Bonnie's Birdhouse Cake

January is a busy month for birthdays around these parts. My mother-in-law Bonnie was in town recently so we had a belated celebration for her. My father-in-law has always loved birds, however, Bonnie has taken an interest in them as well in the past year. Their backyard is filled with various kinds of birdfeeders. So, I decided to make a Birdhouse Cake this year. I was inspired by the shape of Fishmama's Tangled Cake. 

Although it was far from perfect, I thought it turned out pretty cute. If there is a bird-lover in your life, they just might enjoy one of these too. Here's how I did it:

What you need:

• four mini-springform pans
• one 9-inch round cake pan
• one batch of cake batter prepared to box instructions
• one batch of 5-Minute Buttercream Frosting
• paste food coloring (I used black and yellow)
• cocoa powder (or brown paste food coloring)
• 1 straw
• colored cardstock
• sprinkles
• cut-out of a bird

What to do:

1. Divide the cake batter between the greased mini-pans and round cake pan. Bake according to package directions. Remove from pans and cool completely.
2. Place the large round cake on a cake board or platter. Put enough frosting to coat it in a separate bowl and tint it brown either with cocoa powder or brown paste food coloring. Frost cake. Sprinkle with green sprinkles and let harden in the fridge for a few minutes.
3. Build the birdhouse by placing one mini cake in the center of the large cake, adding a layer of frosting and stacking another mini cake.  Repeat until all layers are used. Skewer a straw or chopstick through the center of the cake tower for stability. Coat the "birdhouse" with a crumb coat of frosting and let harden in the fridge.
4. Tint a small amount of the frosting with black paste food coloring for the birdhouse "hole" and tint the rest the color of your birdhouse (I used yellow). Frost your birdhouse tower and then add a black circle for the entrance. Cut off a piece of straw to use as the perch, and insert it below the black hole.
5. Create a cone out of colored cardstock to use as your roof.
6. Print out a picture of a bird, cut it out and tape it to a toothpick. Insert somewhere in your cake.

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For other birthday cake ideas, be sure to check out Fishmama's Birthday Cake Round-Up at Life As Mom. She also has some great cake ebooks -- Petty.Cool.Cakes and the newly released More Cool Cakes.