Tree cake

[Moomin Bus Rider]

After making some elaborate cakes for someone at work, my husband complained that his birthday cakes were always really plain. So, to shut him up I made him a tree cake (he loves trees, and actually hugs them at times)...

Here's the result:



I started off with a sheet of chocolate and coffee cake, and cut the rough shape of the tree out of it:



I filled the cake with chocolate and coffee cream cheese icing:



I covered the top of the tree with sliced grapes, and used the spare bits of cake for the 'field' below the tree:


Here are some of the sweets and grapes before decoration. I love the chocolates that look exactly like rocks, I just wished I had bought more of them! The fudge was really good to work with, it was exactly like plasticine, but it tasted much better than fondant icing...


I made him a tree card as well, it says "Happy Birthday you tree hugging hippie".




He loved the cake and the card, now everyone else wants a cake as well....  

[Flowers and Lemons]

Oh thats gorgeous!
I would never have thought about grapes sliced in half for leaves pretty pretty
happy treehugging (and eating) !

[plumbucket]

Quite lovely!

(P.S. I wants a cake too )

[Aislynn]

That is unbelievable!  The use of fruit is so clever, but I have to ask, how did the grapes taste with the chocolate cake???

I imagine you could use sliced almonds and dried cranberries for a fall-looking one!

[evilSabina]

When I first saw the photo I thought it was a sculpture. Gorgeous!

[Moomin Bus Rider]

Thank you so much for your comments!

Oh thats gorgeous!
I would never have thought about grapes sliced in half for leaves pretty pretty
happy treehugging (and eating) !

The grapes are actually cut into slices, that made it quite easy to arrange on top of each other.

That is unbelievable!  The use of fruit is so clever, but I have to ask, how did the grapes taste with the chocolate cake???

I imagine you could use sliced almonds and dried cranberries for a fall-looking one!

I was a bit worried about the flavour combination too! It wasn't too bad at all, and since the grape slices were pretty thin, you couldn't really taste them that much anyway... The reason I went for grapes rather than green icing was the fact that my husband doesn't like food colouring in icing, and he probably wouldn't have eaten that part of the cake if it had been decorated with green icing. In the end, his dislike of icing turned out to be good for my creativity

I like the idea of using cranberries, maybe next time!

[pinokeeo]

I'm a tree hugger of sorts myself, so I think this tree is amazing.  I reallly would love a cake like this.  Great job.

[Trekky]

This cake is brilliant & definitely rocks!  I love how you have used grapes, fudge & mushroom sweets!  Great job.

ps) I want a cake too! 

[Angelicus]

That ake is gorgeous. I love the use of grapes - very inventive... and those chocolate rock sweets look really funky!

[kjlutz]

Wow    That is a beautiful cake.

I love the grape leaves.