Crazy Week and Birthday Earth Cake

I feel like since November 24th, I've just been running!  Between Thanksgiving and an early Hanukkah, we had two birthdays, including parties.  On top of it all, we all have been sharing a nasty virus in my family.  I wanted to share Rueben's birthday cake with you. I had so much fun making it, and everyone who shared it thought it was magnificent!

Hemisphere with fondant.

Sometime in May, Rueben and I saw this post, and Rueben was entranced.  He wanted a cake like that for his birthday in November.  His birthday was last week, and HE REMEMBERED!  So I had to figure out how to make a cake like that.

First things first, the cake.  I went for quick and easy and used good 'ole Betty Crocker cake mix and icing.  Making the continents required fondant, so I grabbed a container of ready-made fondant.  Food coloring for green and blue for the earth, and I figured my shopping was done.

Painted blue!

I followed the directions, and baked the first cake in the smallest pyrex bowl.  When it was done, I baked the first cake in the medium bowl with batter I colored.  After that cake was done baking, I baked the cake in the largest bowl, with new batter colored again.  I was so excited that it worked!!  With the cake done, I iced it with chocolate icing, and set the cake aside.

Hours later, after picking up the kids from school, dinner, bedtime and normal daily craziness, I returned to working on the cake.  I have been intimated by fondant for a long time, but the project called for it, so I had to do it.  Fondant is much easier than I expected, however, very similar to rolling out pie crust.

It looks like the earth!

Once the fondant was on, color.  I found many directions via google that said to mix the gel food coloring with vodka to paint the fondant.  Seeing as I forgot to buy vodka, I found another link that directed to use clear vanilla extract.  Aha!  I had vanilla extract.  I mixed the food coloring with extract, and set to painting the ocean.


Now.  How would I get the continents on the cake?  Luckily, I found this website, and I printed off the sheets.  I cut around the continents as best as I could.  Voila! The earth!!!

But please. DON'T ask me to point out where anything more than the continents are!

Of course, the first thing Rueben wanted to know was where each state was.  I wasn't able to be THAT accurate!

 Tonight is the last day of Hanukkah, and my life is slowing down enough for me to catch my breath again.  May this season find your homes full of joy and love, even if your house is like mine and full of germs as well!

Happy Hanukkah!