Can anyone help me out here? I would like to make a cake with a bonsai tree on top. I have a general picture in my mind of how the construction should go, but am wondering if any of you have made any successful attempts at doing anything similar. I want the tree to sit atop the cake, with flowing roots, and tree limbs. How would one stabilize the tree? Should rice treats be used at all (and then covered in modeling chocolate) or should the tree be made entirely of modeling chocolate? How would I get the limbs to look realistic and not droop or fall? What would the limbs be made of and how would they attach to the main part of the tree securely? ANY and ALL help is SO very much appreciated. I really need your help. Thank you in advance.

If you don't want it super thick, I'd actual skip the rice treats. If you want it to be able to stand easily on the cake, I'd actually build it around a dowel, and I'd probably use a plastic hollow one.

I'd start with the trunk and roots. Then I'd form the limbs out of the modeling and let them harden some, then attach them to the truck.

The modeling chocolate tree in my pics was built around a wooden dowel, the lower end of which was screwed onto a plywood base. (The dowel passes through the base cake.) The larger branches sticking out at the top were formed around lollipop sticks; I covered the "trunk" first and then the bottom end of the "branch" lollipop stick is just embedded in the chocolate at the trunk, and the top end is poked into the outer layer of the cardboard round that supported the top of the tree. They didn't need to be more firmly attached than that, although for a more complex shape you might build a complete form first and then cover both trunk and branches with the chocolate second. You can use floral wire for more delicate branches.

I marbled light and dark chocolate a bit to make it look more like a natural bark color/texture, and then just stuck it on. It sticks to itself and to cardboard or wood easily enough that you don't need to use anything special to hold it on. But you need some sort of supporting form underneath or it will just crack/break too easily after it firms up.

Holly

I would make the tree out of wire, (yes, there are safe wires out there that you can put on a cake) and then mold your chocolate onto the branches and trunk and roots. I would also take a dowel and attach the wire to the dowel in the base of the trunk and insert into cake to stabilize it.

I read a post the other day about making trees out of grape stems. I cant find the post that I read, but they tied some wire around the top of a grape stem and dipped it in melted chocolate, then covered it in some rice bubble cereal which had been dyed green.
Maybe this could be another option?!