I'm planning to make a surprise birthday cake for my wife (again this year ).

I want to make few objects (like huts, walls, like in old African villages) and I want them to have clay like effect; you know that clay from which we make handicrafts, utensils, etc and then bake them, that kind of clay. Don't want it to look perfect and smooth, should be bit rough to look natural.

I wonder if you can see this pic clearly, this type of clay effect I want:

Any idea anybody? I would love to hear from you guys. I want to make my wife happy.

Thanks a lot

the white stuff you mean--not the little orangey clay colored rectangle?

picture is a little hard to see--

hmm--almost you could just use some roughed up royal icing i think

not exactly sure how to make it happen

but if you played with it...

hey--maybe like use nice crisp fondant to make the object then brushed on some real loose royal icing

to keep the texture-y texture--is it a pastey rough dry --almost a stucco-y texture you're after?

or maybe sponged it on

have to play with that idea & see if it will work

i know i've made royal that after it got to a certain point would look like that if i had used it

roughy scruffy but still flat

is that what you mean???

tree--easy peasy especially if not real full

grind rice krispies in food processor

make rice krispie treats with ground rk-- i use one cup less rk to normal butter & marshmallow + vanilla ;)

just melt marshmallows--low heat--melt slowly in heavy pot--stir occassionally--it'll melt give it time

while warm quickly fashion into tree trunk with a few very short stubby limbs--just the start of limbs--pack it tight

the trunk should be larger on the bottom smaller on top

puncture the 'limbs starts' with a tooth pick so you can add the limbs later with less damage

somewhere in the process you want a dowel in the main trunk so you can later plant the tree in the village

carefully carefully twist the (pointed on both ends) dowel into the still warm rkt trunk --have a foam board ready to set it in  

fashion some rkt 'sticks' to be added later to finish the limbs also puncture with toothpick--probably leave the toothpick in the limbs

make gravity your friend--a 10" limb jutting out parallel with the ground--no

a 4 or 5 inch limb fuller at the toothpick and thinner at the other end pointing upward more--yes

let it set up overnight at room temperature

apply the limbs with the help of the toothpicks into the slots you already made--once and done

using melted chocolate or almond bark, also called candy coating paint the bark on the tree--also apply to limb joins for glue--not too much

the choco also helps support the trunk--so thick is good--maybe apply in two sessions--coat first then 'bark' it up on the second application--

if you're good with the choco you could add some more choco limbs...

cannot be like the old oak tree necessarily super full and tall and wide

but for a tree with a few leaves in a village it'd be perfect

then of course you'd be using foam under the board in your final project to plant the tree into

that's one way to do a tree

gotta keep wives happy everywhere!!! ;)

"  gotta keep wives happy everywhere!!! ;)  "    This explains that you're a wife (and a great one too I'm sure)

You are also a great helper. Couldn't thank you more more for such detailed message. RK would be perfect to make tree, and I will follow your steps to make it as good as possible hence making my wife happy ;)

Her last year's birthday cake I made was a hit, I made my wife cried (tears of happiness of course ), received so many good comments here on cakecentral.com, cakeappreciationsociety.com, occasionmaker.co.uk and on my facebook page too. So this time I'm sure my wife must be expecting something better or at least as good as before. Not only her but many other people too. It's kind of a burden, I wanna do my work freely and with no burden on my mind.

So please wish me the luck!

Thanks once again