| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 12 to 15 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 red fruit chews
- 4 sprigs fresh mint
- 3 orange fruit chews
- 4 sprigs fresh mint
- 8 purple fruit chews
- 2 green fruit chews
- 6 green fruit chews
- 3 yellow fruit chews
- 1 regular marshmallow
- 1 tablespoon vanilla frosting
- 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut or finely ground sweetened flake coconut
- 1 mini marshmallow
- 1 tube pink decorating icing or writing gel
- 2 yogurt-covered almonds
- 1/3 cup blanched sliced almonds
- 10 to 12 drops yellow food coloring
- 4 mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting
- 4 teaspoons chocolate sprinkles
- 8 sprigs fresh mint
- One 1/2 or 1/4 sheet cake with chocolate frosting, no piping or border
- One 16-ounce container green frosting
- 1 1/2 cups ground chocolate sandwich cookies with chocolate filling
- Two 13.5-ounce cans vanilla rolled wafer cookies, such as Pirouette
Instructions
- For the tomatoes: Knead the red fruit chews together in your hands until soft and pliable. Divide into 4 equal pieces and roll into small balls. Use a skewer to make wrinkles in the top and drill a small hole in each.
- For the carrots: Knead the orange fruit chews in your hands until soft and pliable. Divide into 4 equal pieces and form each piece into a carrot shape. Drill a hole in the top of each with a skewer.
- For the eggplant: Knead the purple fruit chews together in your hands until soft and pliable. Divide into 4 equal pieces and form each piece into an eggplant shape. Knead the green fruit chews in your hands until soft and pliable. Divide into 4 equal pieces, form each piece into a stem shape and place one on each eggplant.
- For the lettuce: Knead the green and yellow fruit chews together in your hands until soft, pliable and evenly mixed. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a 4-inch-long rope and lightly press to flatten. Roll up each rope to form concentric circles like a head of lettuce, flaring out the outer layer to form leaves.
- For the bunny butt and feet: Place the regular marshmallow on the end of a skewer and frost it entirely with the frosting. Roll the marshmallow in the coconut to completely coat. Remove from the skewer. Dab a small dollop of the white frosting on the flat side of the regular marshmallow to use as glue, towards the top in the 12-o’clock position. Glue on the mini marshmallow to create a bunny tail.
- To make bunny feet, use the pink icing to pipe paw pads onto each almond. Dab 2 small dollops of the white frosting on the flat side of the regular marshmallow to use as glue, towards the bottom in the 4- and 8-o’clock positions. Glue on the bunny feet.
- For the sunflowers: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine the almonds, yellow food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon water and mix until the almonds are yellow. Spread out on the lined baking sheet to dry.
- Insert the almond slices into the frosting around the edge of the mini cupcakes in 2 rows to mimic the petals of a sunflower. Carefully sprinkle the center of each cupcake with the chocolate sprinkles to mimic sunflower seeds.
- For the cake assembly: If using a 1/2 sheet cake, use a toothpick to draw a 12-by-8-inch rectangle in the center of the cake, 1 1/2 inches from the edges. This rectangle will be the dirt garden plot. Cut about 58 of the rolled wafer cookies in half and set aside.
- If using a 1/4 sheet cake, draw a 10-by-6-1/2-inch rectangle in the center of the cake, 1 inch from the edges, to form the dirt garden plot. Cut about 36 of the rolled wafer cookies in half and set aside.
- Fill a large resealable plastic bag with the green frosting. Using a toothpick, punch 8 to 10 holes in one of the corners along the bottom of the bag. Squeeze the bag and pipe grass in the border around the garden plot. Carefully spread an even layer of the ground cookies inside the rectangle to create dirt for the garden plot. Using the remaining ground cookies, make 4 evenly spaced long dirt mounds in the plot.
- Press the rolled wafer cookie halves around the outside of the cake to form a fence.
- Place the eggplants along one of the dirt mounds. Place the carrots along the second dirt mound and plant some into the dirt. Insert mint sprigs into the top of the carrots to create carrot tops. Place the lettuce heads along the third dirt mound. Place the tomatoes along the fourth with mint sprigs to mimic vines.
- Place a sunflower mini cupcake in each corner of the garden and place 2 mint sprigs around each to mimic leaves. Place the bunny butt in the garden plot.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 14 servings |
| Calories | 602 |
| Total Fat | 25 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 94 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 47 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 295 mg |
Reviews
Cute idea but how is a Spring Garden cake filled with typically fall decor, ie sunflowers, cabbage and eggplant, any ideas for actual spring flowers
Such an adorable Spring/Easter cake! Thanks y’all for making it step by step on the show! And…Hey from SW Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains in Floyd, Virginia!
Beautiful Zen garden GZ I agree with Sunny call that Zen Garden cake but how I get it on YouTube?