This is not the cake I planned or wanted to make but.......I fully realized that pushing ahead with my original plan would be merely stubborn and prideful, not to mention physically impossible! In an effort to not disappoint Micah, I came up with this VERY time saving idea. I used every shortcut in the book. Pillsbury frosting, undoctored cake mix, plastic tree and animals, previously made royal icing flowers, and only two colours of icing to mix! I did make a chocolate pick for the sign so he had some handmade chocolate to eat on his cake (his favourite).

The upshot is I learnt a valuable lesson - a cake from the heart doesn't have to be fancy or time consuming to be thoroughly enjoyed by the recipient (if I'm honest, I'm decorating more for myself when I do all the little details!) and the cake I ended up making was probably the better choice all along for a little boy turning four. He loved the cake and his new plastic toys and I'm not any the worse for wear! Hope you like it too!