Thursday, May 28, 2009

The 5.5 lb. Cavity

That's how much this weighs and that's what you'll get when you eat all of this! Ha!

I saw this over at Coleen's Recipes and immediately knew that I wanted to make it for my brother's 14th birthday. He loved it! I wrapped it in cellophane and tied a curly ribbon around it. The first thing he did when he tore the wrapper off was to take a deep whiff. Oh, the smell of sugar!

I'm a visual person so I searched online to see if I could find step by step instructions on how to make this, but I couldn't find any. I saw a lot of completed "cakes" but no how to directions. So I took pictures along the way to show you how to make it. I hope you will. Any kid, or graduate would love this! It's great for parties because it serves a ton. You can make them as big or as small as you want. Have fun with it and customize it to the recipient with different types of candy.

Before you begin, separate and line up all your candy, facing them in the same direction. This will help you keep inventory of the candy you have left.

1. Get your self a cake board 2 inches larger than your Styrofoam. This one is 10 inches.

2. Get your Styrofoam rounds (mine were 8-inch) and carve out the centers to hold more candy. You don't have to do this. I carved them with a grapefruit knife.

3. Glue them together with hot glue.

4. Glue the Styrofoam to the cake board and wrap in a wide ribbon. If you leave the plastic on the Styrofoam you don't need to wrap them, but since I cut the centers out I needed to. The ribbon is just a barrier between the glue and the foam. You don't want to pull off candy and pull off chunks of foam too.

5. Start gluing candy onto the cake form, making sure all your candy is facing the same direction.

6. Keep gluing the candy all the way around until all the foam is covered up.

7. Stack candy on top and fill the cavity with as much candy as you can. If you place them in the center neatly, you can get more in there.

8. Keep mounding up the candy and gluing as you go, with just a bead of glue. You don't want to melt your candy or the wrappers. Fill in any voids with lollipops. There's no need to glue those in.

Ta da!

Here is a list of what it cost me to make this thing:

  • 2-8" Styrofoam- $5.99 each= $11.98
  • Ribbon- $1.97
  • Airheads- $1.97
  • Airhead Lollipops- $1.97
  • Starburst- $2.28
  • Starburst Tropical- $2.56
  • Trident Watermelon Gum- $2.38
  • Twix Minis- $1.00
  • Tootsie Mix- $4.34
  • Hershey's Party Mix- $9.78

Grand Total= $40.23

NOTE: Styrofoam is expensive. I looked at 3 different Wal-Marts and couldn't find anything bigger than 6-inch rounds. They were $2/each, but they were also only 1-inch tall. I would have needed 4 of them and they still weren't the size I wanted. I finally found the right size at Michaels. Styrofoam is expensive. Did I already mention that?

You can save yourself some money but not using chocolate. Chocolate is expensive, just like Styrofoam. And you also don't have to fill the inside of the foam with candy. That will probably cut your budget by 1/3.

I used 80% of the candy I purchased and Mr. H ate the rest. I bought two flavors of Starburst but only used half of each bag. So total, I would say of the amount I spent on this candy cake, $35 of it went into this gift. It was more expensive than I thought it was going to be, but he loved it and that's all that matters.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

I'll post his real birthday cake later in the week!

58 comments:

Rachel said...

very creative...my little daughter would love this

Donna-FFW said...

This looks incredible. And thanks for the step by steps. Im thinking of doing one at Christmas time with all the pretty christmas candy colored wrappers..you are right it makes a great gift!

Selba said...

What a great idea!!! :)

Happy Birthday to Aaron.

Vodka Mom said...

you are BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT!! This is what I am going to do for my son's birthday next week!!!

WOO HOO!!!!

Chocolaty Lifestyle said...

WOW this one's something soooo amazing, and such a special present! I'd love to receive something like that too. :))

Michel-lee said...

That is like the coolest ever. I would love to give that a try. Thanks for posting how to do it.

Julie said...

That's one of the cutest things around...who needs cake :P

Lissaloo said...

That is too fun, I LOVE it! I really needed the step by step too, thank you. My 7 year old always asks for candy, mint & gum for her birthday this is PERFECT! She will be in candy heaven :) :)

Debbie said...

Oh what a neat idea! I also saw this over at Coleen's blog. So cute and you can do so many theme's with it!!!

Jenn said...

That's really cool. I'll have to try that for a centerpiece for a birthday party when the kids are older.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

VERY nice! You did a fantastic job. Thanks for the tutorial. I'll keep it in mind. So many things coming up in the next few months.
~ingrid

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Ooops, Happy birthday Aaron!
~ingrid

elizabeth said...

How cool is that - thank you so much for the tutorial. And glad it was a success!!

my3sons said...

OMG. The dental hygienist in me is dying:)

Foodiewife said...

You are such an artist! Thanks so much for the step-by-step instructions. Inside of me is a crafts person wanting to get started. My son would love this-- he has such a sweet tooth. As always, fabulous photos!

vanillasugarblog said...

oh my heavens
that is the coolest idea
what an awesome gift.
I wonder if I would be so neat as you were

Anonymous said...

Very cute!

Kerstin said...

So cute, nice job!

Delectable Dining said...

So cute! I'm sure he was thrilled!

Coleens Recipes said...

I'm so glad you posted better directions!! You did such an excellent job!!

Elyse said...

WOW! This candy cake is uber-impressive. Looks like your little bro loved it. What a cool idea for a birthday treat. I'm definitely going to try this!

Kristen said...

These cakes are so much fun!
I have an award for you at my blog
http://whatcha-eatin.blogspot.com/
Cheers!

Sophie said...

You are the coolest big sis! I'm going to have to keep this in mind for my little bro--he'd also love it. How fun!

Maria said...

SO COOL!

Lori said...

I am new to your blog I followed it from whatchaEatin's blog. I just loved some of your recipes but this one sealed it for me. I have been pouring over ideas to do for my daughters friend who is graduating and even my "so called" adopted son. Thank you for the wonderful idea. I look forward to reading more and trying some new recipes. Thank You..Lori @ Sum1sSunshine.blogspot.com

Mermaid Sews said...

What a great cake and thanks for the step by step.

cookies and cups said...

I love it and thanks for the tutorial!! I am making one of these for my son's birthday party!!

oneordinaryday said...

Thanks for making a step by step tutorial. This is an awesome idea.

Blissseeker said...

Fantastic Job! I am looking at starting a "candy creations" business and have tons of ideas but this one really "takes the cake" (ok that was lame lol). Here is what I can't get my head wrapped around...what is everyone doing with the gaps??!! The candy can't possibly fit perfectly so there MUST be gaps! How do you fill them without it looking like you filled them? If you can answer this for me, I will be even moooorrree impressed than I already am!!

Sweet Baker Babes said...

This is such a great idea, thanks for sharing! Im actually waiting for the hot glue to heat up so I can begin construction for my brothers 13th b-day. Just in case you care to make another one someday, check the Dollar Store for foam. I got 8 inch ones with the middle already cut out for $1 each!

Monica H said...

Sweet Baker Babes- Thanks for the tip on where to get styrofoam! I'll keep an eye out for them in case I ever decide to make another. Hope you have fun with yours. Please come back and leave a comment with a link to your "cake" so we can check it out!

MamaBear said...

Thank you for posting. i am going to start making these.. I was thinking instead of buying that styrofoam.. what if you bought the insulating pipe foam from home depot or something instead, or make them square using square styrofoam sheets and stacking those.. because of this I have found a new hobby to do, and i cannot wait to make a giant one for our Teacher appreciation week.

Susan said...

Came across this post via Pinterest! I'm sooo glad I did!! Thanks for the step by steps (I'm a visual learner too lol) & I love your blog!

xoxo
twentyfour7

Kathleen Richardson said...

I found this on Pinterest, too. Great idea!

Katie said...

I love this idea and searched a bunch of stores to find styrofoam to make this for my brother's birthday. I found the same size rounds, with holes already in the center at my local Dollar Tree, for, that's right, $1! Hope this helps anyone who lives near a Dollar Tree!

Anonymous said...

What kind of glue was used to glue all the candy pieces together? I would assume just Elmers glue wouldn't be strong enough, and hot glue would just melt the chocolate... Just wondering!

Monica H said...

anon- I used low temp hot glue. It's easier to place a bit if the glue on the foam then stick the candy on.

~ Monica h

Anonymous said...

I realize this is somewhat late, but I just came here from Tip Junkie, and I'd like to offer a suggestion. You could use a paint can for the base of this project in place of the foam circles. They come with a tight fitting lid so you could add another gift in the inside or more candy, they already have a handle attached, and they could be re-purposed after the candy is all gone. They are available in both quart and gallon sizes, and can can be found in the paint dept. of the home improvement stores for less money than at a craft store.

Anonymous said...

I found this on pinterest and its great! My husband is in Afghanistan and his birthday is coming up! I cant really send him a birthday cake but this is perfect! I love it. Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

My daughter should be getting her braces off very soon. I think doing this with all the gum, candies, and caramels she hasn't been able to eat over the past almost 5 years will definitely make her special day even better.

Anonymous said...

Michelle says:
Thank you for your instructions! My mind is flooding with ideas! It is almost Aaron's birthday... what a lucky fella to have a sister like you!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! Planning on doing this for Easter.

Unknown said...

I love this! But, instead of filling the center with candy, I think I'll fill mine with Easter eggs. I'll have the best Easter Basket EVER!

Unknown said...

Michael's always has coupons for 40% any item.....check online and in the newspaper adds

Unknown said...

Thank you for the picture tutorial, it's very helpful to see this step by step. I can't wait to try this tomorrow for my son's birthday.

Anonymous said...

They have Styrofoam rounds like that at the Dollar Tree!! Really!! I have been buying them and cutting them in half to double the number of wreaths I can make. I have been obsessed with making tulle wreaths for every holiday!!
Thanks for this adorable tutorial. I can't wait to make this!!!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE IT! THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL IDEA...MY 4YRS OLD SON'S BIRTHDAY WILL BE THIS JUNE24 AND SURELY I WILL DO THE SAME FOR HIM. HE'LL SURELY LIKE IT. HE LOVES CANDIES. YOU'RE AN ANGEL..

Anonymous said...

I have a question, what did you use to glue the ribbon onto the foam without melting it? Tape or did you use the glue??

Unknown said...

Hmmmm, I'm thinking pool noodles for the Styrofoam frame, they work perfectly for wreaths! Love the candy cake idea, thanks :)

Leonor said...

Thank u so much for the pics and instructions I'm going to try making one for my granddaughters bd party this weekend, going to try and include bubble gum hope it turns out ok!
Again many thanks!
Life is Sweets!

Anonymous said...

Yummy! Might do this seeing as I'm not much of a cake person.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so very much for taking the time to post this!! We are in need of a fundraiser for our son's ever growing expenses for his travel team and this might just do the trick for a perfect raffle! Thank you and God Bless!

blueyedladybug said...

Looks awesome!

Anonymous said...

dat is awesome love it I think I'll do it for my daughters 18th b- day....she will love it.....thanks for sharing your idea

Sherronne said...

Given that styrofoam is so expensive, I use cookie or candy tins to make my candy cakes. I usually buy mine from the thrift store.

mellie said...

Great teacher idea for beginning of the school year. A teacher' survivors snack stack if you will. Thanks for the idea.

Anonymous said...

I Bought Everything At Dollar Tree & Real Deals & It Was Alot Cheaper. $15.Glue Dots Will Also Work Instead Of Hot Melt Glue.Peel& Stick Also Saves Time.

Yhuann said...

Wow, what an amazing blog! You did a great job with this & thank you so much for sharing this idea, and the the step by step instruction. 👍👍👍👏👏👏

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