The cake itself is a chocolate strawberry marble 1/4 sheet cake. He requested cookies and cream for a filling - which I found a fantastic recipe for on a cake blog called "That Really Frosts Me". This filling I could just eat with a spoon, straight out of the bowl!
The flowers, peashooter, lawn mowers, potatoes and walnuts were all made several days in advance, as were the zombies. I used 50/50 gumpaste and fondant to make them, so I would have time to mold them without the fear of them drying out too fast. The zombies were the most fun to make - I didn't have to worry about perfection for them! They are SUPPOSED to look scraggly and a little malformed!
The lawnmowers were made in 3 steps. First red was formed into a rectangle, a smaller round piece was placed on top. I use almond extract for my glue. Then black fondant was used to make the wheels and the top of the mower. Take a toothpick and make holes on the top part of the back end - this is where your mower handles will go. Set aside and let dry. The handles are just white fondant ropes which I made into a "U" shape, the same width of my holes. Let dry. Once the handles are dry (I let them go 2 days) I painted them with silver luster dust paint. I make my paint with luster dust and a little bit of vodka. Mix it until you have the consistency you want. I store mine in small baby food jars with lids. Once the handles are dry - attach them to the lawnmowers with royal icing. Let dry again with the handles leaning up against something. I have a large fruit box that I use to store my fondant pieces while they are drying.
The fence was made with the same 50/50, however after I rolled it out, I used a wooden impression mat and rolling pin to make the wooden fence effect. I cut the planks out, let them dry. After a couple days of dry time, I put them together using royal icing to hold them together. Let dry again.
The worst part of this cake was piping the grass. Once I had my buttercream tinted the desired colors, I used the Wilton grass tip to pipe it all on. I used a ruler to measure out and mark the squares. I piped all the light colors and then piped the dark colors.
