In this cake decorating tutorial video, I’m showing you how to make an April the Giraffe Cake! This is no joke! If you haven’t heard, April is a pregnant giraffe who’s keepers have been live streaming her pregnancy for the last number of weeks. To celebrate the birth of her baby, I decided to create a cake in April’s honor! April agreed to have the baby today, April 1, if I would make her a cake.
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Up until a few weeks ago, I thought giraffes were cool, but I really didn’t have any vested interest in them. Now though, I’m obsessed and watching constantly! I’d like to thank YouTube for the removal of the live giraffe feed for “nudity” and “sexuality”. Just making sure you’re with me- nudity and sexuality in a giraffe. Realizing their mistake, YouTube restored the feed, and viral traction on the giraffe cam began. I have to thank YT for their mistake though, because if it hadn’t have happened, I would not have heard about it. I don’t really run in the exotic pet circle.
April is housed at the Animal Adventure Park in New York state. Throughout watching her livestream, and the content on the AAP’s website, I have learned so much about giraffes! I had no idea that the “horns” on a giraffe’s head were called ossicones! Or that they were pregnant for 15 months! Can you imagine? I wanted to make this cake in tribute to April, and as a thank you for educating people around the world about giraffes. If anyone from the Animal Adventure park ends up reading this, thank you for all your hard work keeping the streams up! As a YouTuber who goes live, I know that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong- I feel your pain, and admire your hard work!
Giraffe Cake Recipe
Giraffe Cake Ingredients:
- 9″x13″ chocolate cake
- Vanilla cake batter
- Vanilla buttercream (tan, light brown, white) h
- Chocolate buttercream
- Fondant (black, brown, tan)
Giraffe Cake Procedure:
- In the bottom of a greased 6″ cake pan, place 1 cup of vanilla cake batter. Cut the chocolate cake into chunks and place into the vanilla cake batter. Cover the chocolate cake pieces with vanilla cake batter. Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Repeat for 5-6 layers of cake.
- Once cake layers are are cooled completely, level and then stack the cakes, filling the layers with white buttercream. Cover the cake in shades of brown buttercream, starting with the chocolate at the bottom, tan in the middle, and the lightest at the top.
- Mix brown fondant with tylose and shape the ossicones (“horns” on top of the head) and insert a dowel into the flat end. On the top end, use a straight blade or fondant tool to score marks. Using black food coloring powder tint the scored end of the ossicones. Insert the ossicones into the top of the cake.
- Cut the ears out of brown fondant and line the inside of the dark brown, with tan brown. Shape the ears (curve them) and allow them to dry. Place them besides the ossicones.
- Cut out shapes from brown fondant and attach to the back of the cake, and add the pattern from behind the ossicones, down, and around the side of the cake.
- Roll black fondant out into 3″ long round pieces. Slice the end about a half inch in and curve it slightly upwards. Place onto the cake with a brush of water.
- Pipe a tail around the giraffe, using the tan buttercream, and place pieces of brown fondant onto the buttercream.
- Slice and serve cake when desired. Cake is best consumed within 2-3 days and kept in a sealed container in the fridge.
