I want to make my 2 year old a cool nemo themed cake for his birthday, but I know NOTHING!!! I was thinking of doing 3 "walls" out of cardboard with a reef setting painted on them, and the bottom would be a sheat cake decorated to look like sand, but I also want some coral made from cake or something to give it dimension, and then the fishies....do I use fondunt, gumpaste, etc (I really know nothing about these things) what is a good cake recipie that can be cut and formed and keep shape?
thanks a ton!

For the 3-D effects (coral, fixh, etc) I suggest fondant or gumpaste. Gumpaste will dry harder, but I find fondant to be more forgiving to a beginner. The pre-made stuff by Wilton is fine for modeling with - just doesn't taste good. It's just like playing with playdough, just greast up your hands and use a little powdered sugar to keep it from getting sticky.

There is a recipe for White Almond Sour Cream cake (WASC) and it's variations. Look in the recipes sections or serch through the forum. If you can't find it, pm me and I'll send you the recipe. It's yummy and very stable.

welcome to CC! beware- it's addicting! I did a search for you in the galleries for nemo- here are the results.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&meta=search&type=full&search=nemo

HTH

Eva