Create a summer-themed cake by decorating it to resemble a pool.
Nothing suits a summer pool party better than a swimming pool-themed cake. Whether you're attending a neighbor's backyard bash or hosting a birthday party for your favorite little swimmer, a cake with a pool on it is both impressive and relatively simple to make. Start with your favorite cake and frosting recipes and add blue gelatin and a few candy decorations to transform a plain cake into a pool party show-stopper. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Bake a cake in the shape of your choice. Swimming pool cakes work well with oval, rectangular or round cakes. Both flat cakes and two-layer cakes are suitable. Either use a pre-package cake mix or your favorite birthday cake recipe. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
2. Use a knife to cut an oval, circular or rectangular area out of the center of the cake, cutting about 1 inch deep. This area will represent the pool. Carefully scoop the pool area out of the cake with a spoon, making sure the edges are clean and the rest of the cake is not damaged. Discard the scooped-out cake or save for another use.
3. Prepare the blue gelatin according to package instructions. Allow the gelatin to chill in the refrigerator and remove it when it is firm but not fully set.
4. Make the frosting for the body of the cake. A standard vanilla buttercream frosting will work, as will cream cheese frosting. Stay away from chocolate icing, as the brown color will not work with the swimming pool theme. Leave the frosting white or add green food coloring to simulate grass or a pool deck. Spread frosting over the sides and top of the cake and between the layers if you made a layer cake. Do not frost the scooped-out pool area.
5. Pour the chilled gelatin into the scooped-out pool area. Use a knife to draw lines in the gelatin to represent waves in the water. Touch up the boarders of the pool with frosting, building up the pool sides so that they are slightly higher than the gelatin.
6. Add candy, cookies, small toys and decorative frosting to the cake to complete the look. Small dolls or fondant-sculpted people dressed in beach garb can sit on the pool deck or on mini-flotation devices in the pool. Use candy to represent life preservers, pool toys or tiles on the pool deck. Use your imagination and get creative to create a pool scene.
Tags: pool area, pool deck, your favorite, blue gelatin, cake with, gelatin candy