Animals - Frog Cake from American Cake Decorating Magazine

Throw the best birthday party ever!

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• 2 9-inch, round cake layers
• 11-inch round cake board, covered
• Buttercream
• Chocolate buttercream
• Parchment or pastry bags
• Tips: #4, #5,#7, #352
• Icing colors: blue, green, red, yellow, black, and purple

1 - Fill and ice a 9-inch round cake with blue buttercream. Load a pastry bag with either brown or chocolate buttercream and tip #5. Pipe tree branches around the cake sides and onto the top.

2 - Prepare a bright shade of green buttercream for piping leaves. Vibrant leaves are great for children's cakes. Pipe large leaves onto the branches using tip #352.

3 - Tropical frogs exhibit bright colors and are visually appealing. Pipe these frogs in bright red and yellow. A simple red zigzag using tip #7 creates the body for the first frog. Position it on the side of the cake, peeking over the edge.

4 - Insert the tip into the frog's body at the shoulder and pull out the front legs, brining them onto the top of the cake. Add three toes, each ending with a ball of icing. Squeeze firmly to create the head, building up a ball of icing. To this, add dollops for eyes and an arc for a mouth.

5 - Open Z-shaped patterns create the hind legs. Add toes as before.

6 - Pipe a second frog directly opposite the first, this time in yellow buttercream.

7 - With black buttercream and tip #4, pipe stripes to cover the zigzag lines on the frogs' backs. Then add additional stripes on the legs and head of each.

8 - Finish piping the detail by piping in the whites of their eyes, black pupils, and 2 curved lines for a mouth. Add long, curved purple tongues piped with tip #4. Add a message to the center of the cake if desired. A simple tip #18 shell border in brown icing completes the cake.