DIY: Making a Candy Cake

It's my husband's birthday soon and I wanted to do something fun and a little different this year. You know, something his friends and co-workers would get a kick out of since he'll be at work, but without the hassle of a frosted cake. The mess mixed with dress attire, computers, frosting, etc... Not so good. So I landed on the idea of a dummy cake or candy cake. It's full of sweet treats that don't need to be refrigerated, will last several days on his desk, and has something for everyone!

The steps were so easy, and as usual I wanted to see if I could get most of my supplies from the dollar store. Luckily for me, they had everything! The entire project cost less than $12 :)

Here's what you'll need:

1. Round floral foam, two pieces
2. A plate, platter or cake board
3. Disposable tablecloth (or ribbon, wrapping paper, tissue paper, etc.
4. Assorted candy
5. Happy birthday necklace (or novelty pin or ribbon would work well too)
6. Basket wrapping bag (clear cellophane wrapping large enough to hold the cake)
7. Bow
8. Scissors
9. Hot glue gun
10. Toothpicks

First hot glue the floral foam together. Make sure they're straight and secure.

Next take your tablecloth and cut a strip down one side. You can use this to wrap around your floral foam. This will hide the green foam and give it a festive look.

Use your hot glue gun to attach the tablecloth to the inside of the "doughnut". Be extremely careful. The hot glue will melt through the plastic and can easily burn yourself (I learned this the hard way!!!). 

If you'd rather, you could use ribbon, wrapping paper or tissue paper for this step. You can also use tape instead of glue, however I found hot glue worked best.

Once your cake is fully covered, glue the bottom of the cake to your platter or cake board. It should look something like this above.  **If you find your foam is flaking off, this may be a good time to wipe the cake down with a food safe cleaner.

Now to add the candy. I started with lollipops by evenly distributing them around the top. The sticks on the lollipops easily pop into the foam and stay put without glue or tape. If you find you need help piercing the plastic, try using a toothpick to get you started.  Once you have a full row on top, add another layer to the bottom. I just inserted these between the plate and the cake. 

To add the chocolate I simply pierced the back of the chocolate with a toothpick and then pushed the pick through the foam. Again, you can use glue or tape for this step depending on your candy and materials.

Now for the "happy birthday"! I found a cute novelty necklace and simply draped it over the lollipops. I tucked the chain into the center "doughnut hole" and topped off the center with the remaining candy.

To finish, I wrapped the whole candy cake in a clear cellophane bag and tied it with a bow. You can often find these "basket" bags with other wrapping supplies (think fruit basket, lol). It was a perfect size. And all of this for around $12 :)