When it comes to birthdays, I go all out, especially with the cake. I tend to push the limits of my creativity. So when my younger son said he wanted a “tiger cake”, I envisioned a cute little tiger sitting on top of the cake in a green forest.  I was inspired by watching a television show called The Cake Boss. They tend to use a lot of fondant (which is a sweet dough-like substance made of corn syrup, glycerin, powdered sugar, shortening and gelatin), not the healthiest stuff to say the least.

So instead, I made my own moldable sweet dough– a “healthy marzipan” using ground almonds, honey and spelt flour. I didn’t have a recipe to follow, so I just made one up. (You’ll find my “Healthy Marzipan” recipe in an upcoming post.)

Molding the marzipan into the shape of a tiger was surprisingly quick and easy. I started with a square for the head and a log roll for the body and just sculpted using my fingers.

I painted the face and stripes using royal icing and a black gel food coloring (I wish I had a healthier way to make the paint.)

I made two cakes with pieces of pear baked inside and sandwiched whipped cream and berries in between. (The cake recipe is from my professional baker uncle which I can’t reveal.)

My children always help me bake.

The birthday boy rolled out a log that I wedged into the middle of the cake to give it a smooth shape.

We rolled out the forest green marzipan flat, large enough to cover the cake.

I cut off the excess and smoothed in down close and tight.

I made extra colored marzipan for the decorative parts of the cake.

My amazingly, creative husband rolled these bees wax candles and made them into mini palm trees! How cute is that!

The birthday boy loved his cake and wanted the tiger all for himself.

And I let him have it. Just almonds and honey, how sensible is that? He can have his cake and eat it too!

Your Sensible Girlfriend