Octopus Cake - Medium

We didn't want the squid to get lonely!  If you are new to covering cakes with rolled fondant, this is an easy place to start.  It requires the Williams Sonoma Octopus Pan - see http://kitchen-goddess.yumsugar.com/Williams-Sonoma---Octopus-cake-pan-670344  (maybe find on Ebay!)

1.  Bake a box mix in the Octopus pan. Let cool, move to serving plate and crumb coat with buttercream frosting.

2.  Tint a good quality fondant pink (or your choice of color) and roll a piece very thin.  Using your rolling pin, move the fondant to cover the cake.  Starting at the top of the octopus' head, smooth the fondant over head and tentacles, using your hands. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth.  Be careful that you don't tear the fondant.  Trim ends so there isn't too much extra fondant.

3. Create fondant eyes for the octopus.  (I used blue nonpareils for detail).  Made the mouth with a bit of red fondant, or else pipe a mouth from a tube of red icing using a Wilton No. 2 tip (or similar). If desired, apply "smarties" candies to the tentacles to make suckers, as shown.  I also used a No. 5 decorating tip to lightly press round indentations in the tentacles.  

4.  Tint buttercream icing light blue.  Cover the rest of the cake with open stars, using Wilton No. 16 or similar tip, covering the ends of the rolled fondant. 

5.  If desired, tint bits of fondant different colors and use cutters to make shells, crabs, other creatures.  (The green moray eel was handmade.)   Can also decorate with candy beads, as shown.
 

 Note - I turned a serving platter over to use as a cake plate.  I didn't want the cake "in" the bowl, and it worked perfectly when used upside down.  You can be very creative with presentation too!