Rango Cake

A friend from school and work approached me about making a cake for his daughter's fourth birthday. The theme was Rango, which I had never seen before. When I went to research the movie, I was a little surprised at the main character.

My friend said that it could be simple, with Rango piped in buttercream. "It's for a FOUR year old. I'm sure whatever you do will be fine." I thought and thought about how I was going to pull this character off until I had a lightbulb moment! I wish I had taken pictures ALL the way through the process. I have a few more but I can't get them off my phone at the moment.

I decided to pipe a circle out of royal icing, flood it, and let it dry. Then I piped and flooded the outline of Rango. Next came the eyes, and then his lizard-y texture. I piped tons of small dots to give him his bumpyness. Then I piped the details on his outfit and his hat. Once all this was dry, I began painting. I had several colors of luster dust and a shimmery silver that I was able to mix with some of the plain colors to give his skin a slightly shiny finish. I was able to blend colors easily with the luster dust. I was able to produce shading for his hat and neck. It was SO MUCH FUN! Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy making cakes. Then I slid the circle onto a giant spatula and onto the cake.

Here is the recipient blowing out her candles.