Easy Duck Cake

My duck-obsessed niece requested a duck cake for her 6th birthday. After browsing the web looking for tutorials, I realized it would be easier to just make my own. Here were the ten simple steps I followed.

Step 1: Bake a cake in two 8" round pans.

Step 2: I found a basic duck clip art image to use as my template. I expanded the image in a Word Document to fit most of the 8.5x11" page, which was just the right size for an 8 inch round pan. 

Step 3: Trace the body of the duck on wax paper and cut it out. Move extra wax paper over the beak (which was cut off) and trace, or free-hand the beak. Cut it out.

Step 4. To add a nice contrast with the cake and board, I chose to cover the cake board with a blue plastic tablecloth. You can use a standard sheet cake board or a cookie pan. Table cloths come in all colors for a $1 or less and are large enough to cover a dozen or more cake boards.

Step 5: After the cake has cooled, put it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This will make it much easier to cut without crumbling.

Step 6: Level the cake layers with a serrated knife or cake leveler.

Step 7: Place the duck stencil on top of the cake. Use a paring knife to cut around the stencil. I cut one layer at a time, though I guess you could do both simultaneously if your knife blade was long enough. Cut the beak out using the excess cake between the duck's head and tail.

Step 8: I put the duck cakes and beaks back in the freezer while I made the icing. I placed several tablespoons of buttercream in a small bowl and dyed them orange. The rest of the icing was dyed yellow.

Step 9: Apply crumb coat of icing. I frosted the body and beak separately. Put back in the freezer or refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Step 10: Apply final coat of icing. Use a generous dollop of icing on the side to attach the beak. I used three nonpareil sprinkles for the eye. You could also use an M&M or pipe some frosting.