I've got an idea, and I'm really excited about it...I'm just not sure how to do it. My sister's birthday is coming up in October, and I wanted to make her a cake. However, I just found out yesterday that she is no longer eating desserts. My family knows I love to decorate cakes, so I thought it would be fun to bake meatloaf in 8" rounds and decorate them with mashed potato "frosting."

I'd love to hear any ideas for decorations or constructing this thing that you may have.

Here are my thoughts:

- Bake two 8" rounds of meatloaf
- Use cheese slices, onions, maybe other vegetables for a filling
- Cover the entire thing with mashed potatoes and smooth to look like buttercream
- Pipe a shell border using thinned down mashed potatoes
(Will that work?)
- Use different vegetables to decorate the top and add color

Any ideas for what kinds of vegetables I could use to look like cake decorations? Any ideas on how to warm it up at the party? I think the potatoes might dry out if I put the whole "cake" in the oven long enough to heat up the meat loaf again.

Thoughts?

Hmmm carrots, un-shelled peas.... not sure about heating it up but other than that it sounds like a good idea

all sounds great, can't wait to see it!
and duchess potatoes would be a great potato recipe to use.
It pipes beautifully and doesn't dry out.
Jodi

Jamiekwebb, I like the idea of carrots. I think they would hold up well in the oven. I just found these pretty carrot roses online. Hopefully, I can figure out how to make them.

fficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1578&bih=703" target="_blank" class="postlink">http://www.google.com/images?q=carrot%20rose&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1578&bih=703

Neelycharmed, duchess potatoes look beautiful and sound delicious! I'd never heard of them before. I think I'll try using them. The recipes all seem to only bake them for 15 or 20 minutes, though, so I still need to figure out how to reheat everything. I don't think that'll be long enough to warm the center of the meatloaf.

Thank you both for the ideas. I'd still love to hear any more thoughts on this.

I made a meatloaf/mashed potato cake for April Fool's Day a few years ago. The mashed potato frosting would have turned out much better if I had made sure they were super smooth before frosting with them. Also, make sure you don't leave in ANY peel! I always leave in a bit of peel and just wasn't thinking..

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1357694.html

Here's a recipe for the potato if you didn't have one...
Duchess Potatoes
7 cups Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-1/2" chunks
3/4 cup warm half & half cream, divided
7 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 eggs yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water about 15 to 20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork; remove from heat and drain. Return potatoes to pot and stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Mash potatoes with a potato masher or ricer* (do not use your electric mixer) until they're smooth and free of chunks.
* I like the ricer best!

Add 1/2 cup half & half cream, butter, egg yolks, and salt. Mix thoroughly to blend. NOTE: You do not want the mashed potatoes to be too soft or they will not hold their shape when baked. Slowly add remaining 1/4 cup half & half cream to the potatoes (you may not need to use all the half & half cream - the potatoes should be stiff).

Either spoon or pipe onto parchment-lined baking sheets leaving 2 inches between mounds. To Pipe, place a large star tip in pastry bag and fill bag with potato mixture. Pipe circular or rectangular shapes onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue piping until baking sheet is full.

If you do not have a pastry bag, cut a diagonal slit one inch from the point on corner of plastic bag. Carefully spoon the potato mixture into bag. Squeeze the air out of bag as your seal. to pipe the mixture, hold the filled bag perpendicular to the baking sheet, then force the potato mixture through the top by squeezing the end of the bag with your writing hand and supporting the bag with your other hand.

Alternate designs: (1) Pipe into decorative mounds in lightly greased muffin cups. (2) Shape into rosettes.

NOTE: To bake later, loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Recipe can be prepared to this point, covered and refrigerated, up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place baking sheet on middle rack in oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I've done this with jumbo cupcake/muffin tins... bake the meatloaf, then pipe the mashed potatoes in a swirl on the top and add chives for the "sprinkles".

This option might be easier to reheat the meatloaf only, and add the potato "icing" top last minute. (keep in mind, if you're reheating in a microwave you might not want to choose the silver foil cupcake liners, but they'd be fine for the oven again.)

I was thinking meatloaf cupcakes too. They would be really pretty with a carrot rose on top.

Here is my favorite april fool's pic
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_359443.html

The cupcake in this one is a meatloaf cupcake.

Mandyloo, your cake is great! Thanks for sharing the pic and the tips for the mashed potatoes.

Thank you for the recipe, Neelycharmed. I'm excited to try it!

I'm liking the cupcake idea. I think that would be the best option for reheating. I love the chives for sprinkles idea! That April Fool's cupcake is awesome! The potato "frosting" is SO smooth! Thanks, CWR41 and Tiffany29!

You're welcome. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

I second that!
Can't wait to see what you come up with!
Jodi

what a fun idea!! cant wait to see what you come up with!! you can also make rose radishes.

dont forget you can color your mashed potatoes pink or any other color that might look good for your "cake"