out the cake at your location.