I have a request for a jungle cake. She wants a tiered cake but not a standard shape. She wants it to flow. I made a cake and used the paisley pan and various rounds and stacked to different heights. She loved that cake but it serves 200. She needs a cake for 20! I will need to have it big enough to place lions, elephants, zebras, etc on it. I don't want to make a 1 inch figure. Please help!!!

There are times when we just can't make what they want! This is one of them.
You could print out pix of animals & wrap it around a cake, then put cupcakes on top for some 'flowing' that they request and top the whole thing w/one or two pretzel rod palm trees.
Take a look at aine2's videos on U.Tube and on this site. It isn't all that hard or time consuming to make small animals from fondant

I hope I read your post correctly -- you need real estate, but not too much cake?

You could use a couple different size cake dummies (sp?) to give you the extra space. And, instead of carving the cake dummies, you could just space cup cakes around the sides of the cakes to make slopes and mountains.

I did a jungle cake (in my picks) and the animals were not that hard to make. I don't know for sure who originally made the first jungle cake, but they're several different designs, using the same animals, on the site.

that's great description real estate without a lot of cake GlendaleAZ! I plan to do a cake like the jungle cake but more of an amoeba shape bottom to get the "flow" she wants. Thanks for all your suggestions! This has been a weird cake week!

: o )

Be sure to post a pic when you get it done. Good luck.

Ok, kakeladi, this "it isn't that hard to make fondant animals" thing, uhmm, I just made 3 frogs. It took over 1 hour to make 3 frogs. The little buggers are about 1/2 inch cubes, well frogs, 1/2x1/2. I am worried out the elephant, zebra, hippo, and lion cracking. To they need to be vented to prevent them from cracking? Do you recomment a clay gun for lions mane or hand formed? I think I am going to find a large tootsie roll for the palm tree to bend and scratch up to resemble trunk. It will be tastier than gumpaste. I flavored the fondant with koolaide (another CC thread suggestion) I just looked at the order - the cake is for MARCH. I am losing it this week! I would not be happy to hve the cake ready and then get the date wrong!! Trip to Starbucks time

does the giraffe have a mane on the back of it's neck like a horse and the antlers?

I have no idea how to charge for this cake! The larger cake was so much easier! It was a Mariposa cake with toys. This cake will have gumpaste figures and is a lot smaller. My DH says a cake like this should be no more than $50, it is for a kid. DD says, your crazy for less than $120, there is a lot of work in the animal figures. She has called several times this morning and left a few emails on pricing. When she booked, price was not an issues, the cake being the perfect cake. Now, price has become the issue. Please advise! I do all her cakes, bdays, anniversaries, holiday, etc and do no want to lose her but do not want to lose the profit margin either.

finished cake. Not happy with it. I had planned on a narrow path that was not so steep. She called last minute and order 24 more cuppies and spent more time on them than on the cake. She loved the cake and thought is was exactly what she had in mind. All I see is how I wished I would have made it. It was hard to get a lot of the details on the cake, the figures not too small and make it a little cake. She thought the cake was too big but liked it.

finished cake. Not happy with it. I had planned on a narrow path that was not so steep. She called last minute and order 24 more cuppies and spent more time on them than on the cake. She loved the cake and thought is was exactly what she had in mind. All I see is how I wished I would have made it. It was hard to get a lot of the details on the cake, the figures not too small and make it a little cake. She thought the cake was too big but liked it.