Making Super Mario - Yoshi Birthday Cake

This was my first attempt at 'proper' cake decorating. I love baking and cooking and would love to do more cake decorating but rarely have a good reason from spending the time and money on ingredients and supplies. (As I need to build a stock of materials - food dyes, icing, moulds - but I'm a poor student haha).

Anyway. This cake was for my sister, Ruth 21st birthday (shes in the photos). Yoshi is her favourite Super Mario Bros character.

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Step 1: Recipe

This is a gluten free, Recipe. Ruth isn't wheat intolerant, but I am, so all my flour is gluten free, and she told me she loved my coconut pound cake when I made it before.
I want to make it 3 tiered so I doubled the recipe.
The normal recipe makes a 9x5x3 inch loaf

G.F. Coconut Pound Cake Ingredients (Double)    Single 9x5x3inch loaf Quantity

300g    Gluten Free Flour            150g          Gluten Free Flour
     2tsp            Baking Powder                                                                1tsp           Baking Powder
     1 1/2tsp    Xanthan Gum (optional)     3/4 tsp      Xanthan Gum
     1/2tsp         Salt                                                                                 1/4tsp       Salt
300g    Sugar (White granulated)         150g          Sugar
360g            Butter (unsalted, room temp.)                                      185g          Butter
300g            Desiccated Coconut                                         150g          Desiccated Coconut
3large          Eggs                                                                            3large       Eggs
3tbsp           Milk                                                                                3tbsp    Milk
1 1/2tsp     Vanilla extract                                                              1 1/2tsp Vanilla

***Note on Xanthan Gum - This is a powder used to in gluten free baking to help food bind and rise, (gluten is an elastic protein that makes bread rise). If your using normal flour, omit the xanthan gum.
(I haven't really noticed much difference using it.)

***Variations - Don't like Coconut? Why not try an Apple Spice Cake -
add 1tsp Cinnamon, 1tsp Nutmeg, 1tsp Allspice, 3 Apples (peeled and cored), 1/2cup Raisins.

Buttercream Frosting

3 3/4         Icing Sugar
1/2cup      Butter (soft)
1tsp          Vanilla extract
3-4tbsp    Milk

The frosting is to layer over the cake before covering it with fondant.

Icing

Multiple packets of white icing dyed - red, black, yellow.
Pre coloured packet of Blue and Green Icing.
Food colouring - Brown, green, black, red, yellow.

Equipment

3 circular baking trays
General baking equipment (bowls, spoons, knife, electric mixer etc)
Paint brushes(for painting food dye and washing water onto decorations, like glue to stick to the cake)
Butter knife
Rolling pin            (dusting flour)
Chocolate Stars
Cake serving plate/tray/board
Bowls of water            (to stick decoration onto cake)