Cake novice - please tell me what I need

[tiredandgrumpy]

to make this cake [[http://www.marksandspencer.com/Marks-and-Spencer-Dinosaur-Cake/dp/B0029LTAUO?ie=UTF8&mnSBrand=core ]

I've never decorated cakes before, but feel I could surely attempt this one for far less than M&S are charging. What do I need to decorate it and how long is it likely to take? Am I being rash to take this on?

Blimey, that is a hard one. body is easy. its the feet and head I can't work out how to make it.
hope one of our profs come along soon, with some advice.

Cake

Now then, lets have a look!

OK, the simplest way would be to make a round cake and cut it in half across the middle. Stand the two halfs on their flat sides, iyswim!

To make the body parts, personally I'd buy some brown colours fondant icing and mould the shapes. If you cover the cake with butter icing and chocolate peices and use half choc buttons to make the spines, then you're almost there!

Can't believe anyone would pay £40 for that tbh. It's not very difficult at all!

Thank you - I didn't think it would be impossible! So really the only 'specialist' ingredient would be the fondant icing to mould the legs & head - the rest I should be able to get from the supermarket/make up myself?

you could buy sugarpaste (fondant)form supermarket too - but you really need paste colourings to colour it (you knead it in)

can buy sugarpaste pre-coloured from cake shops - much easier than colouring it yourself

Absolutely! If you have a cake decorating shop local, then you'll be able to get icing in any colour you choose. If not, look it up on the internet, I know you can buy it online.

I agree with Mo. Find somewhere local / online (e.g. here) that sells chocolate sugarpaste and you are away. Crumbled-up Flakes would make good body covering and you could either mould the spikes or go with buttons. Make him out of a chocolate cake so it doesn't matter too much if you don't cover him completely.

Don't you think it looks a bit... well, dull? If it's for a kid I would be doing it in green with orange spines...

something like this:

www.whiterabbitparties.com/assets/images/dinosaur%20cake.JPG

well yes, so would I - like this or this but the OP wanted to know how to copy the M&S one.

Just making a suggestion, stealth - nothing wrong with that.

Sorry - did I sound as though I was saying there was (something wrong)?

Too late, too tired - I really didn't mean it to come across that way. My personal preference would be for a pink dinosaur with green spots

No worries, stealth Yes, it sounded like you were saying I shouldn't have said what I did. No probs though!

Bodenbabe - thank you for the link! Certainly a little more inspirational than the M&S one, but probably not more difficult?

Stealthsquiggle - how cute are they! How easy is it to make the head & neck - do they require special internal support?

Am getting carried away now. Please don't let this be a disaster!

It depends on what yo're used to, I guess. Personally I find fondant quite easy to work with and would be less daunted by that than the other one - but one man's meat and all that! I'm sure your one will be perfect andn the dc will love it anyway - they don't tend to notice little imperfections like us mums do

Am feeling far more inspired now! If I am covering the cake with fondant, then adding fondant decorations, do I just moisten with water?

Also, looks like I need to do a thin layer of buttercream underneath the fondant - is this correct? Do I need to let this 'set' before covering with fondant?

Basic requirements therefore:
fondant in colours to be used
buttercream
piping icing to add details.

Anything else?

You need to use edible glue to stick fondant onto fondant. Or some people use egg white.

You can use buttercream under fondant but I don't usually bother - I use an apricot glaze instead. If you do use buttercream then it won't set - it's either solid when cold or soft when warm, just like butter.