Princess Castle Cake

I made this castle cake for the girls' birthday party.  I am by no means a baker.  I do very little baking, and even less "decorative" baking.  Meaning those fancy cakes and cupcakes like you see on Cake Boss and DC Cupcakes.  Yeah, I am nowhere near those.  My cakes are closer to something you'd see on Cake Wrecks.  So my cake is nowhere near perfect, but I think it turned out okay.  Here is what the finished cake looked like:

I got the recipe for the cake in a Childrens' Betty Crocker Cookbook that is older than me.  I figured if the recipe was meant for children, then it must be about the right skill level for me. ;)  I don't have step by step pictures, but the cookbook didn't have them either, and it's really not that difficult. 

You start with a cake mix, just prepare according to the package directions and use a 9x13 pan.  Try to use one with more squared edges instead of rounded.  That is something I learned while making the cake.  My pan had rather rounded edges, which made this project a little more difficult.  Obviously still doable, but more difficult. 

Once the cake is done, let it cool for about 20 minutes.  Then turn the pan over and carefully remove the cake.  Cut the cake in half, width-wise.  Take one of the halves and cut it into thirds. 

You can use a baking sheet or a piece of cardboard to build your castle on.  I had an old Taco Bell tray that I covered in aluminum foil.  I just assumed most of you don't own a tray from a fast food restaurant.  But if you do, it makes a great place to build a castle cake!

Place the uncut half on your tray and frost it.  Then place two of the cake strips on either side of the cake and frost them.  Cut the third strip in half, then using a knife, cut the fronts so they have rounded edges.  Place them on either side of the cake as shown in the picture and frost them as well. 

You will need two ice cream cones to make your towers.  Frost the two cones and then cover in sprinkles in the color of your choice.  Place the towers on top of the sides with the rounded edges as shown.  Use pieces of a Hershey bar to make windows and a door.  I used toothpicks to make the drawbridge.  I also used spice drops to decorate the top of the castle.  The original recipe said to use pillow mints.  But if I ever make this again, I think I may use marshmallows instead.  Basically you can use any small type of candy you want.  The last thing I did was make little flags out of paper and toothpicks and I wrote each of the girls' names on them and placed one on each side of the castle.  Oh, and I took some of Angie's plastic princess dolls and put them all around the cake.  It really wasn't very hard, even for a novice baker like me. 

Here are the princesses blowing out their candles!