Jungle Theme Cake

Jungle themed cakes are still a popular choice for kids today. I have been asked many times "How do you make those cute gumpaste animals?" So I have finally managed to create a display cake featuring some of the gumpaste figures, used for a jungle cake.

I started by covering 3 tiers (or cake dummies in this case) with a chocolate marshmallow fondant. I love using this fondant because it is easy to make, rolls out smoothly, is pliable and best of all taste delicious. Next I built the tree , to make it sturdy I inserted a medium sized dowel in the top tier around 8 " in height, then built up rice krispie treats around it to create the trunk. The branches were made out of floral wire and tape and I added gumpaste leaves to make it more realistic.
The trunk was covered in dark chocolate marshmallow fondant and after it had dried a little I scored it using a "Dresden" tool. This is a great tool to use and a must have if you are a serious sugarcrafter.
The lion, tigers, elephants, giraffe and snake are all made out of gumpaste , the monkeys  are made from dark modeling chocolate.
Please post any questions or comments, I hope this has inspired you to create your own jungle cake.