Mockingjay Cake

Recently, my boss asked if I'd be interested in making a cake for her family's upcoming group birthday dinner. Her theme for the party was Hunger Games, so she wanted an appropriately themed cake. She also said that her family is comprised of choco-holics.

I wound up making a chocolate cake (recipe courtesy of Ina Garten) with chocolate ganache between the layers, crumb coated in dark chocolate buttercream frosting, and then covered in 5 layers of poured chocolate ganache. I think the chocolate requirement was definitely met!

Fortunately, I married a very artistic man and he was able and willing to sculpt the bird (shockingly fast, might I add!) for me. I used a leaf cutter to create the feathers - thank goodness for repurposing my tools - and used my hand-dandy air brush to make the whole thing a nice shiny gold, just like Katniss' mockingjay pin. To top it off, I added some fondant "nightlock berries" for some authenticity and added visual interest.

Fortunately, it all went together really smoothly and the cake was a huge hit. :D

Our final product