Consider the possibilities:

Spell out names and messages

Use as roof tiles, brick or stone.

They can be jewelry, gemstones or pendants on a necklace.

Eyes, nose or mouth for critter cakes

They can make colorful borders .

Create rainbows, flowers, butterflys or other designs and patterns with them.

Have additional uses for Jelly Beans?  Let us know!

This lemon flavored SpongeBob cake was made by a friend for her son’s 6th birthday. She made her own marshmallow fondant and swears it is fairly easy to make and work with. I look forward to trying it soon.

If you search the internet you will find different versions of Marshmallow Fondant Recipe, here’s one from All Recipes:

INGREDIENTS

* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
* 4 tablespoons water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, divided

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
2. Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff.
3. Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

For our end of school year pool party, my friend Brenda made this super cute cake to match the flip flop invitations I made.

She shaped two layered cakes and used ribbon and a paper cut out of a sunflower. She has good piping skills as well, but if like me you don’t, you could consider using hard sugar decorations and letters.

Bunny Cupcakes

There’s directions to make this cake from McCormick’s here.

Also, you can find more Easter decorating ideas on their holidays site.

Marshmallow Peeps Cake

Peeps has instructions for this super cute Easter Basket cake at the Marshmallow Peeps website or download the PDF instructions here.

WE tv (The network that brought you Amazing Wedding Cakes) is proud to announce the first WE tv Wedding Cake Competition hosted by the Great American Cake Show in Westminster, Maryland (May 2 and 3). Wedding cake makers of all skill levels are invited to apply, but only 20 lucky people will be chosen to compete in this exciting contest to be aired on WE.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur or a professional. To enter this competition you just need two things: the passion for making STUNNING wedding cakes and the desire to be crowned WE tv’s Best Wedding Cake Maker. And here’s one final twist: You will be given a mystery design theme just days before the competition, but your cakes must be decorated LIVE in front of our judges and cameras!

This is your chance to show America what you’ve got. APPLY TODAY!

VISIT www.greatamericancakeshow.com for rules and application or EMAIL Cakeslive@gmail.com for more details. Applications must be received by April 12, 2009.

It isn’t necessarily a “simple” cake. However it wasn’t terribly difficult either, just very time consuming.

Valerie from Sweeps4Bloggers posted the following review about Teaching Good Things Cake Decorating DVD.

Cake decorating has always kind of scared me – just looks like it would be really hard. But Kathy’s Basic Cake Decorating DVD has cured me of my fear! She has such a soothing voice and clearly explains and demonstrates the techniques needed to make a professional looking cake- felt like a friend had stopped by to help us learn cake decorating. It would be simple enough for a child to understand, but it isn’t done in a ‘childish’ way. The DVD is great for both kids and adults . My guys loved it & we’re excited to decorate our own cake!

She has a copy of the DVD to give away. You can enter at Sweeps4Bloggers:Cake Decorating DVD.

The contest ends March 30th, 2009 at 8pm PST.   Giveaway is open for US mailing addresses only.

Chocolate Painting – More DIY How To Projects

A quick and easy Shamrock Cake made from cupcakes, this is a perfect St. Patrick’s Day treat. One cake is made from four cupcakes, so one box of cake mix can make six of these cakes. Alternatively, you could make one shamrock as a centerpiece and arrange individual cupcakes around it.
You will need the following ingredients and supplies to make this cake:

• 1 Box of cake mix (and the ingredients needed to prepare it)
• 3 Cans of white frosting
• Green food coloring
• Green sugar crystals
• Wooden skewer or toothpick
• Aluminum foil or a marble*
• Baking cups*

*If you have a heart-shaped cupcake pan you won’t need these.

Prepare your cake batter according to instructions on the box.  If you don’t have a heart-shaped cupcake pan, while your oven is pre-heating tear 3 inch strips of aluminum foil and roll them into balls.If you have marbles, skip that step.  Fill your cupcakes halfway with the batter.  I like to use an ice cream scoop to measure and fill them.  Then place your aluminum foil ball or marble between the baking cup and pan.  You can get detailed instructions for this from Instructables – Make Heart Shaped Cupcakes Without a Special Pan but I’ll warn you here that the marbles will get very hot so be sure to let them cool before handling.

While your cupcakes are cooling, dye your frosting green and then refrigerate it until ready to use.

When your cupcakes are completely cooled, take them out of the baking cups.  Frost the sides of the cupcake first, this way you can hold it between your thumb and forefinger and make less of a mess.  once the sides are frosted, arrange three them on your serving board or plate to form the leaves of the shamrock.  Cut one cupcake in half to use as the stem and use the remaining half to fill in the hole that will be left in the middle.  You will probably need to shape and cut away a lot of the 4th cupcake to make the stem look right and to fit it in the middle.

Frost the entire cake and use the skewer to define space between the leaves and score lines in the leaves.  Then sprinkle green sugar crystals over the entire cake.  I was very heavy handed when it came to the sugar, but you can use less.  Then touch up any spots you need using your toothpick.

That’s it, a simple, fast and fun St. Paddy’s dessert.